Spot on! My thoughts exactly, people are so freaked out by the changes in the world.

It's doubtful that the so-called "white collar criminal" will use Google in lieu of the more traditional casing.

It doesn't take a dated photo from a guy driving down a street to learn that a community is affluent and that there will be nice homes there. What else could a person possibly learn from said photos?

Precisely, and as August pointed out, you can easily obtain much more detailed information from a variety of sources, including floor plans. In any case, I doubt that a google pic of my house would reveal what time I might be home or that I have gun.
All the smart criminals are politicians or lawyers or have political lobbies working for them, or all three. Everyone knows that:DL

Personally, I think they should have held the car up just long enough to spray paint "Google Sux" all over the front of their houses and then let the car go.:D

There are map sellers on damn near every street corner in Hollywood that sell maps of " Homes of the Stars "

Movie, Music, Sport and any other star.

I've never heard of any complaints.

These people are fools, the data isn't live so it's useless to any one that want's to case your house out. Most burglaries are crimes of opportunity. A crack head walks down the street wonders where the money for his next score is going to come from. He spies an open window and there you have it, he's got your tv and new blu ray player. Google not required.

I think some people complain just because they can. It must be some sort of empowerment thang.

It reminds me of when they first started to consider restricting cigarette smoking in the workplace (yes I am that old). At first it was a voluntary thing. The corporation expected people to work it out on a local basis.

Well it was amazing to see how many people suddenly became deathly ill at the slightest wisp of tobacco smoke in their vicinity, in spite of having been exposed to large quantities of it for, in some cases, entire decades with no apparent discomfort at all.

Now I generally agree with the concept of a smoke free workplace but the amount of hysterics displayed by some people, on both sides of the smoking issue, was illuminating to say the least.

Maybe their afraid that the world will see what a dump they live in and will scare away anyone who thinks of wanting to visit or live there?:O:

Are you sure they just weren't hiding their distaste? Or maybe it is the increased awareness of the harms of second-hand smoke increasing the distaste on both a conscious or unconscious level? As for the topic, I'm not sure how far privacy laws prevent people from photographing the exteriors of homes, but if it covers that then they have the right to exercise it. That the government might have a similar capability is another issue. Most people, for all their misgivings about the government and its intrusion on privacy, may still feel a bit of difference between the personal data being in some governmental database than if it is on the Net.

I wouldn't be surprised if the UK government has not only a photo of my house but a picture of every room including my kids toys and one of me with the missus...

Good points but how does a person take smoke filled rooms for years, decades even with no outward sign of distress at all, then suddenly switch to "omg that smoke has made me violently ill and I have to leave work right now!", just because the corporation publishes a memo telling smokers to be more considerate to people with a sensitivity to tobacco smoke?

You know we love you Brits like brothers but there's a reason we went independent! :yep:

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years.

No one knows for sure how old he was, as his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as knowing when to come in out of the rain, why the early bird gets the worm, life isn’t always fair, and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don’t spend more than you earn) and reliable parenting strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).

His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place.

Reports of a six-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job they failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

He declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer Paracetamol, sun lotion or a sticky plaster to a student but could not inform the parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

He began to lose the will to live as churches became businesses; creationism vied for equal footing with proper science, alternative treatments became available on the NHS (while cancer drugs were banned) and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

The poor bloke took a beating when you couldn’t defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar can sue you for assault.

He finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realise that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Barely recovering from that he was bludgeoned to death by the news that the world's financial markets had been demolished by irresponsible bankers who made a fortune doing so and who the governments bailed out by demanding money from those wise enough to have adopted sensible fiscal policies.

This grand old man was preceded in death by his parents, Truth and Trust, his wife, Discretion, his daughter, Responsibility; and his son, Reason.

He is survived by four stepbrothers; "I Know My Rights," "Someone Else's Problem," "I’m A Victim" and "Work? I'm better off on the Dole," and his stepsisters; "Gymslip Mother" and "I'll have a baby and they'll give me a house."

Not many attended his funeral because so few realised he was gone. If you still remember him, pass this on. If not join the majority and do nothing.

Did anyone else immagine clicking "google street view" and seeing a bunch of villagers weilding pitch forks charging at you?

So true ... I remember a few years ago a smoker came into the office after a cigarette smelling faintly of smoke and a woman began heaving as though the smell made her ill.

Wackos...