Search Engine Optimization

Earth vs Earth which one is better? Microsoft and Google are fighting on all fronts and our virtual planet is a battleground as well. Though Google was first to come up with such an idea, Microsoft quickly caught up and got on a train, so what do they offer?

Both applications allow you to freely explore our beautiful planet from the comfort of your chair with ability to zoom virtually anywhere. Though quality is not always perfect, generally it is very detailed in the most populated places.

Google Earth vs Microsoft Virtual Earth – Features.

Both “Earthes” can find exact location you are looking for by entering desired address into the search box. Google Earth as well as Virtual Earth can give you directions from A to B to F and X and guide you step by step on how to get there, not a novelty but something worth mentioning.

Microsoft seems to stop there and does not go further in its usability, where Google really breaks the tide and offers much more then a virtual ball. Amount of features is immense and I will run out of space if I was to talk about all of them, however the most noticeable are:

• SkyView, which allows you to explore the Galaxy.
• YouTube Integration.
• Real Time Weather Forecast and updated cloud cover over the planet.
• Panorama view.
• Wikipedia Integration.
• Google Book Search.
• Global Awareness Watch.

To give you a sense, here is a snap of Montréal with all the features turned on.

No room left for Montreal.

Microsoft Virtual Earth vs Google Earth – Graphics.

Microsoft fights off its reward from Google and earns the title of the best virtual earth in terms of graphics. It is truly a beauty.

Most of the Google’s 3D structures are user submitted with some of the cities designed by Google itself. Microsoft took a different approach. Instead of leaving 3D design in the background they have photographed cities and dressed 3D building in actual photographs – making it gorgeous. Virtual cities do look phenomenal in comparison to Google Earth, which seems a bit flat after Virtual Earth.

Google Earth vs Microsoft Virtual Earth – Performance.

Google Earth is a standalone application, while Virtual Earth runs from a browser which is supported both in IE7 and in Firefox.

When it comes to performance Google leads by a mile. I’ve considered my laptop to be quite powerful, yet Virtual Earth managed to take 100% of my CPU and load up almost 400MB up to my RAM, where Google took 250MB and about 30% of my CPU.

My configuration:
1.8 due core AMD, XP.
2GB RAM
Shared Nvidia.

All in all, I personally prefer Google Earth over Virtual Earth because of it’s usability and performance. Microsoft team has done a good job in creating beautiful scenery and that earned a spot for an icon on my desktop, however Google will remain my primary exporation tool for now.

For anyone who is interested in Virtual Planets you can also have a look at Nasa World Wind.