Users of Google Street View will still be able to hunt for people hopping fences, losing their pants, and lying out in the sun.  Users may not be able to see many faces, though, as Google’s making them disappear.

Gigantic buildings are generally easier to see than four-inch street signs, and for that reason, it’s often easiest to use landmarks to navigate.  Now, in some areas, Google can help; the company has integrated its Street View images and turn-by-turn directions.

Try to search for a house.  Checkboxes concerning prices, square footage, and the number of bathrooms can only take you so far – hundreds of results might show up.  You can peer at tiny, cropped photos, but that’s not great, either.  So a new deal between Google and Trulia brings Street View into the picture.

It was only a matter of time before Google got sued over Street View; the real question was which privacy group (or sympathetic person representing a privacy group) would be first to file.  And now a couple with the last name "Boring" has beaten them all to it.

Street View explorers, prepare yourselves: Google’s added imagery for another 14 areas.  It’s also updated its coverage of six existing cities, and although everything’s still located within America, the spots are fairly diverse.

The Pentagon asked Google yesterday to remove some photos it had taken of a military base for its Street View service, which appears on Google Maps.

When people talk about Google Street View, the conversations tend to focus on either privacy or its undeniable "neat" factor.  Thanks to Google’s success in other areas, profitability just doesn’t come up.  But EveryScape has built its business around similar virtual tours, and the company just raised $7 million in funding.

Bit by bit, Street View is becoming more useful.  People in the vast majority of the world (and even the U.S.) still can’t use it to explore nearby places, but as of yesterday, 12 new cities were included.

If you’ve watched any "Lord of the Rings" film, you know what large, open areas of New Zealand look like.  Google’s going to introduce you to parts of the rest of it, however; cars representing the company’s Street View project have been sighted in this country.

Google Street View hasn’t gotten too many of my minutes, but I’m more than ready to admit that it’s a neat program.  And it’s just gotten bigger and better with the addition of 8 more cities.

Google Street View is a bit controversial, and two months ago, Google’s global privacy counsel announced that his company was willing to conceal people’s faces and license plates in some countries.  Now there’s word that it could do this in America, as well.

Most people are pretty good at blocking out distractions.  Unfortunately, this talent can also let them ignore new features, so Google is making its Street View more prominent than ever before.

Street View is one of Google’s most popular programs, and it just got a lot more inclusive.  Users can now take a virtual stroll through Chicago, Pittsburgh, Portland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tucson, which brings the total number of Street View cities up to 15.

Four days ago, Google’s Global Privacy Counsel wrote a blog post about Street View and respecting other countries’ laws.  At the time, we believed his comments were directed at Canada.  But they may also apply to England; what appears to be one of Google Street View’s camera cars has been sighted in London.

Canadian people have visible faces, and Canadian cars have legible license plates.  But when Google Street View offers images of Canada, these features will be blurred or otherwise blocked out in order to respect privacy concerns.

Advocates in Canada’s government are questioning Google’s plans to expand its street-level photography when the privacy rights of individuals could be routinely violated.

Four more cities are now part of Google’s Street View program: Los Angeles, San Diego, Orlando, and Houston.  As for when – or where – the next update will be, there’s still no word.

Those of you who like the Google Street View program should celebrate; those who have privacy concerns should stock up on window blinds and baseball caps.  A report indicates that Google’s got at least 30 new Chevy Cobalts, and they appear ready to serve as Street View camera cars.

If you live in (or are going to visit) San Francisco, there’s a neat new website for you to use.  If you live anywhere else, well . . . there’s a neat new website for you to look at.  MapJack, which can be compared with Google’s Street View, only works in that one Californian city.

Taking on Google is, to understate the matter, usually a foolish proposition.  Taking on Google and Microsoft . . . well, that could be even less wise.  Yet a company called Earthmine appears ready to make a successful challenge to both Google’s Street View and Microsoft’s Live Local.

New York politicians appear to be at odds over just how dangerous Google Earth might be; Assemblyman Mike Gianaris is asking Google to blur out images of “sensitive” sites, while Mayor Michael Bloomberg feels such efforts may not be the best use of time.