Google Giving Up On Street View In Germany Due To “Massive” Opt Outs.

It appears that Germans aren’t too fond of Google’s Street View no matter how helpful it may seem. Reports are circulating that after opt out requests surpassed 250,000+, Google basically pulled the plug on continuing their German tour aimed at increasing their Street View database. Considering that Germany has over 8.5 million houses currently cataloged, we’re not quite sure what Google is thinking. Yeah — there will be some considerable blurring in certain areas. But is ~250,000 out of 8.5 million (and previously counting) really so much to just give up?

Apparently to Google it is. But to be clear, Google has only stated that they are no longer pursuing Street View captures. They have not, however, stated exactly why they are pulling out. Looks like Microsoft’s recently announced “Street Side” is going to face some skepticism.

Any German readers happy/sad with the news?

O2 Germany Enlisting Common Folk to Test LTE Network. #o2 #lte

Every once in a while, end users get a bone thrown to them by big tech companies and supporting services. Case in point: O2 Germany is giving some very lucky customers 6 months of free LTE service with an unlimited data plan attached. The goal of course is to flog the new network so O2 can get a good look at how robust and reliable their new LTE network really is. Meanwhile, beta testers will get to enjoy a reported max throughput of 90-100Mbps. Those of you who don’t make the cut can expect speeds to fall quite considerably when the network officially launches and as people flood the network. 5-15Mbps sounds about right to us. But even then, it’s many times faster than what is currently available.

Any O2 Germany users part of the beta want to share their experience?

Open wifi now illegal in Germany.

Want to hear something stupid? Alrighty then — in Germany, private citizens will soon be able to be fined for open WiFi networks to the tune of 100 euros ($126 USD). No password, no money. Pretty straight forward. If you look at it at face value, it seems like the government protecting citizens from themselves (and their technological incompetence). But in reality it’s just the government sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong.

There are various environments and network setups that actually benefit and/or require open networks. So to say this ruling is troubling is an understatement. How this affects businesses remains to be seen as the ruling had more to do with the little guy (read: you and I). If the ruling does or will be extended to larger corporations and businesses, the effect on could be devastating depending on how their networks are set up…

Stacked house begs you to climb them like stairs.

Cool architecture. What else would you call this? I for one would love to call this my next home. Though I’m 98% 99% sure I couldn’t even come close to affording the bill for such grand display of modern art. Just in case you’re curious, the Step House was built by Herzog & de Meuron for the Vitra Campus in Weil am Rhein, Germany. Another bonus — I want to visit Germany. (Anyone care to join me?) Looks like I could kill two birds with one stone here, huh? *Gazes on in awe…”some day”*

Motorola Sholes coming to T-Mo USA?

So Big Red is like a disease to you and you can’t fathom moving to Euro-land just to purchase and *fully* use a Euro-spec Droid Milestone? No worries dear reader as a screenshot showing a reported “dev only” section of a MotoBLUR site shows something very interesting indeed. See that circled bit of info? It points to a TMO edition of the Motorola Sholes -> Droid. If a GSM version exists outside of the country, it isn’t hard to believe a GSM version would come state side. On one had it would make sense for AT&T to get it because they have a much larger 3G network. Of course if you divide by the sum of suck, you more or less walk away with TMO having the larger, useful 3G network. Let’s not forget that TMO is in love with Android. So far, AT&T hasn’t put forth any emotion in regards to Android. Sad indeed. But I digress. TMO users hoping for a second touchscreen + qwerty slider now have something to bank on in the near future. Holiday even?

Phandroid > TmoNews

O2 Germany getting the Motorola Droid Milestone.

Oh German readers, today is your day. Well, not literally in the sense you’ll get any physical gratification, but you’ll at least get hope for near future gratification. The Motorola Droid which is far and wide the most anticipated Android phone to date is mere days from a U.S. release. Lucky for Android fans across the pond in Deutschland, they too will soon be experiencing what this Android hype is all about as internal O2 documents showing a rebranded Motorola Droid as the “Milestone” have been snapped. Accompanying the image above is the price which before any taxes and subsidies comes in at 404.20€ ($594.93 USD) which really isn’t too bad. *Grimace* Who am I kidding. The contract/subsidy free price is pretty ouch worthy. But then again, I’m sure quite a few people will sign/re-sign a couple years of their life away for a chance to hold, touch, and use such a device.

If you’re really itching for a Droid/Milestone and aren’t too fond of Big Red, you can always import this GSM beast. Make note however that it’ll only be half functional without any U.S. 3G bands. But for some, being on the cutting edge with a half working device is good enough. Which are you?

BGR

Palm Pre coming to O2 Germany October/November? [Update: October 13th-16th]

Palm’s Jesus phone, the Palm Pre may soon be coming to O2 Germany if various sources are to be believed. According to nimsso from PreCentral, after receiving a Palm Pre promotional email he decided to call up O2 and inquire further. After talking to an O2 rep, he was advised to call back in 2 weeks at which point he could follow through with a pre-order (no pun intended). If you take into account two weeks starting today and then add another week or three for pre-order waiting, we’re looking at a mid-late October to early November launch. A perfect turkey day gift. Though a more appropriate holiday for our friends across the pond would be that of Christmas. Heck, do we really need need a reason to buy the latest and greatest gadgets. *clears throat* No. I’d be interested in knowing how Palm hype is doing over there across the deep blue. Any European readers care to give us a little insight into your fantasies?

**Update: Deutsche land O2 users can mark October 13th on their calendars as the day while their friends in the UK and Ireland have the 16th to look forward to. Palm Pre fanatics start countin’ down!
SlashPhone

Germany to ban all violent video games

After reading the title, you may be thinking to yourself if there are not violent video games to play, what are you going to play?  According to German parliment:

where the main part is to realistically play the killing of people or other cruel or unhuman acts of violence against humans or manlike characters

Right, awesome.  Sadly this craptactic philosophy and ban have gotten the seal of approval from all 16 interior ministers.  But the ban doesn’t stop and the sale of violent games.  It also prohibits the development of said games meaning games such as Crysis (German developed by Crytek) would be no more…or until the company moved out of Germany.  While I can whole heartedly agree that youngsters and people who have been convicted of serious crimes such as…murder…shouldn’t have access to these games.  Unfortunately, lawmakers and politicians often support and pass laws on things they absolutely nothing about.  Outlawing them completely is once again a brute force tactic aimed at fixing the flaws of the minority by enforcing it on the majority.  Hardly a reasonable or smart plan, wouldn’t you say?

Source: Crunch Gear

Legos make the world go round – actual replacement for crumbling buldings

We’ve seen some pretty unique uses for lego in the tech world such as the Lego flash drive, the Lego USB hub, and even a Lego MP3 player, this latest use of Lego’s, while not quite “gadgety”, is none the less cool and unique. Instead of having electronic circuits inside the legos, they themselves become literal building blocks, supporting aging wonders of architecture.