How to Fix: Google Earth “Please leave or end your current meeting”

How to Fix: Google Earth “Please leave or end your current meeting”

I recently upgraded to an Macbook Air, running OSX 10.8. As it had been a while, I decided to take this opportunity to reinstall all my applications from scratch instead of restoring from Time Machine in Migration Assistant.

One of these apps was Google Earth. Upon launching I got this error message immediately:

“Please leave or end your current meeting before starting or joining another meeting”

I followed a variety of troubleshooting steps in the Google Earth Forums but continued to get this error message. Apparently part of the problem is that Google released a new 7.0 Beta version, but the download doesn’t really tell you this. Some suggestions in the forums say to unplug the computer from the Internet and change some preferences. Another suggestion told how to download the older 6.2 version of Google Earth for Mac. My issue ended up being a Combination of these problems.

First I downloaded and installed the 6.2 version. This can be found by going to the download page: http://www.google.com/earth/download/ge/agree.html

Uncheck the box that says “Include Google Chrome, a fast, free browser made for the modern web.” Then right above the “Agree and Download” Button is an arrow that says “Customize your installation of Google Earth with advanced setup.” Click and open this. Click on “Previous Version (6.2)” and then click on the “Agree and Download.”

Install Google Earth as normal by opening the .dmg file and copying the Google Earth App to the Applications Folder.

Launch it and see if the error goes away. If not, you may have to do this next step.

Disconnect the computer from the Internet. Open Up Google Earth. If should open fine. Go into Preferences (under the Google Earth menu option in the top left corner,) and then choose 3D View. I had to change “Texture Colors” to “High Color (16 bit) “Anisotropic Filtering” to Off, and checked the box “Use Safe Mode” under “Graphics Mode” before Google Earth was stable enough for me to use.

Once I did this, I was able to update my list of Oregon Ghost Towns again!

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

An early fall trip to Disneyland in Los Angeles is starting to be somewhat of a tradition in my family. Once again we drove down from the Portland area along the I-5 corridor. The return trip always includes a stop over in San Francisco. This was the same trip where we stayed only a couple of blocks away from Venice Beach.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
We always go to the right, to enter into “Tomorrowland” first. I’m still up in the air about the 1990’s refurbishment, and I really miss the “People Mover” for some reason.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The Astro Orbiter is the first ride in this part of the park. It replaces the older Star Jet Ride that opened in 1974. Geared towards younger children, the ride orbits around a fake orrery showing an unknown Solar System.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures Here you can just barely see the top of Cinderella’s castle through the trees.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
One of the cool parts of Tomorrowland is the Star Wars themes. Kids can learn to be Padwans and “fight” both Darth Vader and Darth Maul with their own lightsabers.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The “Moonliner” looks to be the rocket part of the original Star Ride. It remains forlorn as decorations.

If find Tomorrowland fascinating in general because it was a glimpse of the future when it was built. “Tomorrow” held a lot of promise for many people. Now it’s Tomorrow, and it’s interesting to see how much everything not only diverged from that imagination, but also didn’t really change. How practicality trumped wishful thinking, and how certain technologies just never came to be.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
The Cymbal monkey is a statue in the “pet cemetery” of one of my favorite rides, the Haunted Mansion. Most of the statues have a pun or funny little saying on them. Most of them are also a bit boring after reading the 100th time though, although I still get a thrill out of the ride and will ride it at least five times during a three day visit.

September 2012 Disneyland Trip Pictures
And of course, the Sailing Ship Columbia that occasionally circles Tom Sawyer’s Island, and plays host to an epic battle between Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Most of the time it just sits there as a huge prop, never moving, and frequently inaccessible.