I've always enjoyed visiting the Google Earth site...originally I was able to get an aerial view of my house, or a friend's house or a house that I once lived in. It's all a bird's eye view, maybe a low flying bird, but it feels non-personal and uninvasive to me. HOWEVER, I have recently found an astonishing and rather creepy feature (is it new or did I just accidentally find it?)...maybe you've already discovered it, but it really did make me feel, well, stalked!
If you haven't downloaded Google Earth, it's easy. Just go here:
http://earth.google.com/ and download the free version. It really is an absolutely remarkable way to view the world.
That said, now for the interesting, spooky part...on the lower left under LAYERS, make sure the first 5 are checked: Geographic Web, Roads, 3D Buildings, Street View, Borders and Labels. It's the
street view item that will give the effect I'm talking about. Now at the top of the page at FLY TO, type in your destination....make it your own home address. You will be virtually wisked to the area and be in the sky looking down on your rooftop. You will see little camera icons on the street; double click on one of them close to your house. You will then be whisked down to street level and in a matter of moments you will be standing on your street and can use the mouse to navigate around 360 degrees and can see the very front of your house AS IF YOU WERE STANDING RIGHT THERE!
I don't know the astonishing technology behind this...it's as if someone has been driving up to my house and spinning around taking photos. But I don't know who it is and I never see this....uh...stalker!!
There are probably other camera icons along your street. Double Click on them and then press the left button on your mouse to make the hand icon grab the photo and move around on it.
I thought this might only work on my home back in Tucson, a BIG city, but it also works in the "sticks" where I live now in Mississippi.
It's cool, creepy, scary, fabulous technology at its very best! But it does have a spooky big-brother-is-watching kind of feeling.
If you try it, let me know...if you have trouble, ask me and I'll try to help. It's worth a look-see!!