5 ms·

Google Maps must be one of the modern wonders of the world, it's still nothing short of breathtaking to zoom out of streetview in crowded London and then land s

Google Maps must be one of the modern wonders of the world, it's still nothing short of breathtaking to zoom out of streetview in crowded London and then land somewhere on a country crossroads in remote Vietnam.

rococode 8y ago
And once you land on those country crossroads, you can continue exploring the area at the street level. It's really an incredible tool for sating wanderlust - just pop over to some place you've wanted to visit and wander the streets via streetview, all from the comfort of your seat! Speaking of which, GeoGuessr [1] is a great example of how to enjoy Google Maps. You start at some random streetview and try to figure out where in the world you are by walking around (and hoping to see a sign or two)! A lot of times you end up in dirt roads in small countries, and it's really cool to see what it looks like there. [1] https://geoguessr.com/ https://geoguessr.com/
- mr_overalls 8y ago
  This is fantastic!
- dmortin 8y ago
  As far as I know google street view costs money from this month, and it's not exactly cheap, $14 for a thousand streetviews: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/sheet/ https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/sheet/ I wonder if this tool stays free, lots of site owners are complaining about paying much more with the new pricing.
  - criley2 8y ago
    It'll be an interesting thing. They definitely understand the gaming angle due to Pokemon Go causing them to specially create tools and customize their API for gaming: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/gaming/ https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/gaming/ But that seems to be Enterprise level only. They seem to have already updated for the new level. They also have advertisements and are a profitable business. My guess is that they "Contacted Sales" like the Gaming API asks you to do and have a very agreeable discounted rate.
  - kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
    I've never seen a third party site using streetview so not much will be lost. But considering the effort and volume of data they have meticulously collected you can't blame them for monetizing it directly. Google is going to learn their lesson with the insane pricing on regular maps, though.
    - dmortin 8y ago
      They could monetize it by putting ads on the maps/streetviews. They are an ad company after all, so they should have an option to show a map with ads for free, or without ads, but then it costs money.
mixmastamyk 8y ago
I tried something similar to Google Earth in the late 90's at SIGGRAPH, running on an SGI Origin or similar. Was gobsmacked as I "parachuted" from orbit into Dodger Stadium. :D
- puzzle 8y ago
  Google Earth originated from a team that spun off from SGI (twice, kind of), so you probably saw the demos by Michael Jones and co. Nowadays, you can build or buy a Liquid Galaxy to get a better experience than the Origin's, at a fraction of the price: http://liquidgalaxy.org/ http://liquidgalaxy.org/
cma 8y ago
Google Earth VR is mindblowing.
- 52-6F-62 8y ago
  Was going to make the same comment. I was pretty stunned by it.
- adwi 8y ago
  Big picture I think it's truly one of the high water marks of human achievement
- mrep 8y ago
  Holy Shit! I just youtube'd some videos about that and it looks amazing! This is the first thing that has really made me want to get VR. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrkZOx5Q1M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrkZOx5Q1M
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
elboru 8y ago
I count with one hand all the technologies that have blown my mind: discovering the electronic parts of my toys, playing a NES game in my friend's PC, my first contact with the internet, the first iPhone. But discovering Google Earth was a really special one, suddenly I was able to explore every street in the world, I was able to look at my house (in a small city in a developing country). Then I started imagining all the possibilities, also my conspiracy side kicked in, I mean, I as a teenager with a Celeron PC was able to look at any place I wanted in the world, then what kind of secret technologies could a big government have?? Good old days, I hope technology will keep blowing my mind in the near future.
- jjeaff 8y ago
  There was a guy on a TV documentary once that had worked for the government in some capacity. He was explaining that the satellite maps provided to the public are extremely zoomed out compared to what the government is able to see. He said that the government had photography so detailed, that they could find a golf ball on a golf course, and even tell you what brand of golf ball it is.
  - Nitramp 8y ago
    There's always some dude on TV bragging, but I'd be skeptical. https://www.quora.com/How-powerful-are-the-cameras-on-modern-spy-satellites/answers/33871816 https://www.quora.com/How-powerful-are-the-cameras-on-modern... TL;DR is that satellites have a 9 cm resolution at best. That's not enough to see a golf ball (4 cm diameter), and far away from discovering a producer's imprint on it. With drones you can get an order of magnitude better, but that's still only barely enough to find said golf ball, and not enough to read fine print.
    - mhh__ 8y ago
      Who said it has to a be a satellite?
      - robotresearcher 8y ago
sebow 8y ago
You're right, even more so like 10 or more years ago when it actually became relatively known. I used to install Google Earth on my all machines
ohmatt 8y ago
Thanks to this comment I just spent the last hour exploring Moscow, Tokyo, Kyoto, and the Dominican Republic. I feel like I've always taken street view for granted. But it is a truly incredible experience to drop into a city you've never been to and see things you wouldn't see even if you visited. Granted, nothing compares to actually experiencing the culture and places in person, but street view makes for a completely different, incredible experience.
cam_l 8y ago
It is, i remember being captivated by this film in the (mid? late?) 90s.. (from the late 70s, pieced together by hand). Never imagined it would be (partly) possible in realtime.. some 10 years later. (eagerly hanging out for orbit view milky way, but probably not in my lifetime) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0
- lozf 8y ago
  Thanks for posting that - I was thinking about it the other day when I saw this[0] posted in another thread here. Great for sense of scale, but no "street view" in this one. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mkjkTqg0Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mkjkTqg0Y

rococode 8y ago

And once you land on those country crossroads, you can continue exploring the area at the street level. It's really an incredible tool for sating wanderlust - just pop over to some place you've wanted to visit and wander the streets via streetview, all from the comfort of your seat! Speaking of which, GeoGuessr [1] is a great example of how to enjoy Google Maps. You start at some random streetview and try to figure out where in the world you are by walking around (and hoping to see a sign or two)! A lot of times you end up in dirt roads in small countries, and it's really cool to see what it looks like there. [1] https://geoguessr.com/ https://geoguessr.com/

mr_overalls 8y ago
This is fantastic!
dmortin 8y ago
As far as I know google street view costs money from this month, and it's not exactly cheap, $14 for a thousand streetviews: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/sheet/ https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/pricing/sheet/ I wonder if this tool stays free, lots of site owners are complaining about paying much more with the new pricing.
- criley2 8y ago
  It'll be an interesting thing. They definitely understand the gaming angle due to Pokemon Go causing them to specially create tools and customize their API for gaming: https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/gaming/ https://cloud.google.com/maps-platform/gaming/ But that seems to be Enterprise level only. They seem to have already updated for the new level. They also have advertisements and are a profitable business. My guess is that they "Contacted Sales" like the Gaming API asks you to do and have a very agreeable discounted rate.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
  I've never seen a third party site using streetview so not much will be lost. But considering the effort and volume of data they have meticulously collected you can't blame them for monetizing it directly. Google is going to learn their lesson with the insane pricing on regular maps, though.
  - dmortin 8y ago
    They could monetize it by putting ads on the maps/streetviews. They are an ad company after all, so they should have an option to show a map with ads for free, or without ads, but then it costs money.

mixmastamyk 8y ago

I tried something similar to Google Earth in the late 90's at SIGGRAPH, running on an SGI Origin or similar. Was gobsmacked as I "parachuted" from orbit into Dodger Stadium. :D

puzzle 8y ago
Google Earth originated from a team that spun off from SGI (twice, kind of), so you probably saw the demos by Michael Jones and co. Nowadays, you can build or buy a Liquid Galaxy to get a better experience than the Origin's, at a fraction of the price: http://liquidgalaxy.org/ http://liquidgalaxy.org/

cma 8y ago

Google Earth VR is mindblowing.

52-6F-62 8y ago
Was going to make the same comment. I was pretty stunned by it.
adwi 8y ago
Big picture I think it's truly one of the high water marks of human achievement
mrep 8y ago
Holy Shit! I just youtube'd some videos about that and it looks amazing! This is the first thing that has really made me want to get VR. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrkZOx5Q1M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrkZOx5Q1M
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

elboru 8y ago

I count with one hand all the technologies that have blown my mind: discovering the electronic parts of my toys, playing a NES game in my friend's PC, my first contact with the internet, the first iPhone. But discovering Google Earth was a really special one, suddenly I was able to explore every street in the world, I was able to look at my house (in a small city in a developing country). Then I started imagining all the possibilities, also my conspiracy side kicked in, I mean, I as a teenager with a Celeron PC was able to look at any place I wanted in the world, then what kind of secret technologies could a big government have?? Good old days, I hope technology will keep blowing my mind in the near future.

jjeaff 8y ago
There was a guy on a TV documentary once that had worked for the government in some capacity. He was explaining that the satellite maps provided to the public are extremely zoomed out compared to what the government is able to see. He said that the government had photography so detailed, that they could find a golf ball on a golf course, and even tell you what brand of golf ball it is.
- Nitramp 8y ago
  There's always some dude on TV bragging, but I'd be skeptical. https://www.quora.com/How-powerful-are-the-cameras-on-modern-spy-satellites/answers/33871816 https://www.quora.com/How-powerful-are-the-cameras-on-modern... TL;DR is that satellites have a 9 cm resolution at best. That's not enough to see a golf ball (4 cm diameter), and far away from discovering a producer's imprint on it. With drones you can get an order of magnitude better, but that's still only barely enough to find said golf ball, and not enough to read fine print.
  - mhh__ 8y ago
    Who said it has to a be a satellite?
    - robotresearcher 8y ago

sebow 8y ago

You're right, even more so like 10 or more years ago when it actually became relatively known. I used to install Google Earth on my all machines

ohmatt 8y ago

Thanks to this comment I just spent the last hour exploring Moscow, Tokyo, Kyoto, and the Dominican Republic. I feel like I've always taken street view for granted. But it is a truly incredible experience to drop into a city you've never been to and see things you wouldn't see even if you visited. Granted, nothing compares to actually experiencing the culture and places in person, but street view makes for a completely different, incredible experience.

cam_l 8y ago

It is, i remember being captivated by this film in the (mid? late?) 90s.. (from the late 70s, pieced together by hand). Never imagined it would be (partly) possible in realtime.. some 10 years later. (eagerly hanging out for orbit view milky way, but probably not in my lifetime) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fKBhvDjuy0

lozf 8y ago
Thanks for posting that - I was thinking about it the other day when I saw this[0] posted in another thread here. Great for sense of scale, but no "street view" in this one. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mkjkTqg0Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1mkjkTqg0Y