TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Re: U.S. Air Force Dislikes Google Earth Capability

Re: U.S. Air Force Dislikes Google Earth Capability

Rick Merrill (rick0.merrill@NOSPAM.gmail.com)
Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:57:04 -0400

Jim Stewart wrote:

>> From: Kristin Roberts, Reuters <reuters@telecom-digest.org>

>> Deptula cited Google Inc.'s Google Earth, which gives Web users an
>> astronaut's view of the earth and allows them to zoom down to street
>> level. He said it had provided anyone with a credit card the ability
>> to get a picture of any place on earth.

>> "It is huge," he said. "It's something that was a closely guarded
>> secret not that long ago and now everybody's got access to it."

> A bit disingenuous if you ask me.

> What was highly secret was the specifications and capabilities of our
> spy satellites, not so much the products they produce. Of course, the
> capabilities could be surmised from the products so they were
> classified as well.

> As to the offensive use of aerial photography, one can rent a light
> plane and pilot and go up with a digital camera and click away. Even
> most of our national labs permit overflights at relatively low
> altitudes providing aircraft do not "loiter" over the area.

Google earth has from 1 meter to 1 foot resolution (to mix my
pmetrics) whereas the military satelites have a resolution of
... gack! ...

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