This is a list of frequently asked questions. If you have any questions please read this before asking in the Forums or Chat.

What is NASA World Wind anyway?

World Wind is open source Windows software that lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth. Leveraging Landsat satellite imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, World Wind lets you experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if you were really there. See World Wind for more information.

If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to SAS.Planet and seven of them are available for Mac so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Mac alternatives to SAS.Planet are NASA World Wind (Free, Open Source), Modest Maps (Free, Open Source), Mapline (Freemium) and Earth Browser (Paid. Jul 02, 2008 Download World Wind for Windows to visit virtually any place in the world. NASA being the big name that it is, we expected its.

Before Installing

Read System Requirements, Software Requirements, and Minimum configuration (just scroll down a page). World Wind is large and demanding of computer resources.

How can I download NASA World Wind?

The latest version is 1.3.5. See What's new in 1.3.4.

This version is clearly marked if you go to Help->About in World Wind.

To get the latest version visit NASA World Wind Download

What about the source code?

The source code is for developers. It is an additional download to the Full Install. If you just want to use World Wind and look around, all you need is the Full Install.

If you want the source code as well, download both. Once you run the full install, copy the Data directory from your World Wind full install directory into your source directory.

See source code for more information.

System Requirements

• Windows 2000, XP, or 2003
• 3D graphics card (see Video Card Compatibility)
• Internet connection
• Sorry, no support for Linux or Macintosh yet

Windows 95,98,ME compatibility

Since these versions of Windows are no longer maintained by Microsoft, World Wind may introduce features that will break compatibility with them. As such, World Wind should no longer be expected to run on these systems. However, you may find that it will work as long as your system meets the other minimum requirements.

If you are using any of these systems and are having problems, feel free to ask questions in the Forums and Chat.

Software Requirements

The installer should detect and direct you to install these by default. If you are installing these because you believe there is an error, please install in the order listed below.

Microsoft .NET 1.1 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3&displaylang=en)

Microsoft Directx 9.0c (December 2004 redistributable) (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=2c40a7a5-7742-44d2-9f5c-420815448ea4&displaylang=en)

Minimum configuration

With the minimum configuration, performance and functionality may be less than expected.

• 700 MHz or higher CPU
• 128 MB RAM
• 1 GB disk space (World Wind's cache size is 2 GB by default; you must reduce the size of your cache)

Recommended configuration

• 1.4 GHz or higher CPU
• 256 MB of RAM
• DSL/cable connection or faster
• 3 GB of disk space

Installation

'Upgrading' from 1.3.1.1 or earlier

There are several things to note when using the full install to upgrade to new versions from pre 1.3.2.

images.xml

Older versions of World Wind used a configuration file named images.xml. New versions use a file named @images.xml. You need to manually delete or rename C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3ConfigEarthimages.xml or you will have duplicate options available on the toolbar.

Blue Marble

The Blue Marble imagery has been removed from the installer in order to reduce the size of the initial download. The imagery will now download as you use World Wind.

If you have an old version of World Wind you can move the images to the new folder and you will not need to download them again.

• 1.3.1.x location: C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3DataEarthBlueMarbleTextures
• 1.3.2 location: C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3CacheEarthImagesBlue Marble Tiled (1km per pixel)
• 1.3.3 (and newer) location: C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3CacheBlue Marble

Also for version 1.3.3, move the base image:

• 1.3.2 location: C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3DataEarthBlueMarbleTexturesland_shallow_topo_2048.dds
• 1.3.3 (and newer) location C:Program FilesNASAWorld Wind 1.3CacheImageUrlsworldwind.arc.nasa.govdownloads

CRC Error

Version 1.3

• Some people recieve a CRC error when downloading the installer. This is caused by a corrupt download. Please redownload the program. (I would highly appreciate if someone could check MD5 sums as listed on the NASA World Wind Download page, and verify that this is a corrupt download. Also, if you repeatedly receive the same corrupt download from a particular server, please notify us immediately. User:Llynix)

Error writing file ______

• The installer requires about 700 megs on your windows drive (usually c:) to install. This is regardless of where you install it to. Normally users who don't have room to decompress the files have this problem.

Version 1.2e and older versions

Please install the Latest Version.

Problems After a Successful Install

World Wind Fatal Error dialog box

If you get this error when World Wind loads try setting your display to either 16 or 32 bit color. There are reports that 24 or 32 bit color is causing this issue. 16 bit works without any issue. also check for graphic card compatibility.

My video card isn't working

Check out the Video Card Compatibility list.Please, by all means, edit it depending on whether yours works.

Ensure that your video card drivers are up to date.

Try going to Start->Run and typing 'dxdiag'. This should load up the DirectX Diagnosis program. Under Display please make sure everything is working and enabled.

Every time I try to run the program it crashes with a 'JIT debugger' error message.

Yikes, these are the worst. A few notes when trying to debug these. The process ID and thread ID are pointless and don't really help at all. Any other error codes you might receive may be helpful. Do not be concerned that there was no debugger found. As we get more organized and get more of an idea what errors are coming up I will try to post additional information here.

If you get this error and want more detailed debugging information, you can start the World Wind application from the command line and redirect standard error to a file. This file will then contain the full text of the .NET exception and stack trace which may help in determining the cause of the problem. The following is a sample of launching World Wind to redirect standard error.

WorldWind.exe 2> error.log

Some people have reported that installing the software requirements listed above has fixed their issues.

For knowledgable people this may help!http://thinstall.com/help/?debugging_netapplications.htm

My computer is crashing/hangs

Most likely you have a hardware/driver problem. Test your computer stability with 3D graphics by running for instance 3DMark (http://www.futuremark.com/) or other DirectX benchmarking software.

Error x135

This error occurs when you try to run a .NET application but .NET is not installed (or is corrupt). To solve this error message, either install, or remove and reinstall .NET. See How Do I reinstall .Net?.

cordbg.exe !a 0x5b4 code

This is a compatibility problem with .Net. See How Do I reinstall .Net?.

How do I reinstall .Net?

1. Uninstall all .Net.
2. Delete microsoft.net in the Windows Directory and (maybe) in Program Files (directory).
3. REBOOT.
4. Start the World Wind install.
5. It should ask to install .Net. Follow the instructions. (If you're not asked then you forget to delete something)
6. REBOOT.
7. Start the World Wind install again.
8. It may ask to install DirectX runtime. Say 'ok'.
9. Start the World Wind install again.
10. Finished.

More Debugging Help

This blog post points to several verification tools to make sure .NET is installed properly (http://blogs.msdn.com/astebner/archive/2005/10/11/479928.aspx).

Issues Downloading Tiles

To make sure there is no server-side problem check Server status page.

Download Monitor

World Wind version 1.3 has a download monitor which can be very helpful diagnosing problems. Hold down Control (Ctrl) and hit H.

Why am I getting 'Problem connecting to server. Trying again in 2 minutes'

Several possible reasons:

1. May be the server is down. You could say... try again in 2 minutes.
2. You may be behind a blocking proxy/firewall. You'll need to configure a port remapper, or hunt down an admin to help. See below.
3. Make sure you have installed (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318785/).NET Framework 1.1 SP1 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=A8F5654F-088E-40B2-BBDB-A83353618B38&displaylang=en). (Issue WW-6 (http://issues.worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/browse/WW-6))
4. You could be in a country that blocks access to worldwind sites & download servers. Try to find a proxy? We haven't yet had any confirmed reports of this.
5. Remember to use the HTTP Download Monitor (CTRL+H) to see what exactly is going on. Double click an entry and you get a box. Paste the contents of that box into a new forum thread in the technical support (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11) section and someone will come along and help you

Is there a way to set a proxy?

Press Alt+Q to edit the proxy settings. The default setting is to use the Windows default proxy settings.

Proxy Issues

If using the proxy settings in World Wind doesn't work you may want to try using a portmapper such as AnalogX PortMapper (http://www.analogx.com/files/pmapperi.exe).

Why are the wrong image tiles showing up?

It is possible that you are viewing more than one layer and therefore are not seeing the tile you expect. Go to the Layer Manager and make sure only one image layer box is checked.

If you still believe that the tile contains bad data you can hit F5 to refresh the current view. This will redownload all visible tiles for all active layers. Alternatively, follow the instructions for 'How are the tiles named?' to delete the individual tile.

If you do manage to find a 'bad' tile and keep downloading the same 'bad' tile, please kindly record the filename information of the tile and let someone know in Chat or on the Forums.

How are the tiles named?

The tile-naming structure is based on the layer name, level, longitude and latitude.

Starting with World Wind 1.3.3 you can view tile name information from within World Wind.

To view tile filenames and outlines open the Layer Manager and right-click on any bottom level image node (an item without an arrow) and select Properties. In the resulting window change the RenderTileFileNames property value to True and you will see the red outline and text for each tile.

Be aware that the text and outlines are rendered at a different height to the terrain; for best results set the Vertical Exaggeration to 0 and make sure you're viewing the center of the outline.

Imagery related questions and tips

The questions we get every day

Aah! I zoom in and it's all blurry! Help!

If you're looking in the United States and it's blurry please read Why can't I see my house/car/etc?.

If you're looking outside the United States please read Can I use this for non-US locations?.

Why can't I see my house/car/etc?

AKA Why am I not getting pictures like this --->

That is the USGS Urban Area Imagery. USGS Urban is about .25m/pixel and only covers certain areas in the United States. These are the color images you may have seen. You can generally see cars with this layer. Note that it is only available for select cities, if you are not looking at the right place the images will be white. A list of available cities can be found at USGS Urban Areas.

Alternatively you can use the USGS 1m / topography which covers most of the United States, but is in black and white color. You can see most buildings and roads. You can probably find your house.

More information below.

Can I use this for non-US locations?

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) only has high resolution data available for the United States. However, the Landsat data is available globally.

The Landsat imagery has a lot less resolution than the USGS Ortho imagery. However, if you still don't believe the resolution is as good as it should be, click the sample images in Landsat and compare your results. If the images are of different quality it may be a downloading issue - see Issues Downloading Tiles.

While there is high resolution imagery for many other locations, most of this imagery is licensed and is not freely available. If you know of any public domain or unrestricted datasets that we can incorporate please feel free to tell us about it.

The OneEarth add-on is an attempt make use of public wms servers for providing high resolution imagery. Several countries have data available.

We encourage all users to contact their local politicians about releasing GIS data for all to use.

What are these crazy circles?

These are crop fields watered by a method called central pivot irrigation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_pivot_irrigation). The forum has more discussion (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/showthread.php?t=1929) on the topic.

When was this imagery photographed?

That depends on the layer. The NLT Landsat and OnEarth Landsat are from 1999 to 2003, with 2000 being the most active year. The USGS 1m Digital Ortho varies more. It was taken from 1990 to 2000. Search for a US location through TerraServer® (http://terraserver.com/search/search.asp) and look for the USGS entry. The USGS Topo maps vary from within the past few years to several decades ago. Streets and building locations in particular may be quite out of date. USGS Urban Area Ortho dates from 2001 to 2004 and some areas are still being photographed and you can see the dataset ages at the USGS site (http://seamless.usgs.gov/website/seamless/products/listofortho.asp).

Can I see the world in real-time?

This just isn't practical and won't be possible anytime soon. To do this requires a network of satellites dedicated to covering the earth. Just to provide as much detail as the base layers WorldWind loads first, the camera resolution on each one has to total about 100 megapixels. Perhaps the military has such a network, but it is certainly off-limits to anyone else. The images have to be received on the ground and processed. Then they all have to be combined where they overlap and corrected for the distortion caused by the earth's curvature. Finally after compressing the imagery from gigabytes down to several hundred megabytes, a server has to send it out to everyone. This requires an enormous amount of bandwidth for the server. Even if that weren't a problem, the internet connection for the majority of high-speed users is still too slow for more than about one update every hour.

Landsat

With the new Landsat, what's with the colors? Why isn't my area covered?

The NLT Landsat was created with the intent to have more realistic coloring. The NLT dataset is not as high quality as the original ('OnEarth' or 'Community') Landsat datasets are. However, most areas should be covered at 30 meter resolution.

See NLT Landsat Processing Techniques for information on how it was processed. And NLT Data Issues for information on issues in the imagery.

USGS

How do I load the .25 meter resolution maps, as shown in the screenshot of D.C. on this web site?

You can access these images by either selecting Layer Manager->Images->High Resolution Terrain Mapped->USGS Urban Area, or clicking the USGS Urban button.

All I see is white tiles when viewing the USGS Urban data!

USGS urban data is not available for all areas. If you aren't looking in the right place (in one of the cities listed at the Terraserver website (http://www.terraserver.com/providers/usgs_urban.asp) or on the Urban Area list), you'll see whitish green, and nothing else. The Urban Layer Highlighter is extremely helpful locating areas.

How to make use of the USGS layers

USGS (http://www.usgs.gov/) is the acronym (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acronym) for U.S. Geological Survey. In other words, the data that is available in the USGS layers is only for the USA. While it is possible that similar data is available for other parts of the world, most of it is not freely available, and therefore is not incorporated into World Wind.See Using the USGS Layers for step-by-step illustrated instructions.

SRTM

Why does <insert mountain or other relief feature> not look like it should?

There are several possible reasons. If the area is completely flat, then you are looking at an area above or below 60° latitude, where there is no elevation data due to the fact that the satellite that took the measurements orbited more or less around the equator, and above 60° the angle at which the measurements were taken was too extreme to get decent data.

If this is not the case, it is most likely due to the fact that the elevation data, SRTM, is taken much like a bat's echolocation or sonar measurements - the elevation is 'sounded' from a satellite. Unfortunately, these 'soundings' are only taken about every 90 meters, so the data isn't incredibly accurate. As a result, mountains and such (for example, Matterhorn) may look strange. Imagine the satellite collects elevation points in a grid. So it flies over the Alps where two peaks are 50 meters apart. It takes one reading, say, 40 meters away from one peak's top, but manages to hit the highest point of a different peak right on the top. It never hits the first peak's tippy top.

Referring to the illustration, say the vertical blue lines are measurements taken. The red line will be what Worldwind shows, grey being the actual landscape. The left peak shows as being higher in WW, but the right one is actually the highest.

Cities are a variation of the mountain problem - since the 'soundings' are taken in a grid, and the elevation varies so much in cities with skyscrapers, the 'mountainous spikes' effect is produced. One sounding will hit a skyscraper, the next might hit a car, and the next might hit a 3-story building. As a result, the elevation in cities with skyscrapers and other tall buildings looks like a big field of randomly placed spikes. If you are looking at a city, the easiest way to resolve this is to turn off elevation by simply pressing the 0 key.

In addition, some surfaces look bumpy that shouldn't be, such as airplane runways. This is caused by different materials and ground coverings giving false readings because of the way they reflect the radar. For more on the method used to collect the data, see the JPL Website (http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/instr.htm).

Google Earth

Which is better, Google Earth or World Wind?

Both NASA World Wind and Google Earth are sophisticated programs with amazing feature sets, and they both have features that the other would benefit from. Despite how similar both programs seem they are not entirely comparable due to significantly different focuses, development history and philosophies. Many people use both programs depending on what they wish to accomplish.

See Google Earth comparison for more information.

Cache and data related questions

Can you make the amount of cache adjustable?

Press ALT+Q to bring up a dialog box where you can change this setting.

Can I copy my cache data to another computer?

Yes you can. Click here (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/showthread.php?t=163) for discussion.

Can I use my 1.2e cache in 1.3?

Yes you can. See: Converting 1.2e Cache for use in 1.3

How large is the data set? Is it available for download?

Collectively the data sets are around 4.6 Terabytes. As such they are not available as a full package for localized download. There are, however, several data sets available for download as cache packs.

How about bittorrent for the data sets?

Because of the size of the data used, and the limited amount of data users download of the total available data, it is unlikely that p2p would make much of a dent in the problem of serving that data.

But see above.

Known Issues

Is there a way to narrow down a search for a place?

Nasa World Wind Map

We realized this problem almost immediately (there are approximately 2 million places with 3 million more about to be imported) and we're going to associate a 'Place' with a country or geographic identity. Perhaps you will type in 'Paris France' and you will only get matches that have those two keywords. Also, if anyone hasn't noticed, the searching tool is case sensitive, and that will of course be changed as well.

In addition, we want to display more meta-data information about a particular place, such as the type of place(mountain, populated place, beach...), and perhaps attributes such as population or elevation. We of course are open to suggestions that anyone else might have in terms of what would be useful.

Several people are working on placenames right now. Stay tuned.

There are place names all over the place!

Yes, the number of placenames is a bit of a nuisance, and we're working on ways to remedy this problem. We still want those placenames in there — we just don't want them to take up so much real estate on the screen.

Side note: if you go to the layer manager (view → layer manager) under placenames, you can click off certain ones. It may be helpful to remove the one labeled 'US Anthropogenic Features' which contains info about churches, schools and other landmarks in the US.

The entire time the application is running, it uses 50-100% of the CPU, why?

World Wind was not coded for performance, sadly. At least, you can rest assured that this problem is very common and most users experience it - there is nothing wrong with your computers. This will get optimized in future releases, but we're still heavily in the Research & Development stage.

Also there are a few bugs attributed to high CPU usage. Check out: [1] (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/showthread.php?t=370)

Borders are in the wrong place, fix them!

The data to build the original borders was correct data for when it was gathered. Some areas have since become outdated. As basic as country borders might seem, it's actually been very hard finding good and updated data. If someone has a source for updated borders, it can be integrated into World Wind, but because of priorities there is much more to improve first. Since this is an open source project, users are encouraged to help fix borders and submit them.

Tips

How can I extract data from Worldwind for use in other modeling and mapping applications?

All the data is cached in the installation folder under the 'Cache' directory. It's organized by the dataset, however, images are in DDS compressed format. Please see above for DDS viewers.

You may have more luck reading up about the WMS protocol, and then interfacing with the same servers that WW connects to.

Are images on World Wind copyrighted?

The Landsat Global Mosaic, Blue Marble, and the USGS raster maps and images are all Public Domain.

Can I use images on World Wind for commercial purposes?

Some of the datasets that World Wind has access to are in the 'Public Domain' and can be used for commercial purposes (but generally not the actual data servers), however, some datasets, including 3rd-party add-ons/plugins may have their own terms-of-use which could prohibit commercial use of their products and services.

What is the most proportionate 'vertical exaggeration'?

Although it seems that 2 or 3 should be the 'correct' vertical exaggeration, '1' is the correct and real vertical exaggeration. More correctly, '1' means that the vertical height is multiplied by 1.0, whereas vertical exaggeration of 3 means that vertical height is multiplied by 3.0.

Secret Keys

There are no secret keys. See keyboard actions for a full list of available actions.

What happened to the measure tool?

For the story and a replacement tool see the Planimetric Measure Tool plugin.

Future Versions

When will the next version be out?

Check the Road Map for information on future versions.

How about other planets?

There are several worlds available in World Wind. The Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus and Jupiter are included and more can be added through add-ons.

Stars?

Stars have been added to World Wind through the Stars3D and Stars plugins.

Do you think you could add boundaries of other sub-national entities, such as Swiss cantons, Australian states, and Canadian provinces and territories?

Chris : It's coming.

Llynix - the only reason these files aren't in there is they haven't been generated yet. If you have some free time, and a basic knowledge of computer programing why not volunteer to convert them?

Please see Additional Boundaries

Update - A ton of people took the call and made up boundaries, but now we need to sort them, get them in one place, and check the validity and political correctness of these files. Then integrate them into the WW boundary pack. Boundaries for the Canadian provinces and territories are now included.

Meanwhile boundaries could use some optimizing.

I would love to see a feature that showed day/night in realtime say taken from the USNO atomic clock. Perhaps a setting where you could follow the terminator and such.

It's on our list, slightly more elevated now that you asked for it.

Will there be an option to export animations/movies in the future?

Windows Media encoder allows screen capturing (all or selected area) andconverts to .wmv video. This works very well but does require asubstantial amount of video memory and CPU usage.

The encoder can be downloaded for free herehttp://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

Another option is the Movie Recorder plug-in which takes a camera script and saves screenshots to disk.

You can also use Fraps: http://www.fraps.com/download.php that records realtime video from 3D applications.

Developers

What license is World Wind released under?

Nasa Open Source license v1.3 (http://www.opensource.org/licenses/nasa1.3.php).

In particular, this license is more of the LGPL variety, not requiring that modifications are redistributed. Here is a relevant section from the license.

Will World Wind remain always free?

In short, yes. It's a government funded program and as such cannot be charged for (other than through federal taxes).

Chris:

The program itself is open-source and will always be free. Access to NASA provided data will also remain free. However, there might be private companies that want to provide their data through World Wind (perhaps magazines or encyclopedias) and perhaps might charge a fee for access to their data. As long as there are people who want NASA provided data, and are using World Wind for that purpose, it gives the departments in charge of providing data a reason to ask for more funding to improve bandwidth to the data.

Why did you decide on C# and DirectX?

See this forum posting: [2] (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/showpost.php?p=16&postcount=2)

Mac and linux ports?

Since this is open-source, we encourage any OSX programmers to start a port and we will try our best to provide whatever resources we can towards the effort. There are some community resources at porting World Wind.

The next iteration of World Wind will be cross platform. (for more information see the Road Map)

In what areas do you need the most help? How can I contribute?

Check the How to Get Involved page to see how you can help with the World Wind project.

Copyrights

Links

What data does World Wind use and where can I access it?

Where can I find more links?

Please see the World Wind forums (http://forum.worldwindcentral.com/)

Publisher's Description

World Wind lets you zoom from satellite altitude into any place on Earth. Leveraging Landsat satellite imagery and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, World Wind lets you experience Earth terrain in visually rich 3D, just as if you were really there. Virtually visit any place in the world. Look across the Andes, into the Grand Canyon, over the Alps, or along the African Sahara.

Great to see they're still updating this, it's been a while and I was worried it was going to be abandoned.
To the poster below, It's all in your mind, there's really no reason that installing .Net framework would slow your computer down.

'don't get people that complain about .NET like it's some kind of malicious spyware'
Because it is perhaps? Ok, not spyware but for some 'strange' reason my computer is much faster and responsive when either the .net or java frameworks are not installed.

Excellent, as usual, and the new interface is much better.
As it has already been said this is NOT the final release but a RC5. The final is scheduled for the Valentine's Day.
Remember also that the comparison between NWW and GE is a bit odd because NWW :
- is an open source project
- uses free data
- has unique features in this new version (3D glasses usage, dynamic sun lighting,...)
- is mainly intended for scientific purposes
- can display Earth but also other planets...
I gave it a 5 :D
Do you want to see what the planet would look like if the temperature keeps on rising ?
Use NWW :
-> http://forum.worldwindce...m/showthread.php?t=8592

I don't get people that complain about .NET like it's some kind of malicious spyware. It doesn't hurt anything and more and more software is going to require it, plus it comes as part of Vista. Get over it.
This is not the final by the way, wait until Feb 14

Skyfrog:
You misunderstood. My apologies.
I merely wished to let everyone know it required .NET. Usually, that's listed as a prerequisite.
As for the 2...that was an error. I clicked at the wrong time. That has now been resolved.
---
World Wind now requires .NET 2.0 as of release 1.4

Excellent program for the people who know what it's for. Unfortunatly we still seem to be getting people who just can't understand that this is not for looking up streets. If you don't understand a program, 1)Why are you downloading it? 2)Don't write a review bashing it when YOU can't read a description! Again for those who can't read a description but can read a review, THIS IS NOT GOOGLE EARTH nor does it claim to be. Also if you have a 800Mhz processor with 128MB of ram,this isn't for you.

Terrific program and as comeoffit mentioned, 'getting better and prettier'.

Comparing GE to WW is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Paint.
WW is for education and serious map users, not for looking up road maps or seeing 3D images of your house. One feature I especially like is the USGS Topo maps. You pay literally hundred of dollars to get these maps with other programs and that is just for one state. You get the whole US for free with WW. That alone is a feature worth using this amazing program for.
If you want to find the local Taco Bell use Google

World Wind is getting better and prettier.
No offense to Google Earth users but the fact that WW is different than GE and you aren't smart enough to use it doesn't make World Wind a bad program. In fact, it is a great tool in which you can make things that GE can only dream of.

goes from bad to worse.
No offense to World Wind users but it makes idiots feel like they're doing something clever or important because it has the word NASA on it.

Great to see they're still updating this, it's been a while and I was worried it was going to be abandoned.
To the poster below, It's all in your mind, there's really no reason that installing .Net framework would slow your computer down.

'don't get people that complain about .NET like it's some kind of malicious spyware'
Because it is perhaps? Ok, not spyware but for some 'strange' reason my computer is much faster and responsive when either the .net or java frameworks are not installed.

Excellent, as usual, and the new interface is much better.
As it has already been said this is NOT the final release but a RC5. The final is scheduled for the Valentine's Day.
Remember also that the comparison between NWW and GE is a bit odd because NWW :
- is an open source project
- uses free data
- has unique features in this new version (3D glasses usage, dynamic sun lighting,...)
- is mainly intended for scientific purposes
- can display Earth but also other planets...
I gave it a 5 :D
Do you want to see what the planet would look like if the temperature keeps on rising ?
Use NWW :
-> http://forum.worldwindce...m/showthread.php?t=8592

I don't get people that complain about .NET like it's some kind of malicious spyware. It doesn't hurt anything and more and more software is going to require it, plus it comes as part of Vista. Get over it.
This is not the final by the way, wait until Feb 14

Skyfrog:
You misunderstood. My apologies.
I merely wished to let everyone know it required .NET. Usually, that's listed as a prerequisite.
As for the 2...that was an error. I clicked at the wrong time. That has now been resolved.
---
World Wind now requires .NET 2.0 as of release 1.4

Excellent program for the people who know what it's for. Unfortunatly we still seem to be getting people who just can't understand that this is not for looking up streets. If you don't understand a program, 1)Why are you downloading it? 2)Don't write a review bashing it when YOU can't read a description! Again for those who can't read a description but can read a review, THIS IS NOT GOOGLE EARTH nor does it claim to be. Also if you have a 800Mhz processor with 128MB of ram,this isn't for you.

Terrific program and as comeoffit mentioned, 'getting better and prettier'.

Comparing GE to WW is like comparing Adobe Photoshop to Paint.
WW is for education and serious map users, not for looking up road maps or seeing 3D images of your house. One feature I especially like is the USGS Topo maps. You pay literally hundred of dollars to get these maps with other programs and that is just for one state. You get the whole US for free with WW. That alone is a feature worth using this amazing program for.
If you want to find the local Taco Bell use Google

World Wind is getting better and prettier.
No offense to Google Earth users but the fact that WW is different than GE and you aren't smart enough to use it doesn't make World Wind a bad program. In fact, it is a great tool in which you can make things that GE can only dream of.

goes from bad to worse.
No offense to World Wind users but it makes idiots feel like they're doing something clever or important because it has the word NASA on it.

bad

Great program if you understand what it's for. This is not a competitor to Google Earth, please stop comparing it and giving it bad ratings because it doesn't have road maps or directions to Hardee's. No offense but for many Google Earth users this is probably over their head.

It's a good program for what it's designed for. People keep giving it really low scores because it's not as useful to them as Google Earth, well it was designed for science research, not getting driving directions. Although I must speculate that this project will probably be discontinued seeing as how NASA has teamed up with Google. All of the several petabytes of atmospheric data NASA collects each month will be available for researchers, as well as everyone else, very soon via some interface in Google Earth.

This is a real So So product;
So much promise,
So little delivered,
So many bugs,
So just get Google Earth

To avoid wasting your time you must know that if you download the zip version available here at fileforum, to be able to run this program you need
- Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0
- DirectX 9.0c SDK (directx 9.0c that come with Windows XP is not enough)
Program interface needs many improvements or some of your time to figure out how to use it. It is very hard to use comparing with Google Earth.
I dragged with the mouse the globe to locate my country but this started to rotate with no chance to stop it. I had to restart the program.
It locate my country from Europe with the Earth globe upsidedown that is not the way we are familiar.
The data is absent or needs a lot of bandwidth comparing with GoogleEarth.
Sorry. I was very excited to try it but this version is not usable for me. I hope will be better in the future.

This is an excellent programme, sure there can be improvements or modifications done to it to make it better, but what programme doesn't?
I agree that its silly saying one programme is crap because you don't care for it and you're an avid user of another programme. It makes it sound as though you haven't even tried it with an open opinion. Sure you can try it but if you have reservations then that would affect your opinion of it.
Another review stated that Google Earth is crap and they prefer this one better. Thats completely different and it sounds as though the person tried Google Earth and wasn't impressed with its features, its compatibility with his system, or the detail available for the areas that they're interested in. Of course, the other person could be working for Google :D
Having tried both, and having an open opinion, they're both good! Detail wise for the actual application of the programme they both represent what is best available to the general public without paying for it (or what data the programme has access to).
I recommend neither programme if you have only a slow connection or a small download limit (less than 1GB per month) as due to the nature of the programme they both have to download a large amount of data. This programme isn't massive compared to Google Earth. Not that I checked it but isn't it actually smaller?

It still need many improvements:
- Easier user interface.
- More broader coverage with more details data. some area only have no details.
- reduce the bandwith usage.
- In the Installation better if we can choose which country or area we mostly use, and then it will store the data of that area local, so it save bandwith.
and better at installation we can choose the cache size.
and other improvements

I think this program does deserve a rating of 5. It does what it says it should do & does it very well.
Castiglione, you should not simply rate a program because you like another one better. Even worse, rating it without even using it. You could use Google Earth to compare features & stuff like that. But don't just rate it without measuring features & glitches between both programs...
Just my humble opinion.

This is a great program, oriented more for scientific use. Google Earth is just a fancy 3D road maps program, it has nothing on this.

Giving it a three for not really caring for this program, I am an avid user of Google Earth..
Blackhole8746: 'Very good software, much better than Google Earth... Google earth is a very badly-done piece of crap'
So, you think it's 'badly done'? Do you have proof other than your negativity and other stuff like that? Please, Google Earth is free and it's a small program compared to NWW.

Very good software, much better than Google Earth... Google earth is a very badly-done piece of crap

After being really disappointed with NWW I haven't gone near it for ages. When 1.3.5 came I thought, ok must be improved by now, it isn't. Kramy picks out 3 points in his review that need some serious improvement, and there are a lot more. This will be the last time I download this program unless it can be shown that nasa has made huge improvements with it, I will stick with google earth, a fifth of the size to download and several powers better. On google earth I can make out where I live, and it's in a low resolution area, on NWW I can hardly make out the town and surrounds. Very disappointing.

I really like NASA World Wind as Landmark links to Wikipedia the free encyclopedia. I zoomed to my mother country Sri Lanka but I feel that the resolutions are not adequate. Apart from this is a nice application and I appreciate more if NASA can provide high resolution maps and also downloadable maps so that can be used offline since many developing countries not all parts have high speed internet connection.

A lot of nice features, which work well for what they are designed to do. I like the ability to see icons where all the earthquakes have been over the last 7 days, and find out their location beneath the surface, magnitude, etc.
World Wind is good for scientific, educational and research purposes. For driving directions, local information, geocaching, exploring and other recreational activities, I'm going to stick with the solid, great-performing Google Earth.

Before 1.3.5, none of the versions for the past year worked on my computer. Finally getting a functioning version is nice.
It's ok, but some things I dislike:
1) Low resolution images compared to Google Earth.
2) Inverted mouse movement with no way to change it.
3) Extremely choppy graphics on an overclocked 6600GT.
Not really worth it...I'll probably stick with Google Earth.

Avast is giving you a false warning. Perhaps you should give Avast a rating of 1.

My anti-virus program (avast!) gives me a trojan warning when trying to download the .exe. What's up with that?

Excellent program, but you need a good system, fast connection and you need to learn how to use it. You can't just install it and expect to immediately start using it properly. Unlike Google Earth which is more of a mom and pop friendly program that holds your hand for you. This is what NASA uses after all, they were simply kind enough to make it open source and available to everyone.
There are people who make unofficial cache packs that you can add, but you can't download a version with all the satellite and USGS imagery because it would take terabytes upon terabytes, there's just no way.

Howell, or anyone else, where can you download the full-cache version? (With all images preloaded)

Actually, this is a descent program. However, Google Earth is quite smaller in size. Many features are still useful. I have both NASA and Google installed, and I refer to both. Try it out!

There is one thing that this will do that the other products on the market will not.
3D Topo maps
I hike and this has been invaluable to me to be able to see the terrain on a topo map in 3D before a trip

Pros :
- if you have enough space (hundreds of Gigs) you can download the whole imagery locally
- Open Source
Cons :
- other softwares such as Google Earth have much more precise photos depending of the place you look at
- really usefull only for the US (the rest of the world resolution is bad)
- less users than Google Earth
My opinion : I will stick to Google Earth ;)

With Google Earth I cannot see my house, not even close. I just get a green blur of the hills so far away my house wouldn't even be a microscopic speck. Unless you live in the city Google Earth is crap. With Worldwind and USGS aerial I can see the cars parked in my driveway. Of course Google has a huge following of fanboys so naturally they're going to bash this program.

so much promise, so little delivered. This would have to rank as one of the most disappointing pieces of software ever, Goole Earth beats this hands down. At least G.E. recognizes that the rest of the world exists while N.W.W. thinks like most of america that the world ends at their costline. Maybe they could put a few 'Dragons Here' signs on that other big area past their shores - called the rest of the world.
'Blackhole8746', your either joking, an american, or living in a blackhole. Just get Google Earth, a quarter of the size to download and 100 times better.

well still the same old crap ,my city has not be built yet acording to this ,funny ,liveing in it

'This is great but why do you think the crappy Google Earth is better?' Why use Google Earth? It's easier to use, and it's smaller, and it's customizable (as far as placing custom placemarks is concerned). Also, Google Earth has more quality images than this thing has. I will continue to use Google Earth 100% of the time that I need a map.

NO BAD, BUT NOT PERFECT !

This is great but why do you think the crappy Google Earth is better?

I just checked out for the first time since Google earth came out. so slow compareatively. some are in this that aren't in GE, but the quality of GE is so much better. I'll continue to use GE for 99% of my needs.

Nasa World Wind Mac Download Full

It still need many improvements:
- Easier and better user interface, including for new user& non techie, so can use it easier
- Newer images
- Better support for outside US. Example try to view Jakarta (Indonesia Capitol), Bali: What you can see ???
- Better support for slow Internet connections.

Wow - but google is much much better

NEW Feature/Fixes IN 1.3.3
* NASA Blue Marble Next Generation integrated (Issue WW-443)
* NRL Realtime weather integrated (Issue ADD-29)
* Startup Wizard enabled (WW-380)
* World changing support through menu system (Issue WW-444)
* Moon atmosphere disabled (Issue WW-445)
* Single VS.NET solution (Issue WW-361)
* Blue Marble uses terrain (Issue WW-239)
* Added transparent color for textures (Issue WW-442)
* Opacity Control for showing index of ThemeLayers (Issue WW-25)
* Added distance measuring tool (Issue WW-131)
* Configuration Wizard addresses all settings (Issue WW-301)
* Removed unused DLLs (Issue WW-333)
* Removed obsolete projects (Issue WW-347)
* Renamed Startup Wizard to Configuration Wizard (Issue WW-360)
* Seperate XML settings file for different versions (Issue WW-368)
* Plugin unloading when quiting (Issue WW-393)
* Terrain data won't download and build a mesh when terrain is disabled (Issue WW-394)
* Menu bar can remove buttons (Issue WW-399)
* Network path support (Issue WW-402)
* Bathymetry rendering (Issue WW-398)
* Tiny icon text fixed (Issue WW-400)
* Redundant rescaling icons fixed (Issue WW-423)
* SVS loads layer list fixed (Issue WW-422)
* configuration Wizard runs first (Issue WW-416)
* Mouseover text appears first (Issue WW-252)
* Improved error window during crash (Issue WW-351)
* Dynamic custom terrain loaders (Issue WW-397)
* Alpha transparency for tool bar icons (Issue WW-405)
* World Wind version number based on .exe (Issue WW-413)
* Fullscreen command from an extra running copy ignored (Issue WW-414)
* Removed non existant settings stored in app.config (Issue WW-424)
* Removed OEMPipe and Enter as zoom controls (Issue WW-420)
* Removed unused code (Issue WW-16)
* Removed unused assembly references (Issue WW-410)
* Terrain mesh code updated (Issue WW-404)
* logfile HTTP error messages formatted (Issue WW-415)
* Vsync setting added (Issue WW-409)
* NSIS script files updated to compile under NSIS 2.10
* Installer contains update for Managed DirectX 9 October 2005

Oh there you go again CyberHobo.
Same review as for Google Earth eh?
This is good program, but to me it seems kinda difficult to work. Also, it sticks while scrolling up close for some reason.
Certain locations look like a real mess when zooming in. They don't have the tiling looking as nice as Google Earth has.

Google Earth is only slightly better than this one. I want to see high resolution at 20 meters and full global coverage. Alright, you may hide/distort Area 51 if you want.

Google earth IS better but what I really want is the ability to save the data to a hd. Is this not possible?? That way no internet connection would be required in order to use it. Just update every so often. That would be tax dollars well spent!

I whish this would be better than Google earth
but--- it is not.
Not more to say

Worldwind has great imagery available and I can get very close anywhere in the country, even rural areas. Best of all the images don't have copyright Google plastered all over them. Their servers are very slow however and they often quit responding. Check the WorldWind forums, this is a known issue and they are working on adding more servers. This program also seems to have a memory leak or some problem where after extended use the globe starts losing textures or becomes distorted. Unless you have a monster of a computer you may have problems running this monster of a program. Google Earth eats up far fewer resources so it may be better for those of us who can't afford the same computers NASA uses.

Banquo: 'My only complaint is that they need to improve their server capacity as sometimes it gets really busy, but other than that it works fine.'
Maybe if you upgraded from your 14.4kbit AOL unlimited dialup package, you may notice some improvement :-P

Funny, httpd.confused is probably the best reviewer here in BetaNews. I've read all of his(?) reviews and completely agree then, and sure doesn't piddle in anybody's pockets.
To whoever said it, can you really see your car? Satellite imagery open to the public are years old, unless ofcourse you work for the secret services. Google actually was close to shutting down because terrorists could use G.E. to find and target sensitive locations, albeit Google's response to that 'they are over a year old'. Alternatively, they could just display blank areas or 'red herrings' in these areas.
World Wind is a different alternative which hopefully may start a spawn of many satellite imagery rivals competiting against eachother to be better, but Google Earth is the best so far. W.W's interface is somewhat confusing compared to G.E's, although the 3D terrains are a different approach to G.E's view angle.

A good program. Nothing to complain about. I prefer google as there are more 'home user' friendly options there, but this is pretty nice as well. The options are VERY nice to play with. I have a good video card and cars look almost the same as they do on google. If you like Google Earth, then get World Wind - plain and simple, cuz chances are you'll like it as well.

I'm extremely suspicious of the last three reviews. All appear to be from the very same person (or troll more likely) using different names. Come on BetaNews, can't something be done about that? Anyway I've had no trouble at all with this program, and for what I use it for find it to be far superior to Google Earth. At least with this I can see my house and cars parked in the driveway. With Google I just get a green blotch. You do need a fast computer with a good 3D card for Worldwind. Don't complain if you are trying to run it on some ten year old piece of junk. There's certainly nothing difficult about using it either. My only complaint is that they need to improve their server capacity as sometimes it gets really busy, but other than that it works fine.

Nasa World Wind Satellite

About as user-friendly and polished as a cat with rabies.
And let me just reply to the person above who hasn't been around the last couple of years, to read any of my 5,000-or-so reviews...
I installed World Wind. I disliked the interface. It has none of the zoom or rotate controls that Google Earth does, as just a couple examples. (And yes, I know you can zoom with the Num+/- keys). And one of my software peeves are stupid toolbar-type controls that require you to hover the damned mouse over them to find out what they are.
Then there is that awful Layer Manager. If place names are shown, and you uncheck a parent item in the Layer Manager, all the child place names are removed. This makes sense. What happens if you recheck the same parent item? It makes all the child place names show again--sometimes. Other times, on my system, it doesn't do diddly squat. Again, this is on my system. If you can't reproduce this, I couldn't care less; it's a bit tough and unrealistic for me to review the software based on how it works on your system isn't it? (Take all the time you need figuring that one out.)
In Google Earth, you can find an address simply using the search string '[street address], [ZIP code]'. If you can do that in World Wind, you couldn't prove it by me, as it didn't work for any of the addresses I tried.
At one point, I chose different directories for the cache, data, and config, using the wizard provided. After that, nothing worked in World Wind (despite the applicable files also having been moved).
And believe it or not, but with default settings, the image quality I saw was utterly terrible, at least in the places that I care about. (Yes, I know about the different USGS topographies. But again, should I review based on how well it works for me, or how well it works for you?) Even when I used the ugly black-and-white 1m/pixel image set, the quality was awful. Google Earth provides much better quality for my needs.
And how about that nice feature of Google Earth that lets you very easily find driving directions between two addresses? Does World Wind let you do that? No. (It doesn't really matter if you can't find the addresses to begin with!)
How about Google Earth's 'My Places' feature? Does World Wind have an easy way to save and manipulate saved locations? If it does, they did a good job hiding it from me.
And thanks for the concern about my hardware, but I assure you, it's quite powerful. I had no performance issues, only usability issues.
So, sorry I disagree with you, and that you just arrived here five minutes ago and decided to start making judgment calls on people rather than software, but your facts need sorting out.
There you have it. A bit more information than a 'I can see my car!' review, huh? Did I justify my rating well enough, or am I still a 'troll'?

Comming from NASA I would have expected a little more... I find that this software makes looking and zooming very easy for the average user, but advaced stuff is a little tricky to understand (fair enough). The quality when zoomed in to the max is shocking! I mean, whats the point in zooming in far enough that the a single pixel takes up more than your entire screen? O.o

We need more info in this versions:
1. Whats new compared to 1.3.1.1 ?
2. What is the different between 44MB download and 180MB download ?
3. why the source only 3MB ?
4. We need more screenshot about the user interface. so user can get more ideas and decide before download this big software.
Keep improve the products. Good Luck

Google Earth doesn't hold a candle to this program, it doesn't have close to the amount of features this has. Plus Worldwind is open source and there are tons of user made addons available for it. Instead of having just one pitiful satellite view this offers pretty much ALL of them, along with USGS aerial photos and high resolution USGS urban. This also uses shuttle radar topography data to give a true 3D view of the landscape. True you need a good PC and fast internet connection to make the most of it but it's truly worth it. Oh and to poptest, this is a free program. How is it a waste of money? If you don't even know what you are talking about DON'T do a review.

While I think Google's equivalent to this (Google Earth) is better, it's still a 5 star program - awesome :D
Just a lil' laggy even for high end computers...

Nasa World Wind Mac Download Windows 10

EXCELLENT!

Great concept, when it works it is great, when it doesn't it's really frustrating!!! I tried to look the Urban photo of my house and from 300 miles and down, everything is white. I uninstalled it and reinstalled it several times, it still shows the white map. All other types of photo worked.
It is also very heavy on CPU. I have a P4 2.8 hyperthreading CPU with 1GB memory and the CPU is running at 75% when this program is running.

Too big. Waste of money. Waste of time. Waste of air. Waste of space. Waste of energy. Waste of old compter resource. buy new compter. buy new modem. buy this and that. Get alife.
check out keyhole

WoW ...
This software is sweet. The gov and such are making some awesome free stuff, we got Americas Army which for a free FPS is just kick a...
and then we got this nice work of art here which is open source. Well, now that I have seen Sweden, no need to go there lol j/k

Wow, impressive program. For kicks, turn on the position by clicking 'position information'. Select Landsat 7 (Visible Color) then click and hold your mouse button, move the point around until latitude is 37.23303 and longitude is -115.80010. You might need to zoom in while you're doing this to get a more accurate selection.
The best view is at about 18000-20000m with vertical exaggeration at 0.0x
Can you guess what you're looking at?
Bug(.)(.)Eyes

A quite stunning piece of software.
Needs a good broadband connection as it seems to grab extra resolution data as you zoom in.
But the worldwide detail is impressive. I’ve been able to see streets in Canada, UK and Australia - even an apartment block that I once lived in Kuwait.

UI is much worse, IMO, it's difficult to see what you are clicking until you mouseover, ala mac OSX. However the features have exploded somewhat and the graphics and tweaks are much more thorough. This seems like a whole new version rather than a point release.

Works GREAT. They really improved the UI since v1.2. WorldWind has always impressed me, especially the fact that such a piece of software would be FREE. It's a must try.