Embroiled though as it is in a controversy with the government, Google Earth does not cease to capture my imagination. Still in its nascent stages in India, I am sure it will be just a matter of time before street level details start appearing for the whole of India, just as the case is with the United States. With Google going ahead and mapping the Moon and the Red Planet, Mars, I sometimes wonder where Google is headed.
Whatever their long term plans, mapping India, would bring in a whole new dimension to how people in India view their surroundings. Following are the several fall-outs I presume and hope, would transcend.
- Addresses would stop being arbitrary and turn more specific with proper house numbers and street names. ( A welcome change that our postal authorities would be thankful to Google :-) )
- Private and Public sector institutions have a quick way of checking reliably if an address supplied by a candidate, vendor, client , etc is valid.
- A mini revolution in the automobile sector would be imminent given the GPS* tracking craze that would be born.
- My favorite one that I earnestly hope for, is the miniaturization of the GPS device to an extent that it could be accommodated in our already jam-packed mobile - another step forward for the mobile to turn into a uber** device.
However for the time being, I content myself by treating guests at my home to the visual treat that is Google Earth. You must look at the jaws drop as I zoom into the globe right till I am able to show them the U-shaped bend the river Tungabhadra makes at my native. Here is the snapshot for you...
Foot Notes
*GPS - Global Positioning System - A tracking system developed originally for the US Defence Forces, it consists of 64 satellites that orbit the earth and appear stationary at a fixed place. Using this system, any object's location on the planet can be pinpointed to the accuracy of within one metre....Read more here.
**Uber Device - An all functionality encompassing device
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