Montreal Tech Watch

Google Street View in Montréal?

By Heri Sep 13th 2007 in Design

For all Google fans in Montréal, it seems the Internet giant had staff roaming around Montréal to collect photographs of streets and avenues. The data will then be integrated into Google Maps, allowing users to visit streets in 3D. They previously made the feature avalaible in San Francisco and New York, then extended the service to major cities in the US. I picked the story on Technaute and it seems it was confirmed the same day by another “witness” on a street downtown.

I am quite surprised at the news, as Google don’t even have an office in Montréal. Well, they do have a virtual office and a postal box at 1000, de la Gauchetière, and sent interview proposals to Montréalers, but that doesn’t count.

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Comments

  • Big Brother September 13, 2007

    Check out this list of the “alleged” Google Street View privacy invasions already discovered in the US:

    http://streetviewgallery.corank.com

    There is even a Google Street View capture of a woman going in for an HIV test!

  • Mathieu Duffar September 13, 2007

    Henri, When I met with them in Toronto (sales team), Google said they had some employees in Montreal (tech dev somewhere in the cité électronique)…to validate.

  • Mat September 13, 2007

    Heri,

    A couple of corrections:

    - The photography is not being performed by Google employees, but by a firm called Immersive Media (http://immersivemedia.com). Canada’s Privacy Commissioner mentions this in her letter to their CEO:

    http://www.privcom.gc.ca/media/let/let_070911_02_e.asp

    - Google does in fact have REAL and FUNCTIONAL offices here in Montreal at 1000 de la Gauchetiere. A friend of mine has had in-person interviews there for the C++ dev position. They are working on Google Desktop here.

  • Heri September 13, 2007

    hey mat ok for the first part of your comment

    but for the second part, it needs to be confirmed. Mathieu Duffar just says above that offices are in cité multimédia.

    have a look at comment #2 here
    http://www.chaaban.info/2007/01/30/google-montreal-jobs/

  • Mat September 13, 2007

    In May their physical offices were in 1000 de la Gauch. I’m 100% certain.

  • Erik September 14, 2007

    They definitely have offices in Montreal. I’ve been offered a job there.

  • Heri September 14, 2007

    ok someone gives me an address or/and a phone number and we will settle this

  • Denis Canuel September 14, 2007

    Heri, I work right next to the 1000 de la gauchetiere so I can visit if you want :)

  • Heri September 14, 2007

    hey Denis, if you have the time, it would be a good opportunity to check. i am betting it’s a virtual office.

  • Oli September 17, 2007

    I saw one of the Google Street View cars on rue St-Jacques in the neighborhood of St-Henri. It was a burgundy Chevy Cobalt with a California license plate. I am excited and looking forward to seeing myself driving behind it and on its side when Street View is launched for Montreal!

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  • Raven April 17, 2009

    I saw the Google street view car on April 16th 2009 on De La Montagne. Cool!

  • Khalid April 28, 2009

    I saw the green car on top of the Page on April 27 on Boul. Verendry around 15h15, in ville Lasalle. Anyone knows when will they be putting the pics on google maps?

  • babag May 04, 2009

    The google car drove by my place this morning (May 4th) at 8am on Ave Laval on the plateau mont royal. I posed with the peace sign! see if i make it in the shot. will be checking for sure.

  • babag May 04, 2009

    oh, and it had ontario plates (i think it was a VW bug)

  • Alura May 29, 2009

    I saw the google car on May 25th in the Plateau. Wonder how long this is going to take to get the entire city and put it up!

  • stefano June 08, 2009

    I saw the exact camera set up on cure-labelle in laval montreal.Just wasnt sure if it had the google logos on the car.

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