Google Earth starts as a novelty for most users — look, I can see my house! — but can become a way to plan trips, show where you’ve been, and at least in one case, discover ancient tombs in the Middle East. Google is sharing those stories and more on oneworldmanystories.com, a site developed in celebration of the fact that Google Earth has been downloaded one billion times. That number, of course, doesn’t mean there are a billion people using the program — it includes those who have had to re-download and install the notoriously buggy application, and those who downloaded it onto their home and work computers, phones, and tablets. User numbers are probably better measured in millions, but either way a billion downloads is an impressive figure for the application that lets you literally see the world from your computer screen.
Google Earth hits 1 billion downloads
is editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired.
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