Peter Pan

Have you heard about Google Earth yet?…Well if you haven’t… you’re in for a treat. Google earth is a new satellite imagery based mapping system. It combines buildings and terrain with mapping capability. Google Earth allows you to “fly” around the world zooming in and out of satellite photos. Let me explained my first experience with Google Earth…When I first logged on I saw a map of the world…I picked a location. In this case it was my home. I typed the street name in the search field and hit enter (Wow…it was like a Disney ride)…The earth began to slowly turn …when the program found my home it zoomed in…closer and closer. Before I knew it I was looking at the roof of my house (now I know how Peter Pan felt)… spin the image left…spin the image right…tilt it… zoom even closer…closer (gee, I’ve got to mow the lawn). Let me see…I wonder were the nearest school is…simple, just check the “find school” option…the Dewing School appears…nearest train station…nearest water-way…it’s all right there. You can even combined multiple layers if you want…restaurants, video stores, grocery stores, gas stations, volcanoes (come on, in Tewksbury, I'd know about it...I think)…it all appears. Of course, the next logical step for digital mapping systems like “Google Earth” is to make the information available on your cell phone or PDA. The benefits would be incredible. You can try Google Earth at “earth.google.com”… It’s cheaper than going to Disney World…In fact it’s FREE.