I remember reading about this story ages ago, but I'm just going to go on the record as saying Google Earth is awesome. Especially that time lapse function that they used to have where you could select whatever year you wanted to see.

It's funny because I never think to use it anymore, but there have been times when I've been driving to an unknown area on long trips that I have done the 'fly-over' view along the route (as we see him doing in the film) manually stepping through the journey to learn the critical turns I should be watching for. What is crazy is having seen the 2d visual representation when I would see them in real life it was like deja vu to the point that I would say to others, "Yeah, I know where are are at...we need to turn up here at this bank!" even though I had never actually been there before. It is crazy and amazing technology for sure!

I love Google Earth. When I'm feeling nostalgic, I look around some of the places I used to live. And it is very useful when you're in a new place, or even just planning a visit. I even use it to give directions to friends who get lost (directions to places I myself haven't been).