Ok, so I had no problem with downloading and installing Google Earth.  I did the google earth tour, which I think is helpful for those folks who might otherwise be hesitant to just jump in and explore the website.  I was suprised at how quickly you could ‘fly around the earth’ and get from point to point!  This type of tool could be very useful as a reference tool for school reports and also for trip planning.  When I typed in a specific place however it did not show up on Google Earth ~ I anticipated this though because I knew that it was a newer place and so the info hadn’t been updated yet on google earth.  So, I guess that would be the main draw-back of this tool, is that it is not reliable for looking up newer locations.