Google Street View is a truly remarkable project, but privacy concerns attempt to thwart it.
The big news today is that the Swiss courts have allowed the Google Street View photo cars to continue taking pictures with a few extra provisos. As PCMag reports, Google is not required to black out all of the faces and license plates. Rather, it must manually black out those that have not yet been covered only if a user files a complaint.
This pretty much keeps Google in the business of taking pictures of every street and alley in the world, at least for now.
Before I continue, I think the Google Street View project, which adds a fascinating twist to Google Maps, is one of the most interesting things ever done with technology. Let me say that if you have not been using Google Street View when you travel somewhere new, you're missing out.
Prior to going anywhere, I do a dry run to find a place or check out an area by dropping down on a map with street view. You can roam around streets, go up and down freeways, or scope out a neighborhood to see if it is safe. It's actually quite a useful tool.
The issue, however, has always been the privacy. Google argues that it is not doing anything other than taking pictures from a public street to show users what they would see if they were there looking around. With permission from authorities, it takes Street View inside, snapping the interior of various buildings, malls, galleries, and shops, but its main impetus all relates to navigation.
Anyone who uses Google Maps Navigation on an Android phones is sure to be impressed by not only the outstanding turn-by-turn navigation but also by the picture of the targeted location. For example, a picture of the house appears at the end of the trip. You can see the place you are looking for on the phone screen. It's quite remarkable, thanks to Street View.
What I've never fully understood is why Google doesn't push this capability more than it does. I know a lot of computer users who have never gone to Google Maps and dropped down into Street View to "look around."
Are you traveling to Paris? Check out the neighborhood around your hotel while still sitting at home. It's great fun. It's also useful when you return from a trip but forget the name of that charming bakery with delicious croissants. You can go back in seconds with Street View and find it as if you were there.
Now, I suppose some people simply cannot figure out how to turn on Street View since Google seems to tweak the interface of its maps every so often. But it's easy: On top of the vertical zoom in/zoom out bar on the left side of the map, you'll see an orange icon of a man. You simply drag and drop the man onto the map and you'll enter Street View. You can then navigate using the mouse and you'll get the hang of it pretty fast.
Needless to say, I think Google Street View is one of the finest tech projects ever.
You can Follow John C. Dvorak on Twitter @therealdvorak.
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