Understandable that they don't want to keep maintaining this as a browser plugin, but it's a shame anyway. I wonder what will happen to the Google Earth Flight Simulator (http://www.gefs-online.com/), which has been one of my favorite time wasters the last couple of months. Their blog does not seem to have an announcement regarding their future. I hope they are aware of this. :-(
One would think they'd rather have it as a browser thing than a desktop thing, this is Google we're talking about. Chromebook and what not. I really wonder if this is a sign that Google earth itself is next.