The long-anticipated release of the Google Earth Plugin for the Mac has finally arrived! Mickey at Digital Earth Blog was the first to blog about it – after finding a mention of the new arrival in a forum post.
The forum post noted that the plugin install requires a 47 MByte download. A very large download for a plugin – a Googler responded that the download is actually both the Intel and PowerPC version of the plugin. You can download by visiting any Google Earth Plugin app or visiting the Earth API web site. When I went to install the plugin on my Intel-based MacBookPro it said it would take 147 Mbytes during the install. I have no idea why it would require that much space for the plugin. But, after the install I restarted Firefox and immediately went to EarthSwoop to try some plugin action. The plugin on the Mac worked just as expected! I also tried out the Google Earth API gallery to try some other examples. All worked great.
Having the Google Earth API available for the Mac will most likely result in more widespread support of the plugin for some serious applications. Keep watching this blog for more news on plugin applications.
About Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was first released. He has worked with 3D computer graphics and VR for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank completed a 5.5 year circumnavigation of the earth by sailboat in June 2015 which you can read about at Tahina Expedition, and is a licensed pilot, backpacker, diver, and photographer.
this is very good news;-) thnx frank;-)
i hope they dont forget about the win64 version
Great news! FINALLY! Congrats to Google for putting the effort in to support the Mac. Looking forward to using it!
I’m still waiting hard for a Google Chrome version of the GE plugin.
It seems a long time since the the first rush of stories about the plug in, so more news on the blog about applications will be very welcome, plus more feedback from fellow Mac users.
I forgot to tell my personal most wanted update for the GE plugin: Support for the Space Navigator.
I’ve installed it, uninstalled and reinstalled it on my relatively new Macbook Pro running Leopard. But even tho’ when I first install it the test site will say it was installed successfully (and advises to refresh the screen) it always tells me that it’s not installed. Ever heard of that? Ideas how to resolve it?