Explore and learn

Google Earth not only displays satellite images but it also includes terrains and 3D reconstruction of buildings. You can look for directions and businesses, just like in Google Maps and pinpoint areas or draw on maps straight in Google Earth.

Google Earth includes a very wide, and constantly increasing library of layers, which you can add to the map to enrich your experience. You'll find all sorts of information, from historical landscapes to national parks, regions where you can find endangered species or tourist spots. Google Earth will also showcase more news related information such as forest fires or tsunamis.

But Google Earth is not limited to terrain, and with every new version, it adds new sources of satellite imagery and information about other areas in the world. Say you're really into stars; then you should turn to the Sky mode and navigate among the constellations. Or, if you prefer exploring the seas, enable the Water surface option and learn all the secrets about oceans and marine creatures. Feeling more adventurous? Select the Moon or the Mars options and take a walk in space without leaving your easy chair. What's more, Google Earth also lets you travel in time by providing you with a new Historical Imagery function that allows you to see the evolution of certain locations during the past few years.

Navigation

Moving around in Google Earth is incredibly intuitive thanks to the multiple navigation tools. Some areas will show less information than others, and Google Earth is known to use up a substantial amount of bandwidth, but it remains a fascinating piece of software

Conclusion

Google Earth is as of yet an unequaled application. Browse around the world, zoom into streets, gaze at the stars or dive into the ocean. Millions of possibilities.

Download Google Earth 7.1.1.1580 Beta in Softonic

Google Earth Pro is the professional version of Google Earth. It's downloaded upon registration on its website and adds some extra features to the free version.
Do these additional functions make a difference? Let's dig a bit deeper.
Making use of a vast satellite imagery database –actually the same as the free version, Google Earth Pro displays locations from all over the world, enabling you to zoom in from the image of the whole planet to the streets of any capital city.
As a Pro version user, you're supposed to enjoy a faster performance, but we couldn't really notice any difference.
Another interesting feature included in Google Earth Pro is the ability to record videos with your movements around the world, which you can use to illustrate trips or even give directions.
You can choose different resolutions, but record only in WMV format.
Technical support assistance, Premium print and a GID data importer are other additional capabilities of this Pro version.
However, taking into account that both versions share the same image database, which in the end is Google Earth's biggest value, you may as well use the free version.

Download Google Earth Pro 7.1 in Softonic

Overview

You won't find showers or sunny spells among the forecasts made by Earth Alerts - it's strictly a tsunami, earthquake and wildfire kind of kind of program.

How it works

Once you download Earth Alerts, start your examination of nature's less clement behavior by entering the locations that interest you, bearing in mind that although Earth Alerts supports global events, it is tailored to the US. Once you have chosen your location and enabled auto-update, you can monitor all of the major events.

Features

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, cyclones, wildfires and landslides are all covered by Earth Alerts, with information taken from a variety of organizations that specialize in natural hazards, weather and geography. You can focus on each area separately, looking at maps, radar images, Google Earth results and even news stories relating to whatever is currently happening.

Earth Alerts provides plenty of settings options, from tweaking the frequency of updates to requesting email and SMS notification of any changes. You can add multiple locations and specify the specific locales and minimum severity of the events you want notification of.

Earth Alerts is a very interesting program and will be particularly attractive to people living or interested in the US. On the negative side, Earth Alerts' maps and graphs are not interactive and the old-fashioned interface casts a negative shadow on the program’s technological claims.

Earth Alerts is perfect for the disaster-obsessed, but lacks the polish needed to make it a truly great program.

Download Earth Alerts 2012.1.84 in Softonic

Earth3D enables you to have your own personal planetarium at home. Simply copy this tool to your hard drive – no installation required – and be ready to enjoy great views from our planet while sitting right in front of your computer.

Earth3D grabs spatial imagery from NASA, USGS, CIA and other resources and displays them on a simply-designed interface. You can change between different views and locations by using the categorized list on the left side of the interface, while viewing images themselves on the right side. While the virtual trip in Earth3D can be quite fun, bear in mind that this is no Google Earth, so don't expect to be able to see your home from outer space.

Earth3D features some interesting extras such as the ability to capture images or even record a small video while you're moving around the Earth or zooming in and out – just with your mouse. However, there's one big problem that prevented us from giving Earth3D a better score, and that is its incredible slowness when loading pictures.

Earth3D includes a beautiful collection of images from our planet in 3D perspective, but unfortunately takes way too long to display them.

Download Earth3D 1.0.5 in Softonic

Bing Maps (previously known as Microsoft Virtual Earth) combines local search with maps and aerial photography. Microsoft have included satellite imagery with maps in its local search results for quite some time but with Bing Maps, the display is focused primarily around maps and aerial views. You can zoom in and out of maps or images, and drag the images around within the display at leisure and the basic search interface is similar to MSN's local search with "what" and "where" forms to specify what you're searching for. In addition, text results for searches are displayed in floating popup windows on the left side of the display.

Aerial photographs are overlaid with labels, showing street names, landmarks, and other features, even including directional arrows for one-way streets plus permalinks saves a screenshot of everything open in Virtual Earth, including the map view location and search results.

It may not be in the same class as Google Earth but this is one of Microsoft's better efforts it has to be said.

Download Bing Maps in Softonic

This is definitely good news for all Google Map addicts out there: Mini Map Sidebar is a Firefox extension that enables you to have Google Maps always at sight. It also includes a set of convenient tools to blend Google mapping and web browsing into a unique experience.

Mini Map Sidebar works in a very simple way: whenever you come across any address or Google map link on a webpage, you can select it and drop it onto the sidebar and Google Maps will immediately show its location. The only problem I see here is the fact that sometimes the sidebar is simply too small to be able to see the map properly.

The extension also features a handy tool to obtain directions from one address to another. For instance, you can set a given address as your home location in the extension, and get directions easily to any other address you find online.

Download Minimap Sidebar Extension 0.3.13 in Softonic

Ever had a file that you couldn't open? If you don't have a program that will run a particular file type, you're left with trying to find something yourself.

org - How do I Open This? ". Click that and the application opens and searches for a suitable application. You need to be connected to the internet to use it, but it's fast and will often give you a range of results.

When this happens, you're given three links to search for your extension on Google, Live Search or Yahoo.