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Google Maps Hacks

simonweckert.com

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Re: Google Maps Hacks

#81

Post by JorgeGT »

beefield wrote: post #70
nateburke wrote: post #20

I am wondering what the minimal monthly data plan cost would be to have this working continuously on your street. In a suburb, surely 20 phones would be enough, no? At $30/ month maybe somewhere between 500 and 600 per month?

I guess you do not need a data plan. Or even phones. Just spin up n android emulators and spoof them with the gps data you want? (Disclaimer: I fully expect that to break multiple TOS clauses so I take no responsibility whatsoever if anyone tries this one.)

Hm, a hostile nation state could cause some serious economic damage this way. Maybe they're already doing it?

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#82

Post by a3n »

tokai wrote: post #65
wh1t3n01s3 wrote: post #43

A similar problem happens during unusual big snowfalls in the country or in the mountains. The primary roads turn red because the cars are going really slow cz there is 50cm of snow. So maps redirects you to secondary roads, where there is nobody and even more snow.

Scary, that could kill someone.

No problem, we have Terms of Service to avoid that liability.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#83

Post by 8ytecoder »

ryanianian wrote: post #69
Spooky23 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This happens on NY 73, which is a road in the Adirondack High Peaks region between the highway and Lake Placid. It’s legit — even though cars are parked, you still need to slow down! I usually avoid Google maps for traveling in areas that I don’t know. It takes you off on stupid routes that save marginal time (if any) too much. Waze is good for interstate travel, but IMO Apple is better for giving you the “right”, lo…

This is my common complaint with Waze and most driving apps - they optimize for "least time," not "least anguish". I would almost always prefer to spend an extra 5 minutes on my "normal" route (that I have on auto-pilot) instead of saving that 5 minutes by taking confusingly-named side-streets with lots of left turns onto other busy side-streets. I don't know if Apple Maps really gets this any better to be honest.

This is an understated problem. Google used to regularly take me through a route that involves a left turn in a major road and multiple crossings where cross traffic won’t stop. Literally two blocks from the suggested left turn is a left turn arrow signal which also avoids the dangerous crossings.

It’s both dangerous and anxiety inducing and doesn’t save time either.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#84

Post by sunflowerfly »

This happens a lot when driving around on smaller highways in rural areas here in the US. We even joke when we see red on the map; is it a real slowdown or did the one driver with Google Maps slow down to pass a tractor?

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#86

Post by CrazyCatDog »

lonelappde wrote: post #67
CrazyCatDog wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I want one app to track my position at all times. I use google because I’m unaware of another—and I figure they have optimized the energy consumption of doing so. Then again, would be thrilled if someone could recommend an alternate way of doing this on iOS (preferably native). PS this function allowed me to time stamp my location which proved incredibly helpful in a FOFA request with state patrol—got me out of a tic…

FOFA? FOIA? How did you make your case? The court trusted your Google takeout? Or you got a subpoena?

FOIA thank you for catching this!

I requested footage from the patrol person’s vehicle. They circled back and needed the exact time of footage (I was ticketed long after the alleged violation). So this was me personally using the time stamp to surface the window of footage necessary. Turns out the camera caught a car veering into my lane that the officer “did not remember”, thereby exonerating me of swerving into the shoulder.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#87

Post by Swizec »

Spooky23 wrote: post #60
netsharc wrote: post #23

An interesting "red but no traffic" phenomenon is in Iceland, with roads which are next to scenery viewing points. The roads are mostly empty in this country, but everyone must've slowed down when they saw the breathtaking scenery, and would pull into the viewing point's parking spot to stop and take pictures. On Google Maps these areas were marked red. On another navigation related topic; I was using Waze in a high-…

This happens on NY 73, which is a road in the Adirondack High Peaks region between the highway and Lake Placid. It’s legit — even though cars are parked, you still need to slow down! I usually avoid Google maps for traveling in areas that I don’t know. It takes you off on stupid routes that save marginal time (if any) too much. Waze is good for interstate travel, but IMO Apple is better for giving you the “right”, lo…

I recently tried walking directions to JapanTown in SF on both Google Maps and Apple Maps.

gMaps took us to the restaurant on the shortest path - straight through the heart of Tenderloin. My girlfriend was sketched out as heck and almost made us take an Uber.

On our way back from the restaurant, we used Apple Maps. It took us on what looked like a longer route but lo and behold, it took a wiiiide berth around the Tenderloin. We saw not a single sketchy thing on our entire night time walk.

Don’t know if it was a coincidence or Apple Maps really has an “avoid seedy areas” model. The route was way simpler at least. 2 or 3 turns compared to gMaps’s 15

And grid geometry means Apple Maps was only 2min slower. But way nicer and easier to navigate.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#88

Post by dingaling »

OmarShehata wrote: post #71
wh1t3n01s3 wrote: post #43

A similar problem happens during unusual big snowfalls in the country or in the mountains. The primary roads turn red because the cars are going really slow cz there is 50cm of snow. So maps redirects you to secondary roads, where there is nobody and even more snow.

We got hit by a surprise blizzard once (driving from North Dakota to Minnesota, where it went from no trace of snow to blizzard in about 20 minutes of driving). Our car couldn't really make it up any road that wasn't well plowed. I was trying to navigate to a hotel because I knew we couldn't make it back in this weather, but all the closest hotels weren't on main roads. I was desperately trying to figure out a way to…

> Does this already exist anywhere?

Of course, any basic offline routing application that doesn't have live traffic feed. Something like Osmand for example.

It's an interesting example of over-optimisation causing unforeseen effects. Perhaps better to rely on naive basic routing combined with external traffic condition prompts instead.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#89

Post by bentcorner »

netsharc wrote: post #23

An interesting "red but no traffic" phenomenon is in Iceland, with roads which are next to scenery viewing points. The roads are mostly empty in this country, but everyone must've slowed down when they saw the breathtaking scenery, and would pull into the viewing point's parking spot to stop and take pictures. On Google Maps these areas were marked red. On another navigation related topic; I was using Waze in a high-…

I have the same frustration with Google Maps.

I have a route I take, and let's say I split it up with A-B-C. now Google Maps tells me that AB-BC takes an hour, but AB'-BC' is 15 minutes faster.

It usually turns out that the time delay is on the later leg. So I could take AB or AB', it doesn't matter, and then BC' is the faster choice later on.

I wish Google Maps wouldn't show me AB', because it's misleading. At best it should say AB' is the same ETA. But clicking on it means that some route near the end of my drive is now different, it doesn't actually save me time for my current divergence. It's misleading.

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