Google maps ups the ante now with satellite coverage - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

raveneye · 04-05-2005, 05:40 AM

The coverage is for the big cities, and the resolution isn't as high as in Terraserver, but Google Maps now has the option to see satellite photos overlain on its maps, just as scrollable and zoomable as the maps.

Anybody here paranoid about this? Do you think this is a resource for terrorists?

For example, these reservoirs in Portland OR were recently the subject of a big debate in which city commissioners tried to force the public to pay for an expensive cover to prevent al Qaeda from being able to dump poisons directly into these open reservoirs for drinking water. Having photos like this available could make "casing" a potential crime scene a lot easier.

My opinion: I think the main people who should be worried are the executives of MapQuest.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ap/google_maps

Rlyss · 04-05-2005, 06:43 AM

I'm a bit unsure of how these maps are any different from those seen in a regular street directory. Every street directory I've ever seen includes things like reservoirs and power stations and government buildings and even includes entrances and car parks and things like that. Isn't this just a digital version of that?

bendsley · 04-05-2005, 07:38 AM

Google's driving directions aren't that great, at the moment. They need some major improvements. MapQuest and Yahoo! have this down.

Also, the satellite images you are seeing are pretty old. Some of the stores in my home town have been there for 2-3 years and they are not showing up on the satellite imagery used in Google.

If you look at the Capitol building and the White House, you will notice different places are blurred out. Also, the roof shown on the White House is not the actual roof. You can see examples at:
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=consti...0664&t=k&hl=en
http://www.allbootdisks.com/images/keyhole.jpg
Try to find area51 (Groom Lake) too. You won't.

At the following link, you can see image patching from different satellite passovers.
http://tinyurl.com/44dn3

Extra links to look at:
http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/
http://terraserver.microsoft.com/

04-05-2005, 05:40 AM	#1 (permalink)
raveneye Born Against	Google maps ups the ante now with satellite coverage The coverage is for the big cities, and the resolution isn't as high as in Terraserver, but Google Maps now has the option to see satellite photos overlain on its maps, just as scrollable and zoomable as the maps. Anybody here paranoid about this? Do you think this is a resource for terrorists? For example, these reservoirs in Portland OR were recently the subject of a big debate in which city commissioners tried to force the public to pay for an expensive cover to prevent al Qaeda from being able to dump poisons directly into these open reservoirs for drinking water. Having photos like this available could make "casing" a potential crime scene a lot easier. My opinion: I think the main people who should be worried are the executives of MapQuest. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp...ap/google_maps

04-05-2005, 07:38 AM	#3 (permalink)
bendsley Professional Loafer Location: texas	Google's driving directions aren't that great, at the moment. They need some major improvements. MapQuest and Yahoo! have this down. Also, the satellite images you are seeing are pretty old. Some of the stores in my home town have been there for 2-3 years and they are not showing up on the satellite imagery used in Google. If you look at the Capitol building and the White House, you will notice different places are blurred out. Also, the roof shown on the White House is not the actual roof. You can see examples at: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=consti...0664&t=k&hl=en http://www.allbootdisks.com/images/keyhole.jpg Try to find area51 (Groom Lake) too. You won't. At the following link, you can see image patching from different satellite passovers. http://tinyurl.com/44dn3 Extra links to look at: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/ http://terraserver.microsoft.com/ __________________ "You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane."

04-05-2005, 06:43 AM	#2 (permalink)
Rlyss The Pusher Location: Edinburgh	I'm a bit unsure of how these maps are any different from those seen in a regular street directory. Every street directory I've ever seen includes things like reservoirs and power stations and government buildings and even includes entrances and car parks and things like that. Isn't this just a digital version of that?