Just noticed lots of buildings in chiang mai are censored in google maps now. They appear as beige squares over rooftops.

Is there some sort of opt in censorship process now? Would be a real shame if the city became one big beige blob.

I don't believe I've seen this in any other country before

not on my Google earth. as clear as can be expected for satellite pics taken through a haze of smoke!

That's weird. My ipad, android phone and laptop have them blurred in both maps and earth. For example all the buildings surrounding the golf driving range opposite central airport plaza are censored.

I'm browsing from Australia, maybe it's a international thing

Promenada, big c next to it, the old Carrefour the list goes on. It's not just businesses individual houses in moo baans are effected as well.

It has to be an opt in system...

Can you post a Google map link so we can all have a look? :>

That's weird. My ipad, android phone and laptop have them blurred in both maps and earth. For example all the buildings surrounding the golf driving range opposite central airport plaza are censored.

Looks OK on my Google Maps, except for the haze. No doctoring of the image. See attached screenshot.

R21

Sent from my GT-N7100 (with Android 4.1.2) using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app.

PS It looked like it didn't upload the screenshot, but when I reloaded it did. App's editing facility doesn't allow deletion of unwanted attachments!

George: Can you add ability to delete unwanted attachments in future app update? Many thanks. R21

Edited May 31, 201313 yr by Route21

route21, if you zoom in your attached pics you will see the buildings surrounding the driving range are white featureless squares, compare with apple maps you can see the difference. i havent looked at chiang mai for a while so i dont know how long its been like this.

see attached pics. index living mall is whited out and big c is distorted.

That's the reflection of the sun light, I think and it can vary depending the roof material.. I have been seeing this for long time elsewhere, e.g. Tesco Lotus near my place in BKK

http://goo.gl/maps/O4Vbr

You could be right. It's just that the google images are such poor quality vs apple maps its like night and day for chiang mai

route21, if you zoom in your attached pics you will see the buildings surrounding the driving range are white featureless squares......

Yes. The buildings that looked OK, with well-defined roofs, were those in the zoomed in version of my screenshot, below.

I do agree about those directly around the driving range - they were virtually obscured by text overlaying the shot.

I'm not familiar with Chiang Mai and so took some time locating the Promanada Mall.

Regards

R21

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Looks like satellite view/earth uses different imagery, one slightly older and without haze/blown highlights.

Old maps satellite view followed by new maps earth view:

If you use the Historical View feature in Google Earth you can move through past snapshots. Very interesting if you go to the Promenada Mall and watch the construction development.

Current default view March 14, 2013

July 6, 2011

Feb 9, 2013

Wikimaps seems a little clearer and in some cases easier to locate specific areas.

http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=18.785011&lon=99.002609&z=14&m=b&v=1&search=makro

You could be right. It's just that the google images are such poor quality vs apple maps its like night and day for chiang mai

Starting to sound like a crApple troll...

You could be right. It's just that the google images are such poor quality vs apple maps its like night and day for chiang mai

Starting to sound like a crApple troll...

In December 2012, Victoria Police in Australia advised travelers against using the application to get directions to the remote town of Mildura. The app placed Mildura in the middle of Murray-Sunset National Park, 70 km (43 mi) from its correct location. Police noted that several motorists required rescuing after following incorrect directions off the highway into the park. They called this a "potentially life threatening issue," since the park has no water supply of its own and temperatures can get as high as 46 °C (115 °F) in the summer.

Apple Maps was named one of the Top 10 'fails' of 2012 by CNN in December 2012

Wiki

Think I will stay with Google for a while longer. Never had any problem with Chiang Mai & Google maps. Use the history feature to find a clean view through the haze. And street view, one of the most important features at least for me, is not available in Apple maps yet.

That's weird. My ipad, android phone and laptop have them blurred in both maps and earth. For example all the buildings surrounding the golf driving range opposite central airport plaza are censored.

I'm browsing from Australia, maybe it's a international thing

The golf course to the east of the CM airport runway is clear as a bell. But I would not want to judge the dips in the greens from up here on one of the satellite cameras. My putting is bad enough.

Google, I think, has stated that it does not blur or block images. But I do recall when Google bent this rule for the US VP Cheney and his residence in Washington DC, where the VP of the US resides.

This is only what I recall from reading in the news.

Yeah, March is not the best time to be doing satellite imagry of Northern Thailand, to put it mildly. Anyway, they seem to update them regularly now, so new images should come soon I guess..

Check out some of the comments here > http://wikimapia.org/#lang=en&lat=18.726047&lon=98.970809&z=16&m=b&v=1&search=makro in Ban Wang Tan ... need to zoom and click on each property....

^^^ LOL!!