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MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

web.mit.edu

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Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#21

Post by ximeng »

Groxx wrote: post #6

Looks like they're randomly dropping the viewer until they get a hit (I've gone over "searching (600)"). I wonder if there's a faster way to do that with their API?

It seems like it would be fairly easy to build up a cache of found places, and then queue up new ones across different users.

But still it's amazing, looking around the world randomly. It would be nice if there was a better virtual driving tool, or more zooms (aerial views). At the moment you can only double click repeatedly and you go about the same speed as a car.

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#22

Post by threepointone »

ugh wrote: post #3
dangoldin wrote: post #2

Makes you realize how rural the world actually is. You lose sight of that living in a big city.

You might think that trees rule this world.

reminds me of one of my favorite short stories - The Distinguished Stranger (Robert Louis Stevenson) http://www.authorama.com/fables-12.html

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#23

Post by satori99 »

ximeng wrote: post #21
Groxx wrote: post #6

Looks like they're randomly dropping the viewer until they get a hit (I've gone over "searching (600)"). I wonder if there's a faster way to do that with their API?

It seems like it would be fairly easy to build up a cache of found places, and then queue up new ones across different users. But still it's amazing, looking around the world randomly. It would be nice if there was a better virtual driving tool, or more zooms (aerial views). At the moment you can only double click repeatedly and you go about the same speed as a car.

This. Every new user should get a cached random location and immediately start calculating another drop in the background to upload to the servers cache.

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#24

Post by astrofinch »

raghus wrote: post #13

I lack the skills to write it but it would be great if I could enter the addresses of two US locations and a website took me for a virtual drive along the route by using Google Maps + Street View

Maybe someday we'll never need to get up from our computers

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#26

Post by mkr-hn »

chaosmachine wrote: post #8
Estragon wrote: post #5

A web page which gives a google street view of a random location somewhere in the world. Not sure why this is interesting.

It's interesting because the world is so large. It's interesting because you never know what you're going to see. It's interesting because most people wouldn't even dream this was possible just a few years ago.

It's like StumbleUpon for the planet.

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#28

Post by nostrademons »

harshpotatoes wrote: post #15

I didn't realize how much of the world Google had mapped... It seems like just last year that Seattle wasn't even included yet...

On the contrary, I'm amazed at just how much of Africa is South Africa.

Out of maybe a dozen tries, I have had one African hit that was not in South Africa, and that was a Spanish-owned island off the coast of the Sahara.

Re: MIT Globe Genie (Random Street View)

#30

Post by raghus »

astrofinch wrote: post #24
raghus wrote: post #13

I lack the skills to write it but it would be great if I could enter the addresses of two US locations and a website took me for a virtual drive along the route by using Google Maps + Street View

Maybe someday we'll never need to get up from our computers

Dunno about that but I am just hoping to either re-live a memory or, waste some random time virtually driving between cities I may not be able to visit anytime soon.
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