Easy to use the interface, easy to add layers: As one can see from the overlays of a view of Rome even a novice user (thissite designer) was able toplace and manipulate a map of the Seven Hills of Rome on top of aGoogle Earth "Satellite imagery" map of modern Rome. Perhaps it is not surprising that Google provided the easiest of the map interfaces.
Fun dynamic:With this program, you can literally spin the globe and let your finger land on any random spot to decide where to explore next. It's easy to get lost for hours clicking around to view images of different places and see how people live in all parts of the world. Also amusing is the flight simulator, which lets you "fly" around the globe.
Lots of info:In addition to the images, which are excellent, this app also provides tons of information on the people, culture, and history of an area.
Awkward navigation:When you're poking around, it's sometimes hard to know what you're clicking on other than photos. There are many different types of icons denoting various kinds of features all over the map, and while there is a key provided, the icons are so small that it's tough to tell them apart most of the time. This makes searching for specific features or information difficult.
Google Earth gives you a lot of fun information to play with, but it could benefit from a bit of an interface upgrade. That's no reason not to try it out, though, especially since it's free, and it does run smoothly, even if you can't always tell exactly what you're clicking on.
