MapReduce Leap
September 7, 2010 9:28 AM Subscribe
Globe Genie is a Google Street View teleporter.
pretty
posted by leotrotsky at 9:36 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by leotrotsky at 9:36 AM on September 7, 2010
WTF is happening in East Bridgewater, MA?
posted by cmoj at 9:38 AM on September 7, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by cmoj at 9:38 AM on September 7, 2010 [4 favorites]
WTF is happening in East Bridgewater, MA?
Olafur Eliasson, evidently.
posted by theodolite at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010
Olafur Eliasson, evidently.
posted by theodolite at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010
Note to Wizard of Oz fans: this took me back to Kansas. 9204 SE 110 St, Kingman, to be precise.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by MuffinMan at 9:39 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
Am I the only one who, when passing by a chain store, thinks "wouldn't it be cool if I could pay a few bucks and teleport to any other of their stores?"
posted by griphus at 9:42 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by griphus at 9:42 AM on September 7, 2010
Also, I deselected everything apart from Australia and it took me to New Zealand.
posted by MuffinMan at 9:44 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by MuffinMan at 9:44 AM on September 7, 2010
Neat!
posted by brundlefly at 9:50 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by brundlefly at 9:50 AM on September 7, 2010
I love this thing. Google Maps is amazing way to travel, and being transported randomly gives it such a magic feeling. You can get a similar feeling by looking up odd search terms. There is a restaurant near me called Papas and Beer, and searching on that term with the map zoomed all the way out brings some interesting results.
posted by bitslayer at 9:53 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bitslayer at 9:53 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
I don't get why this exists. Can I just load the actual google maps and click randomly? To select only Europe, say, just zoom in before closing your eyes.
posted by DU at 9:54 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by DU at 9:54 AM on September 7, 2010
Thanks for this. I've always wanted to be magically teleported to Dayton, Ohio from someplace nice in Spain.
The exact same thing happened to me. How weird is that?
posted by norm111 at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2010
The exact same thing happened to me. How weird is that?
posted by norm111 at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2010
I am guessing that this would be a great tool for the sort of writer who gets inspired by leafing through a local yellow pages: a beautiful but strangely deserted coastal road in Normandy - click - suburban ranch land near Capetown where I might be able to catch site of some interesting game in the nearby fields - click - vast expanses of land under polythene sheeting in southern Sicily - click - a millionaire's row in Melbourne where most of the properties seem to be up for sale...
posted by rongorongo at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by rongorongo at 9:55 AM on September 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've always wanted to be magically teleported to Dayton, Ohio from someplace nice in Spain.
I got the exact same jump. I'm thinking this might not be so random.
posted by howling fantods at 10:09 AM on September 7, 2010
I got the exact same jump. I'm thinking this might not be so random.
posted by howling fantods at 10:09 AM on September 7, 2010
No matter how often I teleport, I am taken to someplace with a road.
Apparently, at last, we have paved the planet.
[weeps]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:12 AM on September 7, 2010 [3 favorites]
Apparently, at last, we have paved the planet.
[weeps]
posted by seanmpuckett at 10:12 AM on September 7, 2010 [3 favorites]
It keeps sending me to my ex-girlfriend's house and there's some other guy's car in the driveway.
posted by bondcliff at 10:15 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by bondcliff at 10:15 AM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
No matter how often I teleport, I am taken to someplace with a road.
Keep trying. No, really.
posted by GuyZero at 10:16 AM on September 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
Keep trying. No, really.
posted by GuyZero at 10:16 AM on September 7, 2010 [2 favorites]
Malice, that's the shadow of the camera boom for the streetview car.
posted by GuyZero at 10:23 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by GuyZero at 10:23 AM on September 7, 2010
Also, I deselected everything apart from Australia and it took me to New Zealand.
I deselected everything and it took me to Utah. Any SLC mefites want to comment on that?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:24 AM on September 7, 2010
I deselected everything and it took me to Utah. Any SLC mefites want to comment on that?
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:24 AM on September 7, 2010
Malice, that's the shadow of the camera boom for the streetview car.
posted by GuyZero
Scientific name: Googlus Umbrum
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:31 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by GuyZero
Scientific name: Googlus Umbrum
posted by haveanicesummer at 10:31 AM on September 7, 2010
It flung me from a bucolic field in rural Galicia to the middle of the Okefenokee swamp!
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:31 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 10:31 AM on September 7, 2010
Jeannie! You put me back this instant!
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:46 AM on September 7, 2010 [4 favorites]
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 10:46 AM on September 7, 2010 [4 favorites]
Why is it that the Street View imagery in Europe is so much better than what we get in the US?
posted by schmod at 10:55 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by schmod at 10:55 AM on September 7, 2010
I wonder if Google have ever considered including sound as well as photos on streetview. I would love to be able to hear the soundscape of some of these steetviews - traffic yes but also bird song, rain, sea, etc.
posted by rongorongo at 11:04 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by rongorongo at 11:04 AM on September 7, 2010
Needs WiFi signal strength display.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:24 AM on September 7, 2010
posted by blue_beetle at 11:24 AM on September 7, 2010
I'm a bit thick. Can anyone hint how to navigate? I can turn the picture using the compass thingy, and double click to move (if my mouse wasn't playing up). But are there keyboard shortcuts, or might that be browser dependent? (Mac/Chrome) Its very clunky otherwise, and I'd love to go randomly strolling.
posted by stonepharisee at 12:25 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by stonepharisee at 12:25 PM on September 7, 2010
I wish there was some kind of support for South America.
posted by Memo at 1:11 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by Memo at 1:11 PM on September 7, 2010
Japan. Nice suburb.
Netherlands. Blue sky and green grass.
Montana. A country road winding through the foothills.
Australia. A dirt road. Nothing in sight all around.
WTF, Australia?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:32 PM on September 7, 2010
Netherlands. Blue sky and green grass.
Montana. A country road winding through the foothills.
Australia. A dirt road. Nothing in sight all around.
WTF, Australia?
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:32 PM on September 7, 2010
WTF is happening in East Bridgewater, MA?
It's the Colour Out of Space. Duh!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:32 PM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's the Colour Out of Space. Duh!
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 1:32 PM on September 7, 2010 [1 favorite]
When I clicked on this, I decided to keep going until I came to a location I had actually been to. It took me about 20 searches, and I'm not a well-travelled person. Burhanistan's experience doesn't seem to be unusual. I would have thought it would take more...
posted by Mcable at 1:58 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by Mcable at 1:58 PM on September 7, 2010
Holy Hell, Texas is flat. I'm not agoraphobic but that landscape makes me uncomfortable just viewing it in a browser window, I suspect that actually standing there and that giant flat nothing would be terrifying.
posted by octothorpe at 2:15 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by octothorpe at 2:15 PM on September 7, 2010
Yeah, emotional reactions to some of these landscapes is interesting. I was doing this with the wife, and I commented on how a really flat, featureless terrain in North Dakota looked really unpleasant to me. She found it very comforting. She grew up in farm country in rural central Ohio, I grew up in the foothills of the appalachians in Kentucky. Also, I'm struck by how all the European landscapes looked inviting and pleasant in some way, and many of the American landscapes didn't. And by how much rural Japan looks like the Netherlands. And how rarely you end up in an urban area in a major metro area.
posted by Mcable at 2:41 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by Mcable at 2:41 PM on September 7, 2010
Holy Hell, Texas is flat.
That part of Texas is, yes. That view is also pretty close to Palo Duro Canyon. Might want to look at that before you declare that Texas is flat. And that's only in the panhandle.
posted by dead cousin ted at 3:55 PM on September 7, 2010
That part of Texas is, yes. That view is also pretty close to Palo Duro Canyon. Might want to look at that before you declare that Texas is flat. And that's only in the panhandle.
posted by dead cousin ted at 3:55 PM on September 7, 2010
Even though the intersection between my app and GlobeGenie is like a micrometre thick, I feel like I'm in competition with it. I mean, two products attacking a niche market, right? FleeMe is still faster and cooler.
posted by spamguy at 6:45 PM on September 7, 2010
posted by spamguy at 6:45 PM on September 7, 2010
The loveliest road in the Shetland Islands.
Protips: double-clicking will speed you along the road much faster than using the arrows. Also, check the right-click menu for a neat-o 3D effect (if you happen to have some red/blue glasses lying around).
posted by Rhaomi at 7:44 PM on September 7, 2010
Protips: double-clicking will speed you along the road much faster than using the arrows. Also, check the right-click menu for a neat-o 3D effect (if you happen to have some red/blue glasses lying around).
posted by Rhaomi at 7:44 PM on September 7, 2010
When I clicked on this, I decided to keep going until I came to a location I had actually been to. It took me about 20 searches, and I'm not a well-travelled person. Burhanistan's experience doesn't seem to be unusual. I would have thought it would take more...
About 7 tries for me....small world!
posted by stray at 12:11 AM on September 8, 2010
About 7 tries for me....small world!
posted by stray at 12:11 AM on September 8, 2010
For moving around the viewpoint in Google SV quickly, you want to use WSAD. You can thank me later.
posted by jaduncan at 5:32 AM on September 8, 2010
posted by jaduncan at 5:32 AM on September 8, 2010
After about three dozen clicks it seems that "Africa" means only "South Africa."
posted by chuq at 12:29 PM on September 8, 2010
posted by chuq at 12:29 PM on September 8, 2010
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posted by Mayor Curley at 9:32 AM on September 7, 2010 [2 favorites]