Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/03/cebit_spymobiles/
Street View spymobiles invade CeBIT
Google woos Germans with touchy-feely paintjob
Posted in Hardware, 3rd March 2010 14:26 GMT
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CeBIT As part of Google's hearts-and-minds [1] campaign to allay German fears that it is intent on adding their country to Mountain View's lebensraum, the company has decided to entertain CeBIT visitors with some touchy-feely Street View spymobiles:
You'll note the Opels are somewhat less Orwellian than they normally are when they're prowling the world's highways and byways, stripping Finns [2] of their underpants and their privacy.
This is because Google invited some happening German art students to give the motors a makeover - a nifty bit of PR which might have guaranteed Hitler's panzers a warmer reception during Operation Barbarossa - and could indeed in future see Street View's vehicles welcomed with cheering crowds bearing garlands of flowers, rather than pitchforks [3].
Regarding the sinister technical capabilities of the spymobiles, there's not much to report. The all-seeing eye was proudly erect in full privacy-busting mode, but anything sensitive had been stripped from the vehicle's interior. Note the handy "don't drive under a low bridge with the camera up" warning:
Our man on the spot, Joe Fay, did spot something of interest, though: a Street View peg man sticker...
Word has it that this badge of honour represents a Viking frogman [4] or similar objector to Google's global ambitions taken out by the mephistophelean Spionauto as it goes about its dark masters' unholy business. ®