Live data from Hacker News

Software sucks

shitpost.plover.com

11–20 of 93 posts

Re: Software sucks

#11

Unrelated but similar and I feel like venting... On Google Maps you'll search for something, and the results are shown as a list that almost covers the entire map. It's Google MAPS and it hides the map for so many things. I'd rather go to a place that's 3 miles straight down a free way than 2 miles of stop lights, but I don't know that if the map is covered!

[deleted]

Re: Software sucks

#13

Unrelated but similar and I feel like venting... On Google Maps you'll search for something, and the results are shown as a list that almost covers the entire map. It's Google MAPS and it hides the map for so many things. I'd rather go to a place that's 3 miles straight down a free way than 2 miles of stop lights, but I don't know that if the map is covered!

If you're talking about the mobile app, you can swipe down on the list to see more of the map.

In many cases, I think defaulting to the list makes sense because of the extra data it has. For example, I'd rather go to a restaurant that has a 5-star rating and is open now as opposed to one that is rated 2 stars and is closed, even if the 2-star restaurant is easier to get to.

Re: Software sucks

#14
post #13

Unrelated but similar and I feel like venting... On Google Maps you'll search for something, and the results are shown as a list that almost covers the entire map. It's Google MAPS and it hides the map for so many things. I'd rather go to a place that's 3 miles straight down a free way than 2 miles of stop lights, but I don't know that if the map is covered!

If you're talking about the mobile app, you can swipe down on the list to see more of the map. In many cases, I think defaulting to the list makes sense because of the extra data it has. For example, I'd rather go to a restaurant that has a 5-star rating and is open now as opposed to one that is rated 2 stars and is closed, even if the 2-star restaurant is easier to get to.

Yes, and the list is sorted with the closest / most recent hits on top. It's way better than just seeing a bunch of pins on a map.

Re: Software sucks

#15
I feel that the worst new "feature" in Google Maps is when you're on your way to your destination and it suddenly suggests you might first want to go to a random place you've never heard of before. You then have 3 seconds to tap "No" before it silently adds the destination (and 15-30 minutes of extra driving) to your route. I have found no way to disable this feature.

I'm worried that there could be people who were in a hurry to get somewhere and perhaps wound up in a grave instead because they felt the urgent need to look away from the road and fiddle with their phone to reset their map destination while on the highway.

Re: Software sucks

#16
Software does not suck; requirements, especially from non-technical stake-holders suck. Every single piece of software starts with a single and easy to understand idea, then different stakeholders arrive and start adding inputs and often conflicting requirements, and then software starts to suck. None of these would have happened if we knew how to say "No". :(

Re: Software sucks

#17
post #9
post #2

Usually happens due to very high uncertainty in localization estimates.

Looks like it prioritized historical locations over nearby locations. The little clock icon usually represents a prior location that was selected. Could be an interesting design approach to know which locations are "fungible". I.e., one Wawa is as good as another, but your parent's house isn't a replacement for mine [1]. [1] I'm sure your parents are very nice, of course :)

And ironically the OP was complaining that it didn't return him to the same WaWa:

> Last time I asked for directions to a Wawa, it was to the one on Oak Lane, 5.9 miles away. Why doesn't it guess that I might be trying to go back to the same place?

Re: Software sucks

#18

I feel that the worst new "feature" in Google Maps is when you're on your way to your destination and it suddenly suggests you might first want to go to a random place you've never heard of before. You then have 3 seconds to tap "No" before it silently adds the destination (and 15-30 minutes of extra driving) to your route. I have found no way to disable this feature. I'm worried that there could be people who were i…

Huh? This has never happened to me and I use Google Maps daily. Is there an update note or something for this?

Re: Software sucks

#19
post #4

I'm working on b2b software and when working with the designers at http://fairpixels.pro I've learned many things from their approach as to why (a lot of) software sucks. Personal example: I've been measuring qualitative feedback users have been giving us and passing it to them to make design updates. They (design team) would come back with me with questions about data & metrics. They were more interested in what the…

One thing I've learned is that the user's complaint is always valid, the user's proposals seldom are.

That is to say, users know when they don't like something, but they are often wrong about why they dislike it or what is interrupting their workflow. Our job is to find and fix the root cause starting from user feedback, and fix the product in accordance to what the user is actually trying to accomplish.

This is often very hard

Re: Software sucks

#20
He should be happy it actually looked up the place he wants. I go to maps.google.com and not only does it give the wrong town for my location (correct GPS coordinates, it just won't acknowledge the town exists even though it is the reservation seat of government), but the first result for "gas station near" is a Catholic Church and then gas stations in the next, next town over. Google doesn't seem to know about businesses on the reservation. Apple, sadly, is worse.
Post reply on HN