Google has started blurring the faces of people captured in its controversial Street View feature.

The company launched Street View in 2007, providing a driver's perspective of streets in several US cities via Google Earth and Maps.

However, the technology immediately sparked a privacy debate, with many people concerned that they or their houses had been captured in intricate detail.

In one instance, a man was pictured exiting a San Francisco strip club. In another case, a woman was pictured sunbathing. Complaints have even included a woman asking that a picture of her cat be taken down.

Full story: pcpro.co.uk 

Labels: blur, face, street, Street View

Google has added four more cities to its Maps street view: San Diego, Los Angeles, Houston and Orlando, Fla. San Diego is getting the same high-resolution imagery treatment that Google gives San Francisco; I'm not sure why. I asked Google about this and this is the response I got:

"As you probably know, Street View imagery is gathered by Google and a third-party data provider. Imagery in San Diego, like San Francisco, was gathered by Google. Our focus is on providing coverage for as many cities as possible; I don't have any additional details about our imagery collection schedule at the moment, but we will announce new roll outs on the Lat Long blog."

Read more: webware.com 

Labels: city, Maps, Mountain View, street

While Google's Street View photos are not real-time captures, they can include windows of houses or businesses, through which private details can be seen. In a New York Times article, for instance, Oakland, California resident Mary Kalin-Casey expressed dismay at seeing her cat in the living room window via Google's Street View.

Google, in addition to organizing the world's information, apparently also wants to allow you to photographically navigate any public space. Earlier this week, Google announced Street View for Google Maps. It's a new feature that enables users to view and navigate 360-degree, street-level imagery from several U.S. cities.

But the easy availability and potential misuse of the photos is raising privacy concerns from several corners.

Full article: cio-today.com 

Labels: city, Maps, photos, street, us

This morning Google added Street View, an all new way to browse Google Maps. Launching with five major cities, Street View joins satellite and traffic maps as new ways to view geography. When in an area with a Street View, users can toggle the mode to navigate within a 3-D photograph using their mouse or keyboard shortcuts. Users get their own "person" that shows which direction you're looking at.

You can also just click and drag them to new locations. The experience is a mix between Quicktime's VR environment and Microsoft Live Labs' PhotoSynth project since users can zoom in closer in any shot. Google describes it as "immersive photography."

Read more: webware.com 

Labels: city, Maps, photo, street