Google Earth 5.2 adds data for the outdoors set

This thread is for comments on the article "Google Earth 5.2 adds data for the outdoors set"

The 2009 release of Google Earth 5.0 gave users the ability to import tracks from their GPS receivers directly to Google Earth. The June update of Google Earth 5.2 has added enhancements specifically for the active outdoor set to better use that data. Upgrade includes the ability to view elevation, speed, and other data as a graph directly in Google Earth,...

Full article at http://www.trailspace.com/blog/2010/06/30/google-earth-52.html

Thanks Alicia,

I have used Google Earth a lot for planning trips in the past, and this past week. I did not know there was a new release, this sounds very promising.

Has Google Earth sent out notifications to it's users for these releases? I haven't received any to the best of my knowledge.

Edit: I just answered my own question by visiting the website.

I am so glad to have this! I am always trying to find the elevation changes of my hikes in a nice graph. The web is full of half information, now it is a lot easier to plan a trip for free.

Thanks for posting this up Alicia! Google Earth is just a blast to use, but I frequently forget to check for updates and browse all the new features. Just downloaded a route from last weekend... pretty slick!

I just downloaded the latest version, it should come in very handy for trip reports and such.

This is a great improvement, I can see Russia from my house!

Well after visiting one of my favorite river gorges on Google Earth it seems as though they have marked and labeled a road right on top of (beside?) the river.

I've never seen a road there before, I'll have to recheck my coords, maybe I've not been that far up the gorge or something.

The white line on top of the river is labeled Stevenson Ave.

There is a creek called Stevenson Branch, but I've not noticed any roads in this wilderness area, only trails.

This was not on my older version of Google Earth.

I'll have to check it out some more, It'll give me something to do anyway.

You're all welcome. I've also downloaded the new version, but haven't had time to play with it yet.

trouthunter said:

Well after visiting one of my favorite river gorges on Google Earth it seems as though they have marked and labeled a road right on top of (beside?) the river.

I've never seen a road there before, I'll have to recheck my coords, maybe I've not been that far up the gorge or something.

This would come as little surprise to me. Google Maps have similar flaws and they becoming increasingly frequent the further from population centers you travel. I suspect they are using either the same or very, very similar data to generate the road information for Google Earth.

Certainly not fool-proof by any stretch of the imagination. And, it serves as a good reminder that electronics are convenient and extremely useful, but not to be trusted... kind of like taxis. :)

I guess the new version is on the paid version, I tried to find it and it asked if I wanted to go Pro. I use the free version 5.0

Gary, I have the free version, I was able to download ver. 5.2 from the Google Website:

http://earth.google.com/intl/en/download-earth.html

You will have the option to download the Google Chrome browser, in fact they have already checked the box for you. If you don't want Google Chrome, you have to un-check the box.

The new features are cool.

Like Gary all I see is version 5.0 as being free.

Thanks for the link trout, I did download it and it thanked me for loading version 5,0. ????

I was afraid I might lose the info I had stored from my older version but everything was saved. I do see some new features.

Well, as far as I know I downloaded ver. 5.2 - I will open the program and double check.

I have several new features and assumed it was 5.2, gimmi a minute and I'll check.

From Google:

Installing

To install the Google Earth Plug-in, browse to any page in which the plug-in is included (e.g. Google Earth API site).

Your browser will likely ask for permission before installing the plug-in. Click through to allow installation. Once the plugin is installed, you may need to refresh the page before the plug-in displays correctly.
To verify that you have the Google Earth Plug-in installed, you can visit thePlug-in Homepage and check out the top, right corner. If the plug-in is installed, you should see this message:
Congratulations, you already have the Google Earth Plug-in installed! (Version 5.1.3509.4636)

Uninstalling

To uninstall the Google Earth Plug-in on Windows, select Start > Programs(or All Programs) > Google Earth > Uninstall Google Earth Plug-in.

You can uninstall the plug-in from Mac OS X by dragging the file/Library/Internet Plug-in/Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin to the trash before restarting your browser.

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I don't know that this page is up to date, but the link verified which version I had.

I checked, and I have version 5.2.1.1329

Hope that helps.

trouthunter said:

Well after visiting one of my favorite river gorges on Google Earth it seems as though they have marked and labeled a road right on top of (beside?) the river.

I've never seen a road there before, I'll have to recheck my coords, maybe I've not been that far up the gorge or something.

I noticed this same issue last week when I was using google earth to plan a trip. It has labeled a stream in the Nantahala as a NF numbered road. I know for certain there is no road at that location, but google sure thinks there is :)

Thanks for the links and posts Trout. I love Google Earth and use it tons for hiking and my job. I have a little day hikers site/group for fellow geriatrics like me and it would be really helpful to be able to post elevation gain and loss on any given route.

I'll mess with it some more.

To trouthunter -- Using Google Earth, I can see my house from my house!

pineapplefish56 said:

To trouthunter -- Using Google Earth, I can see my house from my house!

Yeah that's cool isn't it, have you checked out the 'street view' yet?

They have a really good photo of our house. Scary.

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