Google Maps and street view is getting scary. For a while, Microsoft’s Maps, was the closest look at my house. But the Street View for Google is just crazy. It’s a digital photo from the street of every house in my neighboorhood. Interestingly, I can’t make out any of the license plates on the cars. I wonder if they do that automagically.
The coolest new thing I saw today was how you could edit your own house. I looked for my address, and then noticed that the marker was one house off. I clicked edit and moved the marker. It told me that if I move it more than 200 meters that it would not work right away. How cool is that? How scary is that?
Yesterday, I had the idea that any digital camera on a phone with GPS could be configured to upload the coordinates and the photo to google maps. The combination of millions of these photos could be formed into a virtual earth collage. Almost a 3D real representation. I can’t even fathom how much data storage all this needs.
The whole thing strikes me as the beginning of a virtual reality helmet where I could visit a neighboorhood that I am interested in moving to. This is first steps towards the Holodeck on Star Trek.
I am excited and terrified at the same time. Using this system makes me feel like I am on a scary roller coaster. Will we fall into a world where predators can steal your identity and reality is bent like Total Recall? Or will we end up in utopia like in Star Trek – The Next Generation?
We live in exciting times.
Whatya think?