www.iFourWinns.com

So, I just learned about this Google maps street view thing... pretty cool. So I check my own address and apparently the google van was by my house when I was getting ready for a long weekend of boating, we are loading to go. I think I pinpointed the date to June 19 of this year.

Just thought I would share......

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Jeff

'14 Cruisers 380 Express "Simon Sez"
Merc 8.2 Mag MPI 380
DTS B3X, (x2) Axius Premier


(SOLD)
'08 V318
Merc 350 Mag MPI 300
DTS Seacore, B3 (x2)

Isn't technology amazing!

They went by my old house right before I sold it, and our current house right before we moved in.

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2007 358 T-5.7GXi IB
Previous Boats
'08 H240, '08 V318, '04 268, '04 225

Very cool technology, but not without controversy.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

there is no controversy, It is cool



Have you guys checked out the new droid phone, its built on googles platform. Google earth, maps, ect.. right in your pocket!!!! cool stuff. I still have the Black Berry, but the android is impressive.

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

I test them for a living.

There have been law suits against Google to keep peoples' property from being shown on Street View, and I can understand why.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Some of those suits have been won and people have stopped Google from making pics of their property available. In my opinion the whole story on that issue hasn't been written yet.

I work with new phones and the software that runs on them and provisions them, before and after they're released to the public.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I have heard of this but never seen it. What exact purpose does it have? I don't see any practicality. It's not real time (can't catch a thief) What if you were hanging one out for a whizz when the van went by? I think this is an invasion of your private space. I can see more and more people hiding behind tall fences if this technology continues. Atleast it creates employment !

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Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

I took a look at it.... I checked my home add. and saw the FW, but no car. So, I checked my work add, and it wasn't there either. Hum. That crazy google!

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Walt B
"Debt-Charged"
Black '07 H210SS
6.2L Bravo One turning a 21P HIFive
Wakeboard Tower with Perfect Pass Stargazer version
Missouri River; Kansas City, Mo.

It's not a private space though. It's in plain view from a public road. I don't disagree with the 'feeling' of privacy. But that's just the illusion of "hiding in plain sight". There's definitely something to be said for avoiding prying eyes.

In at least one situation Google has gotten into trouble with having taken pictures from what wasn't a public road. I don't recall the specifics though. Something about a road not being clearly marked as private and the like.

I'm sure at some point we'll have someone get robbed based on the crooks knowing they're out of town because of their facebook/twitter/whatever updates and google maps. The lesson being to take care with what you post online. Too many people fail to grasp the value of their personal information.

As for the street view feature, I've found it useful when considering purchases online. When a "company" address is a house you tend to be a bit more cautious about things. Not that a fancy address guarantees anything, just an added point to consider. It's also helpful when traveling to a new area and getting a look at your destination. This assumes the pictures correlate with the actual physical address. Anyone that's used GPS nav systems knows they're not always accurate. Our home address is consistently about 6 houses off in most GPS systems; google included.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I've used it several times and found it useful also. But you can count me on the side that says you should opt in to it; if you're a brick & mortar business it would be in your best interest to opt in, etc. To me there's a big difference between someone making a dumb choice about posting something online, and having their stuff posted without their consent.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

But it's a public view, not a private one. The analogy about posting information online is not quite the same thing, but it's close. If someone posts about being an aberrant freak and it results in getting them fired then it's their own fault. If they happen to prance naked across their front yard while a streetview camera happens to be coming by, the same thing applies. The posting was the direct result of the individual's actions (making the post). The picture is the same thing, it was the individual's actions that put them in public view.

I'm a big proponent of being conservative about what information is posted online. I just don't see the streetview pictures as the same thing. I'm not one that believes in everything being transparent, that's just woefully naive. But by the same token just because people have gotten away with being "invisible" doesn't make it wrong when a system like streetview reveals the falacy of their thinking.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

I happen to be in the picture of my house on it. Not a big deal as I was pretty far back. Some friends of ours have a bigger issue. Their two kids and two neighbor kids were playing on the sidewalk and were all jumping around when the google car went by. The picture of the kids and their house is clear. They have asked google to remove it (google says they will in all their promotions of street view), but to this day, google has not.

That being said, its pretty slick on my iphone. I can call up and address or get to a location and click the street view and see exactly what the place looks like.

With camera's these days everywhere, we lose some privacy when in public.

We are getting red light camera's here. Just waiting on the marine patrol to put them on NO WAKE zones.

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2010 Sea Hunt Triton 220 "Big Whiskey"
2003 FW Freedom 180 Volvo Penta 4.3GL/SX-M "It'll Do Four Now" (Sold)
2012 Avalanche LTZ 4X4

You do realize that makes no sense, right? Being in public has never been private, by practice nor by literal definition.

There just seems to be a dis-associative aspect to how people handle online presentation of information. Just because it was harder to get as much information in the past doesn't make it wrong for it to become easier.

Fundamentally, who cares if there's a picture of you and your kids in front of your house. Without a caption explaining it as such how would anyone "know"? That's not more a "problem" than if the pictures had been taken on a busy downtown street. Again, without captions who would know? Or care, for that matter.

I'd wonder if your friends have used registered mail and/or FedEx to contact Google and make a formal request. Nothing like using the postal system to notify a company of a problem and to seek a solution. Just sending an e-mail or posting on a web forum is basically worthless. But get someone's signature on a delivery and you start the ball rolling on liability risks.

All this reminds me of a comment made at a conference in the early days of work I did on things like RSS and weblogs. One person actually complained that these open formats were going to make it "too easy" for people to get information. I questioned him a bit and it became clear that as a consultant he was depending upon being 'the source' of information for his clientele. He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that their being able to obtain more information would actually make his abilities more valuable. Being an insider is only good for so long. When everyone has access to the same information they eventually find themselves overwhelmed. Thus making those that can filter for the truly valuable information even more important. My point is technology and the easier availability of information isn't the problem. It's people's inability to grasp that their "privacy" never existed. Just like reminiscing about the good old days that never were.

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-Bill Kearney, 2005 348 Vista

Maybe Google will start letting the public know when they will be mapping out the neighborhoods so that people can keep the kids and the Porsche 911 out of view. I on the other hand, would use the advance notice to go get a couple of pit bulls and chain them up in the front yard.

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Current Boat: 2000 Four Winns 298 Vista
Previous Boat: 2000 Carver 406MY

You're right - being in public has never been private. But my yard is not public property and no one sought my permission to post it on the Internet. Yes, anyone can drive by it. I don't consider that the same as making it available to anyone in the world at the click of a mouse.

I too have spent my career in IT, and as such, have real concerns about people's privacy. If I were to drive by your house and photograph everything visible from the street including any young children, etc., and post it all over the Internet, you'd have no problem with that?

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic