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Software sucks

shitpost.plover.com

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Re: Software sucks

#21

Post by jrq »

HyperTalk2 wrote: post #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 i…

That seems crazy! I've never heard of this feature. Maybe you should contact support. Surely they'd have thought that through more!

Re: Software sucks

#22

Post by [deleted] »

HyperTalk2 wrote: post #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 i…

[deleted]

Re: Software sucks

#23

Post by danShumway »

jonknee wrote: post #14
jonas21 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> It's way better than just seeing a bunch of pins on a map.

Is it? Showing the pins on the map seems like it would show you roughly the same distances but with the added information of direction and area.

At worst you might eyeball the distance wrong, but does it matter if something is 3.5 miles away or 3.6 miles away?

Most of the time I search something in Google maps I want to see the relative area so I can make a choice based on route and whatever else is near the location.

I guess it comes down to how likely you are to rely on Google map ratings/info. If I'm searching for a restaurant, I generally trust Google's location information, but otherwise I don't trust their ratings and store times to be accurate. Other people could be different though.

Re: Software sucks

#24

Post by Gary404 »

fgonzag wrote: post #19
Gary404 wrote: 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 ofte…

Exactly this. What I used to do is listen to the user's proposal and go build that. 80% of the time it's not the correct thing to work on. I know spend much more time talking with users about their problems/pains, and then use metrics to figure out what they are trying to do. The combination of these two + a good set of eyes will point you in the right direction. Very very hard to do, but it's at least a leap better from my previous approach.

Re: Software sucks

#25

Post by omalleyt »

It's showing him Wawas he's been to before. That's what the clocks mean.

For the search "wawa" it doesn't make a lot of sense to prioritize history over distance, because Wawas are nearly identical. But for "farmer's markets" this would probably be a useful feature.

Figuring out how to differentiate between those two examples algorithmically is super non-trivial though

Re: Software sucks

#26

Post by lallysingh »

ramenmeal wrote: post #5

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!

Or why's it so hard to get it to show a street name? It will show some, and it won't show others. If the one you want is in the latter category you've got a lot of zooming before you see it. Ugh.

Re: Software sucks

#27

Post by na85 »

wintorez wrote: post #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". :(

Right. Engineers can do no wrong, never have bad ideas, and it's just those pesky managers that screw it up, right?

Re: Software sucks

#28

Post by mental1896 »

xanderstrike wrote: post #18
HyperTalk2 wrote: post #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 i…

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

Same. This is news to me as well.

Re: Software sucks

#29

Post by RussianCow »

omalleyt wrote: post #25

It's showing him Wawas he's been to before. That's what the clocks mean. For the search "wawa" it doesn't make a lot of sense to prioritize history over distance, because Wawas are nearly identical. But for "farmer's markets" this would probably be a useful feature. Figuring out how to differentiate between those two examples algorithmically is super non-trivial though

This is incorrect: the clocks mean he has selected those search results before, not that he has physically been there.

Source: Just tested this in-app.

Re: Software sucks

#30

Post by jonknee »

danShumway wrote: post #23
jonknee wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> It's way better than just seeing a bunch of pins on a map. Is it? Showing the pins on the map seems like it would show you roughly the same distances but with the added information of direction and area. At worst you might eyeball the distance wrong, but does it matter if something is 3.5 miles away or 3.6 miles away? Most of the time I search something in Google maps I want to see the relative area so I can make a…

Yes, because the list shows you stuff like the name of the place, its address, ratings, hours and all sorts of other stuff. Plus the full screen map view is a short swipe away.
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