Google Earth 的街景：Vutool

据很多国外Blog的报道， Google 最近收购了 Vutool ，一个类似 微软 街景 的产品提供商，或者类似中国的City8。

这是Free GeoTools的报道：

"Vutool is a “Google Earth” from the ground level. It is being created the hard way - a battalion of cars are traveling around major U.S. cities and taking pictures at ground level, with 6 degrees of rotation. The company calls the experience “street level immersive imagery.” Images are captured from every possible angle - the default view is as if you are in the driver’s seat."

Read the original post for full details. VuTool was looking for venture capital, but now says it's been acquired, and TechCrunch suspects that they were bought by Google. Given the bandwidth requirements for something like this, you should probably order your fiber optic Internet connection now ...

如果Google Earth提供街景 地图 ，那么对GE的价值会有一个质的提升，Google和微软在地图这个领域的竞争也会越来越好看，对于用户，自然是好事，对于行业里一些从事类似研发的团队、公司，也许是坏消息，也许是好消息。