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Google Maps has become an eyesore

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Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#591

Post by IX-103 »

gardenhedge wrote: post #424
tommit wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems like the person you're responding to has a problem with them selling their data in real-time to 3rd parties, rather than just any Google employee knowing where they are heading.

surely google employees can't look up peoples locations..

From what I've heard that type of information is only held on a special higher-security "logs" cluster and the code accessing that data is subject to additional review by Google's privacy division before it is allowed access to the data. I think there may be special ways to manually access some of that data, but even requesting that capability would automatically trigger an audit after the fact.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#592

Post by DropInIn »

phiresky wrote: post #313
nielsole wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Maps design is becoming less detailed over the years. It's really apparent when compared to OSM. It is necessary to search for a lot of things in Google maps as they are otherwise not visible. You can't really navigate off Google maps without turn-by-turn navigation. I wonder whether this is a strategic drive from Google to make maps more like search to enable advertising or whether they truly think this is th…

There was some articles on here about how maps have been changing over the years (also other map apps). The gist is that why would you need to show street names anymore? On printed maps that's the only thing you have, but that's not how most people navigate anymore. They search for a place or POIs and then use navigation. So the things most people care about have changed, streets are less important now and things lik…

There were always people who were like that it's just that it was harder with paper maps, at least that's my view.

For those old enough, just think back to all the times your "navigator" wouldn't just tell you the street name or even "turn at the third intersection after this one " and instead waited until just moments before you reached it and said "Here" like a jack hole.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#593

Post by DropInIn »

trefoiled wrote: post #537
commonlisp94 wrote: post #475

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unlike a physical map, we can't go back and access old google maps, so those changing preferences in style leave a memory hole.

If you haven't read 1984, this is really confusing, but a "memory hole" is a hole into which you place something you don't want to have any memory of, destroying it forever. The ironic name is an example of "doublethink."

I believe you mean "Doublespeak" rather than "Doublethink".

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#594

Post by stiray »

throwaway2037 wrote: post #527
stiray wrote: post #447

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I am saying that by diverting drivers to regional roads without taking into account local population, this is directly Google fault. Why? Before Google started messing with information about congestion, there was no issue. Regional roads swallowed without any problem those few adventurous tourists that decided to use them. Now you find an average Joe everywhere. Wanna se another interesting example (use google tr…

The solution sounds simple. Force non-locals to buy a Swiss-like vignette to drive on those roads. And, make it damn expensive, like 1000 Euros. You can probably put a police checkpoint around a corner about 500 meters after the sign and fine people who are missing the vignette something like 2000 Euros. Finally, use social media and obnoxious free media (City AM and friends) to tell everyone about it. It should take…

You cant charge locals differently than other member states citizens in EU.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#595

Post by DropInIn »

runeks wrote: post #304
ClumsyPilot wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Peole forget that millions of people submit data to Google Maps for free. I placed all the local postboxes on google maps, people sibmit information about their businesss, opening hours, etc. This is hugely valuable. Also google grew laxy. Not tskes them a year to add a royal mail postbox

Agreed. And not just that, but also the fact that people use Google Maps for car navigation means Google can derive the location of traffic jams by comparing current speed with the speed limit. This is hugely useful for navigation since it means these bottlenecks can be avoided, some thing which is not possible unless this data is available.

I've been saved from tickets by Google maps several times now, mostly because when it warns of a speed trap it reminds me to look at the speedometer and realize the prevailing traffic speed had been more than 10 km over the limit.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#596

Post by xethos »

thinkingemote wrote: post #190
jahnu wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’d like to see a defence of the reason why it’s so often a bit of a job to be able to read the street name… on a map. If only for the laugh I would have.

They have a blog post about it from way back. Essentially the map changes depending on context so you don't need to see store names if you are zooming down the freeway by the side of it, you might see road names if walking and navigating, but not if you have gps in a car, you might see more restaurants if you came to maps from a restaurant search context etc etc

Without a trace of irony: thank you for explaining to me why I fucking hate Google Maps.

Don't change the context and try to outsmart me without giving me any indication of doing so. Don't attempt to outsmart me without giving any recourse if I don't like it. It only ever leads to information I want to see being hidden. You, Google Maps, do not know what I want better than I fucking well do.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#597

Post by JohnFen »

phiresky wrote: post #313
nielsole wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Maps design is becoming less detailed over the years. It's really apparent when compared to OSM. It is necessary to search for a lot of things in Google maps as they are otherwise not visible. You can't really navigate off Google maps without turn-by-turn navigation. I wonder whether this is a strategic drive from Google to make maps more like search to enable advertising or whether they truly think this is th…

There was some articles on here about how maps have been changing over the years (also other map apps). The gist is that why would you need to show street names anymore? On printed maps that's the only thing you have, but that's not how most people navigate anymore. They search for a place or POIs and then use navigation. So the things most people care about have changed, streets are less important now and things lik…

> The gist is that why would you need to show street names anymore?

I need the street names. They're authoritative. Landmarks (or, worse, businesses used as landmarks) are things that are occasionally useful to me in the right circumstance, but they're too dynamic to really rely on.

If a map application doesn't make it easy to know the street names, then it's one that isn't useful to me.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#598

Post by walthamstow »

Symbiote wrote: post #542
aikinai wrote: post #450

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually the teams that would implement those fixes are not really in California (rather Seattle, Sydney, Tokyo, among others), but the problem is more the diffusion of responsibility and lack of ownership. Teams all have different metrics they're trying to drive or features they're focused on, but no one is responsible for the overall quality and user experience of "Google Maps" as a whole. All of the things you men…

The discussion was around 8-10 years ago, so I'm probably mixing it up with Seattle. Scrolling around the UK with the transit layer active, I only see the complete metro/light rail/tram systems of London and Sheffield (incomplete/missing "heavy rail" for both). Newcastle has one metro line, but not the others. No other city's lines are shown even though the stations/stops are often mapped. (I checked Glasgow, Edinbur…

Native SE Londoner here. IMO Google is accurately reporting the transport in the area, it's not their fault that there is a shocking lack of it.

Lines like Victoria-Orpington and CharingX-Hayes are not the metro and probably shouldn't be highlighted in the transport layer in my opinion.

The solution you are looking for is TFL taking over the suburban southeastern lines. That's what happened in my adopted home of NE London and today they are orange lines on the map. We also got brand new trains and 4tph on Sundays!

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#599

Post by JohnFen »

elaus wrote: post #185
remus wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If google can't make money with maps, why isn't map taken out of google into a charity/non-profit backed thing. There's OpenStreetMap, and Wikipedia wouldn't mind having a Map I guess. Assuming maps still loses a good chunk of money, how would it survive as a charity or non-profit? Where would the money come from? Who would donate to the charity?

Without donations OpenStreetMap would also lose money. But obviously people (and companies) are much more willing to donate to a project when it's a charity/non-profit, instead of the product of one of the biggest companies in the world.

I donate to OSM (both money and data). I would never in a million years donate to Google. They don't need my support.

Re: Google Maps has become an eyesore

#600

Post by izacus »

moomoo11 wrote: post #589
izacus wrote: post #577

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was there a need to make this comment thread iPhone ad? Is this some kind of submarine advertising thing?

What’s wrong with sharing my opinion when the subject is that google maps has become an eyesore (aka sucks visually)

The fact that your love of a phone has nothing to do with it. If I'd wanted to look at ads I'd open Google not HN.
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