WebProNews

No longer must the Cult of Mac look on wistfully while Windows users enjoy playing with Google Earth, as the search advertising company works on developing an Earth for Apple computer users.

It's at the "sources said" stage at AppleInsider, but that's enough to build some excitement as Google finally develops an application that doesn't have the word 'Windows' in the system requirements listing.

Should the rumors be true, Google has a version of Google Earth in development to run on Mac OS X, the current version of the Macintosh operating system. Reportedly, a version of Google Earth for Mac OS X began showing up outside the US. That pre-release edition relies on OpenGL rendering, the report said.

The free version of Google Earth lets Windows users zip around the globe to view images from the whole planet. A $20 annual subscription adds GPS device support and better printing options to the service, while a professional version with collaboration features carries a $400 annual price tag.

Except for a Gmail Notifier for Mac OS X created by a Google engineer and Macintosh fan, Google has not released any products for platforms besides Windows. Complaints from the vocal users of other operating systems like Linux, and the addition of Chris DiBona to Google as open source program manager may finally spur Google to develop versions of apps for non-Windows users.

David Utter is a staff writer for WebProNews covering technology and business.