"Don't be evil"

[miriam_e]

That is the slogan used by Google.
Are they living up to it? We all remember how they bowed immediately to censorship in China. That was a big disappointment.
Now Georgia has disappeared* from GoogleMaps.

[*I've since been told Georgia was never on GoogleMaps, but this is no less puzzling than a recent disappearance would be. Maps of that region have been available for decades. What possible reason would there be for omitting such a world trouble-spot?]

http://twxr.us/1a5

or see on GoogleMaps itself:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&ie=UTF8&ll=41.926803,44.648438&spn=4.119432,7.349854&z=7

Bummer.

Additional: There is a very nice 2,529 x 1,872 map on Wikipedia at
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Georgia_high_detail_map.png
in the article there on Georgia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)

Comments

[greylock.livejournal.com]

Google isn't doing evil.
It is just becoming evil.
And when you're evil, evil is good.

Of course, I can see Georgia on the Google Maps link, but not any sign of the two "breakway provinces". It's still there on sat-view as well.

The optimist in me has decided to believe that the layer which has been removed is missing so that people can't use Google Maps to target bombs and stuff. IIRC you are on dial-up, so neither of us can check Google Earth - but I can say that in sat-view there are some really weird processing anomalies - like large white smears - reflections perhaps?

[dances-withcats.livejournal.com]

I zoomed in on the large white smears and they appear to be clouds. That's not to say those clouds couldn't have been photoshopped in, because they do look rather odd and blandly white for clouds. Also, there's a whole lot of "sorry, we don't have any images at that level of zoom" stuff if you zoom in close on certain parts of the country.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I zoomed in on the large white smears and they appear to be clouds

Not to my eyes, I have seen clouds before, which is why I thought they might be flares off metal constructions. At the speed the sats are travelling... maybe.

Am I the only one who thought Georgia looked more poked than a 14-year-old boy's face?

Also, there's a whole lot of "sorry, we don't have any images at that level of zoom" stuff if you zoom in close on certain parts of the country.

That happens, perhaps at the Government's request, perhaps because it doesn't load properly.
The two other nations east of Georgia are lacking in details too, so I think it's too early to call this a conspiracy.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

The optimist in me has decided to believe that the layer which has been removed is missing so that people can't use Google Maps to target bombs and stuff.

The military would not need GoogleMaps. They have their own maps. Only the civilians would really be need it. Those inside the defaced country might be trying to escape or work out where the threats are. Those outside would be trying to understand what is going on inside.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

The military would not need GoogleMaps. They have their own maps. Only the civilians would really be need it.

Gawsh... Cynical? More than me?
Civilians would, in all likelihood, know how to get out, either by UBD or physical maps. I doubt the vast population of Georgia use GoogleMaps while driving (does anyone?), and if they do use similar they would have GPSen such as TomTom. Or they could just follow the sun.

Those outside would be trying to understand what is going on inside.
Given the frequency at which Google updates its maps, they would be less than useful.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I don't know about you, but I always check the maps before I drive anywhere that I don't regularly visit, even within the local 50kms.

Also, I tend to examine online maps rather than rely on outdated paper maps, then download them to my little Palm computer and use it. When Mum & Dad recently had to visit a doctor in a part of Brisbane that they were unfamiliar with I printed out some online maps for them to use.

From what I've heard, I'm not alone in this. Online maps are heavily used by civilians. I don't imagine the military would need them. I've seen the kind of maps that the Australian Army use. They are incredibly detailed.

If you wanted to get out of Australia and you were unable to leave via Perth or Fremantle, would you attempt to look up online maps for other airports or seaports? You, like me, love books so there is a chance you have that information on paper, but most people don't, outside their local area.

Given the frequency at which Google updates its maps, they would be less than useful.

If they were looking for some view of the action, yes. But that isn't what people view maps for, generally. It is to find out where exactly in Georgia Tblisi is or Sukhumi is when the news mentions such places. Interestingly such place coordinates are contained in GoogleMaps so you can search for them if you have the correct spelling, but the lack of annotations would make life difficult for civilians.

[greylock.livejournal.com]

I don't know about you, but I always check the maps before I drive anywhere that I don't regularly visit, even within the local 50kms.

Oh, I do that - but usually my UBD (unless it's somwhere for work, then I print out the map from Whereis.com.au so I don't have to brave the traffic, find a parking spot and then find I'm at the wrong end of the street.)

If you wanted to get out of Australia and you were unable to leave via Perth or Fremantle, would you attempt to look up online maps for other airports or seaports?

Given the general lack of roads out of Perth, and the number of ports/airports, I probably wouldn't need to - but I take youer point.