Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Google Earth FYI

Was on Google Earth and found out today that they updated photos on 4-1-2012. Which was great for me the lake was just finished a few week before.

I've noticed that GE's images are updated somewhat randomly, by geographic areas - and not globally. Maybe it depends on the satelite's orbit.. ? In any event, rural geographies seem to get updated less frequently. Looks like you got lucky!

You're lucky, our view is still from 2008.

We got lucky this past fall and ours was updated as well. Nice to finally see our changes we made from overhead.

I agree with Al, GE photos of our ponds are still Jan 09. Bing in aerial mode shows our ponds as of early last year.

The moral is check both to see which one works for you.

Mine was updated I noticed a couple weeks ago.. Finally my house is at the pond

BJK, on GE or BING?

Bing - about 2 yrs old

GE - brand new (about 4 weeks max)

It is great to think you guys think Bing is only 2 years old.

Bing

Ours was updated back in April, at least on Google planimeter, the satelite picture was only a few weeks old based on the brush pile we burned earlier and it showed up as having burned the pile already. The planimeter is a great tool for figuring the size of your pond.

http://www.acme.com/planimeter/

I love maps and aerial/satellite photos. I use Bing and Google Maps Satellite all the time.

I've tried...downloaded that darn Google Earth several times and just can't figure it out. User-friendly nightmare! I guess I am "slow" in such matters. Has it got any more user friendly?

BTW: In Bing Maps did you know that under the Birds Eye sction there are two ways to view images: #1. Bird's Eye and #2. Aerial, but only one can be printed on a printer easily. The "Bird's Eye" view won't print the satellite image, but the "Aerial" view under the Bird's Eye section will print the satellite image.

Mine was updated on Google earth never even been on bing

What is even crazy is I click on history and they have one from feb 29, 2012 just month or so before.



You can see the dozer in food plot on hill and the new road going in and the first signs of clearing the trees out for lake.

Big brother is watching -- but just how much can he see?

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is raising the red flag over new mapping services from Apple and Google that reportedly use “military grade” cameras of much higher resolution -- high enough that the eyes in the sky can capture details of ordinary people relaxing in their backyard.

“Barbecuing or sunbathing in your backyard shouldn’t be a public event,” Schumer told Metro New York. “People should be free from the worry of some high-tech Peeping Tom technology violating one’s privacy when in your own home.”

Both Apple and Google announced major new mapping initiatives in the past weeks, marking a new battle to digitally map the world as accurately as possible. Google announced 3D maps for entire cities on June 6; five days later, Apple unveiled a brand-new mapping service all its own, which also includes 3D maps and offers “photo-realistic interactive 3D views.”


'People should be free from the worry of some high-tech Peeping Tom.'
- NY Senator Chuck Schumer


Such technology will surely allow us to reach our destinations faster and more easily than ever before, but the potential risk to our privacy has many worried. Concerns that these maps might see too much were first raised by Nick Pickles, director of U.K. privacy group Big Brother Watch.

"The images are expected to be so detailed that they will be able to reveal objects four inches across," he wrote after Google's announcement.

Now Sen. Schumer is seeking answers.

“After reports that Apple & Google [are] using spy planes to create new online maps, [I’m] calling 4 protections so private images aren't made public,” the senator wrote on Twitter late Sunday night.

Schumer wrote a letter to the two companies, the Metro reported, asking them to alert communities when planes were overhead mapping the area, and even demanding a feature that would allow individuals to opt-out, blurring their images in the maps.

He also requested that sensitive infrastructure such as power lines and ports be omitted from the maps, so that terrorists and criminals can’t rely on the detailed maps to plot out their attacks.

Both Google and Apple told FoxNews.com that the Senator's fears are unfounded, however: The company's maps simply aren't that high quality.

"We appreciate the senator’s concerns and we look forward to meeting with him to demonstrate how the imagery used to develop our 3D models is similar to what's already publicly available in 2D mapping products,” a Google spokeswoman said.

“We currently don't blur aerial imagery because the resolution isn't sharp enough for it to be a concern."

An Apple representative said its maps are blurred, whether or not that's an necessary step.

"We do not display any personally identifiable details such as faces or license plates. Additionally, we create optimized pictures taken from multiple shots and remove moving objects such as cars and people from the final image," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told FoxNews.com.

"We set incredibly high standards for privacy," she said.



Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/06/1...s#ixzz1yChLOsAf

I don't post much but can't keep quiet on this one.
It's bull that the photo quality is not good enough for fine details.
Google maps street view has a photo of my father mowing his lawn next to the mail box (rural area) with the address clearly shown. You can clearly see that it is my father and can even read the brand name on the mower.This was brought to the family's attention after my father passed away a few years ago by some neighbors.

Our land was finally updated in Google Earth this March. Before that the last update was 2006. I was pretty excited to finally be able to see our house, pond, and other improvements we've made.

The detail is much better than in the previous satellite photos. I can zoom in and easily make out cattle, our propane tank, round hay bales, and picnic table. I can see the small chiminea on our back patio but wouldn't be able to tell what it was if I didn't already know what I was looking at.