Google Pack, Google Earth, Google Sky ???

[Muse]

Saw amazing brief story on Google Sky on TV news last night, so I go look for it today. Of course, I Google it. Appears to come with Google Earth, which is part of Google Pack, a free download. However, I don't seem to be able to download any of this stuff with my DSL Windows XP Professional desktop, using Firefox. Anyone having better luck?

First off, the pages are typically stupidly constructed and self-contradictory. One said click the button above, and there was no button. Another page: http://earth2007.org/ has three clickable links (which one do you click?), but none of them is doing anything. The two yellow arrows pointing at one another (WTH is that?), don't do anything, at least on my system. Can anyone shed some light on this morass? Google is bloody rich with billions of dollars. Can't they produce a sensible page and one that works? TIA.

 

[1Cheap2Crazy]

I have GE, I went to Help, update. I clicked on that link, it send me to this Google Page. But it doesn't work!!!

 

[Muse]

I managed to install the program, but it was a hassle. Having no luck on my desktop (as noted in OP), I went to my laptop and tried to download there. Had better luck. The two yellow arrows on linked page that on my desktop just pointed at each other, on the laptop pointed at a download link that did something. What it did was let me download Google Installer, an EXE. When I launched Google Installer on the laptop I got an immediate message that Google Installer was already installed! Hmm. I do the Google Earth install thing on the laptop and it starts installing, or appears to, but a page says it's installing but nothing happens. Then, I copy the Google Installer EXE onto a flash drive and run it on my desktop and immediately Google Earth begins installing on the desktop. It was actually Google Pack, with only Google Earth checked (unchecked around 10 other programs).

I now have GE installed on both systems. It has crashed several times with no warning and no messages on the desktop. Sometimes it doesn't crash. It crashed when I did searches on certain addresses (?) 😕 Haven't run it yet on the laptop. I'm finding the Google Earth thing a lot more interesting than the Google Sky so far. Pretty amazing. Immediately zoomed in on my house. The resolution at that magnification is lousy, but I can see that the photo must have been taken over 18 months ago when a new roof was installed. It is my house, though.