Google Earth – Street View coverage.

[Currie]

Google Earth – Street View coverage.

I just thought I would check to see where the Google camera car has been travelling. The countries that have some coverage are as listed. I apologise to any countries I have missed. I’m not sure how this translates to Google Maps. If you don’t have Google Earth you can get it here http://www.snapfiles.com/reviews/Google ... earth.html

Australia
Canada
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Italy
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Singapore
Spain
Sweden
Taiwan
United Kingdom
United States

Northern Ireland may be new, also Hong Kong and the Canary Islands.

Alan

[SarahND]

Hi Alan,
Just checking a few places I know in Europe, it seems to fit. No Google Street View in Belgium or in Germany, but even the smallest country roads appear to be there in France.

Regards,
Sarah

[Adam Brown]

Have the Germans and Belgians said no to the cameras?

Adam

[Currie]

Hello Sarah & Adam,

Here’s some recent news about Google, Germany, and Street View http://www.physorg.com/news191851167.html

Here’s Google’s “currently driving” page. I’ve sorted them alphabetically and marked those currently with Street View with an asterisk. There may be other countries being driven that are not listed http://maps.google.com/intl/en_us/help/ ... -view.html

Australia*
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada*
Czech Republic*
Denmark
Finland*
France*
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Ireland
Italy*
Japan*
Luxembourg
Netherlands*
New Zealand*
Norway*
Poland
Portugal*
Romania
South Africa
South Korea
Spain*
Sweden*
Switzerland
Taiwan*
United Kingdom*

The following countries have Street View but aren’t listed so perhaps not “currently driving”?

Mexico*
Singapore*
United States*

Also Canary Islands* & Hong Kong*

All the best,
Alan

[trish1]

Piece in our paper today about the Google car being one of the first over the duplicated Gateway bridge (Brisbane) - doesn't seem to be in the online paper

Trish

[Currie]

Hello Trish,

Owzat.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/technol ... -v0n9.html

Alan

[Alan SHARP]

The quote below is from NZ's 'Domminion Post' (Wellington) and sister publication, the 'Waikato Times', May 14, 2010, where it was the leading news item on page two.

QUOTE:
Google has collected personal wireless internet data from New Zealand homes through cars sent around the country for its Street View project.
The internet giant confirmed the fact last night, after privacy watchdogs in Germany, Britain and Australia raised concerns about the practice. Fears include the possibility that Google could match people's mobile devices and internet behaviour to home addresses.
An internet safety expert says most people would be surprised how much data Google now holds about them – and the company's word is the only guarantee that it is not misusing the data.
The revelation comes after Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff joined international counterparts to express concerns to Google about its data and privacy protection.
Australian-based spokeswoman Annie Baxter confirmed Google had collected WiFi information in New Zealand, but refused to answer any other questions. After concerns were raised in Germany, Google global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer said it was "clear with hindsight that greater transparency would have been better".
Information collected included the names and unique numbers associated with residents' wireless networks. The data, which is publicly available, was used to give precise readings of people's locations if they were using Google's mobile map services.
Google "did not collect any information about householders" and could not identify individuals from information collected by its Street View cars, he said.
The Street View project involved cars travelling the streets with 3D cameras to capture panoramic views to go with Google's map service.
Martin Cocker, executive director of internet safety organisation NetSafe, said he was ambivalent about the idea. On one hand, the data was publicly available. "On the other hand, these wireless points – they're ours. We didn't expect they'd be used in this way."
Google's methods were also problematic. "The thing that bugs people is the way Google does these things and tells people about them later."
He believed Google was usually responsible with personal data, but most people would be surprised to learn just how much of it the company held. "We're using Google services so much and, if Google bothered to cross-reference the different things I do, they would know a lot about me."
A spokeswoman for Ms Shroff said she was not aware of Google monitoring WiFi data. Her office would be interested to hear what Google had to say about the practice.
GOOGLE KNOWS .................................

END OF QUOTE.

What price do; OR; should we, as private individuals, place on access to today's rapid means of world wide communication?

As always, there is a hidden cost to those valued concepts of FREEDOM and LIBERTY.

Alan SHARP.

P.S. Being a Waikato Ite, I viewed the above clip in the TIMES, but could not find it on their web page. Instead I found it on their Domminion Post web page. [Moderator's might like to post a link, though the copy is constantly being up-dated.]

[Currie]

Hello Alan,

To tell you the truth I don’t really care two hoots about the individuals who don’t secure their wireless networks, if that’s what it is that Google is supposed to be picking up. Operating an unsecured wireless network is the same as broadcasting and there’s nothing wrong with listening to the radio. Someone who shouts into a telephone in a public place can’t complain about eavesdroppers. Someone who runs up the street naked can’t complain about peeping Toms. If anyone wants to share their wireless internet with their neighbours and want to take the blame for anything questionable the neighbours download all they have to do is run an unsecured wireless network. Here’s how to fix it http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sup ... secure.htm

For years Microsoft Internet Explorer has been recording details of every web address people visit and storing it in a file on their computer that under ordinary circumstances is inaccessible to the user. For years every move we make in the public streets has been under surveillance by cameras operated by agencies of the very same Governments whose privacy bureaucrats are making noises about Google. I think that it is Government which has the scariest record of abuse of privacy and freedom rather than private companies such as Google. Nobody seems to be at all worried about all the private data that has been collected from these unsecured networks by the local burgler, or the local police, or the local serial killer.

My biggest worry about Google is that one day the company will be taken over by some greedy individual or organisation and we will have to pay for Google Search and Google Earth and Google Maps and Google Books and Google Docs and so on. The services provided free by Google are endless http://www.google.com.au/intl/en/options/

Whatever Google is likely to pick up from the camera car is likely to be insignificant compared to the sort of material people trustingly put into organisations such as Ancestry and Genes Reunited, all the social networking razzmatazz, and the online, in the clouds, backup systems.

I’m more worried about the software vendors who feel the need for elements of their program to start-up whenever you turn on your computer and phone home supposedly for updates and who knows what else. I’m more annoyed by programs that insist on placing a folder with their name on it in my private domain, my documents folder, whenever they are installed, or accessed, no matter how many times you delete the stupid and useless thing.

It’s funny that it doesn’t matter how many times I type Google my spell-checker still shows it as a spelling error. Either I have an old spell-checker or it’s a Microsoft one. If I type Microsoft it doesn’t produce an error.

All the best,
Alan

[LesleyB]

Hi Alan

It’s funny that it doesn’t matter how many times I type Google my spell-checker still shows it as a spelling error. Either I have an old spell-checker or it’s a Microsoft one. If I type Microsoft it doesn’t produce an error.

Asute point there!!

If using MS Word, and probably most other word processing software, after typing the word and having it flagged up as a spulleeng error, right click on the word; a wee menu should pop up with several options, amongst which should be an option to "Add to dictionary". That should stop those red wavy lines in their tracks.

Best wishes
Lesley

[Currie]

Thanks Lesley,

That’s better. I’ve done the right click thing before but only to get what is supposed to be the correct spelling and I’m not sure I’ve ever read the rest of the menu in Word. I think the last time I used something like the right-click dictionary thing was in an OCR program when I was trying to transcribe some Welsh.

All the best,
Alan