Latest Thing To Blame On Google? Koi Thieves

from the time-to-blur-the-koi-ponds dept

It seems these days you can try to blame just about anything on Google. The latest? Koi thieves. Yes, the highly sought after colorful fish are apparently disappearing at a higher-than-normal clip, including from some decently secluded koi ponds. Thus, the police have decided that it must be the fault of Google Earth, allowing the dastardly carp criminals to scout out their targets. Google, for its part, points out that Google Earth merely presents publicly available satellite imagery via its app, suggesting, correctly, that it's a bit unfair to blame Google just because Google presents the same data in a way that others could find elsewhere.

Filed Under: blame, google earth, koi
Companies: google

Indian Court Wants To Ban Google Earth In The Wake Of Mumbai Attacks

from the oh-please dept

You just knew this was going to happen eventually. Pretty soon after the attacks last month in Mumbai concluded, reports started coming out about how the terrorists made use of a variety of modern technologies to plan and execute the attacks. A few reports claimed that they had used Google Earth to familiarize themselves with the locations involved in the attacks (some reports had claimed that the terrorists had never been to Mumbai and just used Google Earth -- but other reports contradicted that).

However, an Indian Court is now calling for the software to be banned saying that it "aids terrorists." Of course, so do maps or photographs of hotels, such as those placed online by the hotels themselves, but people aren't overreacting and calling for a ban of those things as well. Yes, we can understand the kneejerk reaction here, and the anger over these horrific attacks. But, banning Google Earth isn't the answer. If Google Earth weren't available, the attacks still would have happened. It's just that the planning would have been different. It's perfectly natural for people to lash out at technology used in a bad way after a tragedy, but hopefully the court won't overreact and will eventually realize the anger should be at the people who actually performed the attacks, not the tools they used.

Filed Under: attacks, google earth, india, mumbai
Companies: google

Artist Creates A Real Where's Waldo Adventure For Online Satellite Imagery

from the good-luck-finding-him dept

A few years back, a bunch of publications ran misleading stories claiming that the department store Target was trying to make use of tools like Google Maps/Google Earth that used satellite imagery to advertise on their rooftops. That wasn't the case at all. The image of a Target rooftop in question was near an airport, and there are a number of stores that have painted large advertisements on their rooftops for passengers in landing airplanes to spot. However, the concept has inspired some artistic thinking. Reader Joseph B writes in to tell us about how one artist has now purposely hidden a rather large image of Waldo of "Where's Waldo" fame on an unidentified rooftop in Vancouver. The real trick, though, is figuring out not just where this Waldo is, but when he'll actually show up in Google Earth. Of course, this whole thing has ticked off folks who are upset with the suggestion that it's somehow Google taking all of these satellite photos (no, Google doesn't own a satellite... yet), rather than 3rd parties who license the photos to a bunch of companies. In the meantime, while this is a bit silly, it's kind of cool to see people thinking about different ways to create artwork, display it and interact with it, thanks to new technologies like Google Earth.

Filed Under: google earth, satellite imagery, where's waldo

Google Sky Is Worth $25 Million?

from the everybody-sue-google dept

Google certainly has become quite a target for lawsuits lately. The latest one involves a former Google contractor who claims that the idea for "Google Sky" (a sky layer for Google Earth) was his idea -- so he's now suing the company for $25 million. First of all, who knows how many people at Google (and outside of Google) probably had the same idea. For this guy to claim that he can be the only person to have come up with that idea seems a bit rich -- especially considering that Microsoft has apparently been working on something similar for quite some time. Second, $25 million? For a novelty overlay on a product that doesn't make Google any money?

Filed Under: google earth, google sky
Companies: google

Google Sued Over User-Generated Google Earth Content In Israel

from the controversy-follows-Google-around dept

A few years back, there was a bit of a controversy after Taiwanese officials got upset with Google for including Taiwan as a part of China in its Google Maps offering. When it comes to disputed maps and sovereignty, it's no surprise that the map makers are drawn into regional conflicts on which they wish they could remain neutral. Now that Google is increasingly allowing user generated content to appear on Google Earth and Google Maps, things get even more confusing. In fact, reader Jason writes in to let us know of a brewing controversy, where a town in Israel is suing Google over a note placed on Google Earth by a user, suggesting that the town itself was built on the ruins of a Palestinian town, whose residents were forced out. The people in the town deny this, and say that the land was barren and uninhabited when they arrived and built the town following World War II.

No matter what your opinion on the history of the land, it's difficult to see how Google is liable. The person who created the note is easily identified. In fact, the AP reporter spoke to him, and he noted that he would gladly change the note on Google Earth if presented with more evidence that the Palestinian town was actually located elsewhere. Either way, it's hard to see how anyone really benefits from this particular argument or lawsuit. Google merely provided the platform, and arguing (and suing) about what town existed where at what point hardly seems like a productive path for anyone. Still, don't be surprised to see other complaints lodged against Google for content found on Google Earth. People tend to take things like maps pretty seriously, which is why there are occasional wars over how those lines are drawn. By opening up the possibility of "virtually" drawing lines however people want, Google is opening the door to quite a bit of animosity within certain disputed regions. One would hope that people would recognize there are more productive issues to focus on -- but that seems unlikely.

Filed Under: google earth, israel, online maps, palestine, user generated content
Companies: google