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Google Earth Live

By Bud Kraus
bud@joyofcode.com
Joy Of Code
Creator And Instructor

v3 i22
Originally Published: December 27, 2007

If you have never used or played around with Google Earth, you're missing one of the great wonders of our Information Age.

Google Earth lets you to zoom in on any location on Earth to take a bird's-eye view. You can move from point to point just by entering an address that you'd like to see. It's easy to go anywhere and see actual buildings, roads, and cars. From Paris, France, to Paris, Texas, it's just a click away. I feel as if I am flying (without turbulence, thank you) from Point A to Point B when I use it.

Depending on the location, you can really zoom in and have a good look at the terrain. You can even tilt and pan the landscape so you can gain different perspectives rather than seeing everything bird's-eye.

However, I've long grown tired of the "static-ness" of Google Earth. The view of my home in Nutley, NJ, has not changed for two years. It still has the same car parked in front of my house near the park with the same barren trees. Google Earth's spy cam must have shot my area in the winter and it hasn't been back here in a few years.

What if Google Earth were live? What if you could see anywhere on Earth in real time? Do you have any idea how that would change everything? Can you imagine the implications of such technology if Google Earth ever went live? I'm not sure I can, but I like to think about it.

We know that much of this kind of technology is being used by the American military - not to mention other entities wishing to keep an eye in the sky for any number of reasons. Imagine having in your hands the ability to see Google Earth in real time!!

view of google earth

Talk about living on the grid! Anything we do outside of buildings could be seen by anyone at anytime with Google Earth Live.

Google Earth Live is fraught with unknown perils. It's a Pandora's Box. Yet, like all big ideas, this one is loaded with the potential for people to do good with it.

Here are just a few of the scenarios - good and bad - I can think of. Let me know what you come up with.

  • Your friends in Baton Rouge, LA, are having a barbeque but you can't make it. It starts on Saturday at 2 PM, so at that hour you fire up Google Earth Live and zoom in to see what's going on. The smoke is rising from the grill. Your friends are having a great time without you.
  • You're worried sick that your elder parents won't make it to Florida down I95. So you decide to follow their progress until they reach Boca.
  • Your wife calls you up to tell you that she's left the office and will be home by 7 PM. You see her leave the building where she works, but she's not heading home. Just where is she going?

Of course, just add a TiVo-like capability to all of this and it all gets even more interesting - or scarier. Do I hear anyone saying, "Big Brother is Watching You?" ( Not just watching but recording!)

Today, Google Earth Live is a fantasy but...tomorrow? Only Google knows.