I think Streetview is great and am getting pretty peeved about the idiots who complain about it as it may get shutdown. So, who can I complain too about the idiots who are complaining about Streetview?

I really want my house on Streetview. Maybe I should complain that they haven’t done my area yet. I would also like an approximate idea as to when and where the google car will be as I want to make sure that I get my image captured and I don’t want my face blurred out.

Why is so much of the UK not covered yet so much of Australia is? One hot dusty road looks very much like another.

See also:
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/a-brief-rant-about-google-maps-street-view
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/googlemaps-uk-streetview

Why is so much of the UK not covered yet so much of Australia is? One hot dusty road looks very much like another.

That’s why. They just take the one photo and the copy and paste it for hundred of miles. 🙂

As you think it’s great, can you explain briefly what it is for? ❓

Looking at streets?

Thanks to streetview I found out some very interesting information on someone I know, which i wouldn’t have found out as they live too far away, when I found their house I noticed it had a for sale board out front so I Googled the Estate Agent and found their house I then had a virtual look at two of their bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and back yard.

All from the comfort of my desk.

Streetview is ace.

I am simply baffled by it. I’ve got no serious concerns about privacy, but I cannot see any legitimate use for it that makes its creation worthwhile. Given that it must have cost millions, I am suspicious that it has an as-yet-undisclosed sinister purpose.

When someone manages to point out an actual use for it which is merely banal and slightly sad I shall relax.

🙂

Within days of it going up I had already found a use for it – I went for a ten mile drive to an area I’d never visited before, to a person whose house I’d never been to before and I used street view to get me from my door to their door without a single wrong turn. What’s wrong with a map I hear you cry? Well nothing, but a map doesnt give you an immersive representation of a given area, you cannot see landmarks on a map such as shops garages, distinctive buildings etc which you use to navigate by.

I dont have sat nav, nor do I have a physical map of the area so I just memorised various buildings and used them to find my way – worked perfectly. The applications are probably limitless for streetview. One possible and pretty obvious one would be for inclusion in some sort of next gen sat navs.

One possible and pretty obvious one would be for inclusion in some sort of next gen sat navs.

Which is very likely where google is going with it, given the suspicious lack of car sat-nav style navigation available for google maps so far….

As you think it’s great, can you explain briefly what it is for?

Same as google maps but with more detail – like if you’re directing someone who is an idiot and not so good at using maps, you can give them a picture of the place they’re looking for, so at least they have some idea of what they are looking for.

It is also good fun to be able to get decent pictures of your house. We’ll never be on it as we’re on an unmaintained road which is sad. We are also at rubbish quality on google maps / google earth

Joe

p.s plus, on a google phone like my G1, streetview works with the accelerometers, compass and GPS already.

What really annoys me is that the US has had it for a while and not heard of many complaints (although am sure there would have been some), but the UK with the highest density of CCTV in the world (made that stat up) wasn’t there that random fact of the city of York (York is a city isn’t it?) having more CCTV than the whole of the state of new york… and as far as I’m aware all these CCTV cameras record me yet and I don’t get any say as to if they can or can’t record me and I can’t even see the footage of myself…

Then Google do this cool thing for FREE and of still imagery which is all in public streets and out of date not private area’s like some CCTV is, and people complain about it… grrr tis rather annoying!

Hum, furry muff.

Mind, my wife will probably really get on with it. She remains convinced that whichever direction she is travelling in is North by definition, and simply does not grasp maps at all. She does not understand what a map is a picture of or how it works…

🙂

i agree with xc-steve. And the other thing about CCTC is that its all now plugged into digital network video recorders, so its not really even ‘closed circuit’ anymore. They recorders are getting more intelligent too. It started off with just movement detection, but now pretty much any camera can be used to look for numberplates, certain colour/sizes of car, people driving the wrong way up one way streets etc.. even basic face recgonition. i used to write the software. its all very scary.

Some out of date images from last summer really aren’t worth complaining about by comparison.

I watched Body of Lies at the weekend. What you’ve got to understand is, that our enemies have realised that they are fighting guys from the future. If they act like none of this was ever invented it’s much harder for us to see them. Something like that. Oh, and wear a hat. 🙂

Anyone know if the mobile GoogleMaps app has been updated to use streetview? Probably quite data intensive over 3G but would be very useful if you’re lost

EDIT: yes it has: http://www.google.com/mobile/default/maps.html

‘NOTHER EDIT: A legitimate use Big Dummy, that includes bicycles!!!

There are some concerns with it. For example, a woman who moved to escape her violent husband complained that she could be clearly identified outside her new house.

dont bother complaining to the ICO. I have an outstanding FOI since August 2007….

she could be clearly identified outside her new house.

She could be clearly identified outside her house anyway by passers by, and the ex husband would have equal if not lower likelyhood of finding her on google than if he just drove the streets of the country looking.

EPIC FAIL (read the comments)

no comments visible?

Ourkidsam, that just baffles me more. That man needs streetview because he can’t mend his own punctures. He doesn’t carry a pump, repair kit or spare tube, but he does carry a telephone which will allow him to locate the nearest shop which can assist him, and then help him walk there. And while he’s pushing his bike through the streets he can see a picture on his phone of the streets he’s walking through, as they were some time ago. And to cap it all, he’s talking to a small peg-man who lives in his pocket, rather than, say, asking a passerby where the nearest bike shop is.

And I don’t understand glen’s youtube clip at all…

🙂

It’s awesome for knowing which stop to get off a bus in advance, for a start.

Love that “This is Bristol” article.

Summary: “Criminals can use Street View to find the uncensored number plates on cars, which they could then clone.”

Yes. Or they could also just walk down their street and use their eyes. FFS.

She could be clearly identified outside her house anyway by passers by, and the ex husband would have equal if not lower likelyhood of finding her on google than if he just drove the streets of the country looking.

Not really – the picture of her is on google permanently – it would be a huge coincidence if her ex husband happened to find her by randomnly driving around.

Anyway this is a bit of a distraction – there is the point about whether or not people acting privately should expect to have pictures of them pubished without their consent.

She could be clearly identified outside her house anyway by passers by, and the ex husband would have equal if not lower likelyhood of finding her on google than if he just drove the streets of the country looking.

I mostly agree, but presumably she isn’t standing outside her house the entire time, as she is visible on streetview. (edit: damn, just noticed I’ve been beaten to it!)

Yes. Or they could also just walk down their street and use their eyes. FFS.

Exactly!

I find it really useful for looking at houses I’d like to buy, checking out restaurants in areas I’ve not been to, clarifying directions etc.

All this makes it a fantastic service that’ll make it easier for google to generate advertising revenue from.

BTW, the good people at Google came to my place of work to tell us about advertising opportunities. He said not to bother with android yet as it’s pants!

The privacy argument seems to me to be a near-total red herring, although it is a bit hard on those few people who have been caught out vomiting in the street and so on. Quite agreed, CCTV etc is far worse from that point of view.

I’m not a fan of CCTV either – but the difference is that your photo doesn’t (or shouldn’t) get published.

As it happens, I quite like streetview, but I do think that there are legitimate privacy issue with it, that haven’t been properly addressed.

She could be clearly identified outside her house anyway by passers by, and the ex husband would have equal if not lower likelyhood of finding her on google than if he just drove the streets of the country looking.

Not really – the picture of her is on google permanently – it would be a huge coincidence if her ex husband happened to find her by randomnly driving around.

Anyway this is a bit of a distraction – there is the point about whether or not people acting privately should expect to have pictures of them pubished without their consent.

Surely her ex must have known where she lived to be able to find her on street view?