Table 1. Basic characteristics of Google Earth™ versus commonly used GIS software.
| Software | Provider | Free-ware | Free access to satellite images | Basic feature-making tools | Spatial data processing capability | Spatial analysis and modelling capabilitya |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Earth™ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lowb | None | |
| Epi Info/Epi Map | CDC | Yes | No | Yes | Low | Low |
| HealthMapper | WHO | Yes | No | Yes | Low | Low |
| SIGEpi | PAHO | Yes | No | Yes | Moderate | Moderate |
| ArcGIS | ESRI | No | No | Yes | High | High |
CDC, [United States] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; ESRI, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc.; GIS, geographical information system; PAHO, Pan American Health Organization. a Spatial analysis and modelling capability going beyond visual interpretation of displayed data. b Restricted to basic feature-making tools.