New Google Maps Feature

[ccmviking]

Hey,

Did anyone notice that when you type an address into google maps it now show the front of the house?  Was a shocker to me when I saw it yesterday.  I've seen the google earth stuff before but it's pretty cool how they did this.  Here's a link to my house.  Home

It's very cool they can do this.  See if yours is on there too!

Chris...

 

[Frank Pellow]

That is neat!  ;D  8)

But, it does not work for my address or for the other two Canadian addresses that I tried.    :'(

 

[bruegf]

They take video with a special camera mounted on a vehicle and then pull a series of individual frames coupled with meta data so that as you pan the image they know which images in the series relate to the direction you're panning.

I believe they've only done this in more populated areas to date.

Fred

 

[Woodenfish]

I don't live on a blue outlined street so that function does not work.

It looks to me like I've been disenfranchised!

 

[woodshopdemos]

Maybe you are better off. I search addresses I have lived at and only one is shown as street view. And it really fried me.  A house in Darien CT in70's. wonderful house that we wanted to add on to and local zoning said no. It now has a large addition and looks awkward. I'm pissed. It would have given me a large shop.

 

[ccmviking]

Fred,

They seriously drive around and film this stuff?  I thought they were some how getting it with the satellite imagery.  It is pretty strange.  I figured if it was in our trashy little town it would be everywhere.

Chris...

 

[butzla]

Last I heard there was a MA politician (I forget who)  suing Google for photographing him in his skivvies putting the trash out.

 

[semenza]

Hi,

  I must be too far out in the sticks.    It is very cool, and if driving to someones house would be gelpful in spotting it when you get there.  You could also put in addresses at intersections near a destination to help know when they are coming up visually.

Seth

 

[Greg B]

I figured we would be among the last to get Street View, but almost the entire Wasatch front, here in Utah has it.

GB

 

[bruegf]

Chris,

I think they have a special spherical camera they use to do this, but yes its done from a vehicle, not from satellite imagery.  There's no way you can get a street level view from a satellite.  Satellites only give you a roof top view.

Fred

 

[butzla]

It's cool but scary at the same time.  Off topic, my neighbor had 3 bids on a new roof and only one actually came to his home.  The other 2 measured it online using some sort of satellite imagery software like Google Map. 

 

[John Stevens]

It's very cool they can do this.

Wow.  Since this is the "way off topic forum," I'll take the liberty of diverging to a baseless rumor a man told me about fifteen years back.  He claimed to be a physicist who specialized in the use of microwaves for imaging.  According to him, its potential was discovered by the American military after we discovered the Russians were bombarding our embassy in Moscow with high levels of microwave radiation.  Perhaps I'm dating myself, but those of you who were reading the newspapers ~ 1978-79 may recall that the story was widely reported in the press, and American officials stated at the time that they had no idea why the Russians were doing it.  According to this guy, we eventually figured out that the Russians were measuring the reflections of the microwaves off various objects within the embassy building, and were thus able to use this to "see" through the walls of the embassy.  He said that once we figured out what they were doing and how, we began to use the principle to do other things, like listen to conversations in cars from a satellite by using reflected light to "read" the vibrations of the windshield.  Okay, maybe the guy was putting me on, but it gets you thinking:
http://www.theonion.com/content/video/in_the_know_is_the_government

Regards,

John

 

[Mirko]

The Onion eh!
where has this site been my whole life! god bless America!

I had a look at some of the other videos and my favorite so far is 'Bring Your Daughter To War' Day.

Mirko

 

[Per Swenson]

We better not get Street view 'round here.

What with the VW microbus chicken coop, the 68 international up on blocks

and the 6 refrigerators and two washings machines one of 'em grandmaws wringer, on the deck...

Awe 'ell the town will make me clean it up, then they will notice the dogs.

Oh no and Boot's engine from the knuckle head still hangin from that tree.

This should be an outrage. ;D

Per

 

[poto]

Hey John,

You're quite right about being able to use the vibrations of glass to listen to conversations inside a building. Since they discovered that the Russians were listening in on conversations in government buildings in DC, they've put an extra shell around the buildings. Take a look at the FBI building in DC. It has a layer of glass, etc., that isn't attached to the inside building - just so that it won't vibrate.

 

[b_m_hart]

There are also regulations that the Feds have to shield their monitors, as there is technology out there that's been shown to read the magnetic fields and decipher what's on the screen.  Big brother doesn't need video cameras these days, just long range microphones and the ability to see the magnetic fields coming off of your monitors!

 

[Per Swenson]

Quick Instructions For Building An AFDB
Step 1
[attachimg=#]

Step 2

[attachimg=#]

1  Get a five foot sheet of aluminum foil (standard one foot wide Reynolds Wrap brand will do nicely.)


2  Fold the sheet four times into five equal segments so that you end up with a 1x1 foot square, making sure that you fold over the dull side of the foil leaving the square shiny on both sides.
Step 3 [attachimg=#] Step 4[attachimg=#]

3  Use scissors to cut from one corner of the square to the center, making a straight line.


4  Bend the foil from one side of the cut under the other, making a slight cone. Again, make sure that the outside of the cone has a shiny side of the foil; this is VERY important.
Step 5 [attachimg=#] Step 6[attachimg=#]

5  Place the cone on your head and squash the top and sides to make it fit snugly.


6  Apply Scotch tape liberally making sure to secure the cut in the foil and any form-fitting creases made in step 5.
Step 7[attachimg=#]

 

[poto]

Per - That'll stop the gamma rays from getting to your brain (so the Russians can't read or control your thoughts), but it won't help with your computer...

And who would have thought you were an origami enthusiast?