So, keyhole was the company acquired by google, which is where the satellite data comes from.

Some of their data and equipment, yes is DOD type stuff, but much of this technology comes from trying to monetize their investment and make information available at a consumer level.

The satellites, are not everywhere, and DOD allowed them to "photograph" areas of the planet when they were near a "target", mean DOD was paying for a satellite feed and Keyhole was trying to caputure as much data as they could in real time, without extra cost. sort of like, Hey, I need ONE picture of the Grand Canyon but since I am here, I might as well shoot the whole ROLE of film in case I might ever want to create a panorama of the grand canyon.

So, a LOT of the data is from old fly overs, some is always going to be more current than others.

I checked out some South San Jose regions, not much of a "target" mind you, and there were spaces empty which have had buildings for about two years.

Map data, for GPS applications as well, is the bane of the manufacturer and complaint of the user - ALWAYS!!