One Small Step for Pegman

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!

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.

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.


View Larger Map

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!

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.

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.

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 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!

Lunar Street View

Google's not just going for Street View's of the enitre Earth, Lunar Street View coverage isn't too far away.

On Google Moon, there are many placemarks available in the Apollo layer, including Street View for a few locations:

Apollo 11: Placemark 10

Apollo 12: Pacemark 6

Apollo 14: Placemark 10

Apollo 15: Placemark 3

Apollo 16: Placemark 8

Apollo 17: Placemark 5

Okay, it's not technically a Street View, but it works much like the Street View here on Earth. You can pan, zoom in and out, and there's an astronaut similar to Street View Guy.

What's next? Well, possibly a way to link to these like on Google Maps, and hopefully these panoramas on Google Moon API. Hey, it's one small step for a man, right?

YouTube Street View Karaoke

On YouTube, there is a Google karaoke video starring Street View Guy singing a Street View song. The song came out in October 2007 when Google added Chicago, Portland, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Tucson, and Philadelphia.

The video description reads,

To make your own Street View video, right-click and download this free MP3: http://www.google.com/help/maps/streetview/streetview_new_cities.mp3

Reply with a video response for a chance to be featured as a YouTube
karaoke star!

Bonus points go to those with the catchiest Street View lyrics and
costume.

It's been about half a year since the video was posted, and there are currently no video responses, so the contest is still open! The lyrics to Google's version of the song were:

Street View! Find a place to park in Chicago

Street View! Look at all those streets in Portland

Street View! It's good for seein' new neighborhoods
Pittsburgh! You'll look virtual, Pittsburgh

Street View is an awesome feature in Google Maps
You can zoom around and see lots of cool stuff

Street View! The streets are really hot in Phoenix
Street View! It's also hot in Tucson

Cheesesteaks! Tour the City of Brotherly Love
Street View! So much street to view!

Google would love to see your videos, so get that MP3 and go nuts.