Common questions about Google Earth

1. When were these pictures taken? How often are they updated?

Our images are photographs taken by satellites and aircraft sometime in the last few years. The images in Google Earth are updated on a rolling basis.

2. Are Google Earth images captured in real time?

No, they aren't. Our images are photographs taken by satellites and aircraft sometime in the last few years.

3. Are there cities covered in detail worldwide? Or just in the US?

The whole world is covered with medium resolution imagery and terrain data. This resolution allows you to see major geographic features and man-made development such as towns, but not detail of individual buildings. Additional high-resolution imagery which reveals detail for individual buildings is available for about 35% of the Earth's land surface. This covers about 50% of the population. 3D buildings are represented in the major urban areas. Detailed road maps are available for many countries and continues to grow.

4. Why do I see blurry pictures when I go to my house?

Google Earth combines data of different resolutions to offer a seamless viewing experience, so some locations look a bit blurry. We offer high resolution imagery (greater than 1-meter) for thousands of cities and more are on the way.

5. Will my computer be able to run Google Earth?

Google Earth takes advantage of the 3D graphics capabilities standard on newer PCs and MACs. If you are using Google Earth on an older machine, or a notebook computer that does not have 3D graphics capabilities, you may not be able to run the application.

Graphics card requirement for Google Earth

The 3D graphics capabilities of your machine have a lot to do with how well Google Earth performs.

• Google Earth will work on most graphics cards from the following manufacturers:
  
  
• NVIDIA
  
• ATI*
  
• 3D Labs
  
• Intel**
  
• Matrox
  
• S3

* The following ATI cards are not supported: ATI Rage Mobility, ATI Xpert, ATI 3D Rage.

** Intel 3D graphics machines can use the default OpenGL version, but work better in DirectX (choose Start > Programs > Google Earth > Start Google Earth in DirectX).

Matrox card users must use the OpenGL version. S3 cards must use the DirectX version.


System requirements for Google Earth on the PC

The Google Earth client requires certain system configurations in order to run smoothly.

• Minimum configuration:
  
  
• Operating system: Windows 2000, Windows XP
  
• CPU speed: IntelŪ PentiumŪ PIII 500 MHz
  
• System memory (RAM): 128MB
  
• 200MB hard-disk space
  
• 3D graphics card: 3D-capable video card with 16MB VRAM
  
• 1024x768, 32-bit true color screen
  
• Network speed: 128 kbps ("Broadband/Cable Internet")

• Recommended configuration:
  
  
• Operating system: Windows XP
  
• CPU speed: IntelŪ PentiumŪ P4 2.4GHz+ or AMD 2400xp+
  
• System memory (RAM): 512MB
  
• 2GB hard-disk space
  
• 3D graphics card: 3D-capable video card with 32MB VRAM or greater
  
• 1280x1024, 32-bit true color screen
  
• Network speed: 128 kbps ("Broadband/Cable Internet")

System requirements for Google Earth on the Mac

The Google Earth client requires certain system configurations in order to run smoothly on the Mac.

• Minimum Configuration:
  
  
• Operating System: Mac OS X 10.3.9
  
• CPU: G3 500Mhz
  
• System Memory (RAM): 256MB RAM
  
• Hard Disk: 400MB free space
  
• Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec
  
• Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM
  
• Screen: 1024x768, "16-bit High Color" screen

• Recommended Configuration:
  
  
• Operating System: Mac OSX 10.4.4
  
• CPU: G4 1.2Ghz
  
• System Memory (RAM): 512MB RAM
  
• Hard Disk: 2GB free space
  
• Network Speed: 768 Kbits/sec
  
• Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM
  
• Screen: 1280x1024, "32-bit True Color" screen