Google has dropped a new version of its popular Google Earth desktop application. In this post we show you how to install it, and get it setup on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS looking relatively nice.
While there is a fancy-pants way of building and installing a Debian package of Google Earth in Ubuntu, lots of people are experiencing issues doing so.
Downloading the official binary (.bin) file and installing from that takes about 60 seconds and is relatively hassle free, so if you’re dying to try the latest n’ greatest release of Google Earth here’s how!
Install Google Earth on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS
Installing Google Earth is painless. You just need to download the .bin from earth.google.com.
Let the download complete then move the file to your home folder, right-click on it and choose Properties.
Click on the ‘Permissions’ tab and, from that screen, check the box next to ‘allow executing file as programme’.
Next, open a terminal and type
- ./GoogleEarthLinux.bin
Hit the return/enter key and an installation window will appear. Follow the prompts to install it and bob is your proverbial uncle.
You can run it by typing ‘googleearth’ or creating a short-cut with ‘googleearth’ as the command.
Making the app look nicer
For some of you, myself included, Google Earth will look like this (if you’re easily horrified then I suggest covering your eyes): –
Not great, is it?
Installing the QT4-config app, opening it, and setting a theme and font there will help Google Earth ‘blend’ in a bit better. I say bit as I’m yet to find a solution that effects as native-looking an end result as that which was available in earth builds.
Fingers crossed it looks a wee bit nicer for you.