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penfield"There are a number of things wrong with Washington. One of them is that everyone is too far from home."
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Why am I just hearing about this?
I was already well familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth. But it was not until I saw this story on Drudge Report that I learned about Google Street View.
Google Street View is the essence of Google itself: it is powerful, marvelous, ambitious, pervasive, invasive, simple yet elegant and altogether kind of spooky.
The first thing I did as a Street View pilot was to find my childhood home where my parents still reside:
View Larger Map
*It's sort of odd that the Webster, NY area is one of the relatively few regions currently mapped by Google Street View -- when, say, Washington DC is not -- but this could have something to do with the fact that a certain key Google employee is an esteemed graduate of my own Webster High School (Class of 1994).
For a moment, I felt the warm fuzzy sensations of home, like my parents' embrace. Although the photo was obviously taken months ago, I could imagine my mother peeking out the window and waving hello.
But that hearty feeling was soon enough chilled by the full implications of this software. The idea that I could virtually walk up to my parents' driveway and see what is in their recycling bin instantly filled me with paranoia and fear.
This must be what Viacom, the Authors Guild and the governments of India, South Korea, Morocco feel like. (Vice President Dick Cheney has also objected to Google's satellite imagery of his official residence, but I cannot say I know how he feels because he is a bloodthirsty anthropomorphic robot and therefore has no feelings.)
I don't mean to set off any alarm bells, here. Like I said, I'm probably the last person to find out about this application.*
*When I was in my teens and twenties, I was on the cutting edge of gadgets, gizmos and computers. Today, already, in my early thirties, I can feel technology accelerating in front of me, like a horizon stretching farther and farther out of reach. I have to wonder: will I even be able to operate a television recording device from 25 years from now, or will I be mashing the keys of my galactic remote control like a chimpanzee?
In terms of the space-time challenge, Pandora's Box is already wide open. We're well into the era of Web cams and video conferencing; tonight you can sit in your Miami apartment and play Madden '09 against some guy in Alaska. It's just a matter of time before you can literally reach out and touch someone. (Don't think the porno magnates aren't already working on it.)
The world is getting smaller every day. At least it brings me a little closer to home.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Why am I just hearing about this?
I was already well familiar with Google Maps and Google Earth. But it was not until I saw this story on Drudge Report that I learned about Google Street View.
Google Street View is the essence of Google itself: it is powerful, marvelous, ambitious, pervasive, invasive, simple yet elegant and altogether kind of spooky.
The first thing I did as a Street View pilot was to find my childhood home where my parents still reside:
View Larger Map
*It's sort of odd that the Webster, NY area is one of the relatively few regions currently mapped by Google Street View -- when, say, Washington DC is not -- but this could have something to do with the fact that a certain key Google employee is an esteemed graduate of my own Webster High School (Class of 1994).
For a moment, I felt the warm fuzzy sensations of home, like my parents' embrace. Although the photo was obviously taken months ago, I could imagine my mother peeking out the window and waving hello.
But that hearty feeling was soon enough chilled by the full implications of this software. The idea that I could virtually walk up to my parents' driveway and see what is in their recycling bin instantly filled me with paranoia and fear.
This must be what Viacom, the Authors Guild and the governments of India, South Korea, Morocco feel like. (Vice President Dick Cheney has also objected to Google's satellite imagery of his official residence, but I cannot say I know how he feels because he is a bloodthirsty anthropomorphic robot and therefore has no feelings.)
I don't mean to set off any alarm bells, here. Like I said, I'm probably the last person to find out about this application.*
*When I was in my teens and twenties, I was on the cutting edge of gadgets, gizmos and computers. Today, already, in my early thirties, I can feel technology accelerating in front of me, like a horizon stretching farther and farther out of reach. I have to wonder: will I even be able to operate a television recording device from 25 years from now, or will I be mashing the keys of my galactic remote control like a chimpanzee?
In terms of the space-time challenge, Pandora's Box is already wide open. We're well into the era of Web cams and video conferencing; tonight you can sit in your Miami apartment and play Madden '09 against some guy in Alaska. It's just a matter of time before you can literally reach out and touch someone. (Don't think the porno magnates aren't already working on it.)
The world is getting smaller every day. At least it brings me a little closer to home.
