I was out getting the paper early this morning when I looked up to see an antenna-and-camera festooned SUV zipping down our street. I managed to duck back in the house moments before it passed our driveway, whipped around the cul-de-sac and disappeared in the direction it came from. It of course was capturing GIS-coded street views, in this instance for Microsoft’s new Windows Live Local, judging by the logos plastered on its side. The vehicle was long gone before I could grab my camera, but below are shots I grabbed of a similar Teleatlas vehicle in San Francisco recently.
Now I am a big fan of GIS and I love the Web. I use Google Maps every day, have geocached and own more digital cameras and GPS receivers than I can count. In short, I am a heat-seeker when it comes to connecting cyberspace and the physical world. But frankly, having my house photographed before breakfast and posted for all the world to see creeps me out. At least I was able to duck out of the shot, and am glad it wasn’t trash pick-up day!
