NewsForge: World Wind–An Open Source Alternative to Google Earth

“Few of Google’s projects, rumors of projects, and acquisitions
have generated as much envy among Linux users as Google Earth. In
some respects the search engine behemoth is quite OS-agnostic, but
the 3D virtual globe remains limited to Windows desktops only. But
there is an alternative. NASA’s World Wind project–like Google
Earth–is a 3D planetary visualization system that overlays
satellite imagery, weather, political, and topological map data.
Zoom in and look for your childhood home, fly past your favorite
landmarks, study the coastlines for continental drift–you have all
of the same options. The only difference is that World Wind is open
source…”

Complete
Story