Google is coming to a street near you (From Swindon Advertiser)
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Google is coming to a street near you
8:00am Saturday 15th August 2009 in News
The Google Street Car in Cranmore Avenue, Park South
SWINDON will soon become the latest town in Britain to be the subject of the controversial Google Street View.
Earlier this year, Google announced the launch of Street View for 25 UK cities allowing computer users to view street level imagery of London, Edinburgh and Cardiff, as well as Bristol and Oxford.
And only this week, the Google cameras were out at Stonehenge, filming on board a custom-built off-road tricycle as part of an initiative to film some of Britain’s inaccessible landmarks and sights.
The trike weighs 18 stone and comprises three bicycle wheels, a mounted Street View camera and a box containing image-collecting equipment.
The search giant has already aroused hostility by sending its camera cars to take 360 degree photographs of people’s Roads">roads and putting them on the internet.
The service has attracted criticism from privacy campaigners since its global launch in 2007, particularly in Greece and Japan – and it has been the subject of a court case in the USA.
Launched in the UK last March, Swindon will become the latest town to feature as Google cameras have been prowling the streets of the town in recent weeks.
A spokesman for the company said that Google had gone to great lengths to safeguard privacy, while allowing computer users to benefit from the feature.
“Street View has proved very popular,” explained a Google spokesman.
“It only contains imagery that is already visible from public roads and features technology that blurs both faces and licence plates. “We have made it easier for people to report any concerns they may have. In the UK we have had very few complaints – maybe in the lower four digits.
“Any user can easily flag images for removal that he or she considers inappropriate. Google UK has consulted extensively with many privacy and community groups in developing the feature and privacy safeguards.”
He added: “People have found the site very useful. Say, for example, you’ve been to a restaurant and can’t remember its name, well you can look it up on Street View. It is also helpful when you are looking for high street businesses. I am sure it will prove very popular in Swindon.”
The spokesman said that a couple of Google cars had been filming Swindon in recent weeks. He did not know when the imagery would be released on the internet or how long the filming would last for.
“The filming process takes several months,” he added. “It is dependent on the weather – the optimum weather conditions for capturing Street View imagery are dry and slightly overcast skies, though rain, snow, fog and hail are the worst.
“Sometimes we have to go back because we don’t discover what we have got until it is processed. We will be covering most of Swindon.”
When Street View launched in the UK earlier this year it prompted a flood of complaints, including a furious wife who called in divorce lawyers who spotted her husband's car parked outside another woman's house.
Google were forced to remove some images, including a man leaving a sex shop and an office worker who was having a cigarette by a No Smoking sign.
Despite its detractors, Street View has been used for some imaginative purposes, including one Google employee who proposed to his girlfriend via Street View. Meanwhile Police">Police">Police">police in the US used Street View to find the location of a kidnapped child.
Comments(21)
Lars
says...
8:45am Sat 15 Aug 09
You can't see anything on Google Streetview that you wouldn't see if you walked down the street yourself.
It's a great piece of innovation.
ArnoldLane
says...
9:10am Sat 15 Aug 09
I gave them a wave. :)
PaulD
says...
9:25am Sat 15 Aug 09
Synergie
says...
9:48am Sat 15 Aug 09
john c
says...
10:00am Sat 15 Aug 09
Captain T
says...
10:25am Sat 15 Aug 09
I went on holiday to America last year and used Streetview to check out where I was staying and how to find it. I think it's a brilliant idea and kudos to Google for coming up with it.
PK
says...
11:34am Sat 15 Aug 09
On the other hand, the downside, some of the images look directly into people's houses - you can see right into their livingrooms or bedrooms.
That is a gross invasion of privacy, especially as no-one has asked the householders for permission to photograph their property. Isn't there something in the law which makes photographing without permission illegal? (I could be wrong there as I'm not quite sure).
Some countries are obviously against this invasion of privacy - try looking at Norway on Google Earth. All you will see is some very grainy pictures of the landscape. Try and zoom in and all you get is a pixelated blur. Of course, Norway is not a member of the EUSSR where we are!
Seems to me it is another form of government surveillance and will end up being abused by the government and by local councils for whatever reason they dream up.
For these reasons I am against this.
Robh
says...
12:05pm Sat 15 Aug 09
Sure you can see no more on this futile program than if you walked down a street but why would you want to.
Are we all in so much desperate need to see what peoples houses look like?
It is just another pathetic idea from some geek in an office.
Finsbury
says...
12:36pm Sat 15 Aug 09
Bobfm
says...
1:27pm Sat 15 Aug 09
Planning crime remotely like this means less chance of detection. The use of CCTV to observe those planning crime is useless if the criminal has no need to visit the area to plan.
And like another poster says, what on earth is the point.
bilzinusa
says...
6:21pm Sat 15 Aug 09
Just think....Why bother mounting street patrols when all you have to do is sit back and observe the rodents
going about their everyday (night) activities and use the services of a heat seeking rectal taser device,or perhaps a remote laser guided neuter(on) ray ?
So you think that the Goggle people will WANT to see certain areas of this "town" ? unless their paths to editorial "laissez faire" are suitably lubricated (perish the thought)
Sure it's never been known in my lifetime .....yeah yeah sure whatever
Purlieu
says...
5:41am Sun 16 Aug 09
Net curtain sales are rising.
Captain Sensible
says...
8:24am Sun 16 Aug 09
Robh
says...
10:18am Sun 16 Aug 09
You can't watch someone in their house or on the street that is why the whole excercise is so futile. Just like Google Earth and Tom Tom's they get out of date so quickly.
The reasons to use Streetwise given by a spokesperson are pathetic. You'll probably find that by the time the pictures are available, the restaurant has changed it's name and the business has shut down.
Bobfm
says...
10:31am Sun 16 Aug 09
mac1989
says...
4:27pm Sun 16 Aug 09
PK wrote:There are no laws saying you cant take photos of somebodys house or surrounding area but when the police dont get there own way they use the "anti-terrorism crime and security act 2001" to stop people taking photos just go onto youtube and see
It can be a very useful tool, for example if you are looking to move to another area to see what the local surroundings are like.
On the other hand, the downside, some of the images look directly into people's houses - you can see right into their livingrooms or bedrooms.
That is a gross invasion of privacy, especially as no-one has asked the householders for permission to photograph their property. Isn't there something in the law which makes photographing without permission illegal? (I could be wrong there as I'm not quite sure).
Some countries are obviously against this invasion of privacy - try looking at Norway on Google Earth. All you will see is some very grainy pictures of the landscape. Try and zoom in and all you get is a pixelated blur. Of course, Norway is not a member of the EUSSR where we are!
Seems to me it is another form of government surveillance and will end up being abused by the government and by local councils for whatever reason they dream up.
For these reasons I am against this.
mac1989
says...
4:28pm Sun 16 Aug 09
mac1989 wrote:to stop people taking photos that is
PK wrote:There are no laws saying you cant take photos of somebodys house or surrounding area but when the police dont get there own way they use the "anti-terrorism crime and security act 2001" to stop people taking photos just go onto youtube and see
It can be a very useful tool, for example if you are looking to move to another area to see what the local surroundings are like.
On the other hand, the downside, some of the images look directly into people's houses - you can see right into their livingrooms or bedrooms.
That is a gross invasion of privacy, especially as no-one has asked the householders for permission to photograph their property. Isn't there something in the law which makes photographing without permission illegal? (I could be wrong there as I'm not quite sure).
Some countries are obviously against this invasion of privacy - try looking at Norway on Google Earth. All you will see is some very grainy pictures of the landscape. Try and zoom in and all you get is a pixelated blur. Of course, Norway is not a member of the EUSSR where we are!
Seems to me it is another form of government surveillance and will end up being abused by the government and by local councils for whatever reason they dream up.
For these reasons I am against this.
forgot to add that bit
LA
says...
6:15pm Sun 16 Aug 09
Oops.
bilzinusa
says...
7:17pm Sun 16 Aug 09
Always Grumpy
says...
10:21pm Sun 16 Aug 09
Whether that stopped them I don't know, but I've no problems having my house on view. I would imaging most potential burglars 'casing' a house, would want to have a good look around the back of the house rather than the front anyway.
SockPuppet says...
8:29am Sat 15 Aug 09