[Matt]

some cool things captured on the street view cam
http://streetviewr.com/all_street_view_ ... ge_01.html

[Matt]

Love this one:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&q=s ... tfuInhpteA

[Matt]

They made some nice enhancements to Street View

[Matt]

Now with world wonders...

[Matt]

ASCII Street view (Chrome or Firefox needed)
http://tllabs.io/asciistreetview/

[Matt]

Right now Google takes photos as it drives down the street, and then it maps that a a distortion curve to create a 3d-ish street view. It's not spectacular by any means, but considering the volume and accuracy, it works.

What's up for the future? Obviously driving a second pass with higher resolution cameras with more dynamic range... that is if copyright doesn't kill that model completely (you can't just take pictures of logos and artwork and put it online plastered with advertisements).

This may be in store-- 3D modeling... thanks to laser-mapping
http://www.scottpagedesign.com/
http://www.theatlanticcities.com/design ... ings/5381/
The technology is only static (5 minutes on a tripod) but in the future a car could be zipping down the street and laser-mapping everything, including you digging in your crack) and allowing us to navigate a 3D-modeled, and stunningly detailed streetview.