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Google Maps Hacks

simonweckert.com

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Re: Google Maps Hacks

#91

Post by big_chungus »

Swizec wrote: post #87
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…

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 Ten…

> 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.

Microsoft patented such an "avoid ghetto" idea year ago, but people got mad and called it racist:

https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-f...

https://www.cnet.com/news/the-joy-of-microsofts-avoid-ghetto...

Because, as we all know, trying to avoid getting mugged or carjacked is racist.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#92

Post by 1024core »

Swizec wrote: post #87
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…

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 Ten…

> it took a wiiiide berth around the Tenderloin.

Next thing you know, (SF) City politicians are up in arms about why Apple is "blackballing" Tenderloin, and rake up past issues such as red-lining, ghettos, etc.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#94

Post by Swizec »

big_chungus wrote: post #91
Swizec wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 Ten…

> 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. Microsoft patented such an "avoid ghetto" idea year ago, but people got mad and called it racist: https://www.npr.org/2012/01/25/145337346/this-app-was-made-f... https://www.cnet.com/n…

To be fair, most of SF’s seedy people are white drug addicts.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#95

Post by neurostimulant »

WilTimSon wrote: post #6

Wow, I never actually stopped to think about the way Google determines traffic but it seems so obvious now. This is a very simple but cool trick, I'd expect to see something like this in an action movie where people need to reroute an important car to a particular street. Anyone have any idea how often this data is updated? So if the guy runs through a street with a cart and it turns red, when will it show up as clea…

I was going through an empty road in an empty area (no buildings nearby) in the middle of the night, and somehow it's red on google map. Turns out there was a single car stopping on the side of the road, and that's enough to make google maps think there was a congestion there. As soon as I passed the car, the road is green again.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#96

Post by copperx »

flarg wrote: post #15

I'm sure I've seen a related effect where a clear road is red until I drive down it and it then turns green

Much better than the more common scenario of driving to work with an all green route and then finding that traffic is at a standstill. And then seconds later Google Maps marks the road as red. This happens so much that I don't trust all green routes to work anymore.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#97

Post by viburnum »

8ytecoder wrote: post #83
ryanianian wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I wish it had a “no left turns” feature like they have for avoiding tolls.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#98

Post by copperx »

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.)

It's a bit naive to think that Google doesn't have a filtering rule that says "only consider real phones with a true GPS signal".

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#99

Post by dawnerd »

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.

I would love it if these apps gave an option for easiest drive. Both Apple and Google tell me to take a left turn by my house onto a busy road when its actually quicker to go the other way and just loop around. In fact, if they just had an “avoid unprotected left turns” option that’d be fantastic.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#100

Post by crystaldev »

JorgeGT wrote: post #81
beefield wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Yea that's enough HN for today.
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