Mrs. Mecomber's Scrapbook

If there is one Google product you had to have, it would be Google Earth. I thought everyone had heard of Google Earth, but I was talking to some folks recently who’d never heard it! I like the program so much that I wanted to be sure to mention it.

The family has used it countless times. My kids are geography experts now. I have used it to map our travels, and my husband likes to look at air bases around the world. It is truly an amazing program.

You can find anywhere in the world (even your property). I love looking at other countries and cities, like the city of Amsterdam in Holland with its gorgeous canal system, and the Thames in London.

Google Earth has many other features besides looking at the earth’s surface. You can skew your view to look across (it’s a little cheesy looking because it’s computer generated, but the Grand Canyon and Rocky Mountains still looked neat). You can zoom all the way out and spin the earth with your mouse cursor (fun). You can track your journeys, as Google Earth will measure distances and place markers for you (a virtual pin board). It will show you major (and some minor) attractions in localities. And best of all, it will show roads, boundaries, names of rivers, lakes, and mountain ranges, and everything! It’s great and we love it.

You have to have an online connection to view Google Earth. I have been offline and it does work, but the maps will only show what is in your computer cache, and no new material.