Google Earth a terrorist planning tool?
by Arthur
Posted on Monday, December 19th, 2005 at 6:12 pm CET
I’m not surprised that a technological warfare expert said yesterday that the images from Google Earth could enable terrorists in Iraq to pinpoint targets inside military bases. I really love these sites — I think the way Google has offered Google Local as an API to web developers is absolutely magnificent — but it does worry me that potentially terrorists and other bad guys could use Google Earth or Microsoft’s Live.com to meticulously plan their evil deeds.
The new Bird’s Eye View feature on Live.com is particularly detailed. You can literally see people walking around. Check out the sample images below. Of course, the images on Google Earth are usually around 18 months old, or even older, but the warfare expert said “If you were interested in vehicles, then that would be a problem but if you are looking at a fixed installation like a military base then it won’t have changed that much.”
Windows Live, originally named Virtual Earth, was launched last week with the new Bird’s Eye View feature. The angled view of some of America’s largest cities is truely amazing and shows a much better view than the top-down view of Google. Right now Bird’s Eye View is only available in 12 large American cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, but more cities will be added soon.
Related links:
- Dutch politicians say Google Earth images help terrorists
- India: Google Maps Too Graphic
- Insurgents using Google Earth
- Google Earth Rocks Satellite Imagery World
Giants Stadium on Windows Live
I’m not surprised that a technological warfare expert said yesterday that the images from Google Earth could enable terrorists in Iraq to pinpoint targets inside military bases. I really love these sites — I think the way Google has offered Google Local as an API to web developers is absolutely magnificent — but it does worry me that potentially terrorists and other bad guys could use Google Earth or Microsoft’s Live.com to meticulously plan their evil deeds.
The new Bird’s Eye View feature on Live.com is particularly detailed. You can literally see people walking around. Check out the sample images below. Of course, the images on Google Earth are usually around 18 months old, or even older, but the warfare expert said “If you were interested in vehicles, then that would be a problem but if you are looking at a fixed installation like a military base then it won’t have changed that much.”
Windows Live, originally named Virtual Earth, was launched last week with the new Bird’s Eye View feature. The angled view of some of America’s largest cities is truely amazing and shows a much better view than the top-down view of Google. Right now Bird’s Eye View is only available in 12 large American cities, such as New York and Los Angeles, but more cities will be added soon.
Related links:
- Dutch politicians say Google Earth images help terrorists
- India: Google Maps Too Graphic
- Insurgents using Google Earth
- Google Earth Rocks Satellite Imagery World
Giants Stadium on Windows Live
6:12 am
That is not a picture of the playboy mansion, it is certainly a mansion, but not the one that Hugh Hefner and his posse live in… try looking it up on Google…