Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Google Earth is an application that provides a virtual globe, map and geographical information which you can use to travel the wold virtually, see images, 3D buildings, maps and more.

google earth 6.2

Google Earth 6.2 was released a few days ago and the most important change is a new way of rendering imagery which fixes an old bug that was causing a so-called "quilt effect". This effect was caused by images and photographs taken at different times or even days (and thus, different weather conditions, etc.) and made the Earth look like a mosaic from high altitude. Here's a screenshot (before / after):

google earth new way of rendering imagery

The new version also comes with improved search which now uses Autocomplete, search layers as well as biking, transit and walking directions.

Google Earth 6.2 also comes with a new feature that lets you share a screenshot of your current view through Google+, but in my test, the Google log in didn't work under Ubuntu 11.10. If you know a fix for this, please let us know in the comments!


Download Google Earth


Google Earth 6.2 for Linux was released a couple of days after the initial Google Earth 6.2 release announcement, so if you've downloaded Google Earth as soon as 6.2 was announced, redownload to get the latest 6.2 version for Linux.

Download Google Earth for Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora or openSUSE (.deb, .rpm)

For Arch Linux, you can get the latest Google Earth 6.2 via AUR.


Fix broken / ugly fonts in Google Earth 6.2 (Ubuntu)


google earth font bug ubuntu

If the font looks broken under Ubuntu (like in the above screenshot), you can fix this issue by installing the 'msttcorefonts' package:
sudo apt-get install msttcorefonts
Then log out and log back in!

If the font bug persists, see THIS thread on the Google Earth help forum (via chimerarevo.com).


second image credits: google-latlong