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Google Earth Update: Places of interest and icons

Google Earth Update: Places of interest and icons

By: Peter Chubb | March 19, 2010 | 16 Comments

For those of you who have not noticed, Google Earth has been updated – with Places of Interest receiving the biggest update. Before, this feature was at the bottom of the list, now it features almost near the top with a number of changes all designed to offer a better experience.

Before the update, places of interest had subitems for you to select – now there is just one checkbox. You will also notice that the icons have changed in Google Earth, they will even appear to you different now. If you are viewing from high above, all you will see is major attractions such as airports, museums stadiums, and much more.

Once you begin to zoom in you will then get to see other items, such as hotels and restaurants. Other changes made include reordering, traffic has now been moved to the more category and much more.

For a more detailed look at all the changes, visit Google Earth Blog

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  • Water Bodies Missing

    >>> Before, this feature was at the bottom of the list, now it features almost near the top with a number of changes all designed to offer a better experience <<<

    What are you talking about? There are a lot of features MISSING. THATs the important information about this "Update"- not whether i have to scroll a little bit less. The "Water Body Vectors" are missing for example. A LOT of information is missing now.

  • Delpy

    I don't like this at all. Now there is a whole gumble of icons showing on the map. I was planning a trip and looking for good gas stations to stop at. Last week it was easy to find them. Now, half of them are missing and I have sort through all the other icons for hotel and restaurants. This is a big step backwards.

  • jcm327

    "Places of Interest" may now be at the top of the list, but all of its useful features have been removed. The categories and sub-categories that have been removed from "Places of Interest" were what set Google Earth apart from all the other internet mapping tools for locating places and information. This is an example of an "update and enhancement" that has reduced a competitive edge.

  • StanW

    This update sucks! I hate you can't itemize the Places of Interest and have to settle for all of them being highlighted. I hope they get enough complaints and change it back.

  • Guest

    This is a horrible change. Now to find a specific type of item, we have to wade through endless icons of no particular interest at the moment to see what there is available rather than the simple luxury of have a sublist to select from. Google Earth has taken a major step backwards.

  • sidnum

    WTF! This is the worst update yet! They have to change it back. I'm trying to plan a trip dammit.

  • Guest

    How do we go back to the way it was?! This sucks!!!

  • guest

    No mountain or lake names, yeah this sucks

  • Tom Ahto

    I don't like this new design at all!

    No Mountain names, no names for lakes and other water bodies ……….

    This is not an improvement.

  • Tom Ahto

    I don't like this new design at all!

  • dabney mcshinivitz

    Not an improvement at all, and anyone with a little understanding of GIS would know this. Makes me wonder what advantage it is to Google to do this, as it is a terrible choice from the user perspective. Just make the layer editable as before and both the novice and slightly advanced user can both be happy. Google is becoming Microsoft? I wonder, will we all hate Google just as much in 5 years?

  • sidnum

    It's back! yeah!

  • MLuz

    In my company, we do a lot of inspections to other companies around the world . The GEarth version gives us the opportunity to find the best travel options (airport, railway, bus etc). WIth this changes, we have stop using google earth. This was the major step backwards. I hope they will change.

  • Mikey G

    It's still messed up. It looks like they sort-of returned them. It's very "apple" of them to do this – to take features away from their users, then to tell them it's for their own good. It reminds me of how remiss I've been to trust any company with a closed-source product. I've decided to become a developer on NASA World Wind. Come join us.

  • Carl

    Let's not kid around – this wasn't done as an improvement. I'm not a conspiracy nut but there has to be other reasons, business/money reasons, why they did this. No smart person (and let's be honest, Google doesn't have a whole lot of dumb people on the payroll) could possibly look at this update and think it's better. Microsoft, Apple, Google. 3 of a kind.

  • MazharNoon

    I haven't for the long time seen any updates on google 2009. I am from Jhelum, there haven't been any updates.