Product Reviews Net » Google Street View http://www.product-reviews.net Information on the latest gadgets, technology, news and product reviews Sat, 26 May 2012 11:39:50 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Additional Trike Images for Google Street View http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/03/01/additional-trike-images-for-google-street-view/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=additional-trike-images-for-google-street-view http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/03/01/additional-trike-images-for-google-street-view/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:08:19 +0000 Peter Chubb http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=123787 Google Street View has been growing year-on-year, and over the past few years things have expanded even more. The reason behind this was because taking images with a car is limited in the way that it can only drive go on roads. However, additional images are now included in the database thanks to the Google Street View Trike.

Now we can enjoy many more images, such as parks, landmarks, hiking trails and so much more. We thought that we would discuss this today, as more images have now been made available. If you have had enough of looking at Stonehenge and other such places of interest, then you will be pleased to know that other new imagery added yesterday include the National Botanic Gardens in Ireland, Château de Chenonceaux and Balboa Park.

More often than not Google has asked soccer players to pedal these trikes, as MercuryNews explains that they are very heavy and harder to pedal than your average trike or cycle. Soccer players usually have very strong legs, so will find it much easier to pedal – just hope that Google are prepared to pay damages if they tear a ligament?

It is no secret that Google Earth Street View has had its fair share of controversy, we would normally sit on the fence on this one, but you cannot help but see the benefits. Yes there are those that abuse such a great service, but this makes life so much easier for not only you and I, but for students as well.

What do you think Google has planned for the future of Street View?

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2011/03/01/additional-trike-images-for-google-street-view/feed/ 0 Google Earth 6: 3D Trees and Street View Update http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/30/google-earth-6-3d-trees-and-street-view-update/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-earth-6-3d-trees-and-street-view-update http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/30/google-earth-6-3d-trees-and-street-view-update/#comments Tue, 30 Nov 2010 08:43:06 +0000 Alan Ng http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=115757 We have some good news for regular users of Google Earth, as we can confirm that a new version of the software is now available to download. Google Earth 6 adds some signifcant changes to the software and we have a cool video which demonstrates a few of them.

As Engadget reports, Google Earth has been given a facelift, and the next time you boot up the new software, you’ll see that Google has added some rather 3D virtual trees next to searched locations, to make the final result look at lot more visually impressive.

They have also added deeper intregration with Google Street View, letting you see 3D environments whenever you search for a particular location. According to the Google blog, the historical imagery system has also been given an update too.

You can check out the new features by watching the video below. Let us know if you have already used some of the new features in Google Earth 6 – do you like them?

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/30/google-earth-6-3d-trees-and-street-view-update/feed/ 2 Google Street View Data Breach: No Financial Penalty http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/03/google-street-view-data-breach-no-financial-penalty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-street-view-data-breach-no-financial-penalty http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/03/google-street-view-data-breach-no-financial-penalty/#comments Wed, 03 Nov 2010 13:53:12 +0000 Peter Chubb http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=112584 Love them or hate them, Google Street View cars has certainly had their fair share of problems, most importantly a breach in the Data Protection Act. Some countries have already banned the service, while others just apply pressure to Google. However, there has yet to be any financial penalty.

The latest county to become embroiled in this issue is the UK, with information commissioner, Christopher Graham refusing to impose a fine following data and email details being collected by these cars. However, Graham did say that Google would have to agree that such a thing would not happen again.

Google was told that if they did something like this again, then enforcements would be made. Google has now been told to delete all information that was collected by these cars with the large cameras on them, and according to The Guardian “the Metropolitan police had dropped its investigation into the breaches.”

Although it was bad what Google did, I would not want to see these cars banned from our streets. I know that some people still have an issue with them, but they do make life much easier when searching for places on Google Earth. Also, this is a good reminder that you should never leave your Wi-Fi network open – you never know who is spying on you.

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/11/03/google-street-view-data-breach-no-financial-penalty/feed/ 0 Google Street View Banned: 3D Maps and Czech Privacy http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/09/23/google-street-view-banned-3d-maps-and-czech-privacy/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-street-view-banned-3d-maps-and-czech-privacy http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/09/23/google-street-view-banned-3d-maps-and-czech-privacy/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:30:56 +0000 Peter Chubb http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=109240 Since Google Street View was launched it has certainly had a mixed reaction, some love the idea of going right down to street level to see where they live or for reference, while others believe that it is an invasion of their privacy. Things have been quiet for a while, but we have now learned that the Czech Republic have banned Google’s 3D Maps service.

Officials in Prague have been looking into the case over data protection issues for six months now as Google was told that they were not allowed to collect photos of the Czech Republic, but the photos have remained on the website.

This is not the first time that Google has come under fire for data protection; Germany is another country that is not happy with the search engine giant. According to Josh Halliday from the Guardian, Google has defended themselves by saying that photos of individuals who have been photographed by their cars with cameras on them have been blurred-out.

It seems that the UK does not share either Germany’s or the Czech Republic’s views, saying, “The Google Street View service does not encroach on the privacy of citizens.”

Do you think that Street View is a good or bad thing?

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/09/23/google-street-view-banned-3d-maps-and-czech-privacy/feed/ 0 Google Street View: Unpopular with Brighton’s Seagulls http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/28/google-street-view-unpopular-with-brightons-seagulls/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-street-view-unpopular-with-brightons-seagulls http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/28/google-street-view-unpopular-with-brightons-seagulls/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 13:34:36 +0000 Jamie Pert http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=103325 A few days ago we revealed ‘horse-boy‘ who was found wandering the streets of Scotland whilst Google Street View’s cameras were in the area, now we have come across some pretty humorous photos taken by the Street View cameras in Brighton, England.

The photos shows what appears to be a camera shy seagull who was unhappy about having his/her photo taken, this caused the seagull to dive at the Google Street View car, which resulted in a pretty cool photo (scroll down to see it).

Now that Google Street View is becoming more widely used people are spotting all sorts of strange things, such as horse-boy and even some pitchfork wielding scuba divers, don’t worry though they are both pranks…. or are they?

Have you spotted something funnier on Google Street View?

Source: HuffingtonPost

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/28/google-street-view-unpopular-with-brightons-seagulls/feed/ 0 Google Street View Discovers Mysterious ‘Horse-Boy’ – Who Is It? http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/24/google-street-view-discovers-mysterious-horse-boy-who-is-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-street-view-discovers-mysterious-horse-boy-who-is-it http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/24/google-street-view-discovers-mysterious-horse-boy-who-is-it/#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:50:50 +0000 Jamie Pert http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=103168 Google Street View has been in the news for all the wrong reasons lately, but for those who have used Street View to look around Aberdeen, you may have stumbled upon a rather strange looking character.

Mystery is currently surrounding a man wearing a horse’s head around the Hardgate area of the city, and has become a popular go-to-point using the Google service which uses photographs pieced together to make a map of the streets.

Only known as ‘horse-boy,’ the man is wearing dark trousers, a purple shirt and a brown and white horse’s head.

The identity of ‘horse-boy’ is unknown, but many users have apparently emailed and blogged the BBC news website stating that they know who it is.

Numerous reports have also said that they have seen ‘horse-boy’ all around the globe, but others have written in to say that it is just a publicity stunt.

Mike Coates wrote in to the BBC, and has said “If you go down the road and turn back you can see him putting on the horse head and on the shot back up the road again he has white hair.”

Who is ‘horse-boy’?

Source: BBC News

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/24/google-street-view-discovers-mysterious-horse-boy-who-is-it/feed/ 4 Google Street View WiFi Data Collection – Sparks UK Investigation http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/22/google-street-view-wifi-data-collection-sparks-uk-investigation/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-street-view-wifi-data-collection-sparks-uk-investigation http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/22/google-street-view-wifi-data-collection-sparks-uk-investigation/#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 19:12:08 +0000 Jamie Pert http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=102986 Google Street View has come under investigation from UK police after apparently gathering data from open Wi-Fi access points around the UK.

The actions and practices by Google has earned themselves a crime reference number – 2318672/10 – which although not necessarily a crime, it still means that the search engine are under investigation after pressure group Privacy International alleged that Google carried out “criminal interception of wireless communications content” that constitutes as an offence under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act and the Wireless Telegraphy Act.

Google still insist that they are innocent, and say that the capture of data was an accident due to code left in a production system that kept the content being broadcasted over Wi-Fi networks when the Street View car was driving past.

Several other countries besides the UK are also investigating Google into the same incident to see if they have broken any of their laws, and although Google have offered to delete the data it collected, the police have told them to keep it so they can carry on the investigation.

For more information on this matter you can read up about it on the Guardian website, but what are your views on Google collecting data? Do you believe they have broken any rules?

Source: Guardian

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/06/22/google-street-view-wifi-data-collection-sparks-uk-investigation/feed/ 0 Google Earth Street View: Cars Collect Your Data over Wi-Fi http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/05/15/google-earth-street-view-cars-collect-your-data-over-wi-fi/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-earth-street-view-cars-collect-your-data-over-wi-fi http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/05/15/google-earth-street-view-cars-collect-your-data-over-wi-fi/#comments Sat, 15 May 2010 06:03:32 +0000 Peter Chubb http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=99913 Ten days ago the DPA (data protection authority) in Germany had asked Google to go through its Wi-Fi data that had been collected with its Google Earth Street View cars – they asked for this so the information could be used for use with location-based apps to find directions and places such as, bars and restaurants that are local to your position.

Google had first thought that its data collected did not include payload data, but they have now admitted that they made a mistake and these Google Earth Street View cars did collect this payload data. However, they point out that this data was collected from open Wi-Fi networks.

The search engine giant has said that this information was never used in any of their products. Google also added that the samples of data collected were just fragments as their cars move around quickly – that and the fact that the equipment in their cars changes their Wi-Fi channels several times throughout the day.

Google said that they did not intentionally collect data from open networks, it happened by mistake. However, once Google engineers learned of this they grounded their Street View cars so that they could segregate the data on their network – then they disabled it so that they could never collect this data again.

More on this story can be found on the Google Blog

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/05/15/google-earth-street-view-cars-collect-your-data-over-wi-fi/feed/ 0 Google Maps Street View: Launched for Hong Kong http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/16/google-maps-street-view-launched-for-hong-kong/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-maps-street-view-launched-for-hong-kong http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/16/google-maps-street-view-launched-for-hong-kong/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:54:44 +0000 Jamie Pert http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=95658 As you are probably aware Google are doing their best to cover as much of the World as possible with their Google Maps Street View, we are now hearing that they have added Hong Kong and Macau to their covered areas.

For those of you who are unaware Street view allows users to see a 360-degree view of locations all over the World, when you use the service you see real photographs of the locations you are looking at.

If you would like to check out this new addition check out Google Maps Hong Kong, simply zoom in and drag the orange pegman over the area you want to see in “street view”.

As you can imagine street view will eventually cover pretty much every populated area on Earth, despite some security concerns this service is generally supported, as we hear of more areas that are covered we will keep you posted.

Source: NetworkWorld

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]]> http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/16/google-maps-street-view-launched-for-hong-kong/feed/ 0 Google Earth’s Street View: Do you feel safe with 3D Map views? http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/11/google-earths-street-view-do-you-feel-safe-with-3d-map-views/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-earths-street-view-do-you-feel-safe-with-3d-map-views http://www.product-reviews.net/2010/03/11/google-earths-street-view-do-you-feel-safe-with-3d-map-views/#comments Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:42:02 +0000 Alan Ng http://www.product-reviews.net/?p=95431 Google Street View – an ever growing debate on whether Google’s satellite technology provides more use, than actual harm. Following on from reports last week, that Google may have to shut down Street View in Europe, we would like to know your thoughts on the service. Do you like it or not?

If you are unaware by now, Google Street View allows you to view exact street addresses, company buildings, and so on, in both 360 degrees horizontal and 290 degrees vertical panoramic views.

While people such as Tourists may find Street View useful for checking out places they plan to visit, others may find it particularly worrying that their homes are actually left quite vunerable to people on the other side of the law.

To test this out, I put in my own post code and in a matter of minutes, I was practically able to zoom into my front windows of my home, and view it from a series of locations.

While Street View is still a relatively new service, just how many of you are aware of the thorough analysis that Street View provides?

We have created a poll for you to take part in, asking for your opinions on Google’s Street View. Feedback would be appreciated.

[poll id="109"]

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