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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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 Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:31 pm Google unveils satellite map feature |
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| Quote: |  SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Online search engine leader Google Inc. has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the competitive pressures on its rivals.
The satellite technology, which Google began offering late Monday at http://maps.google.com/, is part of the package that the Mountain View-based company acquired when it bought digital map maker Keyhole Corp. for an undisclosed amount nearly six months ago.
This marks the first time since the deal closed that Google has offered free access to Keyhole's high-tech maps through its search engine. Users previously had to pay $29.95 to download a version of Keyhole's basic software package.
A more traditional map will continue to be the first choice served up by Google's search engine. Users will have the option of retrieving a satellite picture by clicking on a button.
The satellite maps could unnerve some people, even as the technology impresses others. That's because the Keyhole technology is designed to provide close-up perspective of specific addresses.
Keyhole's previous government ties also have raised anxieties.
Founded in 2001, Keyhole raised some money in 2003 from In-Q-Tel, a venture capital firm backed by the Central Intelligence Agency. Leading up to the Google sale, Keyhole's roughly 10,000 customers included a cross-section of government agencies.
There is little reason for people to be paranoid about the satellite maps because the images generally are six to 12 months old, said John Hanke, Keyhole's general manager. "And it's not like you are going to be able to read a license plate on a car or see what an individual was doing when a particular image was taken," he said.
Google believes most people will like the convenience of generating a satellite image with a few clicks of a computer mouse. The company envisions people using the service as a way to scout a hotel's proximity to the beach for a possible vacation or size up the neighborhood where an apartment is for rent.
Google's free satellite maps initially will be limited to North America, with images covering roughly half the United States, Hanke said.
Although Google is offering the satellite maps on a test basis, the feature will probably force its other online rivals to upgrade their technology, predicted search industry analyst Greg Sterling of the Kelsey Group. "To play in this space, you are going to need some robust mapping capabilities."
Sterling said Google's satellite maps pose the biggest threat to Mapquest, a service owned by Time Warner Corp. that has long operated the most popular Web site for finding directions.
The satellite maps also up the ante for the many challengers chipping away at Google's share of the lucrative Internet search engine market by adding more bells and whistles. For instance, Amazon.com Inc.'s A9 search engine earlier this year introduced a feature that includes an index containing 20 million street-level photographs of building exteriors in 10 major U.S. cities.http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/04/05/google.maps.ap/index.html |
Just great now people will spy on me.
I wonder if I can use this on Area 51. 
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:38 pm |
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This just isn't good news. This is bad. Very bad. Who knows what terrorists could do with it.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:51 pm |
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I was right I did get Area 51 just now.
Satelite View of Area 51 courtesy of google.com
I soo rule!
So my testing proves I can get just about any map of places on Earth.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 7:57 pm |
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Oh...my...gosh. This is VERY bad.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Captain Patrick
Commodore
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 2421
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:07 pm |
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yeah how do you get to the sat pics
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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:10 pm |
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Next to maps on the right hand side should be the satelite view. You gotta search first to activate satelite.
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Founder
Dominion Leader
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
Posts: 12755
Location: Gamma Quadrant
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:12 pm |
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This is interesting, but kinda weird.
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Arellia
The Quiet One
Joined: 23 Jan 2003
Posts: 4425
Location: Dallas, TX
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:22 pm |
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It's rather fun.  Though...kind of...freaky, yeah.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:24 pm |
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Think about what terrorists could do with this...
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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webtaz99
Commodore
Joined: 13 Nov 2003
Posts: 1229
Location: The Other Side
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:33 pm |
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Quit worrying about "the terrorists"!
There is very little that terrorists could not get by chartering a flight and bringing a camera, and all of that is guarded by the military.
-------signature-------
"History is made at night! Character is who you are in the dark." (Lord John Whorfin)
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Valathous
The Canadian, eh
Joined: 31 Aug 2002
Posts: 19074
Location: Centre Bell
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:39 pm |
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I found my house.
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Hitchhiker
Rear Admiral
Joined: 11 Aug 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: Ontario, Canada
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:41 pm |
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I don't see how it is bad . . . perhaps it has negative applications, but it has the potential to do a lot more good than any damage.
Considering those who have access to the Internet, I'm pretty sure the majority are not terrorists. Those who are will probably have access to much more sophisticated resources than Google. There are plenty of other mapping sites out there, perhaps they don't offer satellite maps, but it's easy enough to get those too, I see them on TV all the time.
Muwahahahaha . . . first half the U.S., then the world! Muwahahahahaha! 
Paranoid
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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 8:46 pm |
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This is actually a good thing. Don't be so worried about the "terrorist" I think the U.S. is well prepared now for any attacks. I think this is a great way to find a place your looking for. Like if your in China capital Bejing and you want to get to the Sheraton Hotel or something then this would be the easies way to find out.
It makes it a lot easier than mapquest because it has satelite images.
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Lord Borg
Fleet Admiral
Joined: 27 May 2003
Posts: 11214
Location: Vulcan Capital City, Vulcan
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:04 pm |
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| borgslayer wrote: | I was right I did get Area 51 just now.
Satelite View of Area 51 courtesy of google.com
I soo rule!
So my testing proves I can get just about any map of places on Earth. |
And what are we looking at?
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:22 pm |
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[potentially abraisive statement]RM is paranoid. Most conservatives are. "Behold the world! Fear it, and give me power to protect you from its horrors! I just need a few trillion dollars!"[/potentially abraisive statement]
Not that there isn't plenty to fear. The truth is though, the world is a dangerous place. Liberal or conservative, that's not going to change. Between nature, man, and his creations there're a lot of ways to get onesself killed. Still, that's no excuse to cower from progress.
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Captain Patrick
Commodore
Joined: 06 Mar 2005
Posts: 2421
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 9:37 pm |
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That is cool i zoomed in on my house. cool
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borgslayer
Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Aug 2003
Posts: 2646
Location: Las Vegas
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:02 pm |
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| Lord Borg wrote: | | borgslayer wrote: | I was right I did get Area 51 just now.
Satelite View of Area 51 courtesy of google.com
I soo rule!
So my testing proves I can get just about any map of places on Earth. |
And what are we looking at? |
A top secret U.S. Airforce Military Base miles from Rachel Nevada.
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:16 pm |
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Somehow I doubt that. Any secret military base in this day would be underground. Google may have made this service public, but spy agencies worldwide have had this technology for years. Ground guards and air patrols can't keep secrets anymore.
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LightningBoy
Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003
Posts: 1446
Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:37 pm |
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Bah, this isn't bad. People have the right to see what kid of pictures the government is taking of us.
They limit the resolution on these images to a point, it's no security threat.
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Republican_Man
STV's Premier Conservative
Joined: 26 Mar 2004
Posts: 14823
Location: Classified
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:39 pm |
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| Zeke Zabertini wrote: | | Somehow I doubt that. Any secret military base in this day would be underground. Google may have made this service public, but spy agencies worldwide have had this technology for years. Ground guards and air patrols can't keep secrets anymore. |
Actually, this has been an institution for years.
-------signature-------
"Rights are only as good as the willingness of some to exercise responsibility for those rights- Fmr. Colorado Senate Pres. John Andrews
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Zeke Zabertini
Captain
Joined: 13 Sep 2002
Posts: 4832
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:44 pm |
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Exactly. Furthering my point.
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:46 pm |
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Wouldn't surprise me if they actually do have stuff there, because people think there really isn't anything, or aliens,
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Seven of Nine
Sammie's Mammy
Joined: 16 Jun 2001
Posts: 7871
Location: North East England
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| Wed Apr 06, 2005 1:44 am |
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First of all, for the UK Multimap has been offering this service for years now (I suppose it's cheaper to photograph everywhere in a country as small as England and Wales than it is somewhere like the US). So far Britain has yet to suffer a major terrorist attack (apart from the American funded IRA).
I certainly think most terrorists worth their salt will have slightly more reliable ways of plotting than using aerial photos.
If you can find the red arrow- it's pointing to my house.
I live in a nice area... lots of woods
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Theresa
Lux Mihi Deus
Joined: 17 Jun 2001
Posts: 27256
Location: United States of America
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| Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:38 am |
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You wanna see some woods, Dan said I live in the boonies,
-------signature-------
Some of us fall by the wayside
And some of us soar to the stars
And some of us sail through our troubles
And some have to live with our scars
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Jeremy
J's Guy
Joined: 03 Oct 2002
Posts: 7823
Location: Aberdeen, Scotland
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| Wed Apr 06, 2005 6:01 am |
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I wouldn't worry about Area 51 be compromised. They probably have equipment there that would detect anyone miles away. And the majority of the complex will be underground.
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