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View Full Version : Google streetview car forced out of neighborhood


tayb
04-03-2009, 12:15 PM
Courtesy of Tom's Hardware. http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Google-Street-View-Car,news-3739.html#BOM_comments

One crowd of British folk who had a problem with the idea decided to take the matter into their own hands. Instead of just requesting the picture be removed after it had been taken and used on Google (http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Google-Street-View-Car,news-3739.html#) Street View, they community physically forced the Google Street View car out of the area in order to stop the photos being taken in the first place.

The TimesOnline (http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6022902.ece) reports that as Google Street View car trundled towards Broughton with a 360-degree camera on its roof, villagers formed a human chain to stop it. While they were arranging themselves they lectured the Googler inside about the invasion of privacy and insisted he was facilitating crime by posting pictures online that could be used by burglars.

Resident Paul Jacobs was the first person to notice, according to the Times. “I was upstairs when I spotted the camera car driving down the lane,” he said. “My immediate reaction was anger; how dare anyone take a photograph of my home without my consent? I ran outside to flag the car down and told the driver he was not only invading our privacy but also facilitating crime.”

Mr. Jacobs described the area as affluent and claimed there’d already been three burglaries locally in the past six weeks. “If our houses are plastered all over Google it’s an invitation for more criminals to strike. I was determined to make a stand, so I called the police.”

While we recognize the concerns people have with Google Street View, we laughed out loud when we read this story. If they’re so worried about robberies, they might try investing in an alarm for their house rather than trying to hide the fact that it’s there at all.

What do you guys think of google street view? I am sort of split in the middle on the subject.

I don't have a problem with street view but I think they stick to the city's and stay out of neighborhoods. Either that or blur the images of cars parked in the driveway and the image of the house from the front.

KattTx
04-03-2009, 01:55 PM
The street view of our house is OLD. The vehicle out front was sold a couple years ago, so it's at least from 06 or 07.

DragonBand06
04-03-2009, 02:01 PM
It's really no different that if you drove by there yourself, except you don't have to get in your car and go. If you choose to leave a vehicle parked by the street then having it seen and possibly broken into is a risk you take. Plus, the streetview car can't get into gated communities so if it's somewhere that not just anyone can go normally then it's not gonna be on there.

F18mustang
04-03-2009, 02:03 PM
I think Windows Live Maps' streetview is just as cool.