Street View Stuff

More Street View in Four Nations

2009-11-09T21:10:00.004-07:00

Today, four nations have received Street View; one nation, Mexico, has never had any imagery before. The five new locations are:

Hawai'i, United States (Maui and Oahu)
Mexican major cities
Canary Islands, Spain
Spain (mainland)
Netherlands

Congratulations to the new Street View locations, and thank you to Google!

Mexico Monday

2009-11-07T10:32:00.003-07:00

According to VatorNews, Google is planning to add Mexican Street View imagery on Monday, November 9, 2009. The cities included are planned to be:

Cancún
Ciudad de México
Cozumel
Guadalajara
Monterrey
Playa del Carmen
Puerto Vallarta

Yesterday, Google Maps released their Mexican website, so it would be natural to add Street View immediately afterward.

Google Australia Team Poses for Camera

2009-11-06T09:01:00.001-07:00

The Sydney Morning Herald has a video clip available on its website of the Google Australia team posing for their appearances in Google Street View.

New Views in Australia

2009-10-31T08:54:00.002-06:00

Next month, Google plans to start taking new photographs for Australian Street View to give users a more up-to-date experience.

See more information at the Google Australia blog.

Newer Zealand

2009-10-22T08:41:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, Google New Zealand Blog announced that the Kiwi Street View imagery is scheduled for an update, this time with higher resolution photographs such as those in Europe and Canada. Also, face-blurring technology is planned to be implemented.

The first region to get the new photographs is Auckland, starting this week. So for those of you in New Zealand, as the National Business Review says, "Brush your hair and avoid massage parlours."

Twin CN Towers

2009-10-13T15:01:00.001-06:00

Found in Toronto:

View Larger Map

Update! Mettre à jour! Aktualizovat!

2009-10-07T15:23:00.004-06:00

Today, many of the streets of Canada and the Czech Republic are now visible in Street View! Here are the Canadian regions:

Banff National Park
Calgary, Alberta
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Hamilton, Ontario
Kitchener, Ontario
Montréal, Quebec
Ottawa, Ontario
Québec, Quebec
Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver, British Columbia

And in the Czech Republic, the most coverage is in and around the Praha area, but then extends to Beroun, Brno, Mělník, Poděbrady, and Příbram.

I can't wait to see what these countries' streets have to offer! Thanks, Google!

Confusing Crashes Caught

2009-09-22T21:03:00.002-06:00

Jalopnik has put out a funny article about ten very confusing car accidents that have been found on Street View. They range from too many police officers to very poor parking. Take a look for yourself!

Cute Google Animation

2009-09-16T06:57:00.002-06:00

This video was recently released by the folks at Google Japan to show how the Street View process works.

South African Street View

2009-09-02T07:30:00.003-06:00

According to Bizcommunity.com, Google SA is working to release Street View for South Africa. They seem to plan to release this imagery in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Toyota is teaming up with Google to provide the camera cars.

Google Brings Back Link

2009-08-28T10:03:00.003-06:00

A feature which was previously in Google Maps, but then removed for some strange reason, has returned. When searching for a business in a Street View-covered area, a link now appears to view that business's building in Street View.

A new addition to this feature is the appearance of the red placemark pin:

Swiss Watchdog

2009-08-22T08:29:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, a data protection "watchdog" officer in Switzerland told Google to immediately remove Swiss Street View coverage from the Internet, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The group claims that Google did not follow the privacy conditions they apparently agreed to.

Actually, the only problem with the coverage is that some faces and license plates have not been blurred. Hopefully, Google will repair this imagery soon.

August 2009 Worldwide Update

2009-08-18T09:01:00.003-06:00

This long-overdue update (sorry about the prediction, guys! ;-) has finally been put on the map. Three new nations are now covered in Street View: Portugal, Switzerland, and Taiwan. Swizterland has the best coverage of them all; Portugal only has coverage in Lisbon and Porto, and Taiwan only has coverage in Taipei City.

View Larger Map

According to Google LatLong's official announcement of this update, some new interesting Partner Program locations have been added: Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Thunderhill Raceway Park (which the Street View car was spotted at months ago), San Diego State University, and Legoland California.

Picture Perfect

2009-08-12T09:02:00.002-06:00

A Kentucky painter named Bill Guffey likes to paint pictures of scenes in cities around the world, but he has not been to any of them. According to ABC News, he solved that problem by virtually visiting those places in Street View! These paintings have sold for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars.

Although Street View images may not be the best-looking photographs you've seen of a place, Bill can transform them into something beautiful.

My Work Here is Done (Most of it, Anyway)

2009-08-05T09:13:00.003-06:00

For the past twenty months, I've shown you loyal readers a list of certain upcoming Street View locations from news sources and blogs all over the Internet, and I've kept a list of current locations on this blog's right sidebar. Now, Google Maps has an official Street View database where all this information can be found, along with lots of other cool stuff. I've posted a link to this site right here on the blog so it will be easier to find for visitors.

Don't worry, I'll keep you guys updated on the latest Street View buzz, but remember that Google now has a website especially for listing current and upcoming locations, so I would recommend heading over there for that information.

According to the new Street View website, cities all over Canada, Germany, and Switzerland are being photographed. That answers the question of Germany and Switzerland's privacy laws. It looks like Google has once again steered clear of those obstacles.

Land of the Midnight Street View

2009-07-25T08:52:00.003-06:00

According to Life in the Knife, the capital city of Canada's Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, is being photographed by Google Street View.

Also, according to CBC News, the not-so-nearby city of Whitehorse (in Canada's Yukon territory) is also being covered. The driver of that car was told not to conduct any interviews, but said that he'd been driving through Whitehorse for the past three days.

The Canadian Street View release should be huge.

Getting Fancy

2009-07-24T21:16:00.002-06:00

Today, Google has changed the way Street View works with a new 3D-type feature that is viewable whenever you click the arrow buttons. You can try it out below:

View Larger Map

This is very similar to EveryScape's 3D motion feature.

What are your thoughts on this new feature? Is it a slight improvement, or does it take away from the simplicity Street View once had?

One Small Step for Pegman

2009-07-20T21:50:00.003-06:00

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Google Maps has made Pegman into an astronaut today. Interestingly, the artists at Google decided to design an outfit different from Pegman's cousin on Google Moon.

Thanks, Steven!

Google Soap View

2009-07-17T15:56:00.004-06:00

According to Telegraph.co.uk, the set of the soap opera Coronation Street was recently photographed by Google Street View cameras. These views are planned to be released in a few days. One interviewee said that "Corrie" is one of the most famous streets in Britain, even though it is fictional.

Unlike the Street With a View project, no special poses by cast members of the show were made, as far as I know.

Brasileiro Carros estão Aqui

2009-07-06T08:39:00.004-06:00

According to Fernando Quadro, Google cars have been roaming Brazil since July 2, 2009. Three states are currently being filmed:

Minas Gerais
Rio de Janeiro
São Paulo

Crazy for College Campuses

2009-06-23T08:54:00.002-06:00

According to The Wired Campus, the Google Trike team is planning to take Street View photos for college campuses. So far, the following three colleges are being photographed:

California State University at San Diego
University of San Diego
University of Pennsylvania

If you're a college student, keep an eye out for the Google Trike!

Suspects Sighted with Street View

2009-06-22T08:55:00.002-06:00

This has been all over the Internet. I usually don't post popular Street View news like this, but it's a slow Street View week.

Tons of News

2009-06-15T07:38:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the delay; I try not to blog on Sundays.

Changing the Rules: To appease the strict privacy rules of the European Union, Google has agreed to stop holding the original (non-blurred, non-edited) Street View video files. However, this would mean there is more chance for error in the pictures, and these errors are nearly impossible to fix. Be prepared for thousands of coverage gaps in the middle of European streets. Read more here.

Google Trike Update: Two main new locations were added from Google Trike imagery this week: Disneyland Paris and a bicycle trail in Monterey, California. Read more here and here.

Pancake Navigation

2009-06-05T09:34:00.003-06:00

Google has released a new smart navigation tool feature called the "pancake". This way, you don't need to continue to click the Street View arrows to get from one place to another; you can zoom across from one point to another. To use it, just hover your mouse until you see a three-dimensional transparent oval or rectangle. Double-clicking it will zoom the Street View to adjust to that specific location. The 3D-like effects are similar to EveryScape's, but you only use them if you want to. If you double-click a rectangle, it will zoom to a view of that part of a facade. It's too amazing to describe in words, so try it out for yourself!

View Larger Map

Here's a video of the new feature:

Twitter Tracking

2009-05-30T09:02:00.003-06:00

It turns out that Twitter is an excellent place for finding Street View sightings. Just searching for "Google Street View car" has revealed that people have apparently recently seen Street View cars in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin–three locations that haven't been reported yet! Since regular blog posts can't keep up with this, a new widget has been placed on this blog's sidebar, "Twitter Car Sightings". Hopefully, it will help us keep up with locations not covered by the media. I'll save the regular blog posts for media coverage.

So, get ready for updated imagery in the United States!

Street View Holodeck

2009-05-28T07:52:00.001-06:00

Some Google employees have built a "Holodeck" that provides an amazing Street View experience. You can read more about it at Google Blogoscoped.

Google Trike Trying Suggestions

2009-05-22T08:29:00.004-06:00

Google has recently released an official website about the "Google Trike" that's been spotted. It turns out, this feature is currently only available in the United Kingdom.

Google is talking suggestions for British locations that people would like to see on Street View but aren't reachable by car. To suggest a location, go to the Google Trike submission form. It's free and anonymous.

VisitBritain is helping out with this new feature. And yes, Google has found someone strong enough to ride it!

Pegman's Tricycle

2009-05-15T08:27:00.002-06:00

In San Diego, California, the owner of a bicycle shop discovered a tricycle-like device with the Google logo on it, along with Street View laser cameras. This could be a new form of providing Street View panoramas in areas where cars cannot reach, but my hope is that it means Google is planning to release indoor Street View.

The mystery continues...

Samochody w Polsce (a Česká republika)

2009-05-15T08:08:00.005-06:00

Krakow Post reports that Google Polska has announced Street View imagery being constructed for two cities in Poland: Krakow and Warsaw.

This is great news, but another European nation has been reported to be upcoming (one that even Street View Stuff didn't know about). According to the same article, three countries were listed as also being upcoming. Greece and Hungary were listed, along with a surprise nation, the Czech Republic!

Actually, the Czech addition isn't too surprising, since Google cars have been spotted in many other European nations.

Jittery Japanese II

2009-05-14T08:21:00.002-06:00

View Larger Map

Looks like the Japanese are complaining again.

According to BBC NEWS, Google is planning to drive through the streets of Japan again. This time, the cameras will be forty centimeters lower than they were before so they can "respect the privacy of homeowners."

In Japan, buildings and homes are built closer to the street than in other nations, so Google has been apparently capturing some interesting views of people's everyday (or not) lives.

Note: Google was not forced to retake their photos; they are doing this as a favor to the citizens of Japan.

New Arrows

2009-05-14T08:12:00.003-06:00

On Google Maps, Street View panoramas have a yellow line that roughly follows the road. This tool is for navigation. You can click the two white arrows to "drive" on roads, and also turn at intersections. Now the arrows have been updated!

Now, instead of growing larger when your cursor hovers over them, they will highlight blue.

Down the Stweet

2009-05-13T08:21:00.002-06:00

There is a new website called Stweet that combines the popular mini-blogging website Twitter with the totally awesome Google Maps Street View.

Just go to Stweet and choose a location with Street View. Then, the website will show you the location of a recent Twitter "tweet" in that location using Street View.

If the tweet location isn't available in Street View, a Google Maps satellite photo of the area will be displayed instead.

όχι!

2009-05-13T07:23:00.002-06:00

The Hellenic Republic has told Google to postpone sending their Street View camera cars to Greek roads until they can assure the government that it does not violate the strict privacy laws of Greece in any way. USA TODAY reports that this decision was made on May 11th by the Data Protection Authority of Greece.

The Hellenic Data Protection Authority stated that "simply marking the car" is not a good enough method of notifying Greece of the presence of Google cars roaming the nation.

The Authority has also halted kapou.gr until it uses more privacy features like face-blurring, which Google Street View already provides.

This Greek order could set the standard for many other possible Street View-covered nations in the future. However, Germany and Switzerland have already laid down the law in front of Google before. Germany seems to be allowing the images soon, but Switzerland has not made any such promises yet, as far as we know.

Privacy issues haven't been a challenge for Google in the past, and this new Greek stuff is unlikely to become a problem for them.

Az Autók Megérkeztek

2009-05-09T09:06:00.003-06:00

Google's really working on their European Street View coverage. On May 5, Google cars arrived in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, according to Caboodle.hu.

Also, the Westmeath Independent reports that Athlone, Ireland, is also being photographed by Street View cars.

Avoiding the Rush

2009-04-28T08:59:00.002-06:00

According to The Earth Times, Google Germany has agreed to let Germans censor their Street View imagery before it is released onto Google Maps and Earth. This is an excellent decision, for it will help Google avoid as many privacy-invasion outbursts as possible from this nation.

Previously, Google had taken pictures of cities in northwest Germany, but they, along with Switzerland, prevented Google from releasing them online. Now it looks like Google's ready to continue. I wonder what will happen in Switzerland?

Kanalima!

2009-04-18T06:06:00.002-06:00

Over the past four days, at least three people have spotted a Street View camera car in the state of Hawai'i, according to Hawaii Blog. In fact, eBay cofounder Pierre Omidyar was riding his scooter in Hawai'i when a car passed him. As seen on his Twitter page, he's not very happy about that.

Currently, the only American state not available in Street View is Hawai'i. It looks like Google has finally found a way to get some of their cars to those remote islands. Pegman's also been touring the Canary Islands, Singapore, and Taiwan. But Hawai'i is so far away from mainland that it's often not considered a part of any continent.

Google's putting those cameras to work! Get ready to virtually visit the Aloha State!

Hei, Google.

2009-04-18T05:54:00.002-06:00

According to Helsingin Sanomat, Google Street View cars are roaming around the nation of Finland, photographing Helsinki and other areas.

A few Finns have complained about the time of year in Finland, which apparently isn't very good for taking photographs. However, Google Finland country manager Petri Kokko said that the feedback for the photographing has been 99% positive.

Kettering Coming

2009-04-17T07:27:00.002-06:00

According to the Northants Evening Telegraph, the English city of Kettering is being photographed by Google. The Street View car has been seen all over the city.

According to the writing, "it is hoped" that the coverage will go online "by the end of 2010."

The article's a good read. You can tell that a few Kettering residents don't know the law too well.

Google har Indfundet sig

2009-04-16T08:57:00.004-06:00

According to The Copenhagen Post, Google Denmark country director Peter Friis released a statement saying that the Danish cities of Århus, Copenhagen, and Odense were being photographed for Street View, as of two days ago.

If true, Denmark will be the nth European nation to have Street View imagery. Then Google will have only n more to go. The current European nations Pegman has visited are:

France
Italy
Spain
United Kingdom
Nederland

Germany already has some coverage, but due to privacy laws, they are not available yet.

UK Cars

2009-04-16T08:41:00.002-06:00

Here is a list of different locations throughout the United Kingdom where Street View cars have been spotted, according to the Telegraph and News & Star.

Bexhill-on-Sea
Blackburn
Bolton
Buckingham
Carlisle
Chelmsford
Cumbria
Eastbourne
Ipswich
Perthshire
Reading
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Renfrewshire
Worthing

Google's coverage of the United Kingdom could become the best in Europe within a year or two.

On to Toronto!

2009-04-09T09:31:00.003-06:00

According to the National Post, Google will release its Torontonian Street View imagery within weeks!

Apparently, Google already has Street View imagery from two years ago when the feature was added to Google Maps. Cassandra Jowett writes that Google's cars are acquiring more recent photographs for the locations they had missed.

Here are some of the locations in Toronto spotted by locals:

A firefighter followed a camera car along the Gardiner Expressway from Spadina Avenue to the South Kingsway.
Someone saw a Chevy cobalt at the intersection of Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue.
South of Bloor University on University Avenue.
One car was seen as far away as Branton, about twenty miles from downtown Toronto.

In the past, whenever a new nation was released on Street View, more than just one city was added. According to this post, Toronto is only one of the eleven cities Google is filming. If it's true that Google's had Canadian imagery since 2007, then it might not be too long before Pegman helps us around the entire Great White North.

Oz Online!

2009-03-31T17:00:00.006-06:00

Earlier today, Google released Street View imagery for the Land of Oz. All five Ozzian countries and districts have been covered:

East Oz
Emerald District
North Oz
South Oz
West Oz*

*There is little coverage in West Oz; it ends about one mile before the castle.

As with most previous releases, some citizens have made complaints about the service. According to QuadlingWeekly.oz, a Munchkin couple has filed a lawsuit against Google for taking photographs of their farm, even though the only available coverage was a scarecrow whose face was blurred.

In Emerald City, one citizen complained to a member of the royal guard about the Google van's illegal black color. The wizard has not made any comments about this issue.

This release was quite a surprise, not only because there were no major Google car sightings, but also because of the dangerous methods of getting into the country. Google, you've done it again!

Primelocation Puts Panoramas on Pages

2009-03-27T09:01:00.003-06:00

The United Kingdom-based real estate search website Primelocation has recently added a Street View feature to its search. When browsing search results, go to a property details page, and click the "local information and maps" tab. A Google Street View button should appear. Clicking it will open a new window with the Street View imagery for that property's location.

If you're looking for a home in the United Kingdom, try Primelocation.com! It's very easy.

Canada Coming Soon!

2009-03-25T08:44:00.006-06:00

Well, turns out that this recent post was right. According to the Montreal Gazette, eleven cities in Canada are being photographed by Street View cars:

Calgary, Alberta
Edmonton, Alberta
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Montreal, Quebec
Ottawa, Ontario
Quebec City, Quebec
Saint John, New Brunswick
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Toronto, Ontario
Vancouver, British Columbia
Winnipeg, Manitoba

My response to claudia64, who pointed this out (thanks!): No, I don't work for Google. ;)

Google Car in Banbury

2009-03-24T08:56:00.003-06:00

A black car with cameras has been spotted numerous times in Banbury, England. You can read about it at the Banbury Guardian website. According to the image, that is definitely the Google Street View car.

The British Street View imagery has caused quite a bit of excitement lately. Check out this lawsuit against Google (yes, again) at BBC News. The United Kingdom ranks #7 in number of Internet users, and nearly 7 out of 10 Brits use the Internet. The excitement isn't too surprising.

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

2009-03-23T09:50:00.003-06:00

It's been a while since the last "Can or Can't" post, but after the worldwide update last week, it's time for another one!

Adirondack Mountains - This is a huge portion of the American state of New York, and only a few major roads go through it, but there are still plenty of nice drives to take. Why not put them on Street View for the whole world to see?
Hawai'i, United States - This has been on the CAN Believe it's not in Street View post before, but now it should be covered for a few reasons: Google can reach islands now (Sardegna, Italy; Japan; New Zealand), it's the only American land not in Street View yet, there aren't as many roads in Hawai'i as other US states, and Google already has imagery for the Canary Islands. Surely they can cover Hawai'i by now.
Olympic National Park, Washington - Street View provides imagery for beautiful national parks all over the world, but interestingly, there is no coverage for the northwest peninsula of the state of Washington. As mentioned by a few commenters of this blog, it is a beautiful region that would look excellent in Google Maps and Earth.
The Hague, Nederland - Only three major cities in the Netherlands have Views. The Hague is a very large city with plenty of history, and right in between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, there really shouldn't be a reason for it to be left out of the Street View feature.
West Coast, New Zealand - New Zealand has the most complete Street View coverage of any nation in the world. But the only part that doesn't have complete coverage is the West Coast. Why?

Canada Coming Soon?

2009-03-21T15:56:00.005-06:00

View Larger Map

There used to be some Street View coverage for Canada, but it has been removed. The Google car has certainly been to Canada, but all Canadian Street View imagery has been kept off of the Internet.

However, past events in Street View history show that Canadian Street View might not be too far away.

As you may have heard, MapJack and Canpages have teamed up to produce street-level panoramas for Canada already. This is similar to previous companies trying to outdo Google.

EveryScape released imagery for the city of Washington on April 7, 2008. On November 4, Google released imagery for Washington, Baltimore, and Seattle. EveryScape hasn't made the news since.
Seety released imagery for London on October 16, 2008. On March 18, 2009, Google released imagery for all major cities in the United Kingdom, along with more American, Dutch, French, Italian, and Spanish locations. Seety is no longer updating their website.

If Google continues to impress us with tremendous updates like those, we could expect Canadian Street View to show up in time for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.

However, there is one thing I feel I must remind you about: there have been no major Street View car sightings anywhere in Canada yet, so please don't get too excited. This blog's predictions on the right only include locations where Google cars have been spotted.

Also, there must be a reason why Google imagery stops right at the Canadian border. We'll have to find out, eh?

First Update of 2009

2009-03-18T21:17:00.002-06:00

Good news, Street View Stuff readers! More Street View imagery has been added all over Europe: in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United Kingdom. You can see this for yourself at maps.google.com.

Some interesting notes about this update:

Some coverage for the island of Sardinia has been added.
Although none or few Street View car sightings were reported there, there is Street View coverage for the Belfast area of Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
There is no coverage of The Hague in the Netherlands.
Some French Street View comes very close to Germany, but there is none in Germany at all. This was predicted, however; although there were reports that German Street View would be released in Spring 2009, there were also some legal issues that Germany (and Switzerland) used to prevent Google's imagery from being made available on the service.

Have fun exploring the new Views!

Google Visits Ireland

2009-03-17T08:24:00.006-06:00

According to the Irish Times, Google has reported that they will be adding coverage to five major cities in the Republic of Ireland:

Cork
Dublin
Galway
Limerick
Waterford

Google has not released any dates for this release, but the timing of the announcement is somewhat appropriate.

Please Don't Put My Planet on the Internet

2009-03-13T08:57:00.003-06:00

Joal Anderson is a legislator from California. He must have heard one of the following false statements:

Google Earth is a crime tool.
Google Earth is a threat to security.
Blurring Google Earth imagery and Street View imagery will save us.

Because that's exactly what he's proposing with Assembly Bill 255, according to Macworld.

If passed, not only would many buildings have to be blurred out in Google Earth, the same would have to be done with Google's Street View feature.

Street View Imagery Coverage by Nation

2009-02-27T16:24:00.003-07:00

Here is a bar graph of the amount of Street View coverage by nation:

Google might want to improve their European coverage, no?

Photo Fun!

2009-02-26T09:33:00.006-07:00

Street View has been given a small makeover: while viewing Street View in Google Maps, there is a border around the Street View window that will turn blue when you hover over the "x".

But the biggest and most exciting change about Street View is a new feature called user photos.

Now, when you view popular Street Views in Barcelona, New York, New Zealand, Rome, San Francisco, Sydney, and Tokyo, a small image thumbnail will appear in the Street View's upper-right corner with the caption "User Photos".

Clicking this icon will adjust the Street View and open the first of a whole set of photos provided by Panoramio users. Panoramio, a service from Google, is a great way to share your geolocated photos. Google has reviewed many of these millions of pictures, and placed them into Street View for your enjoyment.

This new feature can be very useful for Street Views with not-so-good-looking atmosphere, like some taken on dark, cloudy days. User photos, I predict, will soon be popping up all over the Street View world. That would be fun!

Imágenes de las Islas

2009-02-20T21:41:00.003-07:00

According to the Gran Canario Info Forum, a Google Street View car has been found in the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago of the coast of northwestern Africa.

As one member pointed out in the forum, the sides of the black Street View van were quite dented. Someone is a bit too concerned about privacy, perhaps?

Agaete, the location of the sighting, has been added to this blog's "Upcoming Street View Locations" Google My Map.

Exciting Results of Boring Lawsuit

2009-02-20T08:57:00.003-07:00

You may have heard about the lawsuit on Google by Aaron and Christina Boring. You can read more about it here and here.

Well, the results have been talked about all over the Internet: Google won! Again! Actually, the case was dismissed by a federal court judge.

The images are still taken down for privacy, but Street View is still available to us on Google Maps and Google Earth. Hopefully, this feature will still be here in the future.

Pete's Privacy

2009-02-17T09:13:00.002-07:00

According to The Boston Globe, a man named Peter Funt is concerned about Google Street View invading his privacy. This is not unusual, but there really is nothing to worry about with Google Street View, for many reasons that have been listed before.

Today, another Globe article talks about Peter Funt's concern that burglars could find his home's open window on the second floor and take it as an invitation to come rob his house. Hey, Peter? How about just locking the window?

Lately, Google released a new service called Latitude, which you can use to track your friends' locations with your phones. Mr. Funt calls the service "eavesdropping". As pointed out by the Globe's Michael Sierra, Latitude is an "opt-in" service, which is not eavesdropping. Thank you, Mr. Sierra.

Make Your Own Street View

2009-02-05T16:04:00.003-07:00

At Gizmodo, Adam Frucci has started a Street View-themed Photoshop Contest.

Adam writes:

We're always finding strange things in Google Street View. But there are some things that, chances are, we'll never, ever see using the service. Let's change that.

If you have Photoshop and some Photoshopping skills, you can send your entries to Adam at contests@gizmodo.com by February 10, 2009.

The Poor Deer

2009-01-30T11:37:00.002-07:00

Wendy Wang wrote a post on the Google LatLong blog explaining an accident with a Street View car in New York.

While the Street View car was driving along Five Points Road near Rush, New York, a deer was run over by it. The images of this collision were removed after someone posted the link and image to The Daily What and increased tremendously in popularity.

View Larger Map

Going forward on the above Street View will show you the location of removed images where the deer was hit.

Many people found this funny on reddit.

No Comment

2009-01-29T08:37:00.001-07:00

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on people who were found on Street View doing "private" things. You can read this for yourself.

Drive the Parade Route

2009-01-20T15:10:00.004-07:00

Today is Inauguration Day in the United States, so News.com.au's blog Stars 'n' Snipes has put together a virtual Street View tour of the Inaugural Parade route, complete with directions using the Street View API.

Many Australians do not seem to approve of the somewhat cheap plugin, as you can see by the many negative comments on the bottom of the page.

Time for Taiwan

2009-01-10T11:58:00.003-07:00

According to DigiTimes, a Google Taiwan managing director has stated that Street View imagery in Taiwan will be online in late 2009.

Street View cars were spotted in Taipei City, Taiwan, in early October 2008. Taiwanese Street View will be appreciated by tourists who cannot skillfully read Chinese. Well, only if they are smart enough to go to Google Maps.

Street View Saves the Day

2009-01-08T13:38:00.005-07:00

According to the Worcester Telegram and Gazette, a girl is no longer missing thanks to some Internet technology.

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Here's the story: Natalie Maltais, a nine-year-old resident of Ahtol, Massachusetts, was reported missing. Todd Neale, a police officer, decided to use some Internet technology to find Natalie's location. Here is how the technology was used:

cell phone GPS: dialed the number and tracked her cell phone

Google: searched for location, Natural Bridge, Virginia

Google Street View: found a view of the area, and found a Budget Inn that looked interesting

Google Earth imagery: used Google's satellite imagery to find the hotel

After many clues, Officer Neale guessed that Natalie was in the hotel. After some searching there, she was found.

Natalie will be with her family soon. Thank you, Street View!

United Kingdom in the Spring

2008-12-30T08:42:00.001-07:00

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

2008-12-20T10:44:00.002-07:00

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

Jittery Japanese

2008-12-20T09:57:00.003-07:00

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

2008-12-15T12:14:00.002-07:00

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

2008-12-12T13:16:00.003-07:00

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).

Google Circuit View

2008-12-10T16:49:00.003-07:00

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

2008-12-10T16:34:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-10T11:58:00.008-07:00

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!

2008-12-09T15:52:00.003-07:00

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

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

Google Stunt Car?

2008-12-06T09:56:00.002-07:00

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

2008-12-05T08:53:00.002-07:00

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.

Panorama Paranoia IV

2008-12-02T07:15:00.006-07:00

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

SMAPs is over.

2008-12-02T06:49:00.004-07:00

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

2008-12-01T18:05:00.003-07:00

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?

2008-11-29T13:19:00.003-07:00

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?

2008-11-29T09:25:00.004-07:00

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?

2008-11-26T14:45:00.003-07:00

Looks like Pegman has an Australian cousin.

Hmm.

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

Wow.

A New View

2008-11-26T07:34:00.005-07:00

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!

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.
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.
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.
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.
Zooming in very close to a street will take you into that point's Street View.
The copyright is hidden in the lower-left corner, along with the link to reporting inappropriate imagery.
When dragging Pegman around the screen, hovering over a spot on the map will reveal a thumbnail preview of that spot's Street View.
The embedded version of Street View also has many new features.

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Here are some benefits with the new layout.

Pegman!
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.
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.

Newbies to Google Maps might not know what that little yellow man might be for.
Some computers might not be able to handle the full-screen Street View very well, which could make it run slowly.
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.
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

2008-11-25T07:21:00.006-07:00

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

2008-11-24T17:50:00.004-07:00

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

2008-11-23T12:21:00.001-07:00

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

2008-11-23T11:12:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-22T09:54:00.004-07:00

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!

2008-11-18T12:15:00.003-07:00

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

2008-11-14T08:02:00.002-07:00

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

2008-11-11T16:34:00.003-07:00

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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?

2008-11-08T17:44:00.005-07:00

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

2008-11-06T09:40:00.003-07:00

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!

2008-11-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Two words:

Memphis, Tennessee

Vote!

2008-11-04T15:42:00.004-07:00

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:

Go to the Google Search main page at google.com.
Click the link to a Google Maps My Map.
Type your address into the provided search box.
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.)

2008-11-04T15:17:00.004-07:00

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.

Washington, DC
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

2008-11-03T08:43:00.003-07:00

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!

2008-10-30T08:30:00.002-06:00

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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!

Lago di Como
Milano
Firenze
Roma

to be continued...

Oi! No need to criticise

2008-10-28T07:59:00.005-06:00

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!

2008-10-27T21:11:00.004-06:00

Thank you, claudia64! ;-)

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Street View is now available for four cities in Spain:

Barcelona
Madrid
Sevilla
Valencia

The Google press conference will take place in Madrid tomorrow.

Google Earth for the iPhone

2008-10-27T08:40:00.003-06:00

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

2008-10-26T11:07:00.003-06:00

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

2008-10-24T13:06:00.018-06:00

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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

2008-10-24T07:11:00.003-06:00

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.