Google's "Street View" Brings World To Grand Rapid's Door

Google's "Street View" Brings World To GR's Door

blog.mlive.com

GRAND RAPIDS -- As the "Google Maps" car with the roof-mounted, 360-degree digital camera passed Duke's Bar on Michigan Street NE last fall, a man was standing in the doorway.

He wore light blue shorts, but his back was turned to the camera.

Now, anybody with Internet access can see him standing there as they travel the virtual streets of Grand Rapids and its suburbs. Viewers might also notice the churchgoers heading into Immanuel Lutheran Church on Michigan Street. Or they can spot cars.

(visit the link for the full news article)


Related News Links:
maps.google.com
mashable.com
en.wikipedia.org
streetviewgallery.corank.com

Related ATS Threads:

Google Street View...A New Threat?

Google "Street-View" Captures: Kid Aiming Gun, Drug Deal, Flashing Woman, & More!

Google Maps Street View Found E.T.

[edit on 11-8-2008 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

I was talking to a friend in Australia earlier tonight, and she asked what I thought of Google Maps showing her front door, and I thought she was referring to Google Earth, which as we all know shows the tops of your roof as well as your vehicles. She suggested that I punch in her address into the Australia Google Maps link I provided below, and needless to say, I was stunned at the detail and clarity of the pictures and the total 100% loss of privacy this shows.

Google Maps : Street Views : America

If you know an Australian, send them this link and ask them what they thing of this invasion of privacy.

Google Maps : Street Views : Australia

It does not just stop there though. Through our continued conversation, she says that they send people around to take the pictures that allow this kind of thing to be done with this level of clarity and again I was shocked as Hell. I asked for her for a website link to a story, and she found it and I'm supplying it to you here.

blog.mlive.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

This refereshed my memory of The Unabomber when I read a book which mentioned him threatening an author of a book, David Gelernter, author of "Mirror Worlds" by sending him a bomb.

Mirror Worlds: or the Day Software Puts the Universe in a Shoebox...How It Will Happen and What It Will Mean

I didn't know this has been discussed until after submitting it, but I didn't see a Breaking Alternative News link either, and the story is from yesterday.

Google Street Views


Google Street Views : Girl Living Outside For Thesis


Google Street Views : Surveillance Car


[edit on 11-8-2008 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

one think i have been doing with street maps is going to different states even different countries and looking UP IN THE SKY instead of looking around. and yes i have seen some pretty interesting objects wont say ufo's until i get them looked at by a professional, but this tool is pretty cool.

Well, here's the thing next, they will switch this to having them on top of Police cars next, ambulances, fire trucks, and can do this stuff live action next. This will be moving and live action surveillance all the time, any time, and it will be high-tech. Plus all the cameras on the traffic lights like they have in the local area I live in, and all the webcams that are used for surveillance already

[edit on 11-8-2008 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

I just posted this Breaking Alternative News thread in the thread below :

Ghost Recon Game Foreshadows Russian War Perfectly!

It relates to it in an unusual way.

This Mayor in West Helena, Arkansas has enacted a curfew similar to Martial Law.

Arkansas Town in Lockdown

It's relevant to this Breaking Alternative News submission because it could be done in conjunction with the Google Street Views, when and if these cameras are mounted on Police Cruisers, Ambulances, and Fire Department vehicles, and working in tandem with a curfew, or enacting Martial Law at night, and then this transitioning to a live daytime surveillance system.

Welcome to the United States of Survelliance and Martial Law.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Oh man this really p****s me off !!!! Thanks for posting it.

I just punched in my address, saw my car in front of my house, my front porch, my windows, i mean clearly, detailed like i was standing outside I do not like this one bit !!!!! Is that even legal ?

It's only gonna get much worse ! I'm in Chicago and it seems our illustrious mayor is planning on allowing any member of the private sector that is willing, to link their surveilance cameras up to the city's. which means that the city will be watching people whenever, whereever they want without the people even being aware of it. I mean at least as it stands now you know when you're in front of a city camera , but if he's allowed to do this you will have no idea when they're watching you. Right now if your nieghbor has a surveilance camera on his property you can pretty much bet it's just what it seems, he's watching his property. But if Daley succeeds with his plan your nieghbor's camera may just be broadcasting everything you do in your yard to the city.

reply to post by chise61


If you've seen "The Dark Knight", the current and new Batman, there's a series of scenes where everyones cell phones in Gotham are simultaneously turned on in conjunction to act as a sonar, and this is similar to it in a sense, just a different piece of electronics being used. This would be surveillance on steroids, just like the Google Street Views.

[edit on 11-8-2008 by SpartanKingLeonidas]

Haven't seen it yet, usually wait till the dvd comes out, I can't stand crowded movie theatres, and refuse to pay that much to see a movie.

I'm starting to think that this country is just too far gone now, no way left to save it anymore, we have allowed them to become way too powerful.

Someone pointed this out to me at my job, so we looked up to coordinates on my job and my car was sitting there in the parking lot! I was pretty P.O.'d, but they did blur out my license plate. I'm going to look up my house now, see what its like...

Funny is it not that they can zoom in on my house with no problem at all yet they can't find bin laden?Am I to believe google has better tech than the government also?

Originally posted by kyle6677
Someone pointed this out to me at my job, so we looked up to coordinates on my job and my car was sitting there in the parking lot! I was pretty P.O.'d, but they did blur out my license plate. I'm going to look up my house now, see what its like...

Are you SERIOUS?

ALL of you in this thread. HOW is this any different than someone walking up your street?

What's next, AVERT YOUR EYES OR BE CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING.


This whole privacy tear-fest is largely misguided and misplaced.

Worry about somewhere you are actually losing rights, not something completely innocuous and no different than someone turning their head while driving down your street.


Fear Mongers.



















edit;

Originally posted by pooty
Funny is it not that they can zoom in on my house with no problem at all yet they can't find bin laden?Am I to believe google has better tech than the government also?

I saw what you did there. You're sweet, like cake.
Learn about how these pictures are actually generated and then your opinions will be valid. Thanks!



[edit on 8-11-2008 by forsakenwayfarer]





Haha, your arguments, all of them; null and void.

The resolution of the photographs is low enough to make it difficult, or impossible, to make out license plates. They've blurred faces. And, anybody who believes they've been captured in an embarrassing situation can request their image, or even their home, be removed.

[edit on 8-11-2008 by forsakenwayfarer]

Originally posted by forsakenwayfarer


What's next, AVERT YOUR EYES OR BE CHARGED WITH TRESPASSING.


This whole privacy tear-fest is largely misguided and misplaced.

Worry about somewhere you are actually losing rights, not something completely innocuous and no different than someone turning their head while driving down your street.


Fear Mongers.

I think you're the only one here that's misguided and misplaced in that it's one thing altogether that a person is looking left and right on a street, and even maybe taking a picture, it's totally different for a business to do it, and profit from it, while taking pictures of someone else's home, without their permission, possibly taking pictures of them, without their permission.

Did you know any time that someone's face is shown on television, they have to get that person to sign a waiver? Even the T.V. COP's respects that, to some degree, so what gives Google Maps the right to do this, without anyone's permission?

They take a picture, without asking permission, and I'm suing them for millions. I do not care if I am in a public location, I have the right to have the respect of having someone ask permission first, and acting upon that permission second, not the other way around.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas

Haha, your arguments, all of them; null and void.

The resolution of the photographs is low enough to make it difficult, or impossible, to make out license plates. They've blurred faces. And, anybody who believes they've been captured in an embarrassing situation can request their image, or even their home, be removed.

You are crazy, sorry.



Also, Google does not profit off of streetview, sorry. Don't give me the Google ads line either, because they are everywhere. Even on ATS. Terrible logic.



Good luck winning that suit though, have fun champ.



Fear monger.

First off.. As American Citizens you have absolutely no right or expectation of privacy outside your home.

If this was true then celebrities could tell the paparatizi to take a hike and sue the living hell out of them.

Second..... All the images of this are not live and for the most part once taken are not even updated. They go around maybe once a year IF that just to update things.

The satalite view of my house on google maps is 3-4 years old at least.

The ability to have live constant streaming video of every single house road etc just is not something that is realistic at this point in time. Maybe in the future but right now no.

I personally think it would be a Damn good idea to have constant live accessible 360degree views from police cars.. That way the public can keep a close eye on the police and make sure abuse of power doesn't happen.

Once again.. Outside your home you have absolutely no expectation of privacy and to act like you should it just silly.

reply to post by wolfmanjack


Christ alive, another rational thinker. Starred, and I honestly wish I could give you a thousand.

Your fear and wringing of hands would be far better spent in this thread, which chronicles events which may threaten Life As We Know It, or How I Learned to Love the Bomb.

reply to post by forsakenwayfarer


I'm going to agree with you on this. If I recall correctly the law states that anywhere where you shouldn't expect a certain degree of privacy is fair game for photographs to be taken. When a car is driving on a public road and taking pictures from that public road, it's legal.

They also do offer a means of having an unwanted photo removed if needed so I think they're being quite responsible with this.

The way most of you are looking at it is as if they're setting up surveillance of your homes 24/7. In reality, I doubt that any of these photo's will be updated for at least another decade, if ever at all.

I would also like to point out, that if someone is looking to obtain your information, there are many methods of doing so, and having a photo of your home or car, does not really give anyone much to work with.

Personally I like what Google is doing with this, not only is it a neat feature to be able to browse places you've never been to, but it's also a good navigational tool if traveling somewhere unknown because certain things that you see in some of these photos could be used as visual land marks.


EDIT: wolfmanjack beat me to it by about 20 minutes, I had the page open for a while before making my post. Grrr!


[edit on 13-8-2008 by InSanE1]