I can't decide how I feel about this. I embrace technology, but need to think a bit deeper about whether it's a good move or not. See for yourselves:- Two women washed clothes in the dark water of the Rio Negro as a boat glided past with a camera-laden Google tricycle strapped to the roof, destined to give the world a window into the Amazon rain forest. A “trike” typically used to capture street scenes for Google’s free online mapping service launched Thursday from the village of Tumbira in a first-ever project to let Internet users virtually explore the world’s largest river, its wildlife and its communities. The project was the brainchild of Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (FAS) which two years ago went to Google Earth with an ambitious vision of turning “Street View” into a river view in the lush and precious Amazon Basin. .......................... “I think it is wonderful because our community was never published anywhere, not even Manaus,” Socorro said. “Nobody knows we are here.” The first phase of the project is expected to take three weeks. The goal is to capture a 50-kilometer (30-mile) stretch of the Rio Negro, and along the way train the local team that will keep the imaging gear to broaden the mission. “We want to create a digital mirror of the world, and this is an important place on the planet,” Google Earth Outreach geo-strategist Karin Tuxen-Bettman said aboard a boat as the trike made its maiden run. “Eventually, maybe we will have the whole basin mapped,” she said hopefully. “Who knows?”Read the full story here:- http://technology.inquirer.net/3539/google-maps-taking-armchair-explorers-to-the-amazon/
