PC Google Earth Pro (desktop Version) To Be Discontinued.

I'm still processing the dreadful news that Google's attempts to ensure every aspect of their business goes through the process described so accurately in Cory Doctorow's excellent book " Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It".

I know that Google Earth has been used in the making of TSC routes and I would assume it's used for terrain at the very least in TSW too. Does the move to the lightweight, made for mobile devices, online version of Google Earth have any effect on future route building in TSW?

For those just waking up to this news, anyone downloading Google Earth Pro for desktop before 27 June 2027 will still have access to it though I've asked for clarification from Google to see if a copy of the installer sent to a new PC after June 27 will still work. Unless there's a volte-face from Google, sorry, "Alphabet" then anyone using Google Earth will be pushed into using the light free version that requires a constant internet connection but don't worry, many of your current favourite free features will be behind a paywall via one of the many subscription "professional" versions.

Another great internet resource gives way to a subscription model that benefits only those who are frankly rich enough already.

 

So on 27th June 2027, it stops working, or will it work as normal per now?

 

From the way I interpret it, they will cut off downloading of the Google Earth installer file 27/6/27 but if you download/install before this date you're good ? The servers the actual clients connect to to receive data will still be active I presume for the website version to function (unless they are separate)

 

I'll let you know when/if Google get back to me. If I can simply save the installer to one of the SSDs I'm moving over to my new machine and then reinstall it then I'll be a bit happier.

Luckily there are a lot of clever geeks out there who will no doubt find a way of making a work-around long before the cut-off date. Or create an alternative using a blend of satellite and Open Maps data.

Edit Clumsy Pacer - if you already have it installed then it will carry on working, though Google have already confirmed that "support" for it will cease.

 

The installer is only a stub installer (it downloads data as part of the install), so make sure to run it and install the client before the cut-off date to be sure (unless there's an offline installer somewhere)

 

Thanks for that. So it looks like I'll be aiming to buy a new PC early June 2027.
It'll be 6.5 years old by then which for a gaming computer is a good run.

 

I don't know the size of the application, but are those maybe the full installers: https://support.google.com/earth/an...,download-a-google-earth-pro-direct-installer

 

Yep thats the one. They are offline installers

 

This thread is good example why removing the offtopic section from this forum was misguided.

 

Well the writing was on the wall once they started asking for debit/credit card details to charge for extended data use. Though while I have now retired from route building, I never did get asked to submit my details when using GE to plot markers or using the overlay facility in the TSC editor.

And yes this is definitely a case where the Off Topic forum would be handy for this sort of post.

 

The API should still work even after Google Earth is withdrawn, so TS should be unaffected. As for Google Earth Pro itself, it’s very, very dated and I assume has a microscopic userbase. It can still be useful but I don’t blame them for getting rid of it at all.