Google's satellite imagery software has truly changed the way we look at the globe. The application lets you zoom in on any part of the world and for some places, observe from a few meters away.

Google Earth not only displaces satellite images but it also includes terrains and sometimes 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 Space 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. What's more, the latest version 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.

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. Recently updated to include Google Street View, you now don't have to make the choice of which Google mapping tool you want to use when planning routes and inspecting the globe.

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 in Softonic

MacFamilyTree can even be used to create family reports and create contact information via ID cards for your family. The impressive 3D effects it adds to family trees makes navigating it really slick. Most recently, MacFamilyTree has been updated to allow users to search online for your family history, a service which currently is free to use. You can also publish your family trees and history to the web if you have a MobileMe account.

The main drawback of MacFamilyTree however is the fact that it doesn't have the search power and social interaction aspect that something like say Genes Reunited has. It's also prone to lags and crashes when family information files grow quite big according to some users, meaning that you might have problems managing large family trees.

Overall however, MacFamilyTree makes discovering your family tree a slick and easy experience.

Download MacFamilyTree 6.3.6 in Softonic

Don't be fooled by the name - TrailRunner caters for more than those who just fancy a jog with a difference. TrailRunner is well thought-out and crafted application for anyone who's on the move whether hiking, running cycling or looking for directions.

The aim of TrailRunner is to be the exercise partner you've always dreamed of. TrailRunner can calculate a route for any specified distance in the world and export the directions onto your iPod. Maps can be exported to your mobile device as NanoMaps. TrailRunner integrates with Ascent and Garmin Training Center, although some users have reported that it slows down the latter considerably. Whichever device you use, the TrailRunner guide will give you detailed instructions along the way so that you can stick to your route and concentrate on your running or hiking.

TrailRunner uses Microsoft Virtual Earth to plot and find routes, which isn't quite as detailed as Google Earth but it should suffice for most major locations. After your trip is over, TrailRunner doesn't stop there. You can fill in a diary of your trip, create an exercise plan, and even share the ground you've covered on GPSies.com. There's also a calendar for you to schedule training, and walks to help you stick to your walking and running plans.

TrailRunner is an ideal application for anyone who has an iPod or Garmin device and wants to get more out of their jogs, hikes and walks.

Download TrailRunner 3.7.701 in Softonic

Remote Buddy gives you a refreshing look at your media files on your Mac. Thanks to a sleek interface, you'll be able to browse through all your video, music photos and do much more.
Remote Buddy also supports an impressive array of other hardware like the Apple Remote, and many mobile devices of which the latest additions are the iPhone and the iPod Touch.
We also really liked how the program has an interface for each device.
Remote Buddy is fully customizable and you can change just about anything, like mapping buttons or creating your own actions.
We really liked how you can create behaviors for each application, although this might be a bit too complex for inexperienced users. Thanks to its integrated file browser its very easy to look for files, although you may sometimes have to go back to the root folder.
Overall an excellent program that boosts the remote control features of your Mac, whether you want to make presentations or just play any sort of media.

Download Remote Buddy 1.22 in Softonic

Google Earth is one of Google's greatest innovations but it can of course always be improved, which is what the developers of HoudahGeo have attempted.

HoudahGeo is described as a "one-stop geocoding" application for the Mac. In other words, it allows you to "pin" photos to the locations where they were taken. The metadata that's added may then be exported to EXIF tags as well as to Google Earth KMZ files. This is a great way to share photos with other users and maybe get yourself a little, excuse the pun, exposure if you're a professional photographer.

From your hard drive, HoudahGeo takes your photos and allows you to add geographical data to each photo. It works basically like a huge map, allowing you to pinpoint the location your photo was taken in the world, and then automatically generate metatags that can be used in Google Earth. In the full version, there's even an option to work in fully automatic mode if you have a track log file from a GPS receiver.

HoudahGeo is an innovative application that allows you to geocode your photos for use in Google Earth - just don't be in a hurry if you have to encode 100's of photos.

Download HoudahGeo 3.0.4 in Softonic

Picasa and iPhoto have virtually made other photo management apps on the Mac redundant but if you look hard, you'll still find some nice alternatives.

JetPhoto Studio doesn't really compare with the big boys but it does offer a greater degree of control and processing power over your images in certain areas. JetPhoto Studio will import pictures from your camera as soon as you connect it. Alternatively, you can browse to albums on your Mac or allow JetPhotoStudio to perform a full scan of your system.

The main interface is well presented and allows you to browse photos by date. There is a set of basic editing tools which allows you to crop images and add a few effects such as sepia, black and white, image contrast, and auto enhancing. You can also batch resize your photos and protect them with a watermark. JetPhoto Studio also enables you to rate your own photos via a star system, as well as tag them. However, tags are not transferable from one album to another and you have to create a new one every new album you create.

One of the better aspects of JetPhoto Studio is the ability to create screensavers, wallpapers, slide-shows and Flash movies from your collections. Unfortunately, however, there ¡s very little control over the types of animations and speed of the transitions. Finally, it's worth adding that you send JetPhoto Studio images via SMS or infrared, to your friends’ mobiles, although this only works within the US. The developer has also recently added geo-tagging for GPS recognition in Google Earth. The best way to share your photos in online though and JetPhoto Studio makes this relatively easy via Flickr or the JetPhoto server.

Jet Photo Studio is a comprehensive photo management tool that's a bit bloated in areas but offers some interesting features.

Download JetPhoto Studio 5.2 in Softonic

If you've been gripped by space-travel fever or just want a simple but effective way to learn about the universe then Celestial is a superb learning tool.

Celestial gives you a superb overview of the bigger picture out there by allowing you to explore the universe from the comfort of your armchair. It works by allowing you to navigate your way around the universe using your mouse and when you discover something of interest, you can use your mouse wheel to zoom in. You can also zoom right into planet surfaces or zoom out far enough to see the entire Milky Way.

Obviously, there's no A to Z map of finding your way around the universe and so fortunately Celestial has a "Go To Object" tool found under the "Location" bar. Type the name of the planet or solar constellation you want to see and Celestial magically whisks you there a la Google Earth. I'd recommend running the demo for starters because it takes you on a quick guided tour of everything Celestial can do.

There are a few drawbacks to Celestial. It would have been useful to have annotation of the solar system so that you can see which planets you're approaching or looking as it does get rather confusing browsing through the stars. Also, the level of detail of planet surfaces is a bit disappointing. It's understandable considering the lack of data we have about all the planets but even the Earth has very little detail. However, it should be noted that detail can be expanded using the "Celestial Motherlode" which is a collection of extensions from planet detail to space craft which can be downloaded.

Overall however, Celestial is an excellent learning tool or simply a lot of fun for all those that have an interest in Space and the constellations.

Download Celestia 1.6.1 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 6.0 Beta in Softonic

There are few things that Google doesn't do well and this even extends to making 3D art accessible to the most inexperienced artist in the form of Google SketchUp.

Google SketchUp bucks the trend of expensive 3D modeling software such as 3DSMax and Cinema4D and presents a free, easy to use alternative with which you can even post your creations onto Google Earth for the world to see. The latest version has been integrated with Google Maps too so that geo-tagging your creations is easier than ever.

There's a refreshing lack of technical jargon in Google SketchUp and unfamiliar terms to beginners such as the 'Extrude' tool have been renamed to the more obvious 'Push/Pull' for example. There are plenty of helpful hints and guides throughout too helping you get to grips with 'snapping' when you draw rectangles, circles and other shapes. Google Sketchup intelligently predicts where you want endpoints to meet and snaps them shut for you, saving lots of time messing around.

Google SketchUp doesn't lack in functionality though despite its ease of use and includes all the usual collection of drawing and filling tools you'd expect, neatly accessible in the toolbar across the top of the screen. Instructor hints pop out on the right of the screen when it thinks you need them. Other options can be accessed via the menu system, or you can choose to place extra palettes on the workspace to save wading through menus. Of particular note is the 'Materials' palette, which contains over 100 different preset swatches, such as vegetation, metal and glass. The Shadow Settings palette is also worth keeping to hand, as it allows you to apply realistic shadows via simple sliders.

The real fun however is when you export your Google SketchUp drawings into Google Earth. You can send images of your 3D designs via email or upload them for free storage at Google's 3D Web Warehouse. Alternatively, you can geo-tag them in one-step using Google Maps which has now been integrated into Google Sketchup. You receive a snapshot when you add a geo-location to your model which now includes 3D terrain data plus color aerial imagery.

There are some problems with Google SketchUp however. Most annoying is when trying to create domed surfaces because of the cumbersome nature of the Extrude tool, although pushing and pulling straight lines is considerably easier. Being free, it also obviously lacks some of the advanced features of many of its heavyweight rivals.

Google SketchUp provides a refreshingly simple approach to 3D graphic design and modeling and is ideal for non experts in CAD technology.

Download Google SketchUp 8.0.4811 in Softonic

Google SketchUp Pro bucks the trend of expensive 3D modeling software such as 3DSMax and Cinema4D and presents a free, easy to use alternative with which you can even post your creations onto Google Earth for the world to see. The latest version has been integrated with Google Maps too so that geo-tagging your creations is easier than ever.

This professional version of Google Sketchup is aimed at professionals who need CAD software that's high on power and features, and low on learning curves. It features some useful advantages over the basic version including ability to Export to CAD, add text and graphics to layouts and more advanced features.

There's a refreshing lack of technical jargon in Google SketchUp Pro and unfamiliar terms to beginners such as the 'Extrude' tool have been renamed to the more obvious 'Push/Pull' for example. There are plenty of helpful hints and guides throughout too helping you get to grips with 'snapping' when you draw rectangles, circles and other shapes. Google Sketchup Pro intelligently predicts where you want endpoints to meet and snaps them shut for you, saving lots of time messing around.

Google SketchUp Pro doesn't lack in functionality though despite its ease of use and includes all the usual collection of drawing and filling tools you'd expect, neatly accessible in the toolbar across the top of the screen. Instructor hints pop out on the right of the screen when it thinks you need them. Other options can be accessed via the menu system, or you can choose to place extra palettes on the workspace to save wading through menus. Of particular note is the 'Materials' palette, which contains over 100 different preset swatches, such as vegetation, metal and glass. The Shadow Settings palette is also worth keeping to hand, as it allows you to apply realistic shadows via simple sliders.

The real fun however is when you export your Google SketchUp Pro drawings into Google Earth. You can send images of your 3D designs via email or upload them for free storage at Google's 3D Web Warehouse. Alternatively, you can geo-tag them in one-step using Google Maps which has now been integrated into Google Sketchup Pro. You receive a snapshot when you add a geo-location to your model which now includes 3D terrain data plus color aerial imagery.

There are some problems with Google SketchUp Pro however. Most annoying is when trying to create domed surfaces because of the cumbersome nature of the Extrude tool, although pushing and pulling straight lines is considerably easier. However, the ability to export to CAD format means that anything you find tricky or difficult in Google Sketchup Pro, you can finish off in another application.

Google SketchUp Pro provides a refreshingly simple approach to 3D graphic design while providing the power and CAD format export features that professionals need.

Download Google SketchUp Pro 8.0.3161 in Softonic

Earth Addresser takes addresses from your Address Book, looks-up their coordinates on the globe and then writes that information in a KML file that Google Earth can read. Google Earth then uses the file to display your friends location on the map along with a photo of them if you've added one to their card in Address Book. This looks far better than just a generic drawing pin.

Earth Addresser exports instantly and is very easy to use allowing you to customize exactly how you search contacts, which details to link them with and even how big to make the photos using a slider. In fact, this latter option is very important because the only problem with Earth Addresser is that with hundreds of friends photo all over the globe, it can start to look very crowded on a zoomed-out shot of the Earth.

Earth Addresser is an excellent tool to link Address Book with Google Earth.

Download Earth Addresser 2.1 in Softonic

LoadMyTracks is a utility that allows Mac users to upload and download track, route, and waypoint information from a variety of GPS receivers and make the data available as either GPX files or KML files (for use with Google Earth).

Recent versions of LoadMyTracks also support some extensions to the GPX schema (defined originally by Topografix) in order to add support for heart rate, cadence, and lap information which is not in the current 1.

Download LoadMyTracks 1.4 b8 in Softonic

MacENC is about as professional as it gets when it comes to GPS navigation. It's designed mainly for mariners who need a real-time display of where they are in the World at any one time. It displays your position on what are known as Electronic Navigational Charts and raster format BSB and Softcharts, making it a highly flexible tool. To use it, simply plug a GPS device into your Mac and watch your vessel moving in real-time. You can check plot points marking your route so you can see where you've come from.

MacENC can also be useful simply for plotting trips without a GPS device since one is not essential to use with the charts. Handily, MacENC is also compatible with Google Earth and a professional mapping tool known as X-Traverse. Because this is a tool designed for professional use, it's very hefty to upgrade although if you're seriously wanting to use your Mac for maritime adventures, it's probably worth it. The big disadvantage of MacENC is that you need a GPS device although some applications, such as GPSRouteX, allow you to plot your route in Google Earth using your Mac as a GPS device if rudimentary tracking - and not plotting - is all you need.

MacENC is only for the professional mariners out there who want to use their Mac and GPS device to make navigation a whole lot easier.

Download MacENC 7.5 in Softonic

The Google Maps Plugin is the easiest way to find your Address Book contacts using Google Maps and Google Earth. As of version 2. 0 of the Google Maps Plugin, you can now get directions between your Address Book addresses or other addresses that you type in.

Combined with Google's hybrid map views that combine street names and satellite images, following directions has never been easier! Getting directions is very easy to do with the Google Map Plugin.

Download Google Maps Plugin 2.7.2 in Softonic

Geotagging is a great way to enrich your photo collection by adding precise details of where and when they were taken.

Google Earth is ideal for doing this and Geotagger allows you to do so. Simply drag images over the location you wish to insert into them in Google Earth, and then drag them onto the Geotagger icon. Once tagged, the information remains with it as metadata and can be imported directly into the likes of iPhoto, Flickr, Panoramio, etc. Of course, the latest version of iPhoto already supports its own Geotagging so to some extent, Geotagger is redundant for that particular app.

To target where you want to geotag in Google Earth, you use a pair of cross-hairs to mark the location. It can be a bit tricky to pinpoint the precise location you took them and an integrated search function would have been useful. Note that Geotagger uses an external utility known as exiftool to create the Exif data that your photo is then tagged with.

Geotagger may have been superseded by geotagging functions in Google Earth and iPhoto but for those photo apps that still lack it, it's a quick and easy solution.

Download Geotagger 2.0 in Softonic

When it comes to exploring the globe, there's usually only one choice on the table that wins hands down - Google Earth.

However, Google's groundbreaking Earth navigation application isn't the only option out there, as Marble proves. Marble is a Virtual Globe and World Atlas that allows you to learn more about the Earth. It enables you to pan and zoom around the planet, inspect landmarks, places and roads, and is enlivened by lots of useful links to Wikipedia articles.

You do all the standard things like measure distances, lay down place markers and obtain coordinates for a specific location. One nice little feature is that you can also observe the cloud cover in a particular location and even lay 'filters' over the globe. These include a topographic map, satellite view, street map, Earth at night, and temperature maps. Marble has therefore clearly been designed more with educators and classrooms in mind than Google Earth.

The downside of Marble is that it's rather selective in the regions it covers. Western countries are annotated and illustrated in great detail, while the rest of the world - especially the southern hemisphere - is lacking in information.

Marble is an interesting alternative to Google Earth that's completely free to use and ideal for educators.

Download Marble 0.8 in Softonic

If you're a frequent traveler then keeping track of time zones or changing your clock manually is both inconvenient and a bit risky, especially if you set it wrong, aren't aware if daylight saving rules apply etc.

If you're a Firefox user, FoxClocks is an extension for Firefox, Thunderbird and Sunbird that displays world times in your statusbar or toolbar. You can customise it in any way you like such as by making clocks for specific regions turn green when it's a sociable time to call people in that region. You can browse time zones by country, region or city but the important thing is to enable automatic updates which will ensure that you'll always have the right time.

If you don't like the format of the time in the statusbar, change it: choose from a set of useful standard formats, or create your own - custom formats are easy to create and very flexible. Probably the coolest feature of FoxClocks is the option to use Google Earth to take you to any location in its database (which however doesn't cover every conceivable country in the World), right-click on it and it will open the location in Google Earth.

FoxClocks is a useful tool for anyone who travels a lot or simply wants to improve their geographical knowledge.

Download FoxClocks 2.5.35 in Softonic

If you have a website and you're interested in seeing where in the World your visitors have been coming from, then 3D IP Lookup Widget is a cool, if a little unnecessary tool.

You need to have Google Earth installed to use 3D IP Lookup Widget but when you do, you'll be able to pinpoint anywhere on the globe where your an IP address originates from. It uses the My IP Address lookup service to work so if that site is down, then obviously it won't work properly.

At the moment, 3D IP Lookup Widget is still in beta stage so expect some hiccups here and there. Frustratingly, it didn't seem to allow me to cut and paste IP addresses into the search box, which diminishes its usefulness considerably. Finally, the time it takes to look up addresses is ridiculously long and it's not suitable for regular lookups.

3D IP Lookup Widget is an unusual and interesting way to see where an IP address originates from but it takes far too long to work.

Download 3D IP Lookup Widget 0.4 in Softonic

I don't know about you but I'm not planning to launch any satellites into Space soon. However,with Satscape you can at least pretend to be working for NASA, tracking satellites orbiting the Earth.

Unfortunately the results are a little disappointing, though. Satscape is a cross-platform application for tracking supposedly over 8,000 satellites and even debris orbiting the Earth in real time. In fact, according to developer 'Everything from the International space station to a misplaced spanner can be tracked right on your screen with no special equipment'. The developer regrets, however, that Satscape doesn't currently track Santa (although every Christmas Google Earth does, if you really must).

When you open the Satscape download file, a Java downloader retrieves the program from the Satscape database. It requests unrestricted access to your machine which I'm not really keen on but hey, you have no choice if you want to use it. When you've finally dealt with all these access requests, the application can be launched from your desktop upon which you're immediately welcomed by a Steven Hawking-type voice. The 'robot' asks you to configure your settings, although it's not particularly clear how you do this.

After changing very little, I entered my location in the Location tab and saved the settings. Although there are no further instructions, you then click either 2D or 3D view to see the satellites in action. While I was hoping to see a nice revolving image of the globe with all the satellites, lost spanners and astronauts orbiting it, all I got was a choice of viewing two satellites, one of which was labeled ISS, which I presume was the International Space Station. There was no information about what the other satellite was supposed to be used for.

Overall, Satscape felt way too technical and confusing for a newcomer to this kind of thing. Apparently it issues voice warnings when a satellite is about to pass overhead and I can see how this could be useful for a TV satellite engineer on the ground here or other entity seeking to make contact with a satellite. For everyone else however, there's not much enjoyment or interest to be had in Satscape, unless you just want to follow the International Space Station.

Satscape is probably too technical for most people to figure out but if you have an interest in tracking satellites and are willing to persevere, then it may be one of your few options.

Download Satscape 2.02 in Softonic