Google Earth 4.0 beta, part 2: Support for Textures

Part 1 of coverage introduced the new GUI. Here’s continued coverage…

transam.jpgIn the meantime, Google’s official beta 4.0 page is up. Major news on that page: SketchUp models with textures are now supported in Google Earth. Now the “Add Model” menu item makes sense:-)

Also, KML loading has been improved, so that only those areas that are needed are rendered, increasing speed.

There are now localized version of Google Earth, in French, Italian, German, and Spanish. GPS support has been improved. And “We’ve improved the terrain, so peaks and valleys are more realistic”.

Google Earth Blog is reporting live from Google’s Geo Developer Day, meanwhile. Wish I was there:-)