Friday, February 29, 2008

Google Amazes Me



I recently noticed that my Google Map searches have been providing 360 degree views of the location, which is quite fantastic. Two days ago I was booking a hotel in San Francisco and wanted to see what the area looked like. Since the hotel's website and most other resources only provided images of the front of the hotel, lobby, and rooms, I had the impression that the hotel was on a quiet, one way street. Thanks to Google, I now have an accurate picture of what the area looks like. When I enter the address in Google Maps, I am given an image that provides 360 navigate- I can look up, down, and.... all around! I discovered that the hotel is actually on a busy street.

I then looked up my home address and found a similar 360 view of my house and street! I was surprised to not see any cars in the drive way. I then discovered that when I zoom away, I see a parked car. When I zoom in, the car is gone. I wonder if this is because the images were taken at different times, of if Google is editing some images to provide privacy.

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