Thursday, October 8, 2009

Google Maps Street View Feature

Google maps new feature called "Street View" released in Canada yesterday, and I must say, it is very cool. Within the google maps, zoom to an appoperiate level where you can see streets and on the zoom bar; there is now a little yellow person icon. Drag that onto the road and viola, you will be put into street view.

Google Street View Info Help
The link above will direct you to google maps street view introduction page and gives you a quick brief about it.
It's quite neat. Google took these pictures if I last remember reading few months ago, they also plan to do another round sometime near the Olympics (or when the venues are all completed) so those people coming into Canada (and Vancouver) can take a look at where to go!.

Now, people are bothering about privacy issue and everything, and I have to say, "Are you really going to sue some random person who took a picture of you (or a view and you were in it)?".
The truth? : No, you won't because it's on person and you most likely didn't do. It is in public streets and you are not entitled to the randomness of things that can happen, however, if you were harassed and thnings like that, then it's a different story.

That's really what Google did, they stuck a 360 degree camera on there car, drove around Vancouver / Canada and its various locations (Wow. that must have burnt a lot of gas. Imagine the plains!) and took pictures and collaborated it into there map system. They did however, blur our people's faces (that were close to the car, say sidewalk level most likely, since anything past that is blurred by pixelation.) and license plates and etc. It is very cool; and great tool for guiding friends to somewhere; like click on so and so street, go there, take a left. And they can visually appeal where to go, rather than only figuring out a map and not knowing what the road might look like.

I hope you everyone takes a chance to look at it. It looks quite fun and can be a useful tool.
Please, don't abuse in doing stupid things. Good ideas get trashed because of people doing stupid things with them.

Enjoy!,
Ghost

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