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Google Maps Hacks

simonweckert.com

191–200 of 397 posts

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#191
That 10px font size is not accessible. I can't read what's there without zooming in. It looked like decorative text or legal disclosures for a contest or something. Did the site's creator find that the ideal text size to use?

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#192
post #124

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 can't compare multiple modes of transportation on the same map. E.g. driving vs. walking vs. transit. I do this all the time. I click between car, public transport, and walking to see the difference in travel time.

I'm guessing they'd like to see the three at once.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's no way to optimize for minimizing left turns, especially onto busy streets. Woah, I've never heard anyone else mention this problem. It sounds strange having it said "out loud" because I thought it was just a weird personal quirk/irritation of mine. I have always wished there was a route option of "easy mode driving," or "no pressure route." Often the "quickest" route google maps shows me is one that has som…

Fed ex avoids left turns - https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/04/0...

It's also a serious consideration for companies working on self-driving cars, as unprotected left turns are extremely difficult for the robots.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#194

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…

Not sure if everyone knows about this, but if you click on the headlines on this website, like "Google Maps Hacks," in this case, there's an article there. Most of us are using the comment space in this forum to discuss what's in the articles behind each of the headlines. It's a really great forum for doing this because there are many bright people close to the tech discussed. For example, it sounds like you've got s…

This sort of comment section you are commenting about is par for the course. Check out n-gate.com for some back-to-earth commentary on it all.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#195

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…

>* There's no way to optimize for minimizing left turns, especially onto busy streets.

Waze has precisely this option.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#196

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…

> Multi-destination route optimization is not available.

OsmAnd+ on F-Droid[1] has this feature, although the UX isn't stellar. Add intermediate destinations to your itinerary then the Edit next to intermediate destinations > Sort > Door-to-door.

[1] https://f-droid.org/app/net.osmand.plus

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#197

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…

> there's no way to say "I know what I'm doing when I'm in this area"

Apple Maps (at least in CarPlay) has a "tap for ETA" feature. It collapses the navigation block and only leaves the blue (yellow, red) line on the map and an estimated ETA at the bottom.

I use this daily during my commute where I passively want to know if there's some traffic up ahead, but don't need help to know where I am going.

It's not automatic (e.g. Geo-fence setting), but it is just one tap.

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#198
post #151

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 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". I've turned off voice navigation altogether. It's just not necessary in most cases. Just take a minute or two before departure to actually read the map and the route, if you are not pre…

I just say "OK, Google stop navigating"

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#199
post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>There's no way to optimize for minimizing left turns, especially onto busy streets. Woah, I've never heard anyone else mention this problem. It sounds strange having it said "out loud" because I thought it was just a weird personal quirk/irritation of mine. I have always wished there was a route option of "easy mode driving," or "no pressure route." Often the "quickest" route google maps shows me is one that has som…

Have you considered taking some driving lessons to become more assertive in traffic? You don't need to feel this way for a left-hand turn.

You do, and you should feel that way for a left turn.

This is a behavior we normalize in a driving society. Being assertive as you turn left does nothing to reduce the impact of another car hitting you at 45 miles an hour (or even faster in more rural places).

>A study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) shows that turning left is one of the primary causes of automobile collisions. 61 percent of crashes that occur while turning or crossing an intersection involve left turns, as opposed to just 3.1 percent that involve right turns.

>https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2014/04/0...

Re: Google Maps Hacks

#200
From my last experience circa 1/2 years ago, you just need to be the only one on the road. About that time I was driving up at odd hours on a highway, when I noticed a yellow stretch on google maps coming up. Turns out the highway was mostly empty, and the only other vehicle in the road was a truck, which is limited to a fraction of the top speed.
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