United Kingdom in the Spring

According to Mail Online, Street View for Great Britain is planned to be released in Spring of 2009.

Google Street View vehicles have been spotted on roads in every section of Great Britain. When Street View is released for the United Kingdom, it will most likely have coverage all over the country like Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.

Street View for Germany has also been scheduled for Spring 2009, but there have been some very serious legal issues that will probably prevent this from happening in Germany and in Switzerland.

Română Drumuri

According to CTI97, a Google Street View van has been spotted in Bucureşti, Romania.

Jittery Japanese

According to Reuters, an educated Japanese group, the Campaign Against Surveillance Society, wants all of Google's Japanese Street View imagery to be completely removed.

Their reasoning, said by Yasuhiko Tajima:

We strongly suspect that what Google has been doing deeply violates a basic right that humans have.

In other words:

We [believe] that [taking pictures] deeply violates [our privacy].

Doesn't this sound familiar? They have nothing to worry about; Google has been working hard to espect people's privacy. ;-)

Upper Down Under

Sorry for the lateness, but the northern part of Australia has been updated in Street View. This was last week, so you can read more about it at the Official Google Australia Blog.

All Over America

After the latest "Update Tuesday", which was enormous, some news websites all over America are kind of, well, freaking out. Here are some articles from all over the Land of the Brave (or not so brave).

• Birmingham, Alabama - Google adds Alabama to online street view mapping
• Great Falls, Montana - Google's Street View now covers Montana
• North Carolina - What does YOUR street look like?
• Charleston, South Carolina - Google Street View finally comes to Chaleston
• Texas - Google's Street View is Here!

Google Circuit View

According to StreetViewFun, a Google Street View car has taken imagery for a future Street View on Thunderhill Speedway in Northern California. These views will probably be published in January 2009.

Do More (and More, and More...) with Your Phone

Street View has now been released on the Nokia S60 and Windows Mobile, according to the Official Google Mobile Blog.

This brings the number of Street View-compatible phones to 5.

New Marking Method

Since Google Street View has so much coverage now, they have removed the camera icons and replaced them with a little picture of Pegman. Although this is good for de-cluttering Google Maps, it's bad for counting how much imagery is currently available. So a new way must now be devised to count the data.

Here is the new way the blog will be arranging it: First the continent, then the country, then the divisions of the country.

Commonwealth of Australia: 8 divisions

French Republic: 21 divisions

Italian Republic: 20 divisions

Japan: 47 divisions

New Zealand: 16 divisions

Kingdom of Spain: 17 divisions

United States of America: 51 divisions

When every major street (on Google Maps, shown in yellow or orange at zoom level 6 [7 in Japan]) in a division is covered, then the division is counted in green as fully covered. If most of them are covered, then the divison is counted in indigo as mostly covered. If less than half of them are covered, then the divison is counted in red as partly covered. If none are covered, then the division is not counted at all.

This new method will be used on this blog's sidebar.

Whoa!

Go to Google Maps and you'll see what I mean by, "Whoa!".

Hey guys, Northern California's finally covered! Heheh.

Google Stunt Car?

This Seattle error was reported by an anonymous commenter here on Street View Stuff. Check out this view, and then move forward.


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It seems that the Google Street View car jumped off the bridge for a little while, and then jumped back on. How in the world did this happen?

Chrome Bug Zapped

According to Download.com, a Street View bug has now been fixed in the new Google Chrome web browser. Google Chrome is an excellent browser; in fact, I'm using it right now to blog this post.

However, the new updated version of Chrome with the Street View bug fixed is a developers-only release, it seems.

Read more here.

Panorama Paranoia IV

Check out this EPR press release. I think I've summarized this privacy stuff enough in previous posts. ;-)

• Panorama Paranoia
• Panorama Paranoia II
• Panorama Paranoia III

SMAPs is over.

SMAPs, a website providing geographical information from New Zealand, has permanently closed, according to its website. Google Maps New Zealand has been listed as an alternative website.

SMAPs has therefore been replaced wth a new Google Maps feature in New Zealand's top real estate website TradeMe, and like so many other real estate websites, a Street View mode has been added, since Street View now has imagery all over New Zealand.

This was done, according to Stuff.co.nz, because SMAPs could not update as quickly as Google does. TradeMe probably wants to be as efficient as possible, so it seems obvious that Street View has been added.

Aotearoa

Most of the streets on the islands of New Zealand have been added to Street View today. You can see the official Google Maps New Zealand page here, or you can go straight to Google Maps or Google Earth and check it out!

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This is the first Street View update without a list of locations, so Street View Stuff predictions will not include lists of locations. This also means that it will be harder to list the current locations, so any suggestions for formatting this data are welcome to the email address at the bottom of the page, or on the comments of a blog post.

Here is a map from Google Maps of what has been covered:

Ae!

Why the Long Wait?

In October, Google was updating Street View faster than I could blog. Of course, this had an affect on the blog's predictions, which are now currently set at November 12, which comes fourteen days after the last update.

However, it's now November 29, and there has been no sign of adding more Street View locations to the map.

Could it possibly have something to do with the winter weather or Christmas decorations? Although it might not, since Santa Fe, New Mexico's Street Views were taken during winter weather.

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By the way, decorating buildings with paper bags on top is a Christmas tradition in New Mexico.

It's called luminarias, taken from the Spanish.

Black Hole in Seattle?

These glitches were found by Devin Coldewey at CrunchGear.

---

This one is quite interesting. Take a look at this view below and move forward.

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It just goes black for some reason. It goes on like this for about 3/4 of a mile, until the ramp joins up with Mercer Street.

Australian Pegman?

Looks like Pegman has an Australian cousin.

Hmm.

UPDATE: Looks like he's got one in Japan, too.

Wow.

A New View

Today, Google announced the redesign of the Street View feature in Google Maps. Many improvements and new gadgets have been made, making Street View a little more fun. The new star of Street View is Pegman! Hooray!

1. The Street View button has been replaced with an image of Pegman on the left control bar in Google Maps. Whenever Street View is available, he appears. Whenever Street View is not available, his image turns grey.
2. Instead of a new placemark appearing with Street View, a full-screen mode replaces the map, making Street View less cluttered. This full-screen mode includes an "x" button in the upper-right corner for exiting Street View.
3. A small thumbnail map appears in the lower-right corner of the Street View. Clicking the arrows will take you to a new split-screen mode, showing the Street View on top, and the map on the bottom.
4. The navigation wheel from Google Earth now has a cousin in Google Maps. The N points north, even in Street View. You can drag the outer part of the wheel to adjust your viewing angle. The arrows will pan the view around, and the magnifying glasses will zoom in and out.
5. Zooming in very close to a street will take you into that point's Street View.
6. The copyright is hidden in the lower-left corner, along with the link to reporting inappropriate imagery.
7. When dragging Pegman around the screen, hovering over a spot on the map will reveal a thumbnail preview of that spot's Street View.
8. The embedded version of Street View also has many new features.


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Here are some benefits with the new layout.

1. Pegman!
2. Google Earth and Google Maps are much more similar, so if one user uses one, it should be easy for him/her to use the other.
3. The blue highlights only appear when searching for a Street View location (dragging Pegman around the screen). This makes the blue highlights much easier to use.

Here are some problems with the new layout.

1. Newbies to Google Maps might not know what that little yellow man might be for.
2. Some computers might not be able to handle the full-screen Street View very well, which could make it run slowly.
3. Google Maps is becoming more cluttered with more gadgets, taking up more space. If Google keeps adding new things, newbies might need a manual just to get around the map.
4. With all the new stuff, there is more probability for errors and/or crashes.

So what in the world are you waiting for? Go to maps.google.com and check it out!

Panorama Paranoia III

KTEN Channel 10 reports that StopInternetPredators.org is at it again. This time, supporter Stacey Rumenap has given her ideas to Sherman, Texas, and Ada, Oklahoma.

A new phrase has emerged from this. Check out these quotes from the article:

[Stacey Rumenap is] battling Google because she believes [Street View] is a threat to children.

She's not battling Google at all. She sent an email to Google, asking for the release date of Street View in the Sherman-Ada region, and Google spokesperson Elaine Fliadelfo responded with a note saying that they had "no timeline to share". Then comes this quote from the article:

Before it gets here, maybe Stop Internet Predators.org will win its battle with Google.

What battle? SIP has done nothing except try to convince parents to do what already can be done: requesting Google to remove certain pictures they are uncomfortable with.

As I've written in many other posts, there is absolutely nothing to worry about with Street View.

Get Views on iPod Touch

According to the iPhone Download Blog, there is now a "hack" that will let you access Google Street View on your iPod Touch. I'm unsure of its legality, however, but you might want to check it out anyway.

Google Street View Privacy Video

Earlier this month, Google finally released the above video due to the near-overwhelming string of attacks on Google's Street View and its "invasion of privacy". Hopefully this will prevent some possible future attacks.

杉並区: A Panorama-Free Zone

image from Flags of the World

杉並区 (Suginami Ward), a suburb of Tokyo, Japan, has requested to have the Street View feature removed from Google Maps, according to Asahi Shimbun. The reason? Well, it's the same reason that North Oaks, Minnesota, wanted their images removed: privacy concerns.

It appears that Google is considering the removal of the images, and they might vanish from the map soon.

iWant iPhone

In August, this video was uploaded on YouTube, featuring a new Street View feature in the iPhone:

Many people found out that it was a hoax: a video being played on an iPhone with the user moving the device to fool people.

However, in the new iPhone 2.2, a real Street View feature has been released, according to Joe Hughes at the Official Google Mobile Blog and Google LatLong.

It's a wonder they're still called "phones".

Nein!

According the the International Herald Tribune, Switzerland has stopped Google from adding Street Views to its country. If that wasn't bad enough, Germany claims that taking the photographs for Street View itself is against the law.

Releasing Street View was much easier for Google in France, Italy, and Spain, but it looks like Central Europe won't get the feature for quite a while. Google's Street View cars have been spotted all around Germany, and the country has demanded that Google delete all the information gathered.

Shoreline Contest

At the Ronald Bog blog, there is a contest ending at midnight tonight, Friday, November 14, 2008.

The object of the contest is to find an interesting picture in the Google Street View feature in the Shoreline, Washington, area. Then send a screenshot of it to the blog.

The winning Street View will be voted on by blog readers and the submitter will receive a prize, also voted on by the blog readers.

So what are you waiting for?

Strange Something in Seattle

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Someone saw something strange in Seattle's Street Views; so strange since I've not seen something similar anywhere else in Street View.

It looks like another camera error, since if you drag the view to the upper right, you should be able to see the boundaries of this weird thing.

This was sent in by an anonymous commenter here on the blog, and (s)he pointed out that this error is only present along Ninety-fifth Street between its intersections of Thirty-fifth Street and Fourtieth Street.

Which Weird Websites?

Google Street View's main purpose is to serve as a map guide. However, some people have found some pretty funny stuff on the imagery. For example, the group of police cars on Felix Street in Providence, Rhode Island, and the local tire shop in Australia which the Street View camera recorded. Haha!

There are hundreds of these funny things, the funniest usually removed by Google because they are often questionable. But which websites are the best places to find these? Let's do a comparison.

The two most visited websites made especially for these Street Views are the heavily-advertised Google Street View Gallery at coRank, and the blog-style StreetViewFun at WordPress. Both of these are free to view, but you must join the website to submit a sighting. StreetViewFun is slightly more updated than the Street View Gallery, but the Street View Gallery has more members. Both of these websites contain inappropriate images, unfortunately.

I would recommend searching for the funny views yourself. It's a much coolerexperience when you find a good one. Then submit it to a clean blog like Google Maps Mania or Street View Stuff.

Street With a View

Street With a View is an art project by Robin Hewlett and Ben Kinsley, to put artistic qualities into Google's Street View feature. Their first project was released on Sampsonia Way, Pittsburgh, on November 4, 2008.

Check out the list of scenes at their website.

---

When Washington and Seattle were released in Street view, Google LatLong said there was also "a special surprise somewhere in our US imagery so keep your eyes peeled." They also gave a hint to where this surprise would be:

It's in the home state of someone whose name you'll see on the ballot
today.

I didn't see any Grand Canyon imagery in Arizona, or the interior of the Sears Tower in Illinois. I don't remember anyone on the ballot from Pennsylvania. Maybe I'm wrong, someone help me out, please?

I Can't Believe it's Not in Street View!

Two words:

• Memphis, Tennessee

Vote!

This opportunity doesn't come very often, even in the United States. It's Election Day, and that means it's time for American citizens to vote on who should be the President of the United States in 2009. Don't take this privilege for granted: it's part of what makes America so strong.

If you're not sure where to go to vote, there's an easy way to do it, and you can use Street View if it's available in your area (if not, sorry). Here's how:

1. Go to the Google Search main page at google.com.
2. Click the link to a Google Maps My Map.
3. Type your address into the provided search box.
4. Read the voter information, and note the address of your town's voting location.

You can do many things to prevent getting lost. You can get directions from your location to the voting place, and if Street View is available in your area, you can check that out, too!

Voting is a responisibility of American citizens, and it should not be denied to anyone. If you haven't voted yet, please do. You can effect the entire nation with just one decision.

Surprise! (okay, not really.)

Thank you, Claudia!


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In the United States, it's Election Day, and to commemorate this, Google has released Street View in the District of Columbia. Not only that, but the biggest surprise of all: Seattle has also been released! Baltimore, Maryland, has also been added, and you read more about the release at Google Latlong.

1. Washington, DC
2. Seattle, WA

There are two more camera icons, and Washington, DC's icon includes Baltimore, Maryland. So there are now exactly 100 Street View locations!

Expecting Tuesdays

A past updates gadget has been added to the blog's right sidebar. I looked into the days of the week of these past locations, and I found the following information about updates and the days of the week:

Sunday: 0 updates

Monday: 3 updates

Tuesday: 5 updates

Wednesday: 2 updates

Thursday: 0 updates

Friday: 2 updates

Saturday: 0 updates

So far, Street View coverage has never been updated on a Sunday or Saturday, which is explainable. But what about most updates occurring on Tuesday? That's worth looking into.

Italian Street View Released!

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Well, Google sure has been cranking out those Street View locations recently! Only a few days after the Spanish release of Street View, we can now see it in four cities of beautiful Italia!

1. Lago di Como
2. Milano
3. Firenze
4. Roma

to be continued...

Oi! No need to criticise

Muno Foofa of PC Advisor is one of the first residents of the United Kingdom to want Google Street View in the country. However, he/she (what kind of a name is Muno?) heavily criticizes Google for the long wait. Some quotes from his/her post:

Google Street View sounds like fun.

It is fun! Why else would I type this blog? ;-)

But, depsite the sightings of Google cars driving around in the UK there are precisely no Google street views of our little island. Google Street View was launched in May 2007. It's nearly 2009. Wasn't the web meant to be super quick at information delivery? Ditto, Google?

You've seen plenty of Google cars driving around your country. Please give them time, it's not really a "little island"; there are zillions (or squillions) of streets and roads in the United Kingdom. Google's being very nice to do this for you.

There are 17 locations in bloody Australia (their phrase, not mine), for Pete's sake. Japan gets a few, as well.

But none in Blighty. Is Google too busy smudging British people's faces? After all, we have a lot more people than Australia.

It could be because of the privacy laws of the European Union, or the fact that many Londoners have been yelling at the Google Street View car's driver lately (I am not kidding, this has happened). London is often considered the most photographed city in the world, and Street View being added to that is enough to scare some people.

If he/she is using population as an argument, then he/she should probably let the Chinese get their Street View first. And then the Indians, and Indonesians, and Brazilians, and Pakistanis, and Russians, Bangladeshis, Nigerians, Mexicans, Germans, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Egyptians, Turks, Iranians, Thais, and Ethiopians.

Why did Google choose the United Kingdom? I really don't know. It might be because they have a Google office in London.

According to my predictions on the right sidebar of this blog, the British Street Views should come very soon, and for the whole country.

¡Quatro!

Thank you, claudia64! ;-)


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Street View is now available for four cities in Spain:

1. Barcelona
2. Madrid
3. Sevilla
4. Valencia

The Google press conference will take place in Madrid tomorrow.

Google Earth for the iPhone

Reported pretty much everywhere, there is now a Google Earth application available for the iPhone, and yes, this includes Street View.

There's so much to read about it, so please look to GEarthBlog.com for much more information.

Here is the official Google LatLong/Google Mobile Blog post.

Street View Conference - Madrid

According to Blog Urbanismo, Google has invited some people to a press conference in Madrid, Spain, at the headquarters of Google Spain. The invitation reads,

"Te invitamos a la rueda de prensa de la presentación en España de Street View el próximo martes 28 de octubre en Madrid."

This either means that the conference about a future Spanish release of Street View is going to be hled on October 28, or that, and the Street View for Spain will be released on October 28.

Keep an eye out for Spanish Street View!

National Parks in Street View

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Biscayne National Park, Florida


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Congaree National Park, South Carolina


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Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio


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Death Valley National Park, California/Nevada


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Everglades National Park, Florida


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Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming


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Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina


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Joshua Tree National Park, California


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Kings Canyon National Park, California


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Lassen Volcanic National Park, California


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Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado


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Saguaro National Park, Arizona


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Sequoia National Park, California


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Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming/Idaho/Montana


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Yosemite National Park, California

Not First isn't the Worst

Lately around the Internet, people have been blogging about seety, London's very own street-level panorama website. It's no different than MapJack or EveryScape; however, it has been included in real estate website NovaLoca.

Google Street View cars have been seen in London already, and many Londoners on the Internet have been somewhat upset about that. So some bloggers have gone too far and said that seety has beat Google.

It's not a competition.

First of all, Google Maps is the website and Street View is a feature. In seety, the panoramas are the website and the map is a feature. I would prefer a map website than a panorama website.

Secondly, Google Street View has 90+ locations, while seety has...oh yeah, one.

Third, Google Street View cars have already been spotted in not just London, but all over Great Britain. When Street View is released in the UK, it will dwarf seety.

In conclusion, speed does not matter when it comes to quality.

Street View Mexicana se está Construyendo

Sorry about the lateness. On Wednesday, September 17, 2008, a red Street View car was spotted in Ciudad de México, according to Alt1040.

By the way, Ciudad de México is Mexico City to most Americans. ;-)

I CAN Believe It's Not in Street View

Users all over the Internet have many good ideas for Street View coverage. Here are some ideas people have had, and possible reasons why they haven't been completed yet.

• Honolulu, Hawai'i - Sure, they've done islands like Japan and Tasmania already, but Japan is easy to get to from China, as is Tasmania from Australia. But getting to Hawai'i from anywhere is a very difficult task.
• San Juan, Puerto Rico - This one's easier to get to, but since it's still a United States territory, there might be some confusion over the privacy laws.
• Washington, District of Columbia - Security, security, security.

I Can't Believe it's not in Street View!

It's been 1 year and 150 days since the Street View feature was released in Google Maps, and we now have 90 locations all over the world, and that's only the camera icons. The number of cities/townships/villages is possibly over 1,000! Then how come there are still some locations missing?

• Memphis, Tennessee - The 18th largest city in the United States does not have Street View coverage yet? Even Fairbanks, Alaska, has imagery available.
• Baltimore, Maryland - Right after Memphis: the 19th largest city in America. Not only it is big, but it is full of history and culture. If that's not enough, Google has an office less than 40 miles away!
• Seattle, Washington - See this post. Oh yeah, and this one.

German Street View Coming Spring 2009

According to GoogleWatchBlog, Stefan Keuchel, a Google spokesman, was interviewed about the upcoming Street View update in Germany. He said that Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich, are already photographed, and they, possibly along with other German cities, will be released in Google Street View in spring of 2009.

If this is true, it will be the first announced date of a Street View update.

Sweet View

Google had a bake sale to display some of their near-infinite creativity. One of the desserts that caught my attention was of course, the Google Sweet View display. It was complete with a Google Maps marker, a Peg Man picture, and my favorite, a Google Street View car with cupcake cameras on top.

You can read more about the bake sale at the Official Google Blog, or see some high-resolution pictures of it at the Google Free Bake Sale 2008 Picasa Web Album.

"Really Real" Estate

Check out this article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online website. Not long ago, Mr. Matt Uhrig, a house hunter, found a property using an online real estate search. He was interested in one property near Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

That property's listing claimed that the home included a 1½-car garage. Along with this listing, Matt decided to see the home in the neighborhood on Google Maps Street View. It turned out to be a smart decision, since the picture from Google showed that the property had no garage.

Matt and his wife soon drove by the propoerty to see who was correct, and Street View was showing the truth: no garage.

Moral of the story: Before buying a home online, check Street View. You know, just incase.

Also, who has 1½ cars?

Oui, Love Street View!

Please pardon the bad pun; I couldn't resist.

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Google has added and/or updated the following French cities' Street Views:

1. Lille
2. Lyon
3. Marseille
4. Nice
5. Paris
6. Toulouse

The labels for these cities has in addition been updated, so that the locations appear as city names and not as Tour de France stages. This came as another unexpected surprise by Google. Thanks, Google!

By the way, the Peg Man Cycling bug has been fixed.

100 Posts and 10,000 Hits

Street View Stuff has reached two milestones this week: over one hundred posts and over ten thousand hits.

Our first post was on March 30, 2008, when Street View had only 43 locations.

To all the readers of this blog, thank you!

Panorama Paranoia II

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a group of parents want th entire city of Pittsburgh taken off of Street View, the main reason being a fear that pedophiles could track down where children live using Street View.

Here's a good idea: Arrest the people doing it, instead of banning a tool otherwise useful.
However, Google could easily improve their imagery technology to photoshop all people out of pictures, instead of blurring them, since those who are harmful can still see it is a child, even with their face blurred.

Here is the mom who started it all.

谷歌可以在台湾

According to IslaFormosa, a car with cameras mounted on top of it (most likely and hopefully a Google Street View car) was spotted in Yonghe City in Taipei, Taiwan.

The blogger of the post says that Street View released in Taiwan would be quite helpful, especially to tourists who cannot read Chinese very well.

The G1 My Location Feature

Google has released the above video, talking about the new My Location feature in Android's Google Maps application. One cool feature about it is, of course, the Street View. Who couldn't love that?

For more information about the other cool stuff about the G1, check out the Official Google Mobile Blog.

Spotted on Singaporean Streets

I would've posted this earlier, but I had to go to church.

A Street View car has been spotted in southern Singapore, according to CNET News. This is the smallest nation Street View cars have been spotted in so far, but Singapore City is enormous, so it makes sense that Google's chosen this city to photograph.

The exact location of the sighting has been added to the blog's Google My Map.

Street View ist auf Deutschen Straßen

Spiegel reports that Google Street View cars have not only been spotted driving around German roads, but residents of some towns in northwest Germany object to Google using the images on the web. Yes, again.

Most likely, Google's lawyers will win again, and users will get to see German Street Views by the end of next year.

Northwest Germany includes Hamburg, which has been added to the list of upcoming Street View locations. Hamburg is the second-largest city in Germany, after Berlin the capital city.

Wii Jog

A person from Japan modified Street View to use with his Wii Fit, so he could jog through Tokyo. He just clips on his Wiimote, and starts jogging. Pretty cool, no?

You can dowload the code for this to try out at Google Code.

Google Street View has a Huge Lead

[chart removed]

The above chart shows how far Street View* has gone, compared to its so-called "competition" EveryScape**, MapJack, and StreetSide.

[chart removed]

This chart shows how fast Street View is updating, compared to its "competition".

Google has absolutely nothing to worry about. At this rate, the number of locations by 2015:

Street View - 574 locations
EveryScape - 542 locations
MapJack - 105 locations
StreetSide - 2 locations

*Not including the areas without camera icons.
**Based on main page listings.

Peg Man Parties!

Peg Man is shown in Street View today wearing a party hat and holding balloons in Google colors. He could be partying because of the new T-Mobile G1 phone that runs on Android, will be released today. This phone will include a Street View application that has a built-in compass that will show you your viewpoint in Street View.

Party, party, party!

oΣ=

Mobile Street View, Flat Tire Video

Also, the real name of the Street View guy is finally revealed in the above video; Peg Man!

UPDATE: Pegman, not Peg Man. Sorry.

Street View Doing Duluth!

We received an email with another Street View car sighting in Hermantown, Minnesota, which is right next to Duluth, the third largest city in Minnesota, after Minneapolis and St. Paul, both of which already have Street View coverage.

It was spotted on August 19, 2008.

Sydney Street View Spy Game

You have signed up to be a spy. You rent a hotel in Sydney. The next morning, Agent X gives you your first mission. That is the setting of a new Street View game found by Google Maps Mania. Try it out! The game might not work properly for some Internet Explorer users.

Street View Stuff will post a few hints if you get stuck, but only if you get stuck, please. Use a keyword cipher for the hints, only if you need them, please! ;-)

You're at the hotel at the beginning oF THE GAme.
GM SG QQ GH GO SD NM

You're reading the secoND MESsage.
NL KS IS TT SQ RU DR TF TU TF LK MF OC SQ

You're talking to the GUARD.
JM QJ MA MQ 01
GP DN JG AD KD LS

Have fun!

Panorama Paranoia

This PCAnswer post by Larry Magid tells of a new group, StopInternetPredators.org, which is trying to ban Street View for the safety of children. The video above shows a mother concerned about pedophiles using Street View to locate "even your children".

Why parents have nothing to worry about:

1. The photographs on Street View are not very detailed.
2. All photographs of people that are distinguishable are blurred.
3. While photographs of homes are visible, addresses of those homes are not, and Google Maps has not perfected its addressing algorithm, either.

Outside the Box

I received an email from a Street View user who wanted to know why Street View coverage ends in Gridley, California. It's because of an interesting phenomenon where all imagery for a certain location is inside an imaginary rectangle. All or most roads within the box are put in Street View, but the question is...why?

This isn't only in California; Nashville, Toledo, Rochester, and Wichita also are contained in boxes. These boxes are only located in the United States.

Graphing Street View Updates

The above chart graphs the increasing number of Street View locations over time. Currently there are 100. If this graph were continued to predict the next update, the number for the next update would be approximately 144.

The Memphis Mystery

After 14 months of adding Street View to United States coverage, Google has covered quite a bit of the country. In fact, they have covered almost every metropolitan area in America. Except for Memphis. To quote this Commercial Appeal article, "Huh?"

Google does hope to cover every street in the world eventually, and yes, this includes Memphis. But as to why Memphis has not been covered yet, and places like Billings, Abilene, Springfield (both), and huge areas of Nebraskan farmland south of Omaha, are already available. According to the article, a Google spokeswoman claimed that "Memphis is bit more isolated than than other cities."


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According to this satellite image, Memphis looks pretty big, but to the northwest, there are lots of farms, which isn't too much fun in Street View. However, to the south and east, it appears that there's enough population to cover. Why hasn't Memphis been covered yet? Google says because of its isolation. What could isolation mean? It's a huge city, so why not?

It could be the distance from a Google office. The nearest office to Memphis is in Atlanta, Georgia, and it would still take about 6 hours and 22 minutes to get to Memphis from there. (Thank you, Google Maps directions!)

Memphis isn't the only city that's mysteriously not covered. Seattle hasn't been done yet. However, no need to worry, since Google Street View cars have already been spotted there, and in Baltimore.

San Francisco, Street View Style!

Keir Clarke, who has much experience with the Street View API, has created a very interesting virtual tour of San Francsico, California, in Street View. The tour starts at Lombard Street, and as you move along, different descriptions of the street you are visiting will display, giving you more info on where you're at. Some places don't currently have descriptions yet, but feel free to add them!

Street View Car Crosses Private Bridge

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The Street View car has made another accident along with the large update. This bridge that cross from New Mexico to Texas is a private bridge owned by American Eagle Brick in El Paso, Texas. Hopefully, no one will blame Google again.

Super Street View Update!

A huge amount of new Street View was added today, right on cue with the predictions! Along with lots of new American locations, locations in Japan and Australia have also been added. Here is the list of new locations:

Australia

1. Adelaide, SA
2. Albany, WA
3. Alice Springs, NT
4. Brisbane, QLD
5. Broken Hill, NSW
6. Broome, WA
7. Cairns, QLD
8. Canberra, ACT
9. Geraldton, WA
10. Hobart, TAS
11. Karratha, WA
12. Melbourne, VIC
13. Mt Isa, QLD
14. Perth, WA
15. Rockhampton, QLD
16. Sydney, NSW
17. Tamworth, NSW

Japan

1. Chiba
2. Hakodate
3. Kobe
4. Kyoto
5. Osaka
6. Saitama
7. Sapporo
8. Sendai
9. Tokyo
10. Yokohama

United States

1. New Orleans, LA

Now, many many many more locations in the United States have been added. In fact, about half of California is now covered.

No Borders in Street View

Street View is now available for three countries: France, Italy, and the United States. At one point, Street View was avilable for a few meters in Canada, on the Peace Bridge across the Niagara River in Buffalo's coverage. This is what is left in its place:


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At one point, these images were available, and I remember seeing them; they did not show anything questionable. Why were they removed?

The Tour de France route goes partly into Cuneo, Italy, which is available in high-resolution Street View. For the most part, Street View follows the exact Tour de France route. However, when it comes to the border between France and Italy, it is not covered. Why not? See this view:


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This is as far into the Alps the Street View van went, for some reason. But now check out this other view:


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Keep moving forward on the above view, and you'll see that Google's car drives right over that pile of snow without any marks! How does that happen? But the car finally stops when it comes to this larger pile of snow a bit later:


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In the United States, Street View cars go almost anywhere they wish, even sometimes accidentally on private property. But many of these coverage areas in America go across state borders; for example, the Philadelphia/Wilmington coverage area in Pennsylvania and Delaware has some coverage in Maryland. But some coverage areas come close to state borders, but turn around; for example, the Huntsville coverage area in Alabama comes quite close to Tennessee, but stops.

So if you'd like to see state border signs on Street View, there are plenty. But if you'd like to see national border signs, you might have to wait for quite a while.

Told you so!

The Information Commissioner of the United Kingdom has stated that Google Street View will not breach any of their privacy laws. In fact, it was satisfied that Google "was doing enough" to protect individuals' privacy.

Hooray!

Good Old Paper

If you haven't noticed by now, Google Maps has gotten a makeover. Along with this, a new feature was added to Street View: printouts!

You can now print directions straight from Google Maps, and a new Street View option has been added. Click it, and those directions will come to life with the Street View image for that step. If you don't like how one image is aligned, you can align it like any other interactive Street View panorama. When it is printed, the Street View is placed in its own box by its step. Sometimes, Google Maps will have two steps with the same Street View. You can turn Street View off for those parts.

This is a very useful feature if you don't have a laptop in your car, which you shouldn't be using if you're driving, anyway. If you come to a spot that's hard to make out, just look at the Street View on your directions page, and you should figure out where to go in no time.