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.

Street View won't Violate Privacy Laws

The Edmonton Sun reports that some parents (like Mrs. Boswell) have spotted their children playing outside their homes, in Google Street View. Like many online newspapers, they claim that "the feature could violate Canadian privacy laws". Could.

This exact same argument was posted all over the Internet, just with the European Union privacy laws. They said the exact same thing: It could violate EU privacy laws.

But it didn't.

Google Street View has already been released in France and Italy, and since it's still online, it has not violated EU privacy laws. Also, there are no new apprehensive news reports regarding the EU privacy laws and Street View.

Google, Inc., has done plenty of research regarding privacy laws everywhere they release Street View. It happened with the Boring couple in Pittsburgh, and it hasn't happened again. We will be able to keep viewing Street View for quite a while, since it does not violate any laws at all. So no need to worry about anything. ;-)

NEWS.com.au is Apprehensive

Many newspapers, such as NEWS.com.au, are feeling a bit quite nervous about Google Street View coming to Australia later this year. Although license plates, people, and horses are blurred, the author of this article from NEWS.com.au is still worried for the following reasons:

1. Some pictures have "captured" people in "compromising" positions.
2. Criminals can use Street View to find escape routes.
3. Before a photo can be removed, sites all over the Internet might have already posted them.
4. Your house might be on there.

Well, the Australians do not need to worry, and here's why:

1. Although this has happened many times before, it won't matter in Australia, since people's identities are well hidden on Street View.
2. Criminals do that stuff anyway. You're just as safe as before Street View came to town.
3. Unfortunately, some people like to tease other people, but the people being teased are unknown, because of the blurred faces.
4. No one but family will know it's your house, since license plates are blurred, and any clues (doormats, mailboxes, addresses) are too far away or too small to be captured by Street View.

In Columbus, Ohio, a mother of three children was upset that she and her children were caught on Street View playing outside their home. What she apparently didn't know was that everyone's face had been blurred, and the pictures would have been too low-resolution anyway. And being being "caught" playing with your kids isn't really a bad thing.

Google works hard to respect people's privacy. So far, they've done the following for those who are skeptical about Street View:

• Blurred faces of people (and horses)
• Blurred license plates
• Switched to low resolution in the United States
• Removed images requested for removal (especially for a Boring family)

British Sightings on a My Map

Here is a Google My Map displaying the precise locations of nearly all the Google Street View Car sightings in the United Kingdom. The cities in the map from the Register are:

1. Birmingham
2. Bristol
3. Cambridge
4. Coventry
5. Glasgow
6. High Wycombe
7. Inverness
8. Leeds
9. Liverpool
10. London (of course!)
11. Manchester
12. Norwich
13. Nottingham
14. Shepperton
15. Ullapool

Also on the map is Roma, Italy, which was first spotted on April 18, 2008.

UPDATE: An employee from The Register emailed me with a link to a version of the map that is much easier on users' computers. Of course, the link has now been updated. ;-)

Street View Car Found in Frankfurt!

On "fakestef", someone has taken a picture of the Street View car in Frankfurt, Germany.

Street View Guy is Ready to Race

The Tour de France has gotten many people excited, including Street View Guy, who's decided to show off his bike in France. When you go to Google Maps Street View, all French Street View has Street View Guy on his bike.

UPDATE: His name is Pegman.

Happy Independence Day!

As you may have noticed, Street View Guy dressed up today to celebrate the 232nd birthday of the United States of America. Happy Fourth of July!

Welcome to France!

(and Italy!)


View Larger Map

As of early this morning, Street View has made its debut outside of United States borders and into the French Republic! Although coverage in minor, the cities were included as a celebration of the upcoming Tour de France. The cities added are:

1. Brest
2. Auray
3. Saint-Malo
4. Cholet
5. Aigurande
6. Brioude
7. Figeac
8. Toulouse
9. Pau
10. Lannemezan
11. Lavelanet
12. Narbonne
13. Nîmes
14. Cuneo (Italy)
15. Embrun
16. Bourg d'Oisans
17. Roanne
18. Cérilly
19. Étampes
20. Paris

Now, these are approximates. There are a total of 21 camera icons, one for each stop of the Tour de France. But some of these icons are very close together, so they can be considered one location.

This came out of nowhere, and Google has surprised us once more! Thank you, Google Street View!

Google Revisiting Twin Cities?

According to the Our life blog, an Immersive Media car was spotted today in Bloomington, Minnesota, on Shakopee Road and Normandale Boulevard.
But why would Google revisit Minneapolis? As shown above, Street View is already working fine in the selected area, and the Street View Car has been photoshopped away already, so what is the reason for taking more pictures? We'll have to wait and see...

thanks Dustin! :-)

Google भारत की सड़कों पर?

A source "close" to Google has revealed that five drivers would be driving the streets of India according to IT Examiner. Since there are five drivers, this most likely means that there will be five cities included in Street View as early as next year. These five cities will most likely be among the following:

1. Bengaluru
2. Bhopal
3. Chennai
4. Hyderabad
5. Kolkata
6. Mumbai
7. New Delhi