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Google Earth 5.0 Silently Changes Update Policy

Posted by kdawson on from the jumping-the-shark dept.

mario_grgic writes "Recently announced Google Earth version 5.0 adds interesting new features like images of ocean floors and some detailed images of Mars. But it also brings another unwelcome change for Mac OS X users. Google Software update daemon is installed when the application is launched for the first time. The user is greeted with an uninformative message that does not really explain what is about to happen. After the user accepts, Google Update Agent is downloaded and installed. It updates all Google applications and not just Google Earth. Also, it runs on an unchangeable schedule of its own (instead of, say, only when one of Google's apps is launched), consuming system resources. Worst of all it can not be simply removed, since it is downloaded and installed again once Google Earth is launched. Users really have only two choices: live with it, or uninstall all Google apps. There's a discussion about the updater in this Google Group, including details of a way to disable it (not for the faint of heart). So fellow Slashdotters, has Google crossed the line?"

8 of 535 comments (clear)

  1. Slightly OT: Obtaining current imagery? by RogueWarrior65 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Does anyone have an "in" with somebody at Google Earth or the outfit they contract with to provide the imagery? A large portion of central and northern Arizona hasn't been updated in years i.e. the images are still in low resolution. The reason I ask is that I belong to a Search & Rescue team and we are currently looking for evidence of a downed aircraft reported missing two years ago. However, much of the possible crash area is still way out of date. In general, not having current imagery makes our job more difficult than it should be.

    1. Re:Slightly OT: Obtaining current imagery? by Alioth · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It seems they get them from all over the place, look at the message on the bit of map you're looking at, that usually gives you a clue where they come from. Being voluntary, you may be able to approach whoever-it-is directly and see if they will be kind.

      For example, where I live (Isle of Man) we didn't have even a street map let alone images that were better than about 1 pixel per km^2. However, a couple of years ago the Isle of Man Government flew a light plane up and down the island - and guess what the information provider shown by Google is - Isle of Man Govt. (Many of the hi-res "satellite images" aren't from a satellite at all, but from an aircraft flying relatively low).

      --
      Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
    2. Re:Slightly OT: Obtaining current imagery? by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 5, Interesting

      What I'm seriously asking for is a point of contact who can at least enlighten me as to why some areas are updated on what appears to be a monthly basis when there are so many areas that are woefully out of date.

      I am not in the PR team here at Google, so this is not an official, accurate answer but I'll do the best I can. If these answers aren't quite accurate, well, tough noogies, it's Slashdot. That said, here are some answers to your questions:

      • Some areas of the world are just easier to take photos of than other areas, for instance, it's quite hard to take satellite pictures of the north of the UK because it's always cloudy there, so you need to do it all via aircraft.
      • Some areas are updated more frequently because lots of people live there, so they're more interesting areas to refresh.
      • Some imagery is donated by, eg, local government.
      • You cannot "get on the satellite schedule" sorry. The fastest way to get clear imagery in Google Earth is to pay for it, and then donate it. However there are quality bars that the imagery must meet before it's included. Yes it's amazingly expensive. Why do you think Google Earth was so revolutionary when it came out? A large part of it was that Google spent mind-boggling amounts of money on buying up imagery, then let people look at it for free.
  2. Dang straight. by El+Jynx · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Exactly so. I also don't want to be disturbed with whatever I'm doing by an updater happily sloshing in data in the background. I love Google Earth, but it's been uninstalled now; I might try killing the updater later with the command line, but can't be bothered right now. Seems to be, the best thing we can do is bombard Google. Send them emails with complaints. They'll get the picture, and I think they'll adjust the code - at least enough to only run when you want it to, or on selected components. Now, this might be part of a bigger plan of theirs (world domination, anyone?), likely to force updates of Chrome and other software, but they usually do listen to public opinion. We just have to make it public, and this /. articls is a good start.

    --
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
  3. Don't be rude? by LaminatorX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't know that this rises to the level of "evil." On the other hand, I would call it inconsiderate, self-important, and shoddy workmanship.

  4. Re:It's my computer by Skater · · Score: 4, Interesting

    They did fix one thing in this version that several people complained about: GE 4.3 for Linux required a certain processor flag (SSE2) that 32 bit AMD processors don't have. Strangely, they did not require it for the Windows version; I was able to use GE 4.3 on this AMD Sempron without a problem under Windows.

    Fortunately, GE 5.0 doesn't require that flag under Linux. I'm glad they fixed it, because I wasn't going to upgrade my desktop computer just to run the latest GE. GE 4.3 Linux requirements update.

    So it appears the team does listen to feedback. I hope they'll listen to this new concern as well.

  5. Re:It's my computer by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For goodness sake. Am I the only one that likes the Google Updater?

    Let's review the benefits it has:

    • Apps are upgraded silently, with no notification. Yes this is a benefit. If you have a Mac you'll know what a pain in the ass it is that every app you start feels the need to dump an assload of ChangeLog in your face every other week. Do I really care that Adium updated to the latest libpurple? What does that even mean to me? 99.9% of the time I can't tell any difference. I trust the Adium developers, I wish they'd just do their job and let me use their app without bugging me. Of course replace Adium with any other modern app for the Mac. Except iTunes which is just as annoying except you don't even get a changelog.
    • Updates are downloaded as binary deltas, and on Windows it's done in such a way that it only uses the connection when idle (Windows Update does the same thing). So it's not intrusive.
    • The updater goes away if you uninstall all the apps which use it, so there's no problem there.
    • It takes about 500k of RAM and virtually no CPU, but it ensures I get security updates in a timely manner. For instance if there's an exploit discovered in Chrome, the wrong time to apply that update is at the end of my next session, by which time it's too late. The right time to apply it is when my computer is idle, before I start using Chrome again.

    I think people overestimate the resource drain this app has. Really, this should be a core part of Windows. I'd much rather desktop apps behave like web apps and just get silently better instead of expecting me to give a rats ass about the existence of a 0.0.1 point release.

  6. Re:It's my computer by vadim_t · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For goodness sake. Am I the only one that likes the Google Updater?

    Looks like it

    Apps are upgraded silently, with no notification. Yes this is a benefit.

    No, it bloody isn't. That's the sort of thing malware does. My computer is mine and things on it get installed and updated only under my consent.

    I think people overestimate the resource drain this app has.

    It's the principle of the thing. This action alone ensured nothing else of Google's will get on my computer.