Google "streetviewing" finally arrives in Canadian cities

[Daveography]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

google actualy does sell that service there google earth pro or somthing or another

Google Earth (regular or Pro) do not offer the street view function, just Google Maps.

[vid]

It's still a commercial enterprise.

[ue]

Originally Posted by RTA

Google Earth (regular or Pro) do not offer the street view function, just Google Maps.

Yes they do. Google Earth was I think using streetview technology before Google Maps but I could be wrong.

Regardless, Google Earth offers streetview. I know cause I prefer using it there than on Maps. The reason why you may not see it is your settings currently have it unchecked. Under the Layers menu, streetview is one of the options, right under 3d buildings, make sure it's checked off. Then little weird cameras pop up in places like the US, the EU, and Australia.

[Daveography]

^^ Google itself is, yes, but the Google Maps product is not a paid service and is not ad-supported and is not a for-profit commercial venture in itself; therefore images within it could arguably be said that those images are not being used for commercial purposes.

EDIT:
^ You win, it is in Google Earth, I just never noticed it before. =P

[ue]

^Yeah, but there is Google Earth Pro, where I'm sure some profits go to funding streetview.

[vid]

They fund street view with profits from other ventures, the money they make on Google Earth probably isn't much.

Regardless of what Google uses Google Maps for, the fact that it is owned by Google means it is a commercial, for profit enterprise. They use Google maps to advertise, as well.

Tim Horton's locations in Toronto, brought to you by Yellowpages

Also note that the maps are copyrighted by Tele Atlas, a company that sells map data. The satellite images are provided mostly by Digital Globe, which, for a fee, will produce a lovely 32 by 48 inch poster of a high resolution satellite image of your city for you. You can use it to mark off all those Tims Horton that Yellowpages and Google helped you locate!

Regardless of how we use it, Google Maps is meant to help people find things on the planet, and Streetview was intended to give them a way to find visual landmarks to aid in getting there.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by vid

Tim Horton's locations in Toronto, brought to you by Yellowpages

Also note that the maps are copyrighted by Tele Atlas, a company that sells map data. The satellite images are provided mostly by Digital Globe, which, for a fee, will produce a lovely 32 by 48 inch poster of a high resolution satellite image of your city for you. You can use it to mark off all those Tims Horton that Yellowpages and Google helped you locate!

Regardless of how we use it, Google Maps is meant to help people find things on the planet, and Streetview was intended to give them a way to find visual landmarks to aid in getting there.

Good luck doing that with Halifax Tim Hortons. We have one of the highest per capita ratios in Canada

The whole city would be marked off.

[MTLskyline]

Originally Posted by Bedford_DJ

Good luck doing that with Halifax Tim Hortons. We have one of the highest per capita ratios in Canada

The whole city would be marked off.

Yeah, I remember visiting maybe 5 years ago, and going through Bedford there was nearly one on every second streetcorner, and all were filled to capacity! Someone told me that Truro has like 6 of them!

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by MTLskyline

Yeah, I remember visiting maybe 5 years ago, and going through Bedford there was nearly one on every second streetcorner, and all were filled to capacity! Someone told me that Truro has like 6 of them!

Tonight I was in a London Tim Hortons, and I could see another Tim Hortons through the window across the street. It's owned by the same franchisee too, according to the cashier.

Originally Posted by Only The Lonely..

I wonder what it's like going through the Drive-thru with this thing??

Never mind that, since when are there green Sunoco stations?

I personally welcome Google Streetview in London with open arms. It seems to be a very Canadian thing to be concerned about privacy.

[Blitz]

Tonight I was in a London Tim Hortons, and I could see another Tim Hortons through the window across the street. It's owned by the same franchisee too, according to the cashier.

Ha, I'm guessing that's the Wharncliffe and Southdale intersection.

I hope the Google cars aren't in Windsor right now considering the city workers have been on strike for 10 weeks and the grass in the parks and boulevards is 2 feet tall.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Tonight I was in a London Tim Hortons, and I could see another Tim Hortons through the window across the street. It's owned by the same franchisee too, according to the cashier.



Never mind that, since when are there green Sunoco stations?

I personally welcome Google Streetview in London with open arms. It seems to be a very Canadian thing to be concerned about privacy.

I can top that one;

In Halifax at Young and Robie theres two different Tim's to handle the insane morning traffic on the same corner of the intersection. One's a free standing building on the corner of the lot and the other is in a gas bar with a drive-thru.

And in Dartmouth on Wyse Ave theres two Tim's literally across the street from each other.

As for Google Earth I wecome it to Canada. Someone in my neighbourhood spotted it coming up my neighbourhood's main road and we live quite far into the suburbs so it nice to see they are getting to whole area and not just the cores.

[manny_santos]

Originally Posted by Blitz

Ha, I'm guessing that's the Wharncliffe and Southdale intersection.

I hope the Google cars aren't in Windsor right now considering the city workers have been on strike for 10 weeks and the grass in the parks and boulevards is 2 feet tall.

You got it! There are several other locations in the city with two or more Tim Hortons locations in very close proximity.

If the garbage strike in Toronto goes on long enough, I hope the cameras won't be around there. Otherwise the rest of the world will think Toronto is a pile of garbage.

(I'm kidding about the last part)

[vid]

In Victoriaville Mall, there are two Robin's Donuts across from each other. It's a 20 second walk, if that. They're indoors though. One is a deli and has a seating area, the other is attached to the rest of the food court stores.

[Rathgrith]

^Robin's Dounts still exist? I know the ones in Sault Ste Marie went extinct.

[vid]

They originated here, so people support them. (They're headquartered in Burlington and owned by the people who own Second Cup or Coffetime, which ever is the one that has the pest problems in their stores.)

All of Robin's coffee is organic (or so they say) and they're more common in the inner city, and they have Pizza Pretzels and Persians (and a few have 241 Pizza outlets, its owned by the same company). Tim Horton's is only found outside of the downtowns.



Another Tim's opened in the north east end, and a Robin's opened in the southwest end, so they're tied 16-16 right now. (15-16 Tims if you want to get technical; one of the Robin's is located in the government building on Fort William First Nation.) There are also about 25 non-chain coffee houses, but only about 10 of them are in the same league as Tim's and Robin's. The rest are real coffee houses.

I remember when we went to Sault Ste. Marie in 1999 we went to a Tim Hortons for the first time (we've had them since the 1970s but they didn't open more locations until about 2000) and my uncle asked for "Robin's Eggs", and the woman said "Pff. Go three blocks west ". Lots of people still call them Robin's Eggs, but Timbits is most common among young people now.

Many Robin's Donuts locations have also been renovated and are really quite nice inside, Tim Horton's is more generic and sterile. All of the Robin's Donut's locations are different, while Tim's uses only 2 or 3 plans for almost all of their stores. In many Robin's locations, even the furniture is unique. The one in Current River (far northeast) has a fireplace and seating area with leather couches, it's a nice space.

[Duke-Of-Waterloo]

Originally Posted by manny_santos

Never mind that, since when are there green Sunoco stations?

I know this is off-topic but I'm compelled to answer! This Sunoco gas station in Waterloo used to be a "GTO" gas station - Sunoco's discount brand station (on average 2-3 cents cheaper per litre than the major gas stations). A few years ago, Suncor did some rearranging to their GTO and Sunoco gas stations in Waterloo to compete more with brand name gas stations, and this is one of the stations that got rebranded from GTO to Sunoco (for the record, there is a Shell station right across the street), but they changed a Sunoco station at one of Waterloo's busiest intersections (King and Weber) to a GTO to compete with the nearby Esso and Canadian Tire Gas Bar.

[Dmajackson]

Halifax only has one Robins Donuts location and Starbucks has no more than half a dozen.

Everywhere a Starbucks opens a Tim's opens next door (SGR, SGR, and DC) and in only location has the Starbucks stole the customers from Timmys (west-end of Spring Garden next to Dalhousie). In Dartmouth Crossing a Starbucks just opened and within a couple of months a brand-new Tim's is going to open across the street and with cheaper stuff they automatically win.

Of all the coffeshops though I find Second Cup has the best interiors and designs. Their location on Spring Garden is the best looking coffeshop I have ever seen and I'll choose them over Starbucks anyday.

[vid]

Thunder Bay has three Shell gas stations within a block of each other, two used to be Beaver Gas. One former Beaver is attached to what was once a Mac's with subway (and even though the subway has been gone for 6 years, it still has the smell. Think about it.) and the other is full service across from a 12 bay self-serve. There is an Esso and Mac's at that same corner, and I think there is a proposal for another at the remaining gas station-less corner now that the restaurant there went under.

Originally Posted by vid

They originated here, so people support them. (They're headquartered in Burlington and owned by the people who own Second Cup or Coffetime, which ever is the one that has the pest problems in their stores.)

I'm almost certain that would be Coffee Time.

[vid]

Yeah I checked it earlier.

Robin's is much better.