• LA Times, Friday, March 24, 2006 10:47 AM

An LA Times writer discusses the thorny issue of Internet privacy as it relates to Google Earth and Microsoft's new competing map service Windows Live Local. Whereas Google Earth shows still satellite images that are usually a few years old, Windows Live Local is live and in real time. The writer tells the story of a friend taking in a bird's-eye view of his neighborhood in Los Angeles, who found it odd that a bright blue square appeared in his neighbor's backyard, because he didn't think his neighbor had a pool. Sure enough, he got up from his computer, peered over the fence and there was big, brand-new spa his neighbor had just put in. Microsoft, responding to privacy concerns that Windows Live Local lets people zoom in to the point where they can obtain sensitive personal information, said, lamely, "the image resolution provides more privacy than does the average flight proximity of a helicopter." Hmmm. I don't know what that means, really--whether it's an excuse or an explanation or what, but most people don't have access to aerial photos shot from planes and helicopters. Next, Microsoft assures us that images of sensitive national buildings--like every government building in Washington D.C.--is pixilated beyond recognition. Great, but what about you and me? What about the next generation of stalkers? Has anybody heard about Gawker Stalker, for example? The smug celebrity site uses Google Maps to show users exactly when and where a celebrity was spotted, in real time, showing the route on a map. There are some serious security and privacy concerns with these new mapping services, which are only going to get bigger. Right now Windows Live Local, which is more detailed than Google's offering, only covers areas where about 20 percent of the U.S. population resides, expanding to 90 percent in the next two years.  

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