I m street

Google dodged a bullet in Germany this week as prosecutors in Hamburg decided, after a lengthy investigation, not to pursue criminal charges against the company over Street View WiFi data collection. Essentially prosecutors found that Google lacked the requisite “criminal intent” to justify prosecution. Google faces another, arguably more daunting legal challenge in Germany however. It’s now confronting a proposed “ancillary” copyright rule that could go into effect early next year and effectively eliminate Google’s ability to index German news sites without licensing their content. France is similarly trying to make Google pay for linking to news content. Intended for “the protection of news publishers” the proposed German law singles out news aggregators and search engines in particular. It still must be ratified by the German Parliament. Below is a high level summary of the law based upon an unofficial English translation: On August 29 … [Read more...] about Google Wins Street View Reprieve In Germany But Confronts New Pro-Newspaper Copyright Restrictions

As expected, Google Maps Mobile has gained Street View photography. The move should further shore up Google as an alternative to the new Apple Maps on iOS 6, which are so inferior to the Google-powered ones on iOS 5 that Apple CEO Tim Cook apologized for them last week and suggested Google as an alternative, among other options. Google Maps, accessed through the browser, still won’t be as nice as making use of an actual Google Maps app. Google lacks an app for iOS 6 users apparently because it hasn’t “done anything” yet, as CEO Eric Schmidt said last week. Why hasn’t it done anything? Google’s not providing a reason on the record. But reports are that the company didn’t expect to be dropped from Maps in iOS 6 and is now scrambling to develop its own app. Google’s confirmed to Search Engine Land that Google Maps Mobile was coming on yesterday but not the exact timing. A Wall Street Journal report on yesterday had said it would happen … [Read more...] about Google Maps Mobile Gets Street View, Aimed At Helping iOS Users

The news came as part of a scorching review of Apple’s new Maps dysfunctionality by New York Times tech writer David Pogue, who writes in part: In short, Maps is an appalling first release. It may be the most embarrassing, least usable piece of software Apple has ever unleashed. Ouch. Our own review didn’t find it unusable, to say the least, but there’s no doubt it has problems. Even comedian Stephen Colbert mocked the new Maps last night. But also in Pogue’s review is this part that iDownload blog spotted: You can still use Google’s maps — on the Web. Visit maps.google.com and accept the offer to create a Home-screen icon for you. You won’t get spoken directions, but you’ll get written directions, public transportation details, live traffic reports and, of course, Google’s far superior maps and data. (In two weeks, you’ll be able to get Street View this way, too, says Google.) And you can install the Google Plus Local app … [Read more...] about Google Street View Coming To Google Maps For Mobile, For Both iOS & Android

A pair of New Orleanians are trying to get Google to update the Street View imagery of their city — some of which is five years old and still shows the ruins from 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. “We basically just want to let Google know that there’s a real need for updated images this many years after Katrina,” says Annalisa Kelly, who, along with Hunter King, recently launched Update Google Street View in New Orleans! It’s a blog that juxtaposes current city photos with Google’s images to shine a light on the need for new Street View photos. As King and Kelly say on the blog, New Orleans is “continuously changing, demolishing, and rebuilding,” and Google’s old Street View imagery “hurts local businesses, apartment hunters, landlords, and the general perception of the city.” The pair are crowd-sourcing image ideas from their fellow New Orleanians. Here are a couple recent examples from their blog: 5700 Block of … [Read more...] about Dear Google, It’s Time To Update Our Street View Images

No sooner did I hit “publish” on my earlier post, Google’s “Voice Assistant” Not Quite Siri-Smart But Most People Won’t Notice, than people on Twitter started responding that I was out of my mind. A couple of people cited a Piper Jaffray study, published yesterday, comparing the accuracy and breadth of Siri “search results” vs. Google in a “street test” in Minneapolis. Google Gets a “B+” Siri Gets a “D” In short Google was graded with a “B+” in terms of accuracy, while Siri got a “D.” It’s really an “apples to oranges” comparison, however. Let’s take a look at the methodology. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster and his minions asked an iPhone (Siri) 1,600 questions, half of which were in a room and half of which were on a noisy street. The same questions were input into Google. However it’s not clear whether this was in Safari, on a Google iPhone app … [Read more...] about Piper Jaffray “Street Test” Of Google vs. Siri Misses The Point