Confusing Crashes Caught

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!

Pancake Navigation

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!

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Here's a video of the new feature:

Down the Stweet

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.

Photo Fun!

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!

Make Your Own Street View

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.

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!

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?

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?

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.

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.

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!

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!

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. ;-)

Funny Adventure Game

http://keirclarke.googlepages.com/streetviewlatlng.htm

Here is an adventure game built entirely with Google Street View. Follow the directions (you may need to zoom out first) to play. Each time you move, you run into a certain situation, and the goal is to "escape the clutches of cruel fate", however it is quite hilarious to try all the options given. Try it out!

UPDATE: The images of San Francisco, etc., have been replaced or removed, so the game might not work properly.

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.