street view

You can now "stand" on top of the world's tallest building without having to face the dizzying heights in person.

In its first-ever collection in the Arab world, Google's Street View took its cameras to the top of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, dubbed the world's tallest manmade structure at 2,717 feet. The images show off the view from the observation deck on the 124th floor and offer a peek from the building's maintenance unit on the 73rd floor.

The tallest occupied floor in the world rests on the 163rd floor, while the … Read more

The U.K.'s top privacy watchdog has decided that Google won't be hit with any fines over its collection of Street View data.

The Information Commissioner Office (ICO) announced on Friday that it has placed a "legal requirement" on Google, forcing the company to delete any data it still has on hand related to its Street View snooping. The company had offered to delete data back in 2010. But Google kept some data on hand, leading the ICO to reopen its investigation in April 2012.

"Google has...confirmed that it still has in its possession … Read more

Google Street View has ways of getting places. There are its fleet of cars, its tricycles for places without roads, SCUBA divers for the ocean, and even user-generated content.

Nevertheless, there's always, inevitably, an end to the road. Naturally, sometimes this is because the land just plumb runs out. But there are a number of other reasons Google's cameras have not been able to proceed, from the natural to the man-made. The Atlantic's Alan Taylor took a pictorial look at the reasons why. See them in our gallery below. … Read more

While you cool your jets waiting for Grand Theft Auto V, take a walking tour of GTA IV's Liberty City -- in Google Street View.

Fan site GTA4.net has had a map of Liberty City based on the Google Maps API since early 2009, and it has been a pretty fun -- and useful -- piece of software that shows users where they can find health, armor, and weapons pickups, as well as pigeons, stunt jump locations, and window-cleaning platforms. But now it has received the ultimate upgrade: Google Street View. … Read more

The heartless are everywhere.

Sometimes they are men, sometimes women. Sometimes they are simply beings beyond definition.

Why, I remember one proud woman telling me that she had dumped her man. He came to reason with her, to plead even.

"He was crying," she gloated afterwards, as if she'd scored some great victory. And to think the only reason she'd dumped him was that she'd discovered he was a drug dealer. Yes, it was only pot.

It's interesting, therefore, to witness the reactions to a Google Street View shot that has been propelled to … Read more

Those who haven't had the opportunity to visit New York City and see the Memorial at the World Trade Center now can tour it via Google Street View.

Users can zoom in and out and "walk around" to view the memorial from different angles. Images from the north and south memorial pools feature the engraved names of the victims of the terrorist attacks in New York City, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pa. The zoom feature is precise enough to read each person's name.

Google also has expanded its coverage of New York's famed Central Park. … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- Google and its partner The Catlin Seaview Survey need help from developers to document the world's coral reefs and save them from extinction.

During a session at the Google I/O developer conference, Richard Vevers of the Catlin Seaview Survey and Jenifer Austin Foulkes, a business product manager for Google Earth & Maps, talked up Google's efforts to bring underwater panoramic images to Google Maps.

Google first started virtually mapping the ocean floor four years ago, and in September the company launched its first 360 degree panoramic street views of the ocean. Google partnered with … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO -- By now Street View is a routine part of online mapping. But people might not be so familiar with how Google actually gets the data for its 360-degree panoramic views of the world.

Street View imagery launched in 2007 with photos taken by cameras perched on cars. That's still the mainstay of the project, but there's much more to it now, and Google was showing off its methods at its Google I/O 2013 developer show here this week.

Exhibits included not just a car, but also a snowmobile, tricycle, backpack, trolley, and self-propelled underwater … Read more

Google Street View is now snapping panoramic pictures in 50 countries around the world.

The mapping service reached its 49th and 50th countries on Tuesday by launching in Hungary and Lesotho, according to the Google Maps blog. In addition, Street View has expanded its coverage in Poland, Romania, and other spots. In total, Google updated its Street View images for almost 350,000 miles of roads throughout 14 countries.

The images of Hungary include a view of the Hungarian Parliament building, a walk across the Chain bridge, and a peek at the Buda castle.

Lesotho, a country surrounded by South … Read more