Filed under: Productivity, Web services, Google
Google Street View released for Canada and the Czech Republic
Huzzah! Google Street View has finally been released in Canada (and the Czech Republic). This Canadian blogger is pretty excited, since it has been a long time coming. There's something surreal about finding your own house in Google Maps, then actually looking at your front door.
For people who have never used Google Street View, the functionality isn't immediately obvious. To enable it, you have to drag the icon of a man that is above the zoom slider to a place on a street. The experience is pretty surreal the first time you do it.
Though this might just seem like a whiz-bang feature that looks cool but doesn't have a real-world application, imagine you're trying to get to an important appointment in an office building you've never been to before. Imagine how much easier it would be to find your way if you already know what the building looks like.
[via Google Blogoscoped]
I don't know if this is a labor of love or merely the brainchild of four very gifted games designers, but Level Up is a really weird mash-up of gaming elements that you have probably never seen in a Flash game before.
Let's start with the premise itself: Groundhog Day meets Memento. The game experience revolves around 'days': you explore the world and the clock slowly ticks towards the evening. You bounce around picking up gems and talking to the denizens of 'Level Upland'. Eventually you feel tired and head back to ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Mats said 11:33AM on 10-11-2009
You don't have to drag that icon anywhere.
Just zoom in to the max and you'll get streetview automatically.
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edward said 8:49PM on 10-11-2009
This is getting lots of press up here in the great white north. Lots of people are talking about the privacy concerns. While no one is freaking out hugely about it the general consensus seems to be "its creepy" I know a few people of whom there are pictures of visible on streets (with a blurred face mind you).
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2late2die said 9:38PM on 10-11-2009
I find this utterly cool. I was able to check out my work place, my own place, even my folks`place. It's a lot of fun being able to "walk through" familiar places in google maps like that.
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Mapper99 said 12:27AM on 10-12-2009
I'm impressed with how fast Google has been removing objectionable Google Street Views from the Canadian coverage as seen here:
http://streetviewgallery.corank.com
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Apfelgluck said 4:01AM on 10-12-2009
"There's something surreal about finding your own house in Google Maps, then actually looking at your front door."
So true! And viewing one's past house, door, windows as well.. I've spent a few years of my childhood in a nice little place in a nice little street in a nice Swiss city, and "street-viewing" that very house, in that very city of Lausanne, and then moving around, streets, avenues, squares, parks, as if I was actually there, almost physically, was indeed surreal. I dare say, an exceptional experience!
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Evenio said 8:58AM on 10-12-2009
We're right up there with the Czech Republic, eh? Sounds about right.
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Jen said 7:41PM on 11-17-2009
Something else to spend way too much time on! My house is not visible...and still not on Google Maps...but I will be visiting my childhood home and my peeps on the East Coast! Geez I never really thought of all the places we could go! :)
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