Hasta La Gadget!

Living vicariously just got a bit more exciting. Google Maps had added some of the most famous (and highest) mountains in the world to Street View. The list includes Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus and Everest Base Camp — four members of the Seven Summits, letting you explore some of the of the highest points on Earth without the aide of a breathing apparatus. According to Google, the shots were captured with the help of a tripod and a fish-eye-sporting digital camera. All of the aforementioned mountains can be reached in the source link below — or with the assistance of a good support team.

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Source: Google

Today Google has released a series of explorations they did in Nepal, showing off some of the highest peaks on the planet and traveling through streets and buildings you and I might never have otherwise have seen. With the fabulous system known as Google Maps Street View, the photo spheres the group took are able to be viewed by you from your desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet at any time! This awesome trek began at Everest Base Camp where the crew rolled out over 70 miles through the mountains and through the towns – through lovely days and real powerful color splashes alike.

As the Google team notes, the highest altitude they reached through this particular trip was 18,192 feet. This trip’s highest altitude is higher than anywhere in the contiguous USA, and in the journal fragments posted this week, Google’s own People Programs Manager Sara Pelosi lets us know that there’s really nothing like it! The closest most will get is, again, in the Google Maps Street View entry this crew has made special for this momentous journey.

See Google’s [World’s Highest Peaks] collection righ tthis minute and see some of the finest locations you might never visit!

“Day 4: The morning was a pretty easy walk, mostly traversing the mountain ridges. After we stopped for tea there was a long climb, “up up up” according to our guide, all on switchbacks. We stopped in Tengboche for lunch, then photographed the monastery with the fisheye lens. Amazing place. The monks watched us closely as we walked around. I don’t know if they were more interested in the Americans or the photography. We continued on to Pangboche where we stayed for the night. When we got to Pangboche we saw a patch of blue sky and a rainbow. I’m still optimistic that we’ll see at least a glimpse of the peak of Everest. Our guide says, “can be”, which we’ve learned is the answer to every question. We’re not even quite to 13,000 ft here. A long way left to go up.” – Trip Notes from Google

There are several ways in which Google is able to take the photos you see in Street View through Google Maps on your desktop or mobile device. One of the ways you can capture a similar “globe-like” photo is with Google’s own Photo Sphere for Android Jelly Bean version 4.2 and higher. If you’re using a Windows Phone or iOS device, you’ll want to have a peek at Photosynth.

Have a peek at the timeline below for additional insights and news blasts from the Google Maps Street View universe – and go exploring today from the comfort of your own home!

Google Street View lifts off from world’s highest peaks is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

If you’ve heard about Google’s latest fine at the hands of privacy seekers across the USA, you know good and well that their Street View cars are roaming around your neighborhood with their sensors on. But what are we doing to prepare for these traveling information collectors? Apparently not a whole lot, as part of the penalty being leveraged against Google is a requirement that they inform the public how to turn on the security on their own personal wifi hubs.

The privacy case at hand has 38 states across the USA and the District of Columbia saying Google’s “Wifi-poaching” Street View cars – which we’ve heard from many times before – are going out of their way NOT to keep to themselves. As these cars roam through your neighborhood, they take photos that are used for Google’s Street View portion of Google Maps – accessible by anyone with an internet connection. The part that regulators are not happy about has to do with Google also seeking open wifi networks to better pinpoint the location of their vehicles as they take said photos.

But as the settlement against Google here in the USA shines down a $7 million dollar fine against the big G, so too did the public raise their voices in freak-out mode to Google, telling them to “stop all the downloadin”.

Only that didn’t happen. There was no massive public outcry, nor was there a large call for citizens across the USA – or anywhere else, for that matter – to take better care to secure their own wireless network. That’s why this week’s directive has Google creating a consumer campaign to educate everyday users on how they might secure themselves against… well… Google.

Sound like a life-changing experience for you? Will a set of Google Public Service Announcements change the way you secure your home internet network? Or is this just an exercise in absurdity?

Have a peek at the timeline below to follow this Street View story back several months (and years) and see how we’re all handling this modern not-quite-so-private world of ours.

Google $7m Street View fine shows how little we care about privacy is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

I am quite sure that at least someone out there most definitely agrees that Google has infringed on their privacy during their Street View mapping project, as this poor sod was caught cheating on his fiancee, which obviously brought him shame and heaps of scorn along the way. Well, Google has acknowledged to state officials that they are guilty of violating people’s privacy throughout their Street View mapping project, as they picked up passwords, e-mail and other personal information casually from computer users who are not in the know.

This is one of the ways to arrive at an agreement to settle a class action case presented by 38 states that are involved in the project, and Google will need to police their employees aggressively where privacy issues are concerned, while educating the public in preventing potential future privacy violations such as this. Google was also slapped with a $7 million fine, which is loose change for them, but at least Google intends to turn over a new leaf, and that should be the take home lesson, no?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Acer C7 Chromebook Gets Hardware Refresh, New Dell Inspiron I15RV-1428BLK,

For most people, their worst fear is having their private information, like their search history or e-mails, leaked out to the public. While their information wasn’t leaked publicly, many people found that their greatest fear almost became a reality when Google Street View cars accidentally came into possession of their passwords, adult-rated web site visits, and e-mails by activating their wireless collection system.

Google is said to be nearing a $7 million settlement in order to resolve the issue and the investigations surrounding it. Over 30 State Attorney Generals initiated investigations over the issue. The $7 million settlement would be split across those states. A Google’s spokesperson, Nadia Blagojevic, stated,

“We work hard to get privacy right at Google. But in this case we didn’t, which is why we quickly tightened up our systems to address the issue.”

This issue has affected many countries, including France, Norway, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria and Australia, and Ireland. The data was collected from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks. Alongside the $7 million payment Google may have to pay, the FCC had also imposed a $25,000 fine on the company regarding the Street View privacy breaches, a fine that only amounted to .001 percent of company’s revenue for a single day.

Google’s Street View cars are only supposed to collect images to be used for Google Maps, but due to an engineering issue, the cars collected a lot more information. Google intended to delete all of the private data in 2010, but some of the information still lingered in its system. Various privacy agencies all over the world began reviewing Google’s data in order to find out the appropriate fine the search-engine juggernaut would have to pay. Now Google has to wait to see if the agencies accept its $7 million settlement. We’ll keep you posted.

[via Washington Post]

Google nears settlement over Street View privacy breach is written by Brian Sin & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.