Google Earth

Date Published: 14 July 2005

Google Earth

If you haven’t played with it yet and you have a decent computer, download Google Earth. It’s very cool. It’s a desktop application that lets you view aerial imagery of the planet. You can basically fly around and zoom in and out, and it downloads the imagery on-demand (requires decent network connection). I was able to find the bases I visited while I was in Iraq last year pretty easily, and although the imagery is not up to par with what the military is using for planning on the ground, it’s certainly good enough that you could show your loved ones where you were while you were in the sandbox. I was able to find a few of Saddam’s palaces I’d seen, for instance. Also handy for US bases if you need to show someone where you’ll be staying if you’re in mid-deployment/redeployment. Check it out.

Steve Smith

About Ardalis

Software Architect

Steve is an experienced software architect and trainer, focusing on code quality and Domain-Driven Design with .NET.