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.

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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.

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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.