First Google Maps Hack Takedown

An anonymous reader writes "Despite "users accelerating innovation" with Google Maps the 'hacks' are not immune from Google's legal team, who have taken down "Google Wallpapers for violating the terms of agreement. From a quick skim through the terms it would seem that most sites using the Google Maps data are in violation. Are Chicago Crime and Google Sightseeing next to go?" It may be a shame to shut down Google Maps offshoots, but that has to be the nicest take-down note I've ever seen; it's polite, friendly and reasonable. Update: 06/08 21:22 GMT by T : Below, a few more of the current uses for Google Maps. An anonymous reader submits "The AP is running a story about the multiple uses for Google Maps. Among the uses, Tracking sexual predators in Florida, Guiding travelers to the cheapest gas nationwide, Pinpointing $1,500 studio apartments for rent in Manhattan, and Finding crime in Chicago. It'll be interesting to see if Google allows these sites to remain online or not."

Comments

Go Google!

[oldosadmin]

I must say... they really are, "not being evil".

I've recieved a DMCA takedown notice before. Most aren't pretty. Personally, I never understood why most DMCA takedown notices were taken directly to ISP level, without even a word to the webmaster.

In this case, Google sent a nice letter, requesting they take it down, and even explaining why. This is far superious to any other company takedown letter I've ever seen.

Google Maps are awfully distorted anyway

[product byproduct]

Google Maps uses a fixed longitude/latitude distance ratio of ~0.772, while the true ratio depends on latitude (the ratio should be cos(latitude)). So Google Map is optimized for 39.5 of latitude (N or S), and the maps are increasingly distorted as you go toward the poles or the equator.

For example, Anchorage is stretched horizontally by a factor of 1.60 (yup those should be right angles).

MapQuest is similarly distorted, but Yahoo Maps is not.

Google maps are inaccurate.....still like MapQuest

[compmanio36]

I used Google maps once, and I got SO lost in downtown Seattle. Their service is nice and full of features, but I prefer simple accuracy over fancy graphics anyday, especially when it means getting lost in the maze of one-way streets and idiot drivers that is downtown of any major city.

No, Google is good at a lot of things, but right now, maps is NOT one of those things.

Re:Tough call

[xiando]

Making such a site would not be a problem if you simply ask Google for the proper permissions. Who knows, if you are lucky then you might get a deal. And if you don't, at least you have tried, all they can do is say No. IP and Copyright does not need to be a problem if you are willing to talk and explain your intentions. Takedown notices generally come when you violate Copyright without even trying to get a permission deal.

Re:Getting Google Takedowns with Google...

[Mercano]

Or, Google cache of the source code:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:fWrAVd4XgzUJ: gmerge.2ni.net/gmerge.py

Re:Tough call

[holovaty]

Here are two pieces of evidence that Google does *not* disapprove of Google Maps hacks:

1. A post to the official Google blog: http://google-code-featured.blogspot.com/2005/04/m apscraigslist-mashup.html

"While we have no official API for Maps yet, work like this really is amazing and deserves recognition."

2. http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/05/google_m aps_hac.html

"They responded that they had every intention to not shut them down as long as their licenses permit it, and one of the engineers insinuated that they might be working on a Google Maps API or a similar way to build on top of Maps (he actually said, "to make them not hacks," by which I think he meant not unauthorized)."

Disclaimer: I'm the guy that did chicagocrime.org, so I'm biased in favor of openness.

Re:That is friendly,

[russiste]

(I'm the Greg mentioned on the page)

Actually, we were expecting to go to Where 2.0 before the shutdown - the part about the conference on the page (as it was prior to the slashdotting) was not from the Google spokesperson.

This is what I get:

[ImaLamer]

The Google Maps team recently noticed your Google Maps tile "stitcher"
to see developers interested in our products and we commend you on the
service. That said, we would appreciate it if you voluntarily remove
your service and stop using Google Maps on your web site. The service
violates the Maps Terms of Service available at
http://www.google.com/help/terms_local.html, and jeopardizes our
ability to make Google Maps available to the public because it
encourages non-personal use of Google Maps.

If you have any questions or concerns, or if we have contacted the
wrong people, please feel free to contact me directly. Otherwise,
amueltc please let us know as soon as possible when the service has been
removed.

Thanks,

Bret Taylor
Product Manager, Google Maps

A more open content provider: USGS (links++)

[expro]

It is ludicrous to claim that Google invested that much in the original content, since everyone just gets it from US Geological Survey.

So, go to the National Atlas and download and use to your heart's content. If that is not good enough, then go download all the data you can imagine. Still not enough, you can access all the layers via web services that comply with specifications published by the Open Geospatial Consortium at run time from your own web pages.

Now, write your congressmen and tell them how you appreciate that they made all this available to you, the citizen, for free, instead of spending all that tax money only to add a fee that makes it prohibitive for all but corporations who can be gatekeepers to keep you out. And hope that this doesn't become another casulty of Iraq budgets.

While you are at it, start a USGS support mailing list and an open source project to keep this sort of alive.

Re:A more open content provider: USGS (links++)

[chrisd]

While we do get some data from government sources, there are a lot of images there that come from private companies who pay to have pilots takes pictures from cameras mounted on planes.

Re:Does anyone have a mirror?

[AyeRoxor!]

Yes. Google does, in fact.

The cache for the page, Linked here, has a link to the executable. The link still works. Get it while it's hot.

In fact, I think every person that makes a google utility should make an executable version for this very reason. It would save you bandwidth, it would save me loading time. Release it GPL and someone can make a multi-utility. Sounds great. Get to it, programmers!

NASA World Wind

[fourtyfive]

http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/ I just wanted to let people know that the latest CVS of NASA World wind has a plugin engine that allows people to do the same thing (Their is even a plugin already made to do it!)

Re:Getting Google Takedowns with Google...

[kngthdn]

Okay, here's a mirror, but it only has 2000MB of bandwidth. It could also get taken down, but I doubt it, considering that the file is GPL'd.

http://mars.walagata.com/w/gmerge/gMerge-win32.zip