Google Street View

[soggyshoes]

I have NO idea, but whatever it is... its a damn good algorithm. I mean I have yet to find a license plate number or face on there.

Google's algorithm can have trouble with cars that are parallel parked. But once the algorithm recognizes it's a vehicle in most areas the license plates are a standard size and in a typical location. Their algorithm can also blur faces.

 

[jetboater4life]

Their algorithm can also blur faces.

And a pressure washer it must have thought was my kid.

 

[Sotally Tober]

http://www.demilked.com/google-street-view-photos/

Hilarious!

 

[Topper232]

Funny story related to this.

Last year my son, was 11 at the time, fell off of his skateboard in the road in front of the house. We live on a dead-end, so no traffic. I was outside and saw the fall and knew that it wasn't a big deal. He laid there whining for way longer than I thought was necessary, so I told him if he wasn't going to get up and was going to just lay in the street like he was dead, then that's how I was going to treat him. I went into the garage and got a piece of sidewalk chalk and made a chalk outline around his body, like they would at a crime scene or accident.

That made him laugh and he finally got up. Well, my son came to me a few weeks ago and said "Dad, Google updated their street-view maps and look whats on our street?" The bottom half got blurred out. I couldn't stop laughing.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

Did you all know that if you want your entire house blurred out for privacy reasons you can. Just go to your house in street view and then on the bottom right hand corner click on "report problems" once you are in there you can request portions or the whole house blurred out. Once it is done though you can't go back, from what I was reading.

 

[ToddW850]

Funny story related to this.

Last year my son, was 11 at the time, fell off of his skateboard in the road in front of the house. We live on a dead-end, so no traffic. I was outside and saw the fall and knew that it wasn't a big deal. He laid there whining for way longer than I thought was necessary, so I told him if wasn't going to get up and was going to just lay in the street like he was dead, then that's how I was going to treat him. I went into the garage and got a piece of sidewalk chalk and made a chalk outline around his body, like they would at a crime scene or accident.

That made him laugh and he finally got up. Well, my son came to me a few weeks ago and said "Dad, Google updated their street-view maps and look whats on our street?" The bottom half got blurred out. I couldn't stop laughing.

View attachment 6072

That's awesome!

 

[Magic]

Laughing our Butts off here! My son thinks you are a genius! (Of course he would never think I was a genius if I was the one with that idea!!!)

 

[Speedling]

Quick view of my house.
My dakota is still there and the wife's Sante Fe, which pulled the exciter the first year to Shelbyville!
No street view. I'm kinda out in the middle of no where.
Just google Cedar Lake. We call it Cedar-tucky. It's pretty hillbillyish

 

[Ronnie]

Did you all know that if you want your entire house blurred out for privacy reasons you can. Just go to your house in street view and then on the bottom right hand corner click on "report problems" once you are in there you can request portions or the whole house blurred out. Once it is done though you can't go back, from what I was reading.

This is correct, there was a local news story on this just a few days ago. Some people are concerned that would be thieves could use google street view to case their homes. For instance identify places to hide, easy access points what kind of cars the owners have to determine if they are home or not or if they are likely to have other valuables in the house, etc.

Recently, Google also did some editing at the request of a father whose son was killed and whose body was found next to a train track here in the SF Bay Area (San Jose I think). Google unintentionally took a satellite pic of the location while the body was still there but took it down or blurred it when the kid's father realized his son's body was in the pic and notified google of the same.

Another Google product which is raising privacy concerns is "Google Glass" (basically a wifi and/or 4G enabled miniaturized PC which has an optical interface (I think) and a display built into the lense(s) of a pair of glasses (eyewear). Some bars and restaurants in SF have already started putting "no google glass" signs in their front windows and entrances.

For those that don't know, Google is a sweat shop that pays very well. Their hiring practices are like no other company I know of. Maybe they have changed since but a few years ago they posted a software development question in the want ads and on monster I think, answering the question (correctly, the more exhaustively the better) was the start of the application process. I believe the next step was an all night code a thon with hundreds of other applicants. The perks are still out of this world even after the internet bubble collapsed years ago. I've visited there for business and have friends that used to work there (I say used to because they all burned out within just a few years). They have M.D.s and massage therapists on-site, every few weeks a mobile auto service comes in to wash employees cars, change oil, etc. (not sure if this is free or not but suspect it is given the context), dry cleaning is also available on site, food and snacks are all free to employees and the list goes on and on. The only two rules I've heard of are that you can't talk about your stock at work and you can't bring guests to the dining room more than twice a month. The view shared with me is that Google provides all these things to its on campus employees so that they can stay and campus as long as possible and focus on work.

By the way Google is already testing driver less cars in the bay area.

 

[Zonie]

So excited! I was looking at Google maps today and it looks like they took some new pictures this summer. Even got lucky on a day when the boat was in the water! (I only leave it in on weekends.) You can even see the kayak rack.

 

[boudin]

Wow, somebody resurrected an old [but fun] thread. I was happy to see Google picked up a couple of skis in the driveway of my lake house.

 

[Neutron]

My street view still shows lot of woods before my house was built:



This is the actual street view from just over a year ago.



And here is my Earth view:

 

[Julian]

Saw this come up and had to go look at my house again....our street hasn't been scanned in over 10 years!

 

[2kwik4u]

This is fun......

Google Sat View (looks like mid-December last year based on the 1/2 finished playset in the backyard.)...I find it hilarious that the builders screwing up my driveway and having to regrout it makes it REALLY obvious from OUTER FREAKING SPACE which house is mine. Stupid white driveway, I hate it.


Google Streetview (looks like about mid 2014 if I was guessing, clearly it's out of date)


Actual streetview (I took this when we moved in ~Nov 2015)

 

[Bruce]

Streetview shows my house as non existent.

 

[gmtech16450yz]

So weird. You guys are all living in new houses that aren't even on google street view. Ours was built in 1948 and we've had 7 different google street views from 2008 to 2017. We have a dinosaur in our front yard we dress up. He was wearing his panda head in this shot...

 

[2kwik4u]

Panda headed dinosaur is hilarious!

 

[buckbuck]

Your house is old if you have dinosaurs in the yard.

 

[WildBillF1]

Appears two others are jumping into the arena with Google Maps. Two weeks ago, I saw a white Prius driving through the neighborhood, camera on the roof and "Uber Maps" signage on the doors. Then last week, looked like the same Prius with camera on roof, but signage on doors said "Apple Maps." Anybody else seen these cars?

 

[robert843]

Yep mine has been the same for years as well. I painted the door red a few years back hopefully they update my house soon.