New images unsettling

While no one would object to authorities using GPS to find someone who needed help, the prospect of technological intrustions into our privacy is frightening to many of us.

If you are among those, you probably won't want to visit Google's maps site, which has added ground-level views of many areas, including McCook.

Residents reported seeing a vehicle with an odd-looking camera on top and a Google sign driving around town earlier this year, and if they log in to maps.google.com, they might see photos of themselves watching the vehicle drive by.

We can imagine many uses for the service, such as people shopping for a home or otherwise wanting to get to know a community, but an Internet photo of ourselves walking along the sidewalk or sitting on the porch is a little unsettling.