A coworker displayed the route he used to commute to/from work on Google Earth but won't tell me how he did it. I have a laptop with GE installed. Can you tell me how to do this. I guess I need something to collect the coordinates, and then create somesort of tracks but any pointers would be helpful.
Also, can this be done in real time. I nother words, can I update my location on GE while driving?
You can drag and drop xml-files with coordinates onto GE. These files can be created with most GPS software/systems.
I just figured out how to do this. You will need a USB GPS Receiver. I also got a program called "Earth-Bridge" which allows generic USB GPS units to send their data in realtime to Google Earth.
Just install Earth Bridge, and then Install your Drivers for the USB receiver, and then plug in your Receiver and start Earth Bridge. The GPS will take about 45-60 seconds the first time to get a lock on your position but after that it is pretty good at staying up to date.
Since the GPS uses an internal serial to USB you have to deal with a virtual com port, just make sure you check your instructions on the USB and configure it correctly in Earth Bridge to use the right com Port, baud rate, etc...
Sometimes, the GPS shows me out in the ocean (or somewhere completely different from where I am) and I wait about a minute for it to lock on but it won't get a lock. Then there is a button on Earth Bridge "Reload in Google Earth" and it will usually fix it right away.
A good GPS receiver (the one I bought and love) is here on Amazon for about 38USD.
Google Earth speaks KML, or keyhole markup language. It is nothing more than an XML file with a specific schema.
from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keyhole%5FMarkup%5FLanguage
You don't need an XML package to build it. you can just write out to a text file if you want to. You will still obviously need a GPS to pull the coords from.
you could even go so far as to write a blackberry app. to use its on-board GPS to do this. i've been contemplating doing this for a while to track my walks. my plan is to then automatically upload the tracklog to the web where i can view it later or my wife can view it real-time.