The trouble is, I’m not sure how practical Google Earth is for most people. In many cases, it’s better to look at a map of an area rather than a photo of rooftops. Driving directions can be clearer when superimposed on a map, rather than on a giant photographic landscape where specific features, like signs, can’t be seen in detail.
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A big limitation of Google Earth and other similar programs is that they show only rooftops, which tell you little, not the fronts and sides of buildings. Google Earth tries to compensate by adding featureless 3D-drawn images of buildings in some big cities, but the effect isn’t great.
Source WSJ (require subscription)
