Say 'Cheese' to Google Satellite at 10AM

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Say 'Cheese' to Google Satellite at 10AM

Posted by CmdrTaco on Friday April 1, 2005 @02:03AM from the not-for-the-lactose-intolerant dept.

13.7BillionYears writes "Google's recent purchase of Keyhole and its jaw-dropping 3D earth-browsing software has apparently netted them ownership of an imaging satellite as well, now named 'gSat.' This Friday, April 1st, gSat will be capturing a new dataset (neighborhood of 1meter/pixel), passing over each time zone between 10 and 11AM. If you stand outside and wave you will supposedly show up as a blurry fleck. Even better news is that the dataset will be available within months not only to Keyhole but also to the equally jaw-dropping and open source NASA World Wind. It all seems aimed at answering a question that has plagued mankind for ages: What foolishness can we wreak upon the Earth on the Day of Fools with only 3 days' notice? I'm guessing the obscene stuff will be Photoshopped out. Thanks to the World Wind Forum for the tip and let's hope those April showers come late."

23 of 221 comments (clear)

If... by BlueCodeWarrior · 2005-04-01 02:04 · Score: 4, Insightful

...you only show up as a 'blurry fleck,' how are you supposed to do something obscene?
1. Re:If... by NinjaFarmer · 2005-04-01 02:06 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You turn the local observatory into a giant breast.
  
  And this isn't even the poll.
2. Re:If... by ChairmanMeow · 2005-04-01 02:15 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Mars supposedly has a face on it (which turned out to be a pile of rocks)... so Earth needs a giant breast.
  
  --
3. Re:If... by Tibe · 2005-04-01 02:19 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  how are you supposed to do something obscene?
  
  500,000 Highly technical, porn addicted minds are now obsessing over this.
  
  You MUST be new round here.
  
  Sorry had too.
4. Re:If... by kryptkpr · 2005-04-01 02:25 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Not very creative, are you?
  
  Get a bunch of people together in a circle (1 in the middle) and make a big, blurry fleck of a breast.
  
  If you can get enough people together, go for two breasts.
  
  If you still have people left over, form a giant penis below it.
  
  --
  DJ kRYPT's Free MP3s!
5. Re:If... by conteXXt · 2005-04-01 02:49 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Remember ascii art?
  
  Use what's available to you.
  
  Snow, sand, dirt
  
  Draw it large baby.
  
  (and send us the coords please?)
  
  --
  The truth about Led Zep should never be told on /. (Karma suicide ensues)
6. Re:If... by pomakis · 2005-04-01 03:07 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  If you only show up as a 'blurry fleck,' how are you supposed to do something obscene?
  
  Well, I was part of this arial photo, in which the stick figure near the centre of the photo was composed of several thousand people. This particular image isn't obscene in any way, but it very well could have been!
  (Bonus points for those who can name the event that this was part of!)
7. Re:If... by Anonymous Coward · 2005-04-01 03:07 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  So, you're saying that with enough people we could make a pre-op transsexual visible from outer space!
  
  Wheee!
Gotta love April 1st by Sanity · 2005-04-01 02:05 · Score: 3, Funny

Ah yes, April 1st on Slashdot. If every single story is an April Fools joke, we will just fool people over and over again because it totally isn't predictable!
1. Re:Gotta love April 1st by buro9 · 2005-04-01 02:08 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I shouldn't worry, the dupes will fool people tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and...
2. Re:Gotta love April 1st by derphilipp · 2005-04-01 02:36 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Ubuntu has a nice april fool on their distribution. Instead of the normal login screen http://www.ubuntulinux.org/login.jpeg they set up a picture with 3 guys (plus one shoe of a guy taking the photo) thats like the loginscreen but with 3 geeks having a party (snacks in the background))
  
  So if you run Ubuntu update today!
  
  --
  Spelling mistakes: My is english spoken not tongue of mother.
Only a blurry fleck? Hubble to the rescue! by tquinlan · 2005-04-01 02:05 · Score: 4, Funny

I suggest we have Google take over the Hubble project, and have them turn that on us! Then we'll see what's really going on down here... ;)

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Right. by Markus+Persson · 2005-04-01 02:06 · Score: 5, Funny

If a guy mugged me tonight I'd just look at him with an uncertain smile until he shot me. I hate april fools. :-/

--
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Hey! by InterruptDescriptorT · 2005-04-01 02:06 · Score: 4, Funny

I can see my house from here!

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Karma: Excellent Birds (mostly as a result of listening to Laurie Anderson)
I don't know... by Kittyflipping · 2005-04-01 02:07 · Score: 3, Funny

I keep going outside and waving but I don't see myself.
gSat by acb · 2005-04-01 02:08 · Score: 4, Insightful

If they're capturing all of each timezone at 10-11AM of each day, gSat must either be shaped like a curved tube stretching from pole to pole, or orbiting the earth from pole to pole once every hour.
Google Gulp by rchatterjee · 2005-04-01 02:09 · Score: 5, Funny

Be sure to be drinking or holding a bottle of Google Gulp when they take the picture.
April Fools Day Sites by Urgo · 2005-04-01 02:10 · Score: 4, Informative

Isn't April Fools Day just the best? =] For a 'full' list of sites pulling pranks today check out this list here

Here is a sample:

kellyosbourne.org - Sanctuary records group shut us down
nukefreezone.net - Making fun of atrios.blogspot.com
weebl.jolt.co.uk - Replaced with Cats-By-Mail
telecom.co.nz - Click 2 Brick
ytmnd.com - (NSFW) hacked by teens for christ
wingus.ampedhost.com - Site converted into Mingus' Gently-Used Furniture store. Oh dear. Why won't he be kind?
homestarrunner.com - Now a pay service.
whirlpool.net.au - Australia's biggest Luddite to head Australia's largest telco
thinkgeek.com - Fake product listings.
theregister.co.uk - Bush twins to join Air Force tech unit in Iraq
creativebits.org - Site purchased by Microsoft
ocremix.org - Now partnered with EA (or something like that). Called EA ReMix.
spacedaily.com - Bush Cancels Space Shuttle Program
planet.gnome.org - Switched sites with planet.kde.org
planet.kde.org - Switched sites with planet.gnome.org
ietf.org - RFC: Efficient Transformation Formats of Unicode
beejaysworld.de - Gentoo dropping livecds for x86
nature.com - Apollo bacteria spur lunar erosion
antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov - Water On Mars
smh.com.au - (Free Reg Req) SMEGmail offers 1 terabyte storage
smh.com.au - (Free Reg Req) Linux looks to Hilton for exposure
thetoque.com - Canada Builds Own Missile Defense Shield
onion.com - U.S. Dog Owners Fear Arrival of Africanized Fleas
chron.com - Bush Twins in Maxim
ask.com - Jeeves has been replaced by a robot
animenewsnetwork.com - Viz Unlicenses Naruto
uninventthewheel.co.uk - New BMW technology to get around the EU ban on right hand drive cars in Europe.
newgrounds.com - changing to numagrounds.com
neopets.com - neopets adds 50 new pets
www.firstloox.org - The Loox is being recalled
packages.gentoo.org - Adobe doesn't sell products for Linux
pc.ign.com - Microsoft World of Wordcraft (Extremely Obvious)
spamusement.com - Page full of spoof banner ads
gentooexperimental.org - Gentoo using the NT kernel
moddb.com

--
Belive in Technology and AMAZE yourself. -- RIP ZDTV/TechTV
This is great! by AtariAmarok · 2005-04-01 02:14 · Score: 4, Funny

This is great. Now I can go to google and enter "find my lost car keys" and get a nice picture. Thanks again, Big G!

--
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
I'm the one holding a big... by JustOK · 2005-04-01 02:23 · Score: 3, Funny

mirror. Aimed right back at it.

--
rewriting history since 2109
Re:Only a blurry fleck? Hubble to the rescue! by funk_phenomenon · 2005-04-01 02:25 · Score: 5, Funny

What would they call it? Gooble? Gobble? Hoogle?

--
Even the samurai
have teddy bears,
and even the teddy bears
get drunk
Space Resume by TimeTraveler1884 · 2005-04-01 02:47 · Score: 5, Funny

I am going to mow my resume into my lawn. Maybe then I will be considered for a job at Google. They like the creative thinking types right?
Yo momma's so fat... by Anonymous Coward · 2005-04-01 02:52 · Score: 3, Funny

she takes up TWO pixels!