61–70 of 100 posts
Does anyone have a link to a building with floor plans already uploaded? I'd be curious to see how they've designed the interface but can't easily find one... (i.e., in 2 minutes in downtown SF)
Most large retail outlets will probably opt out of this initiative. A big part of their revenue model hinges on the "impulse buying" which occurs as you wander throughout the store looking for your items. There is a reason why no major department or grocery chain (that I am aware of) has a store directory at the front like most malls do. However, if crowdsourcing is allowed this could become major. I and 20 other peo…
This is probably only partially true. If the goal was really to confuse you, they would not put related products near each other (the cheese would be with the bananas, the milk would be with the dishwasher detergent, etc.) They would also rearrange the store every week, so that you wouldn't be able to learn where items are. Honestly, I've never seen stores arranged for impulse buying except to have certain items prom…
Thanks for the interesting perspective. I've actually opened, run, and sold a retail store before (mobile phones and accessories) so, while the type of layout logic I referred to in my comment above did not apply to my store (because it wasn't large enough) I did read ALOT on the subject and was part of the local Chamber of Commerce so I can assure you that impulse buying considerations are a big part of why stores get laid out the way they do.
There are even consulting firms that make a tidy income by advising stores on product placements within the store for maximum sales.
Does the GPS work indoors?
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The upload form clearly states Make sure you have permission to use the floor plan you are uploading.
That's not the same as Google making sure Google has permission to use them. Standard AIA contract language allows the owner to utilize the plans to construct their project. The author (architect) retains copyright.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is probably only partially true. If the goal was really to confuse you, they would not put related products near each other (the cheese would be with the bananas, the milk would be with the dishwasher detergent, etc.) They would also rearrange the store every week, so that you wouldn't be able to learn where items are. Honestly, I've never seen stores arranged for impulse buying except to have certain items prom…
Jon, Thanks for the interesting perspective. I've actually opened, run, and sold a retail store before (mobile phones and accessories) so, while the type of layout logic I referred to in my comment above did not apply to my store (because it wasn't large enough) I did read ALOT on the subject and was part of the local Chamber of Commerce so I can assure you that impulse buying considerations are a big part of why sto…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is probably only partially true. If the goal was really to confuse you, they would not put related products near each other (the cheese would be with the bananas, the milk would be with the dishwasher detergent, etc.) They would also rearrange the store every week, so that you wouldn't be able to learn where items are. Honestly, I've never seen stores arranged for impulse buying except to have certain items prom…
Jon, Thanks for the interesting perspective. I've actually opened, run, and sold a retail store before (mobile phones and accessories) so, while the type of layout logic I referred to in my comment above did not apply to my store (because it wasn't large enough) I did read ALOT on the subject and was part of the local Chamber of Commerce so I can assure you that impulse buying considerations are a big part of why sto…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The competition already has this for airports: http://binged.it/HnKPqO Compare: http://g.co/maps/8e9xp
which is weird, because in the android maps application, SFO is completely filled in with a floor plan (and actually more detailed than the bing version, which appears limited to coarsely positioned rectangles for sections of the floor plan). Is there some poor UI incantation you need to do to get this to appear on google maps?
Google are building various tools which allow users to contribute data (especially to maps). However they don't provide an easy way for users to choose to release their own contributions under an open license. I asked Marissa Mayer this question at SXSW 2011 and she said they would change it, however I haven't seen this happen. I would very much like to see Google change their policy so that by default any user gener…
One of my fellow panelists from Google discussed ways for developers to use Google's existing map tools to create their own indoor map content. This uses the Google Maps slippy map API, but doesn't require the developer to submit indoor map data to Google: http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/sessions/map-your-busin...
I would also like to see indoor map data, especially for public spaces, be more freely (libre) available. There are a few contributors at OpenStreetMap working on indoor maps, but privacy/data structure/data acquisition pose significant challenges. I'm sure they'd be interested in your help!
A shame that all of this data is collected "free" for Google, then people are made to pay to access it for their apps in the Maps API.
There's two sides to this. There's the corporate/public-good argument, where wikipedia is probably the best OSM analog, so it makes sense. But there's also the user generated content argument, where there are plenty of for profit companies that completely depend on content given for free by their users (youtube, reddit, etc), where the users also benefit from having better content on a site they visit and more attent…
Google are building various tools which allow users to contribute data (especially to maps). However they don't provide an easy way for users to choose to release their own contributions under an open license. I asked Marissa Mayer this question at SXSW 2011 and she said they would change it, however I haven't seen this happen. I would very much like to see Google change their policy so that by default any user gener…
Julian - just listened to your question from SXSW last year. I was part of another discussion on indoor maps this year: http://schedule.sxsw.com/2012/events/event_IAP100110 One of my fellow panelists from Google discussed ways for developers to use Google's existing map tools to create their own indoor map content. This uses the Google Maps slippy map API, but doesn't require the developer to submit indoor map data t…