Installing Google Earth 5.2 in Ubuntu

Google dropped a new release of the popular Google Earth application yesterday and here's how to get it installed, up and running AND looking relatively nice in Ubuntu 10.04.

Whilst there is a fancy-pants way of building and installing a debian package of Google Earth in Ubuntu lots of people are experiencing issues doing so. Downloading the official .bin file and installing from that takes about 60 seconds and is relatively hassle free - so if you're dying to try the latest n' greatest release of Google Earth here's how!

Install Google Earth

Installing Google Earth is painless. You just need to download the .bin from earth.google.com. Once download has completed move the file to your home folder, right-click on it and choose Properties. Select the 'Permissions' tab and check the box next to 'allow executing file as programme'.

Next open a terminal and type

• ./GoogleEarthLinux.bin

Hit the return/enter key and an installation window will appear. Follow the prompts to install it and bob is your proverbial uncle.

You can run it by typing 'googleearth' or creating a short-cut with 'googleearth' as the command.

Make it match
For some of you, myself included, Google Earth will look like this: -  (If you're easily horrified then I suggest covering your eyes)

Installing QT4-config and setting the theme and font there will help Google Earth 'blend' a bit better - but i've yet to find a solution as elegant as that which was available before. 

Fingers crossed it looks a wee bit nicer for you.