
Google Earth finally available in browsers other than Chrome - sohkamyung
https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/27/21155707/google-earth-firefox-edge-opera-support-webassembly-code-update-web-release
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est31
One of the reasons they gave for the delay of switching to wasm was that nacl
had threading support while wasm didn't (wasm supports running in workers, but
communication can only happen asynchronously through message channels, no
advanced multi threading capabilities like sharing memory etc). Then spectre
happened and delayed the wasm threading support of browsers even further.
Chrome has experimental wasm threading now, but other browsers don't. So now
the non-Chrome launch happens without usage of wasm threading.

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CommieBobDole
This is my usual reminder that Google Earth for desktop is still available and
is still wildly superior in terms of features and performance to the web
version.

[https://www.google.com/earth/versions/](https://www.google.com/earth/versions/)

(scroll to the bottom, select 'download earth pro on desktop')

Edit: Though to be fair, I just checked out the web version and it does appear
to be much better than it was when it was first released. It does now appear
that they're actually trying to re-implement most of the features of the
desktop app on the web. The lack of historical imagery and the replacement of
the 'layers' model with a couple of 'map style' options are the most glaring
omissions.

~~~
wasdfff
Performance is still remarkably better on the desktop app and will be for the
forseeable future. I used to run the software over a decade ago on a modest
dual core computer with 4gb of RAM without struggle; try doing that with a
modern browser experience.

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jmiskovic
To me the Google Maps and Earth might be the most impressive piece of software
in existence. To see it working on standard web technology on competing
browsers is awesome.

~~~
modeless
Have you tried Google Earth VR? I highly recommend it.

~~~
cameronbrown
+1. I've used it before going on trips or journeys. When I'm using VR, it
causes my brain to remember it as if I've been there. When I'm finally there
it just feels like revisiting, and I know where I'm going.

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pmontra
Not working with Firefox Ubuntu. I disabled all the privacy addons I'm using
to no avail. It works with Vivaldi.

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markdog12
When Google Earth web used NACL, it was so silky smooth, it wasn't even like
it was the web. Even on relatively weak hardware (dual core laptop), it was so
nice, didn't skip a frame. First time I tried this in stable Chrome it locked
up my entire computer. Took about 5 minutes to be able to reboot. On reboot,
when I run it, it's like a slideshow, unusable (Ryzen 3900X 12-core beast with
RTX 2060 Super). I really want to get excited about WebAssembly, but this
doesn't do that.

~~~
wojciechpolak
Today I tried it for the first time (the web version) on my work laptop T490
(Intel UHD 620), Ubuntu with Firefox 73. Everything is super smooth. I'm
surprised it isn't for you. It's also smooth on my home Macbook Pro (2015) w/
Fx73.

~~~
markdog12
I'm surprised too. I've tried on Firefox as well, and on different machines,
dual core laptop (Intel), quad core laptop (Intel), iMac 27" Late 2015. All
were silky smooth with NACL.

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NikolaeVarius
Works on Firefox Dev on Manjaro

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impalallama
Not working in MacOS Firefox Developer Edition 74.0b7

~~~
acdha
You might want to uninstall your extensions and try again — it works in a
clean install.

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qubex
Isn’t working on desktop Safari (13.0.5).

~~~
microcolonel
Because Apple still doesn't support WebGL2 (similar to OpenGL ES 3.0) after
all these years. Apple is involved with WebGPU, but they still won't even
support WebGL2, which kinda pisses me off.

No matter what people say, Chrome is not the new IE, Safari is; and thank god
it's so unpopular.

~~~
giancarlostoro
You misunderstand the term Chrome is the new IE. IE used to be the dominating
browser on the web. Whatever standards IE supported were reverse engineered by
other browsers such as AJAX. IE eventually got overshadowed by the open web
and fell behind. There used to be websites that only worked on IE, well there
still might be. There's too many websites coded and tested with Chrome now
using features only in Chrome, breaking other sites, or worse checking if
Chrome is being used and ignoring if the browser supports the feature, or
worse Chrome implements it before a formal spec, which breaks other browsers
who comply with the spec.

~~~
untog
I think both Chrome and Safari have negative connections with memories of IE.
For Safari it's the stagnation of IE6: installed everywhere but rarely updated
with new features that other browsers have.

That's not so much of a problem on desktop because people can always install
another browser, but on iOS you're literally not allowed to use any other
browser engine.

~~~
qubex
The issue is that major updates to Safari follow the same cycle as updates to
the MacOS and iOS operating systems, meaning once per year at the current
rate. Adding major features once per year (and even then, only once they have
been in use on other platforms for at least a year or two) means that Safari
can lag by three years in terms of features (case in point: WebRTC).

~~~
microcolonel
> _means that Safari can lag by three years in terms of features (case in
> point: WebRTC)._

In the case of WebRTC, it's even worse than that: public stable releases of
Firefox and Chrome supported WebRTC by early 2013, but Safari took until late
2017. That's _more than five years_ for an extremely popular feature (I had
three professional engagements where we had to integrate a native WebRTC
client component into a Cordova application, and couldn't support that feature
on iOS through the browser, before they finally released it).

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unnouinceput
Wait, what? I switched completely from Chrome to Firefox in mid November (so
happy about the move btw) and had Google Earth on Firefox from day one. Is
this article missing something or is it me?

~~~
Vinnl
Maybe you're confusing Google Earth and Google Maps? That happens sometimes.

~~~
unnouinceput
ohh, a Joker *slow clap

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aquova
...except they're right. Google Earth hasn't been available in Firefox until
today. Either you're mixing up Maps and Earth, or misremembering.

~~~
unnouinceput
This is not facebook, this is HN. You can't possible conceive that a user of
HN does this confusion, do you? Because in that case you are not only
insulting my intelligence, you're insulting yours as well. Also a simple click
on my name and reading a few answers I've given here could tell you I am
definitely NOT the usual facebook user who somehow got lost and ended here.

Let me tell you again, so there isn't any confusion: Starting mid-November
last year when I switched from Chrome to Firefox, I had google Earth from day
one on Firefox. And yes, I am very much aware the difference between not only
google earth and google maps but also the difference between google maps 2D
and google maps 3D possibilities. I have kids, I use all these 3 tools when my
kids are doing their Geography homework. Is it clear now?

~~~
Vinnl
Well, my apologies for trying to help, I guess. I try not to make any
assumptions about your background knowledge, and am not going through
everyone's comments before replying to them.

I know this is unasked for, but I do think it would save a lot of frustration
and make for more pleasant interactions if we try to assume other people have
good intentions.

