Description:
Back in the good old days, world explorers needed to carry tons of food, gear, and malaria pills; these days you can go anywhere using just a notebook computer in the local coffee shop and Eartha Global Explorer 1.0. Using high-detail satellite imagery and up-to-date political and transportation information, users can find the facts on locations from Manhattan to Madagascar and practically anywhere else. The interface is easy to navigate; users just enter a place name or browse the world map from nearly any height. Those who want to leave their armchairs will find travel planning a breeze as well, with highway, air, rail, and even ferry travel data wired in or available online; any trip imaginable, short of hot-air ballooning, can be planned in seconds. Users can change any leg of the trip in accordance with particular needs, including sightseeing, efficiency, or sticking to particular routes. Floyd, DeLorme's guide, offers tips and facts about locations worldwide in a manner that's far less obnoxious than his virtual cousins, and the terminally impatient can turn him off at their whim. While it doesn't offer the comprehensive demographic and geographic data of a good atlas, the combination of browsing and trip-planning capabilities makes Eartha Global Explorer 1.0 worth attention. Better still, it's cheaper than getting all your shots. --Rob Lightner
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