Advertisement

Google makes Earth Pro available to virtual travelers for free

While we're sure Google Earth works just fine for your daily virtual 'round-the-world travels, the Pro version comes with some really useful features -- even better, it's now completely free. Google Earth Pro, which used to cost an eye-watering $399 per year, gives you the tools to measure 3D buildings and other locations, print high-resolution screenshots, view demographic and traffic layers, and even record your virtual trips. To use it for free, you'll first need to sign up for a license and make sure your PC or Mac meets the minimum system requirements needed to run the program.

Windows computers should be running XP or higher, and have at least 500MB of free storage and 512MB of RAM. Macs, on the other hand, have to run OS 10.6 or higher, along with the same storage and memory requirements. After that, you can download Google Earth Pro to plan for that hike you've always wanted to do or, you know, to take your armchair adventures to the next level -- we ain't judging.