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I've commented on this before[1] as have others[2] but Google Maps is willfully malicious software that I am certain has killed cyclists and motorcyclists by re-routing onto dangerous routes after navigation has started. Why this dangerous 'feature' cannot be disabled is infuriating. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31333754 [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
I've commented on this before[1] as have others[2] but Google Maps is willfully malicious software that I am certain has killed cyclists and motorcyclists by re-routing onto dangerous routes after navigation has started. Why this dangerous 'feature' cannot be disabled is infuriating. [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31333754 [2] https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=true&que...
As a somewhat new commuting cyclist, I've been apps built on top of OpenStreetMap, like OSMAnd. I hear good things about Komoot as well. Also, as a cyclist and a bit of nerd, it's fun to update OSM around my bike routes I know best.
I worked on Google Maps monetization, and then on Maps itself. Monetization was a dismal failure. I don't know how well they're doing now, but Maps was a gigantic money-loser, forever. I'd be a little surprised if it didn't still lose money, but maybe less. I don't what those "pin ads" cost, but I'd bet it's way less than a search ad. If you don't believe that, that's fine. "What about indirect revenue?" you ask? Goo…
I worked on Google Maps monetization, and then on Maps itself. Monetization was a dismal failure. I don't know how well they're doing now, but Maps was a gigantic money-loser, forever. I'd be a little surprised if it didn't still lose money, but maybe less. I don't what those "pin ads" cost, but I'd bet it's way less than a search ad. If you don't believe that, that's fine. "What about indirect revenue?" you ask? Goo…
Its assistant is also useless.
"OK Google, zoom in the map by a factor of 1.5"
"OK Google, stop hiding the businesses"
"OK Google, add a stop for the last Safeway before the turn onto route 120"
None of this stuff works.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> nor how to trigger street view You need to drag the "man" icon and drop it on the map. I had to google that.
And while you're carefully dragging the "man" over to the street you're interested in (an interesting multi-hand challenge with most trackpads), Maps starts wildly gyrating and sliding the map around in an infinite scroll because you didn't center the "man" within one second or whatever. I hate that UI. Why can't we just click on the "man", and then click on a spot to drop it?
That's exactly how it works.
Click the man, roads with street view data are highlighted, click a road.
E.g., there's a "no car" street near me where the access restrictions are not on Google Maps. I've submitted the changes a month ago, to no avail. I resubmitted a week ago, as I could not find any trace of my reports.
The restrictions can be seen on the past 3+ years of Streetview footage... There are rumours the restrictions have been correctly mapped, but subsequently removed due to telemetry data (cars frequently drive there anyways, as there's no enforcement and also a lot of crappy navigation systems from Here Maps :) )
Apple Maps and OSM have them, the former finally getting it right after they rolled out their own maps. There's no excuse when it's public data in the Road Authority database...
> But as much as I’d like to abandon Google Maps for the increasingly more user-friendly Apple Maps, I can’t.
OpenStreetMaps is the only service I use nowadays. Google Maps does not even show secondary or tertiary roads, it's just ad after ad in a color vomit screen.
Some locals in Brisbane succeeded in getting a brief historical name for the central business district ("Frogs Hollow") boosted up as a locality name which shows up in several zoom levels. It's more prominent than the real name of the location (Gardens Point) sometimes. Nobody appears able to get this rescinded. Either its being contested, or the process boundaries on "this is graffiti") are limiting. I do quite a lo…
I can't actually see it anymore at any zoom level on mobile or desktop. Maybe somebody finally did fix it (or maybe on a different sized screen or something it would still show?)... You can still search for it though.
(amazed it's gone. Thanks for pointing it out)
I've since switched over to openstreetmap.org for most of my use. It's absolutely not perfect, the search is not as powerful as Google when it comes to recognizing typos or what I'm looking for, but the actual street data is really, really good, and the map view is very uncluttered.