Slashgeo

Slashdot discuss a story named Google StreetView could be unlawful in Europe. Their summary: "European data protection laws restrict the commercial use of photographs where individuals are identifiable. The law sets extra requirements for so-called sensitive personal data: it demands explicit consent, not just notification: 'If Google's multi-lens camera cars come to Europe and inadvertently find themselves taking pictures of persons leaving a church or sexual health clinic, they may just need to pull over and start picking up signatures."" See this previous story comments on privacy.

Google's recent StreetView feature generated a lot of ink lately. All Points Blog links to a Wired article describing how people can indicate Google to remove imagery where they can be seen. From the article: "Google has blinked, backing down from its demand for my driver's license and a sworn statement and agreeing not to use the information I submit for any purpose other than processing my request." Google product counsel Daphne Keller personally phoned Bankston to tell him about the change in policy, and then Google's help desk sent him the new requirements: [...] (1) Your name (2) The location of the image in our service [...] That means Google has no content-based standard for a take-down, and no verification that the requester is the person pictured."

Stay tuned, we'll soon publish our "final call for collaborators" post. Some people have already expressed their intention to become "editors" and contribute feeding the site, exciting! Meanwhile, remember our open budget? I am happy to announce our first donor: MapJack.com. Their financial contribution of 300$ will help pay for hosting our servers. I have been clear: it is very important for Slashgeo, in order to stay reliable, to be product-neutral. I don't want to be or appear corrupted, my integrity worths more than a few thousand dollars (but don't try with millions ;-). Since MapJack offered support even during Slashgeo's hiatus and knowing the site might not go live again, here's some more about them: they offer a street-view mapping for San Francisco and you can read their recent press release below.

Slashdot discuss a short CNET entry wondering if Google StreetView is good or bad from a social point of view. Their summary: "According to a recent CNET article, Google Street View 'is just wrong'. The short piece which makes up part of a larger feature about 'technology that's just wrong' goes on to explain that Google Street View is like a scene from George Orwell's terrifying dystopian vision of 1984 and that it could ultimately change our behaviour because we'll never know when we're being watched. 'Google? Aren't they the friendly folk who help me find Web sites, cheat at pub quizzes, and look at porn? Yes, but since 2006 they're also photographing the streets of selected world cities and posting the results online for all to see. It was Jeremy Bentham who developed the idea of the Panopticon, a system of prison design whereby everybody could be seen from one central point, with the upshot being that prisoners learnt to modulate their behaviour — because they never knew if they were being watched. And that doesn't sound like much fun, does it?'" Some related stories copied below.

Google has pulled StreetView images showing military bases, at the request of the U.S. Military.

See the All Points Blog story for more information.

The Digital Earth Blog brings us news about this new StreetView API. From the actual press release, here is a snippet : "We've worked hard to ensure that Street View in the API gives developers the power and control they need to embed this functionality in their own websites in whatever way they wish. The API allows you to embed one or multiple panoramas in any location on a site and move, remove, hide and unhide them as necessary. Panoramas can also be easily integrated with the rest of the Google Maps API to allow synchronization between the map and the panorama viewer. The blue tile layer overlays which show where Street View data is available can be added to your own maps using the GStreetviewOverlay class. The following example mimics the Google Maps functionality with the tile layer and rotating Street View icon"

For more information and the full artcle, please visit the links above.
Update: 03/28 19:28 GMT by S : The official Google LatLong blog also informs us 13 new U.S. cities now have StreetView data.

The Digital Earth Blog has a blog about this. Remember, nothing is confirmed, so don't take it too seriously until it happens. From their blog : "According to Rafe Needleman of Webware, StreetView will be available inside of Google Earth “within a few weeks”. Rafe quotes an unnamed source with that info. He states that it’s not clear if this will be a public release or an internal testing release. If done smoothly, this could be very slick. It’ll be interesting to see how Google implements it."

For more information, as well as some Virtual Earth talk, please visit the Digital Earth Blog.

The Google Earth Blog reports the following : "The Google 3D Warehouse has recently added a new feature. If you are viewing a 3D model of a building where Street View pictures are available, you get a "tab" at the top which shows the Street View mode for that location. You can move around as with other Street View API applications. There was already a tab for Google Maps views for 3D models which have been tagged on the map. But, this new tab is an excellent example of Google using their own tools in a smart way!"

For more information and a link to an example, please visit the Google Earth Blog.