Earth View from Google Earth

Unless you have already found an extension that spices up the “New Tab” page in Google Chrome, you are probably tired of the same old white background that could easily be replaced with more interesting content.

Earth View from Google Earth is a pretty cool extension that shows you beautiful scenery from around the world whenever you open a new tab. The pictures are part of the Google Earth satellite imagery database, and only the most interesting locations are included.

Any photographer knows a lot of work goes into taking a photo that is truly wallpaper-worthy, but Satellite pictures are fascinating no matter which locations they depict, probably because they offer a perspective that we are not normally privy to.

Most of us have probably spent at least a few minutes playing around in Google Earth just for the fun of it, and the creators of this extension have taken advantage of this extensive Satellite image database to put together a collection of awe-inspiring pictures.

Essentially, this extension replaces the standard “New Tab” background with one of the images available in the gallery. These are selected at random, and the collection is large enough to ensure you will not be likely to see the same one again very soon. Fortunately, though, you can also access the ten most recent images to be viewed at any time.

The Google logo, search bar and thumbnail tiles of the most visited sites are also removed, which is where we feel the extension could be improved. Many users would probably prefer to have these elements displayed on top of the Google Earth image, a feature that we hope will be introduced in future releases.

Given that the pictures depict particularly remarkable scenes, you may often wish to know where these can be found. Thankfully, the extension displays their location on a globe in the bottom right corner, and you can also click it if you wish to be taken to these coordinates in Google Maps.

Moreover, you have the option of generating a link to the picture, which can then be shared with your friends. You can also save a high-resolution version of the image and use it as your desktop background.

As far as new tab extensions go, Earth View from Google Earth is certainly one of the best. It makes opening a new tab a much more enjoyable experience, and it can be set up easily even by complete novices. It proved to be quick and responsive during our tests, so users who are worried about its performance impact should not be concerned.