Google releases Google Earth API, browser plugin

Filed under: Internet, Web services, Google

Google releases Google Earth API, browser plugin

by Brad Linder May 28th 2008

Google has released a browser plugin that lets you access most of the key features of Google Earth in your web browser. No need to download and install the standalone Google Earth application. Google Earth provides more detailed imagery and navigational controls than Google Maps. You can also see 3D models of buildings and view KML files in Google Earth.

You do still need to download and install a small utility though. While the plugin works with Internet Explorer and Firefox (2.0 only, Firefox 3 is not yet supported), it's not available through the Mozilla Add-ons page. The plugin is also Windows-only.

The Google Earth browser plugin is powered by a JavaScript API, which Google has also released, allowing web publishers to embed a Google Earth widget in their web pages and build customizable applications around it. You can see some examples at the Google Earth plugin samples page.

Microsoft has been offering a web-based version of its Virtual Earth application for a while now. And Poly9's FreeEarth offers web publishers a similarly custimizable spinning globe that can be embedded in web sites.

[via Google LatLong]

Tags: browser-plugin, google-earth, google-earth-browser-plugin, virtual-earth

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

hazard said 5:41PM on 5-28-2008

surprising it's taken them so long to do this .. there have been a few developres that have rolled their own browser plugins but the ones I've seen were IE and ActiveX only so it's good to see a little cross browser support even if it's only two.

Quikboy said 8:06AM on 5-29-2008

Took them long enough. MS has had VE integrated into the browser from practically day one. It still can't beat VE, but it's nice to have competition.

Kinda funny to see Google catch-up with MS these days.

hazard said 9:49AM on 5-29-2008

haaa .. that's funny .. GE and VE are like apples and oranges. VE is a competitor to Google Maps not GE. Moreover, because VE is bound to a browser it's 3D performance and usability is quite inferior to GE.

Quikboy said 4:31PM on 5-30-2008

@hazard : So if you're saying that VE is inferior just because it's in a browser, so will GE once it's in a browser?

And VE is available in WWT, which is in desktop form.

hazard said 8:02AM on 5-31-2008

GE broswer plugins are an interface to the GE Desktop app so GE renders within the window the plugins provides .. the browser pretty much sits back and enjoys the show. Whereas VE is a web service like Google Maps and as such is heavily dependant on the broswer's rendering engine .. as I said apples and oranges.

BTW, Earth mode in WWT is not does not use VE but does share the same satellite and map images as VE.

Quikboy said 8:02AM on 5-31-2008

Ok. You're right. Sorry. But doesn't that mean you still need to have GE on your desktop? That's not as convenient as it takes up a lot of space.

I still like VE's imagery and the way 3D cities are rendered. I just think that GE is SO late to this.

hazard said 8:02AM on 5-31-2008

this GE plugin is a slightly stripped back version of the normal desktop app that's why it performs so well. it's a bit of joke about not having to install the standalone version becuase it's practically the same thing .. check it out in C:\Program Files\Google\Google Earth Plugin

in terms of file space, on my computer the standalone version takes up 30MB the plugin 25MB and after just a minute or so of use the geplugin.exe is taking 170MB of RAM!! .. a small utility I think not, it's the full version in disguise.

hazard said 3:35AM on 5-31-2008

actually what I _really_ don't like about this plugin is that is surreptitiously installs a update service "GoogleUpdate.exe"

jfjb said 3:02PM on 5-31-2008

quikboy learning english as a second language?
goodboy, maybe you will one day have an opinion, not a comment.

Andrew "IT Video Pod" Crook said 10:41AM on 5-30-2008

It's true that MS Virtual Earth has been around for a while now, however, the Google Earth plugin's api is going to have a much better uptake look at Google maps. The only current problem is non-windows platform support which hopefully will be short lived and what about a iphone safari version? I see some great mash ups and applications on the horizon. I too have been playing with it as you can see from my video.

http://www.itvideopod.com/2008/05/29/google-earth-plugin-and-api/

Franklin said 12:00PM on 6-05-2008

What about Mac? Google has always treated Mac and Win equally -- why not with this plugin?

Any news on when?

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