We have just about seen country after country having issues and demands with Google’s street view.  Now the next country to step up is Switzerland.

Switzerland’s data protection watchdog on Friday demanded that Google immediately withdraw the “Street View” facility it has started offering on its map of Switzerland.

Slashdot has the initial news story coverage.  But the related articles offer up more tidbits of information.  The main reason for their demands it be taken down is that the Internet giant was not respecting conditions set to respect personal privacy in Switzerland.  Browsing through the images finds vehicle plates and faces that should have been blurred, are not blurred.

Was passed this URL a few days ago, and while it is “kind of interesting” to see the authors thoughts, I would take the whole article kind of lightly.

Where do you draw the line with Google Maps?

One of the biggest catalysts for driving the use and adoption of online mapping services in both the consumer and enterprise domains has been the availability of the Google Maps. While the low cost of using the mapping service provides high appeal for organisations – and is placing increasing pricing pressure on commercial providers – users and/or developers considering its use within web mapping applications do need to be aware of its functional limitations and the terms of its use before deciding on how to meet their geographic information needs.

I know everyone has been posting about the google poll finder search… but after trying with address I know from 5 different states.. from large cities down to small communities.. I can say this search is really useless.  Because with every search I get this:

We are unable to provide voting location information for your address at this time.

I am sorry, but if you are going to provide a service.. then PROVIDE A SERVICE!  Don’t do it half-assed.

At least Google was good enough to provide links to where you CAN find the information.

Yes, we all know by now I am not a Google Fan.  But this is just something I don’t think anyone should ignore.  Google Maps / Google Earth is using BAD DATA.  There is just no if’s, and’s or but’s about it.  And I had to explain it to management today after a couple of customer calls complaining that can’t find a vending machine location that we have listed.

What they had done is copied the address and pasted it into Google Maps.  They got a location, went there.. nothing there but a house.  They were lead to not only the wrong location, but a wrong location a few miles away from the correct location.  So, thanks to that.. customers do not know where to find “x” and now they are also using up gas because they were given bad directions from a “trusted” source.

Here is the location in Google Maps. (How can W Front St go down a side street and go straight anyway?)  Now, here it is every where else, being marked in the right location.  Everyone that was right was using Navteq maps where google is using Tele Atlas.

In digging deeper, a lot of address we have listed.. if you look in Google Maps for them.. will put you in the wrong location.  So, we have started telling people to use Virtual Earth maps or Yahoo Maps instead as they will give you the correct location of an address.

Got sent this last night and it is actually kind of funny and shows how little the media really knows.  But, to get picked at #5 though.. guess that is worth something.

Translated text:

Top-victims
Fifth place: NASA World Wind
NASA World Wind is still further development, but it is software which fell prey to Google. The main reason is the release of Google Earth.

Beside satellite images the program shows also overlays and useful information like restaurants and sights. Furthermore there are more detailed satellite images especially from Europe.

Google’s goals (making money) and NASA’s goals (distributing information) using Virtual Globes are two different monsters.

While NASA WW has fallen to a niche market of uses and developers (WW Java is in more places than Google could only dream of getting into and being used for), its goal was never intended to be a competitor of Google’s.