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Google Earth on the Front Cover of Nature

// February 21st, 2006 // GIS

本期Nature杂志的封面是以Google Earth为主题的，而且里边有5篇关于GIS的文章，包括一篇Editorial - Think Global，一篇Feature - Virtual globes: The web-wide world，一篇Commentary - Mapping disaster zones和2篇News - How does Google Earth work? 和 The virtual world gets bigger。主角显然是Google Earth，不过对GIS也做了不少介绍，有兴趣的可以去Nature的网站上在线看。

不得不承认，Google Earth和Google Maps对GIS的推广和普及真的是功不可没阿，尽管从某种意义上说，它还不能称为一个完整的GIS系统。

The GIS software is already an important tool for understanding spatial and temporal factors in a wide range of disciplines. But many scientists that could use GIS do not, and it has remained largely the preserve of specialists. Goodchild is convinced that tools like Google Earth will increase awareness of GIS’s potential and encourage researchers to explore more powerful GIS techniques. “It’s like the effect of the personal computer in the 1970s, where previously there was quite an élite population of computer users,” Goodchild enthuses. “Just as the PC democratized computing, so systems like Google Earth will democratize GIS.”