# Google street view for Ireland



## micmclo (1 Oct 2010)

Now in Ireland and should be complete.
Of course a lot (most?) pics are from 2009 but it's never going to be completely up to date

[broken link removed]

Have to say it's pretty fantastic. A huge project and it works very well. It's not perfect but lets not nitpick for now.
It's there and free to use 

Our house is down a rural backroad and they still managed to capture it, the dog got in the picture!

Have you found your house?


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## tiger (2 Oct 2010)

I don't think it's intended to be "up to date", the picture is a capture of a single moment in time.
Sometimes you find streets that they did on different days, so all of a sudden it goes from sunny to cloudy as you move along it


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## lightswitch (2 Oct 2010)

Saw my house, happy as it looks good, all mowed, flowers blooming etc, not always the case

Do not like the application in general though. Total invasion of privacy in my opinion. Also a god send for burgulars, car theifs etc. Can't see any positives of having private homes, back gardens and so on on public display on the internet. Maybe someone can enlighten me?


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## jhegarty (2 Oct 2010)

How would it help burglars ?


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## lightswitch (2 Oct 2010)

From using the street view they can see whether the house looks like the contents may be interesting.  Once of my friends laptop is viewable in their front bed room window.  They can also determine how secure the house is, alarms, windows etc.  Using the satalite view they can see the back gardens in great detail if they zoom in.  Access to laneways etc from the rear, excape routes.  Cars parked on the streets if they are looking for a particulay type, I know the data is about a year old but still.......

I realise this can be done on foot but it makes "research" so much easier.

Also from a personal privacy point of view anyone who now has your address can see your house.  Again this could be done anyway but they would previously have had to make the effort to visit your road.  

I just don't see the up side to this at all.  I know the tourism business is supposed to benefit from it but really, what tourists want to visit private housing estates.

Would love to hear the benefits of this as I just don't see them.


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## PetrolHead (2 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> Do not like the application in general though. Total invasion of privacy in my opinion. Also a god send for burgulars, car theifs etc. Can't see any positives of having private homes, back gardens and so on on public display on the internet. Maybe someone can enlighten me?



Total rubbish.... 

You've been reading the Daily Mail too much.

The pictures are at least a year old if not more. I can't imagine for a second someone is going to sit in front of a computer to 'case' houses, see your friends laptop and think "I'm having that" when the images are not where near recent. I'd be more worried about who's actually driving up and down your street than what pictures may be available on line.

And as for it's usefulness... there are countless reasons to use Street View... the only limit is your imagination!


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## lightswitch (2 Oct 2010)

@ petrolhead

"You've been reading the Daily Mail too much."

I have actually never read the dialy mail.

"And as for it's usefulness... there are countless reasons to use Street View... the only limit is your imagination! "

Really?  then maybe you would be kind enough to enlighten me with the benefit of your imagination!!


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## micmclo (2 Oct 2010)

tiger said:


> I don't think it's intended to be "up to date", the picture is a capture of a single moment in time.



Yep, you've summed it up better then I did. 
I believe the pics will be updated every three years.
It's a snapshot of time, nothing more

I'm sure there are people who emigrated decades ago going around viewing where they grew up , looking at their old school and houses and farms, see the new developments and the houses now abandoned.


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## Pope John 11 (8 Oct 2010)

Has anyone seen the two mooners at No. 71 Ballinteer Drive, its the 13th photograph in from the junction of Broadford Road & Ballinteer Drive......Classic!


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## remey (8 Oct 2010)

They've been blurred out (Can't believe I checked...)


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## DB74 (8 Oct 2010)

I think there was a previous thread on this with a direct link the the photo.


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## truthseeker (8 Oct 2010)

My OH was telling me last night about some application he found online where you entered the your gender and the address where you grew up and it used google maps to produce an animation of a 'you' running down the street of your childhood. He said you needed google chrome for it - I will ask him the name of it later.


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## pixiebean22 (8 Oct 2010)

Can't believe the little boreen up to my parents' house (not their actual house) is on this, my parents live in a little pocket in the middle of nowhere in Kerry, just think it's crazy they're on there!

Also, I agree that it is a godsend for burglars. There is a picture of my boyfriend's workshed taken from behind a ditch on the main road and the shed door is open and you can clearly see all his tools and materials which he uses to build bikes, you can also see one of his bikes.

Yes, I know the pictures aren't exactly up to date but it wouldn't take long to take a trip somewhere and check out the house of your choice.


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## DB74 (8 Oct 2010)

Why doesn't he keep the shed closed then.

Presumably the shed is in full view of the road if the Google cameras were able to capture it.


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## truthseeker (8 Oct 2010)

Am I missing something on the 'godsend for burglers' thought?

You have got to put in an address to get a picture yes? So do people think burglers will be sitting on the internet inputting random addresses in the hopes of hitting a picture with an open shed of goodies? Then theyd still have to drive off to the place to see if the shed still contains said goodies as the pictures could be a couple of years old.

Surely a more sensible way to be a burgler would be to drive around and case out likely looking properties - without even knowing the street address? 

Maybe Im off the wall - Im not a burgler so not sure of the best tactics.


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## pixiebean22 (8 Oct 2010)

He does keep the door closed normally, the day the picture was taken the door was open, it's a complete invasion of privacy and considering they had to climb into part of the ditch to take it they went to great lengths to invade his privacy.  The shed isn't visible from the road unless you climb into the ditch.  

It would be easy enough if you live in the same area as someone and you see them in a nice car or on a nice bike, you might have some idea of where they live, the general area, but this gives people the opportunity to check where the car/bike/whatever you fancy is kept etc.


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## SISSOKO (8 Oct 2010)

pixiebean22
They didnt climb onto the ditch to take the picture , the camera is mounted on top of
the vehicle , the driver in the google car didnt even see the shed.......................


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## pixiebean22 (8 Oct 2010)

That is the only way they would've been able to take the picture, unless they plonked the vehicle into the ditch.


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## JP1234 (8 Oct 2010)

truthseeker said:


> Am I missing something on the 'godsend for burglers' thought?



You and me both!    I see far more of contents of people's houses when I am out walking the dog at night than I can on Google.  I have googled my own house and that of a few people I know and can't see how anyone can see inside the houses, it just gets blurry.

There's some great shots of my mother in law out on the street in her slippers!  Great amusement for us all as she  normally never goes out looking less than immaculate


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## truthseeker (8 Oct 2010)

Guys try this - its fun!


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## lou2 (8 Oct 2010)

I wish they waited till I had my hanging baskets put up.


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## scuby (8 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> From using the street view they can see whether the house looks like the contents may be interesting.  Once of my friends laptop is viewable in their front bed room window.  They can also determine how secure the house is, alarms, windows etc.  Using the satalite view they can see the back gardens in great detail if they zoom in.  Access to laneways etc from the rear, excape routes.  Cars parked on the streets if they are looking for a particulay type, I know the data is about a year old but still.......
> 
> I realise this can be done on foot but it makes "research" so much easier.
> 
> ...



if someone is going to break in they will break in. i don't think there is a gang of criminals sitting around a laptop looking to see what is around a house before they "off it"...


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## micmclo (9 Oct 2010)

*A few Daily Mail readers on AAM I see*

When I started this thread I thought it would be on a free resource available to all.

Didn't think it would be about burgulary 

Reminds me of Joe Duffy last week.

Helen: It's terrible Joe, you can see my two daughters outside the house. I don't want their faces visible on the internet all over the world
Joe: Can you see their faces?
Helen: No, their faces are phased out....

And if you are bothered about your house then that picture was likely taken in 2009.




pixiebean22 said:


> That is the only way they would've been able to take the picture, unless they plonked the vehicle into the ditch.



As for you, here is a link to a pic of a google streetview car.
There were people employed all over Ireland, indeed all over the world to capture data

[broken link removed]

There is nothing captured that I would not see if I drove a tractor past your house




scuby said:


> if someone is going to break in they will break in. i don't think there is a gang of criminals sitting around a laptop looking to see what is around a house before they "off it"...



Spot on, criminals do check out areas and look for attractive targets. Been doing so since time began.
An 18 month old photo isn't much use, if they want to burgle your house they are still going to do it and check out the area


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## PetrolHead (11 Oct 2010)

Check out the image at  53° 0'34.99"N, 9° 1'48.20"W (copy and paste co-ords into GE search).


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## Caveat (11 Oct 2010)

I think I might be missing something - a hedge in an unnamed road in Co Clare ?!


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## Howitzer (11 Oct 2010)

The Father Ted house? (Apparently that's where all the money from the boom ended up. Just resting in the account, like. Hope the burglers don't break in now.)


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## micmclo (11 Oct 2010)

Well you can see the Burren


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## lightswitch (11 Oct 2010)

Yeah,  I'm in the minority with my views on this application no doubt about it

Still I just don't like it.  I very much value my privacy.  Don't like facebook either but I can see the benefits of it for others.  

The benefits of Google Street Maps simply evades me other than for pure nosiness, at best.  Would love someone to point out some real advantages of it.

If there had been people in my front garden I would request to have it blocked, as there are not I will leave it there, for now......


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## PetrolHead (11 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> Still I just don't like it.  I very much value my privacy.



Not flaming here... I'm really just wondering how you perceive this. The Google Streetview image shows a still frame from roughly 12-18 months ago. What does it reveal that somebody standing in the road in front of your house can't see? What is the difference between the image being displayed on the internet and someone being able to see your property in real time, in real life?



lightswitch said:


> The benefits of Google Street Maps simply evades me other than for pure nosiness, at best.  Would love someone to point out some real advantages of it.



As I've said before... this is just down to necessity and imagination.


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## micmclo (11 Oct 2010)

I did check the Daily Mail and sure enough they are outraged.
Is there anything that paper isn't outraged over?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/wor...reshoot-entire-Street-View-footage-Japan.html


> Google off! Outrage over spy-in-the-street



This however is amusing 


> These range from a woman filing for divorce after her husband's car was pictured outside another woman's house


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## Caveat (11 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> I will leave it there, for now......


 
 LOL - why the dramatic:     "for now..."  ?

Just request that it's removed if it's a niggle at all in any way ?!


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## lightswitch (11 Oct 2010)

Caveat said:


> LOL - why the dramatic: "for now..." ?
> 
> Just request that it's removed if it's a niggle at all in any way ?!


 
 Didn't mean to be dramatic, but can see how you read it that way, lol.   A bit like "I'll be back!!!"

"As I've said before... this is just down to necessity and imagination. "

and as I have asked before can you give me the benefit of your imagination as I am coming up with nothing other than what I have stated.  Trotting out the above statement is not really enlightening me in any way.


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## micmclo (11 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> and as I have asked before can you give me the benefit of your imagination as I am coming up with nothing other than what I have stated.  Trotting out the above statement is not really enlightening me in any way.



Are you still living in the village or area you grew up in?
Do you know anyone who emigrated, recently or even decades ago?

Now you have the chance to talk a virtual walk down the street.
If you emigrated abroad you may never get the chance to return. Or may not want to return but you can still look

Or you might be moving to a new city for work, or maybe your child is going to a new college.
You can virtual walk the commute. Have a look around the area.

You can check out your holiday destination and not just the good photos on the travel website. They won't show you the dump beside the hotel. Google street view will if you do a lap of the hotel

Remember where you proposed/got proposed to? Go view the area and put a smile on your face

I could stay typing for hours.....
Your imagination can do with some work, it's rusty


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## Slash (11 Oct 2010)

micmclo said:


> These range from a woman filing for divorce after her husband's car was pictured outside another woman's house



Really, Daily Mail, did that really happen or did ye just make it up?

One thing it can be useful for is if you were going to rent or buy a house, you could get a good idea of not only what the house looks like but its location in relation to the town and ameneties, rather than relying on the description on the web of "only a short stroll to the beach".


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## lightswitch (11 Oct 2010)

micmclo said:


> Are you still living in the village or area you grew up in?
> Do you know anyone who emigrated, recently or even decades ago?
> 
> Now you have the chance to talk a virtual walk down the street.
> ...


 

Thanks,  now at least I understand what you see in it.  

The checking out the hotel I would do but it is well out of date, so much can change in a year, a new dump could have been built.  Also the emigrant that won't be coming home will probably get something out of it.

Nothing there that I find compelling to be honest.  My imagination is fine, believe me, no problems there.  I will admit I am not a particularly curious or nosey person so therein may be why this just doesn't rock my boat.

Different strokes for different folks I guess.


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## truthseeker (11 Oct 2010)

lightswitch said:


> Nothing there that I find compelling to be honest. My imagination is fine, believe me, no problems there. I will admit I am not a particularly curious or nosey person so therein may be why this just doesn't rock my boat.


 
I used it to look at my childhood home - its only down the road so I could have driven down but I wanted to see it from the comfort of my sitting room.

Then I went off and looked for the restaurant I worked in one summer in the US. The restaurant is gone but the street is still there and I felt very nostalgic seeing the old place and how its changed.

Then I spent the next 3 hours looking at different places - I could have stayed there all night having trips down memory lane.

I dont think its about being nosey - its more like getting the old photo albums out and having a browse - except now we are browsing through space instead of time.


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## Caveat (11 Oct 2010)

truthseeker said:


> ... except now we are browsing through space instead of time.


 
_Very_ cool (and accurate) way of putting it TS !

Could even be a tag line in an advert - I can  just imagine the deep voiceover !


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## lightswitch (11 Oct 2010)

OK,  I looked at some homes from the past, parents old place etc,  yes indeed it did make me feel nostalgic.  

It's getting dark now so time for me to activate the electric fence, lock the alarmed gates and let the 5 Rotties out .


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## truthseeker (12 Oct 2010)

Caveat said:


> _Very_ cool (and accurate) way of putting it TS !
> 
> Could even be a tag line in an advert - I can just imagine the deep voiceover !


 

lol - Cheers Caveat.

I thought of another use of it last night, I had a virtual walk from my childhood home to where I live now - its good for people with limited mobility to have a good look around - as opposed to just flying past in a car and not seeing much.


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## TarfHead (12 Oct 2010)

micmclo said:


> Remember where you proposed/got proposed to? Go view the area and put a smile on your face


 
Did that last night and it put a smile on both of our faces.

Thanks for that suggestion !


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