Have I mentioned I love Google?

When I first moved away from California, there were times when I would feel homesick and wish that I could go back and visit certain places. Typically these wouldn't be the usual sites that you might expect; instead, one day I might get a sudden irresistible urge to visit, say, the Safeway where I used to shop every day, or to drive down an otherwise unremarkable stretch of El Camino Real, made special by its sheer inaccessibility.

Then came Amazon's A9 Maps, with its drive-by views of most of the major streets in the Bay Area. For a while, I could ease the homesickness by taking a virtual drive through downtown San Mateo or Redwood City, and it all felt a little less distant. For whatever reasons, though, Amazon took the service down a few months later.

That early homesickness is gone now (well, almost), but even so, I was excited today when Google announced a new and improved version of the same idea for Google Maps, which they dubbed Street View. It lets you pick any point along a major street and get a navigable 360-degree panorama; I can visit the office where I had my first job, for example, or get a 360-degree view from the Golden Gate Bridge. What really distinguishes it, though, is the extensive coverage they have already. I can even visit the Pacific Coast Highway a block from my old house, where even getting a cell phone signal could be tricky at times.

Microsoft has been testing the waters here too, with its Windows Live Street View, but from playing with both, I'd say Google has a strong lead at the moment. On behalf of homesick expats everywhere, I say "the more the merrier".