Google Earth, Now with Mac OS X Support
The truth about Google Earth is that it is a very useful and very popular application. Why then make it available only for Windows-based systems and not for Macs? That question no longer needs answering because Google has recently released a Firefox and Safari plug-in that allows Mac OS X powered machines to run Google Earth.
While we more than welcome Google’s software, there is one question that comes up. Why does the plug-in weigh in at almost 50MB? As one Mac user put it in a Google Groups forum post, “I'm sorry for being a jerk, but why is the plugin for the Mac 47 Mb! Holy crap! It would be faster for the user to download Google Earth itself, then get the KMZ. The plugin for Windows is a few megabytes...what's the scoop?”
According to the Google Earth development team, the size of the plug-in is rather large simply because they had to fit in binaries for both PPC and Intel. For the time being users that want to run Google Earth on their Mac OS X (version 10.4 and upwards of that) will have to contend with the file’s rather large size – some shrinkage measures will be taken into consideration in the near future, but Google did not provide any specifics.
In related news, Google and their Google Earth application came under criticism earlier this week when it came to light that some of the terrorist attackers implicated in the Mumbai incident used the aforementioned application to navigate through the city. On the other hand, what do you think the aid agencies involved in relief operations used to get around? Google Earth, of course. To my mind Google is not to blame here; these terrorists could have simply picked up a traditional map and used it instead. It is like saying that we should blame Microsoft’s Windows OS for the attack, simply because at the time there was no way of using Google Earth on Mac OS X.
Tags: Google, Google Earth, Firefox, Safari, Apple, Mac OS X
While we more than welcome Google’s software, there is one question that comes up. Why does the plug-in weigh in at almost 50MB? As one Mac user put it in a Google Groups forum post, “I'm sorry for being a jerk, but why is the plugin for the Mac 47 Mb! Holy crap! It would be faster for the user to download Google Earth itself, then get the KMZ. The plugin for Windows is a few megabytes...what's the scoop?”
Advertising
According to the Google Earth development team, the size of the plug-in is rather large simply because they had to fit in binaries for both PPC and Intel. For the time being users that want to run Google Earth on their Mac OS X (version 10.4 and upwards of that) will have to contend with the file’s rather large size – some shrinkage measures will be taken into consideration in the near future, but Google did not provide any specifics.
In related news, Google and their Google Earth application came under criticism earlier this week when it came to light that some of the terrorist attackers implicated in the Mumbai incident used the aforementioned application to navigate through the city. On the other hand, what do you think the aid agencies involved in relief operations used to get around? Google Earth, of course. To my mind Google is not to blame here; these terrorists could have simply picked up a traditional map and used it instead. It is like saying that we should blame Microsoft’s Windows OS for the attack, simply because at the time there was no way of using Google Earth on Mac OS X.
Tags: Google, Google Earth, Firefox, Safari, Apple, Mac OS X
I Hope you LIKE this blog post! Thank you!
What do YOU have to say about this
blog comments powered by Disqus
Popular News
By George Norman on 23 May 2013
Microsoft rolled out a new ad in which it uses Siri’s voice to highlight several things the iPad can’t do. This brings back memories of the famous “Get a Mac” ads that bashed Microsoft’s PCs.
By George Norman on 22 May 2013
The free 9GAG app for Android-powered devices has been updated to version 1.4 earlier this week. The update adds the option to upload posts to 9GAG from within the app.Related News
By George Norman on 19 Mar 2013
Since Google Reader is going to be retired soon, chances are you’re looking for an alternative. Check out Feedly, the efficient feed reader that’s available for Firefox, Chrome
By George Norman on 11 Mar 2013
A CCleaner version for Android will be released in the near future. Piriform announced it’s working on one and said that the CCleaner app will be quick and easy to use.
By George Norman on 08 Jan 2013
Mozilla is currently rolling out version 18 of its popular Firefox browser. Among the new features Firefox 18.0 brings to the table is support for Retina Display on Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and up.
By George Norman on 29 Nov 2012
The new, completely redesigned iMac that Apple unveiled in October will be available for purchase starting tomorrow, Friday, November 30th.Advertising
Hot Software Updates
Top Downloads
2.
Opera5.
Trillian8.
AIM9.
Skype10.
Ad-Aware12.
Nero13.
Google Earth14.
Picasa15.
Winamp16.
iTunes17.
RealPlayer18.
uTorrent19.
eMule20.
WinRAR21.
BitComet22.
WinZip23.
Shareaza24.
CCleaner25.
Recuva26.
Tweak UI27.
CuteFTP29.
Adobe Reader30.
NewsPiperBecome A Fan!
Link To Us!
Google Earth, Now with Mac OS X Support
HTML Linking Code
HTML Linking Code