Reposting in Google thread
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A news item in Times of India :
President APJ Abdul Kalam's concerns over Google Earth providing detailed and unhindered view of ‘sensitive' Indian establishments have been addressed, courtesy a formula which allows users uninterrupted access to the ‘eye in the sky' while camouflaging key installations.
Fuzzy, low resolution pictures and distorted building plans is how the government and Google Earth have agreed to get around concerns that images of sensitive military and scientific establishments available on the Web could either allow unauthorised snooping or become a ready reckoner for terrorists.
At a recent meeting between ministry of science and technology officials and Google Earth representatives, it was decided that installations identified by government would be carefully camouflaged. This, it was felt, was better than an outright blackout. Apart from well-known sites like BARC, there are many less prominent ones, and blacking them out would only attract attention to their locations.
Images of these locations will not be of more than 25-50 metre resolution, more like the older generation pictures provided by Indian Remote Sensing satellites. Official sources said Google Earth would distort building plans by adding structures where none existed or masking certain aspects of a facility. This could be done without attracting attention to such establishments, which range from laboratories, mines, military sites, space and atomic centres and residences of high-profile VVIPs.
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This post is made to draw the attention to the sentence :
and blacking them out would only attract attention to their locations.
Google earth is known to have camouflaged several installation without being noticed.
e.g. - Repeatative tree patterns at Windsor Castle, UK ( Nice Paste job )
- Addition ( Why should they do that ) of a ship at New York
- A complete airport ( Dutchess County Airport ) , Calif.
- IBM building
- several bridges and highways.
But you will notice them only when you search for those items.
However, In spite of it being so obvious our agencies continue to put black or white patches for blocking ... this only makes even a casual observer to wonder as to what is hidden there and he becomes more curious.
At least now the concerned agencies in India take a note of how to do a clean job.
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Shashi