To quote the Google^TM folks...
"Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery,
maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world's geographic information
at your fingertips."

We are working an "Introduction to Google Earth home page. When it is ready there will be a link to it here. Standby.

Not by a longshot. You have control over a multitude of display options, you can turn off or on the 'roads', the 'parks', the city borders, etc., etc., all from an easily used clickable menu list. And you can add your own content (like the placemarks in this warehouse), and share them with' the other millions and millions of Google Earth users.

First of all Google Earth^TM is FREE! Yup, free.
To obtain your copy go to the Google Earth^TM home page or click
the Google^TM icon below.

    

then click the large "Download" icon in the upper righthand corner of the page. Also, explore the pages' many links to descriptions of the programs features. Yes, it works on Macs too.

Well, in its simplest form a placemark is kinda like a pushpin stuck in a map. Here's an example of a placemark I placed on the fire station closest to my home location. All this one has is a 'push-pin', and a small amount of descriptive text, "Eagan #4".

Now I said "in its simplest form", what did I mean. Here's another example of a much more fully featured type of placemark.

This placemark has in addition to just a 'title', more information about the station, in differing colors, a link to an external web page with full details about the station, a photothumbnail that if clicked will present a full size photo of the station. You are viewing just a screenshot captured from Google Earth^TM, so none of those network links will work from just this picture. But, trust me, they work very nicely. And a 'freebie', Google^TM provides as a default directions to and from your location to whereever this placemark is located.

These placemarks are created by you, and may be shared with the world. I placemarked fire stations, but you can placemark ANYTHING in the whole world. All you have to do is find it, then mark it. Easy huh?

We are working a set of placemark tutorials. When the first one is ready there be a link here (and other places too).

Yes, you can! If you can find a place of interest, and click one mouse button, you can make placemarks. But can I do the 'fancy' style you showed above.

We are in the process of developing a 'placemarks for dummies' series of training tutorials designed for NON-PROGRAMMERS that will show how to do it all. We will also include programmer-type stuff later on.

Here's a link to a Google^TM sample file that gives an overview of some of the options that are available for placemarks. Just 'some of the options'. Yup, there's a lot more that can be done if you know how. We'll teach you.

Well thats the whole reason we are developing this warehouse of fire related placemarks (and overlays, paths, polygons, and 3D buildings, etc.) Here is a place you can share you developed files with the world. You can give us a COPY of your file, but we would prefer a LINK to your file. The link to the file (as opposed to a copy) gives everyone the possibility of an automatically updating file. If you make changes to the 'master file', everyone else sees the changes too. Don't worry, we'll teach that too. If you have a website and an email address you would like to share, we will include that also.

See the anwser above. If you give a LINK to the master copy of the file, and create a network link in the file, you're in business. If you give us a COPY of the file, unless you give us a new copy each time it changes, we (and everyone else) will the older version. We prefer links, rather than copies

Yup, you sure can. However the photos need to be stored ON THE NET somewhere. Don't know how to do that? It's easy, and free too. We'll teach you how.

Do you mean kinda like this? We will teach you how to make formatted placemark 'balloons' like the one in the example.

We at the EAATC have a strong interest in the fire stations (both current and former) in our area. The same idea about fire apparatus. There's one thing they both have in common. They all have a related geographic location. We also have members who have made 'maps' of numerous departments besides our own. Fire buffs in other parts of the world have done similar things. But how do you share this information with the rest of world. Google Earth^TM, with its millions of users, seems like a good choice. I have an interest in former fire stations, some of which exist today only in photographs, as the actual building has long ago been torn down. Could I somehow show where the building used to be. Yes! You can even make a 3D model of the building (with another FREE Google^TM tool) with the help of the old photos, and place it where it used to be.

I would like to see interested parties submit boundry map outlines of city boundries, city division/battalion boundries etc. also.

So how does the rest of the world get to see all this fire related 'stuff'? Thats the reason we have started this warehouse. To provide a place where fire buffs, and firefighters, or anyone else interested in the fire service has a repository of related files.

I have included a features rating scheme which is shown at the beginning of the files warehouse. It enumerates significant features of each file. Is one file 'better' than another? It is better to ask, "Does one file have different features than another". Its kind of like comparing automobiles. Is one auto better than another? They may have different features, or be designed with different purposes in mind. The same with computer files.

So you live in 'xyz', and there is already an 'xyz' file in the warehouse. So, why bother making one of you own? First, look at the existing 'xyz' file. Does it have ALL the information you would have placed it it. Or does it have links, or photos to relavent additional information? Second, make a version of your own, and then SHARE IT with us (the warehouse).

When you install Google Earth^TM, it makes an 'association' on your computer with any file that has a .KMZ file extension (a Google^TM placemark file). So when you DOUBLE CLICK on any link to one of those .kmz files Google Earth^TM will download it, then run Google Earth^TM, and you will see the new file in your

'Temporary Places'

folder in the left hand menus. If that does not work, RIGHT CLICK the desired file, and pick 'SAVE LINK AS...', then save the file to your hard disk, then do a FILE OPEN in Google Earth^TM and open the file you just saved.

If you were to QUIT Google Earth^TM now you would LOOSE the newly downloaded file. If after looking at the new file, and deciding you would like to keep it, RIGHT CLICK its folder in the Temporary Places directory (again in the GE lefthand menus) and pick SAVE TO MY PLACES. Then you will not loose what you downloaded.

Send us an email to eatc7402@comcast.net, and tell us:

A general description of what the file(s) contain

A link to your .kmz file

Or, a copy of the file (less desireable)

Your website, if you desire it included

An email address to include, if desired

Files from ANY country, or State (Province ect.) are WELCOME, if you don't see yours, we'll gladly add it. Just be sure to give us the nane so we have the correct spelling and so forth.

If you have a question, or just want to make a comment regarding this warehouse, or Google Earth^TM in general please go to our EAATC User Forum and post your comment.