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Google Maps Hacks

simonweckert.com

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Re: Google Maps Hacks

#181

Post by UnfalseDesign »

dangerlibrary wrote: post #117
AlexandrB wrote: post #115

Navigation apps have mostly settled into a comfortable state of "good enough" mediocrity. In addition to the "red but no traffic" problems highlighted by others I find turn by turn directions are incredibly annoying while driving in areas I'm intimately familiar with and there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area" or "pause giving me voice directions for 10 minutes". Additionally: * I can't co…

My wife and I regularly talk about how "Thanks Google, I'll take it from here" is the best Maps features that doesn't exist.

Or an option to say, "Hey Google, I'm fine until I get to the highway" or if Google proactively said, "I noticed that the last 5 miles of your route is on roads you have not traveled before. Would you like turn-by-turn directions for the last 5 miles?"

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#182

Post by wtracy »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #77
vongomben wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why expensive? If you compare it with other forms of rioting and strike I think is still cheap. Ghost digital crowd. BTW I wonder if you really need 99 different data Sims cards or rather have a smartphone hotspotting every 5.

Expensive in time compared to benefit accrued/harm done. At a minimum you have to spend a person's time on it, both in the gathering of a bunch of used phones, the setting up of many phone lines, and the actual work of walking on the street. A small street seeming busy on Google Maps doesn't really matter that much. Especially, if the street is not actually busy, since that's kind of an indicator that people don't re…

It doesn't strike me as particularly expensive compared to getting thirty-plus bicyclists to go down the street in a block like the Critical Mass activists do.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#183

Post by Moru »

herenorthere wrote: post #170
darkerside wrote: post #163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How long have you been driving? That feeling should go away with some time.

almost 20 years... so yeah I dont think it's going away. Being anxious about backing up traffic or the other things I described isn't that abnormal I don't think? When Ive been a passenger, Ive seen most other drivers feel this way--whether they say it or not, you can see on their face they are feeling anxious.

Yes, we do exist but for someone that does not have a special problem can't see the problem. Many also have a problem with empathy, just can't think how that ever would be a problem.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#184

Post by fit2rule »

AlexandrB wrote: post #115

Navigation apps have mostly settled into a comfortable state of "good enough" mediocrity. In addition to the "red but no traffic" problems highlighted by others I find turn by turn directions are incredibly annoying while driving in areas I'm intimately familiar with and there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area" or "pause giving me voice directions for 10 minutes". Additionally: * I can't co…

My personal pet peeve: using the wrong language for the region. So, I'm a native English speaker - but I'm driving around Germany. Give me the names of the streets in German only - NOPE.

Still can't find any way to fix this issue. Its terribly annoying.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#185

Post by herenorthere »

darkerside wrote: post #163
herenorthere wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just get some social anxiety when people back up behind me, or anytime I feel like my driving is "imposing" on others. I know it's somewhat irrational. But I doubt a driving lesson would help with my more general problem of social anxiety. Anyway, I'd rather be this type of driver than an overly dense person who doesn't mind backing up traffic. The type of people that will go sideways blocking four lanes coming out…

How long have you been driving? That feeling should go away with some time.

I dont think it's necessarily a bad thing

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#186

Post by neurostimulant »

AlexandrB wrote: post #115

Navigation apps have mostly settled into a comfortable state of "good enough" mediocrity. In addition to the "red but no traffic" problems highlighted by others I find turn by turn directions are incredibly annoying while driving in areas I'm intimately familiar with and there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area" or "pause giving me voice directions for 10 minutes". Additionally: * I can't co…

> I realize this is describing the travelling salesman problem, but for small (Google actually already has an api that does exactly this called Google OR-Tools[1]. They could totally build this feature into google map if they want.

[1] https://developers.google.com/optimization/

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#187

Post by allannienhuis »

myself248 wrote: post #11
londons_explore wrote: post #2

Do the phones have to be open and navigating somewhere,or is it enough for them to just be idle on the home screen?

My understanding is this: If it was only phones running Maps, they wouldn't get much data. Phones running Maps are actively using the GPS, so they provide more precise data. Those sitting idle just get tower location, which helps fill in some vague flow information but doesn't do much for specific street or momentary speed.

> Those sitting idle just get tower location

Do you have links or google keyword hints to more information about that? Is that OS specific?

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#188

Post by in3d »

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.

It's not a new problem by any means - UPS trucks avoid left turns thanks to their navigation algorithm for more than a decade and they were trying to do it since the 1970s.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#189

Post by fcbrooklyn »

AlexandrB wrote: post #115

Navigation apps have mostly settled into a comfortable state of "good enough" mediocrity. In addition to the "red but no traffic" problems highlighted by others I find turn by turn directions are incredibly annoying while driving in areas I'm intimately familiar with and there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area" or "pause giving me voice directions for 10 minutes". Additionally: * I can't co…

Another feature I want is "money is no object mode" when travelling around new york city. Sometimes it's fastest to take the subway, sometimes it's fastest to take a Lyft/Uber, but sometimes it's fastest to take the subway part of the way, and then take an uber from there. This last situation is really tough to figure out by hand with the existing tools.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#190

Post by [deleted] »

dwrodri wrote: post #153
AlexandrB wrote: post #115

Navigation apps have mostly settled into a comfortable state of "good enough" mediocrity. In addition to the "red but no traffic" problems highlighted by others I find turn by turn directions are incredibly annoying while driving in areas I'm intimately familiar with and there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area" or "pause giving me voice directions for 10 minutes". Additionally: * I can't co…

IIRC, minimizing left turns was a massive cost-saving measure for UPS (or was it FedEx?) back when consumer-facing GPS systems were becoming commonplace.

[deleted]
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