An Anonymous Coward writes:
For years Google Maps has offered Street View, giving viewers a street level glimpse into far away destinations.
Word on the street (no pun intended!) is that Apple is sending out vehicles to photograph various locales in Ireland, UK, and the United States, with the imagery being used in their Apple Maps application.
In the US, Apple will be driving around parts of Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Texas, Utah, and Washington state.
In Ireland, Apple will map the greater Dublin area. For the UK, street mapping will be done in Essex, Greater London, Kent, and Birmingham.
Apple's page states:
[...] Apple is driving vehicles around the world to collect data which will be used to improve Apple Maps. Some of this data will be published in future Apple Maps updates.
[...] We are committed to protecting your privacy while collecting this data. For example, we will blur faces and license plates on collected images prior to publication.
Original Submission
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:16AM
Google does it. If Apple does it it's doxxen? Anyone can drive down am street and record it. Its called the 1st amendment. This is clickbait non news.
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(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:42AM
The rumor mill thought it might be Apple testing out autonomous cars...
http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/02/06/apples-mysterious-vans-are-almost-certainly-for-3d-mapping-not-autonomous-driving [appleinsider.com]
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/apple-self-driving-car/ [wired.com]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/14/us-apple-autos-idUSKBN0LI0IJ20150214 [reuters.com]
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(Score: 1) by Gertlex on Saturday June 13 2015, @05:15AM
The rumor mill ignored anyone noting that the equipment on the vans was commonplace mapping and road quality equipment. An autonomous car has no need for a large set of laser scanners specifically for down-imagery of pavement.
They're probably collecting the data for future autonomous purposes, though. In the past few years, car companies developing autonomous systems have been working with existing companies that do pavement scanning/mapping, etc.
(Had a previous job at a company doing this stuff; good reminder of how many facts tech articles are completely unaware of.)
(Score: 2) by tibman on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:50AM
Neither the articles nor the summary insinuated that apple was trying to dox anyone. It also appears to be tech news. The van doesn't look like something you would associate with Apple. The camera system does look really apple though.
Don't forget that google did get in a lot of trouble for just driving down the street and recording.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @05:41AM
Where do you see that? I'm an Apple fan, but I think you're overreacting to this story. And saying "Its called the 1st amendment" when places not in the U.S. are in the discussion is another indicator you've not thought it through.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by janrinok on Saturday June 13 2015, @07:15AM
The USA has the first amendment - other countries (in this case the UK and Ireland) have their own laws and are not obligated to comply with any US versions. However, it is irrelevant. Firstly, nobody has suggested that the activity is illegal in any way. I'm not quite sure why you thought that someone had suggested such a thing.
Secondly, the point of the article is that there was earlier speculation that the work was related to Apples autonomous vehicles. This reports indicates that the primary function is the collection of data to improve Apple Maps. However, there may still be useful data collected in addition to mapping that will be of interest to future autonomous vehicles.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Whoever on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:29AM
We would not want Google to get complacent with Maps. The only problem might be if Google decides that their support for hipsters is not good enough and un-improves Maps (although, this process may have already started).
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday June 13 2015, @04:40AM
The rumor mill thought it might be Apple testing out autonomous cars.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @09:15AM
this process has definitely started
it started when they removed wikipedia links from google maps, and the new version of maps user interface is total garbage
(Score: 2) by Appalbarry on Saturday June 13 2015, @05:09PM
What? You're saying that removing the "Print" function is not an improvement?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 13 2015, @05:57AM
You blur the fucking faces DURING collection, NOT prior to publication.
But no, you have another agenda don't you?
(Score: 2) by BasilBrush on Saturday June 13 2015, @09:17PM
That's a stupid idea. If the algorithm makes a mistake, seeing an inanimate object or a billboard as a face, then there will be an improperly blurred area on a picture, and it's not practical to go back and retake the picture. Keeping the originals and blurring before publication means that when errors are spotted, they can be fixed.
Hurrah! Quoting works now!
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Saturday June 13 2015, @10:27AM
that was quite cool.
The driver had this shit-eating grin on his face when he drove by. To my surprise the camera looked homemade; there were eight cameras on a small tower on the car's roof. That tower was constructed quite crudely of plywood.
I haven't been able to dig up the photos with me in them. I don't know whether those particular photos were never selected for use or were simply replaced by new photos of the same place taken at a later time.
There is a way to look up street view from the past but I've never had the headspace to deal with it. It was at the Starbucks on Snell Avenue, South of Blossom Hill Road in San Jose, I think it was in the late spring of 2010. Do yer worst.
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(Score: 2) by tibman on Saturday June 13 2015, @08:00PM
I couldn't find a 2010 set of pictures, so they might not have used them like you suggested. Only 2009, 2011, and 2013: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.238086,-121.830701,3a,75y,281.1h,76.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s37vkNJHvI9YANqYi-yc08g!2e0!5s20110501T000000!7i13312!8i6656 [google.com]
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(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Sunday June 14 2015, @03:47AM
I loved that starbucks but at the same time I was unlucky in love with two different women.
(Not at the same time.)
I'm pretty sure I was at one of the tables at the window when the car went by, for sure I would have had my macbook pro. They must not have posted the photo.
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