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Comment by Shamiq | Hacker News Reader

Taking bets on the odds of this being disallowed for places where it would be actually useful (for example: airports; municipal buildings; skyscrapers).

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The competition already has this for airports: http://binged.it/HnKPqO

Compare: http://g.co/maps/8e9xp

which is weird, because in the android maps application, SFO is completely filled in with a floor plan (and actually more detailed than the bing version, which appears limited to coarsely positioned rectangles for sections of the floor plan).

Is there some poor UI incantation you need to do to get this to appear on google maps?

You might be able to see it if you turn on WebGL Maps on maps.google.com.

Nope. Still Bing has a more detailed layout.

Open Street Map doesn't have it, but here's the link for comparison anyway

http://osm.org/go/TZHqgKAqa--

This could well have the same unintended effect that automated checkout had with stores. Stores want you to wander around being lost, so they have more time to keep you awash in marketing. In the end, though, it will be more of the same nonsense as "sticky" portals in the dot.com days. People know the utility of information, and dislike it when you keep information from them so you can market to them.

How would one disallow this? The DMCA doesn't cover "I don't want that information available".

Under the CII (critical infrastructure information) Act, to prevent terrorists exploiting it for planning attacks: http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1193091627563.shtm

Data access/usability vs. security/privacy is a worthy concern for building data. I think we will see a designation made based on level of detail. Blueprints (with details about structural features) should not be publicly available. However, simplified floor plans for public spaces are already publicly displayed, as required for fire evacuation purposes.

Where that "level of detail" line is drawn is an important discussion as the availability of indoor maps from Google, Bing, OSM, Micello, etc. continues to expand.

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