G26ster wrote:
If the thief never looked at Google maps in the first place and drives by and sees no cars, isn't it the same likelihood no one is home?
I think the point is (well, my $.02 is) not having google maps as an option for those who will check. Not considering all possible likelihoods/scenarios is where you fail. I've learned that anything can happen - stay aware and alert.
And my $.02 is that a picture from the past is not a basis for a thief to make a decision on today. Most houses with empty driveways indicate the high possibility that no one is home. Whether there were cars in the driveway two months ago is meaningless in my opinion. But hey, just MHO.
I tend to agree...
A more critical issue, IMO, is if Google shows a Jag and a Benz in the garage, that'd make a thief drool just a little.
I am not a lawyer. This is NOT legal advice.! Nothing tempers idealism quite like the cold bath of reality.... SQLGeek
jimlongley wrote:The street view pic of my house is the same in both Google Maps and Google Earth, from 09/2012, and at the moment both of the aerial views are the same. My neighbor's house is blurred out in street view, but really can't imagine why.
I have had fun checking back on a couple of houses that I owned in the past, it took the next owner of my first house 20 plus years to paint the little porch roof that I didn't do when I painted the house in 1985. The second owner of another of my previous homes let the beautiful little flowering crab apple tree that some of my late wife's ashes were deposited under go and actually be overgrown by some kind of weedy vine. And the current owner of the house we lived in in IL has had to repair the roof.
When I was engineering the wireless network for the red light cameras in Dallas, we were "partnering" with the vendor supplying the wireless equipment, and they cheerfully offered the services of one of their "Graphic Information Specialists" to supply us with route maps and path analyses that he would do in Google Earth (this was in 2006 and GE has improved since then) I went to his office, and we had some geeky fun together, but he was not doing the paths correctly so I continued to do them myself with topo maps (including Delorme's 3D Topo Quads.)
I'm not real worried about the "spying" aspect of GE and GM, as they are not real time and I can prove that they are prone to error (millions of pics are done in a mosaic and "knitted" together with disparities based on camera angle and light) but I get a kick out of the fact that in them you can see the groove that my dogs have worn in the back yard, from the doggie door to the bird feeder, and in one of the old pics you can see my neighbor and I in the back alley chatting.
That was why I posted the link. I have requested my house to be blurred. I guess one needs to find out when they are running around taking pictures and go out front with all the dogs, wearing camo and open carrying a rifle
Does anyone know if this works for both Google Maps and Google Earth? I dont want to download it on my computer if I don't have to. Google Earth is the one that allows folks to see into your backyard.
"Be so good, They can't ignore you"
CHL: May 2013 | NRA Member
I am in a gated community so no Google Street View for me :)
Interesting tidbit... I googled lawn maintenance crews trying to find someone to come mow my lawns. One of the vendors had a click here link for an "instant" quote. Well I had to see this so I clicked. When you did it brought up Google Earth view of your house and you trace the border of your lawn with your mouse and it calculates how many square feet of lawn you have. Then add any features such as pools etc. Select a service level and frequency and I'll be darned an instant quote. It was pretty spiffy!
Syntyr
"Wherever you go... There you are." - Buckaroo Banzai
"Inconceivable!" - Fizzinni
I believe the local tax people use these pictures also to see if you have added any structures to your house. You may need more than a taller fence to prevent the taxing boards from increasing your bill.
I had requested the view of my home be blurred. I received an email today that it had been done or would be in the next 24. I checked the maps and it was done. Not only did they blur the house view, but the image of my car was also blurred. I like that!
