Maximum PC Maps RSS Feed

GPS Systems With Real-time Traffic Can Save Drivers up to Four Days per Year

Justin Kerr — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 21:21:16 -0500

Any old GPS will save you time, but if you’re like me and are still clinging to an older model that doesn’t have real-time traffic data, you could be missing out. According to a new study conducted by NuStats, drivers who use real-time traffic enabled GPS’s save approximately four days per year in travel time vs. those who use nothing at all. The savings work out to an average of 18 percent per trip, and also yielded a CO2 savings of nearly 21 percent.

Participants in the study were broken down into three categories, drivers with no electronic navigation assistance, drivers with a GPS, and drivers who were using real-time traffic enabled devices. The survey participants made more than 2,100 individual trips, across approximately 20,000 kilometers of road.

These results sound great on paper, but it’s worth noting that even though the study itself was conducted by NuStats, the project was funded by NAVTEQ, a leading provider of real-time traffic data for GPS manufacturers such as Garmin. Does this shoot holes in the credibility of the study? Let us know what you think.

Earthmine Allows you to Unleash Virtual Graffiti on San Francisco

Justin Kerr — Sun, 24 May 2009 01:30:32 -0500

Ever wanted to open up a can of spray paint and write kick ass all over the front doors of the Maximum PC HQ? Well, now you can have your chance. A new tech demo has been released by a company called Earthmine who primarily specializes in geomapping, but decided it might be interesting to show case the early version of their new street-view technology in an interactive demonstration.

Users have the ability to select from the buildings it has indexed, and using paintbrushes, rollers, and other instruments of artistic destruction, create virtual urban art. The usefulness of this application is somewhat limited, but it does help to showcase the underlying technology, which will allow them to create full 3D maps of cities rather than just pasting together panoramic views. This will make browsing much more seamless. It certainly appears to be a pretty compelling offering when compared to the choppiness of Google Street View.

In addition to the web interface, a mobile edition is also being developed that will allow users to hold up their phones in real life, to view how buildings have been tagged in the Wild Style version of their neighborhood. The first version is expected to hit iPhones later in the summer when the new geolocation API’s are released. Want to learn more about Wild Style City? View the You Tube demonstration.

Google Earth – And The Three Billion Dollar Shipwreck

Justin Kerr — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:45:01 -0600

Some people harness the awesome power of Google Earth to view distant lands they may never reach, take in a crime in progress, or maybe even find a 3 billion dollar shipwreck. At least that’s the claim of Nathan Smith, a Los Angeles musician who appears to have spotted the remains of a Spanish barquentine while zooming in on a shoeprint shaped object in the Aransas Pass in Texas. This assumption was based on historical records which put a lost barquentine (three massed sailboat) near that location south of Refugio, Texas, in 1822.

After consulting with a few experts, he traveled to the location which just happens to be the private ranch of the late Morgan Dunn O’Connor. The result of this drama will end up being decided in the courts with the family of Mr. O’Connor and Mr. Smith in a bitter dispute over salvage rights. If the courts determine that the land is located within a navigateable waterway, the first person to find the wreck is entitled to the spoils, otherwise the bounty goes to the O’Connor family.

As if this wasn’t complicated enough, the state of Texas is also considering its options because it disputes the existence of a commercial waterway near the wrecks location. If this is proven true, the state might have found a surefire way to balance its books come budget time. U.S. District Judge David Hittner will rule on the salvage rights within two months time.

Google Maps Gets Upgraded Street View

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 15:06:39 -0600

Google’s popular (and somewhat controversial) Street View has finally gotten a facelift of its very own.

The new Street View updates allow users to see the streets far easier thanks to a new window that fills the whole screen instead of a small portion. It’s also coupled with higher resolution pictures that give you the chance to zoom in closer than you ever could before (hooray for the prospect of new sightings!)

On top of that, new navigation makes things easier. Pan the view with the A and D keys, and look at your apartment, license plate, social security number and list of fears up and down with the W and S keys.

The kicker? It’s not working with the latest version of Google Chrome. I guess that’s something to pay attention to in the future, huh?

Image Credit: Google

Sensis Search and Maps Gives in to Google

Justin Kerr — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 21:58:50 -0600

Ever heard the expression,” if you can’t beat them, join them”? It turns out this is an attitude shared by the executives over at Sensis, the advertising and directories arm of Australia’s largest telecommunications company Telstra. Starting in Q1 2009, all of the Sensis business listings will be incorporated into Google’s mapping service. Google will then be implemented to power the native search and mapping functionality on the site. Sensis’s decision has been widely criticized as an admission that could not compete with Google, but I would argue it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Many larger and deeper pocketed rivals have attempted to duplicate Google’s success over the years with arguably little to no lasting success. Yahoo and Live search aside anyone else remember Cuil?

The announcement was made at Google’s headquarters and Sensis CEO Bruce Akhurst said the deal would allow them to focus on their yellow pages business listings. Both parties have openly denied that any talks are taking place with regards to a merger, and according to Sensis the deal is only intended as a means to share revenue. Neither party is revealing any specifics as to the terms or financial agreements, but presumably Sensis determined it was the best way to save market share. According to Nielsen NetRatings, Google Maps serves just over 2.5 million Australian visitors, with a mere 1.2 million using the Sensis Wherels service. Even more dramatic are the search numbers with 9.3 million Australians using Google, and only 184,000 users choosing Sensis.

Another search engine bites the dust, can anyone take on Google? Let us know what you think.

Google’s GeoEye-1 Captures Its First Image, May Be Watching You

Alex Castle — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:15:05 -0500

It’s hard not to like Google Earth. It’s free, it’s fun, and now it’s about to get sharper than ever. The GeoEye-1, a commercial imaging satellite sponsored by Google and considered to be the world’s most accurate snapped its first photo on Wednesday, Wired reports.

The satellite takes photos at a maximum resolution of 41 centimeters, high enough—in other words—to spot your dog from space. Unfortunately for Google, the government places restrictions on the max resolution of commercial satellites, meaning that Google will only be allowed to use images with a resolution of 50 centimeters or worse.

And speaking of the government, although Google is the primary corporate sponsor of the GeoEye, the satellite’s number one customer is the US government’s National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. Eager to avoid an unflattering label, Mark Brender, VP of communications and marketing at GeoEye, says “This is the opposite of a spy satellite. Spies don’t put info on the internet and sell imagery.”

So now Google’s armed with its own not-a-spy satellite. Are you concerned about your privacy, or just psyched for a higher-res Google Earth? Let us know after the break.

Case of the Missing USB Flash Drive: Japanese Military Owns Up

Pulkit Chandna — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:56:48 -0500

You are not the only one confronting difficulties retaining uninterrupted possession of your USB Flash drive, but large organizations – or their mortal employees – are also prone to misplacing their USB Flash drives brimming with sensitive data.

The latest entrant to the universal brotherhood of butterfingered flash drive owners is the Japanese military, which has admitted that one of its USB Flash drives, pregnant with sensitive maps of Japanese-U.S troop deployment was stolen a year ago by a 33-year-old captain of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF). The captain has primeval economic faculties as he also stole the paltry sum of ¥2,000 [$19] and a ¥10,000 [$94] airline coupon.

But there was a twist in the tale as the captain was eventually nabbed and the drive recovered. But a lieutenant borrowed the flash drive and in turn gave it to a clumsy sergeant who lost it.. The sergeant did a pretty good job as the drive has gone missing without a trace. The Japanese military kept the one-year old incident under wraps as it didn’t want the troop deployment maps to be scoured by internet users.

Image Credit: All the Kings Men

Does Google's Street View Encroach on Personal Privacy Rights?

Tom Edwards — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 17:29:59 -0500

And there I was, opening my front door, as I typically do when I get home, but on that particular day my image was captured by one of Google’s black vans and added to the company's Street View feature, which connects street-level photos to Google Maps locations. And while I wasn’t getting a ticket or climbing over a gate , it was a bit odd to see myself there in front of my home. I don’t have any interest in having the image taken down (it’s actually hard to identify me since I was photographed from the back), but other people have voiced concerns about their images appearing on Street View.

Oakland resident Mary Kalin-Casey noted that the Street View image of her home shows her cat, Monty, sitting in front of the living room window; she posted to Boing Boing stating she would be looking into how she could have the image removed. The response on Boing Boing was quite negative, with many people stating that she should not have an expectation of privacy if her blinds are open. In an interview with the New York Times she further explained her point, stating, “The issue that I have ultimately is about where you draw the line between taking public photos and zooming in on people’s lives.... The next step might be seeing books on my shelf. If the government was doing this, people would be outraged.”

And Kalin-Casey’s point is worth considering. If you saw someone standing in front of your house snapping pictures through your living room, would you confront him? Do we now need to operate under the assumption that anything we do could possibly be recorded unless we’re in our homes with the blinds drawn?

Google does have a process that allows individuals to request that “objectionable” images be taken down. Kate Hurowitz, a spokesperson for Google, explained that “objectionable imagery includes nudity, certain types of locations (for example, domestic violence shelters) and clearly identifiable individuals, if those individuals request takedown. We routinely review takedown requests and act quickly to remove objectionable imagery.” She went on to explain that requests to remove images are reviewed promptly and in a few rare cases the company has preemptively removed Street View images.

While that may be the case, once an image is up, it’s quickly disseminated to a variety of sites, and even when images are taken down, they are often still viewable by simply scrolling back a block on the map and then zooming in on deleted content. One image on Geary Street in San Francisco that showed police activity was soon blacked out but is still viewable by moving down the street and zooming in. While Hurowitz would not say who requested that the Geary Street image be removed, she did state that “we haven't received any requests for removal from law enforcement.”

A collection of unusual Street View images is available on Wired's Threat Level blog