261–270 of 705 posts
No Google, I don't want to drive through a farmer field road only usable by tractors to shorten my ride in a couple of minutes in a more environment friendly way.
It's inflammatory, but this website is worse. There's some video playing of a stranger eating mustard skittles taking up the bottom quarter of the screen.
What I really don't get is the product is hiding a lot of stuff for no reason. Whenever I zoom in my neighbourhood: it doesn't display all the streets, some shops are missing even at maximum zoom, search is removing some results that should match my query, etc...
I have slowly lost trust in the products (except for navigation), it's still my main source but I usually double check with google search or apple map.
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Yes the classic dance of “zoom in slightly further, but this time without arbitrarily removing 3/4’s of my search results that I know exist here, and showing me other random locations” Or “good lord just show me the street name please”
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.
One of the changes brought about by the digital mapping revolution was to allow much less visually complex maps.
[1] https://blog.az.co.uk/z-map-company-supplies-london-emergenc...
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…
What is your take on that?
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…
It makes Google look like the mob and everyone sees it. Everyone would understand if they would show businesses that pay at the top of the list but somehow instead they went this way, incomprehensible.
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Google Maps has its pitfalls, but it's by far the most up to date in the cities I've used it. OSM lacks a lot of details that completely change how you'd move from point A to point B (I was missing overpass bridges and crossable paths in residential neighboorhoods), and point to point navigation is also not great. Then it completely lacks all the more commercial features Google has built on top of Maps (store details…
> On sheer readability I also prefer Google Maps, but I've been using it so long that that might be just familiarity. Interesting – personally I find Maps absolutely horrible for usage as an actual map for orienting myself (as opposed to just serving as a vague geographical background for displaying POIs or navigation information). When you zoom out, it often doesn't really distinguish between forests and other open…
On the rougher part of the maps, I often get back to satellite view and/or StreeView if available (even as they sometimes don't show the same info as they come from different points in time -_-;). It's a handy backup that I don't get on the open source map apps
There's a streetsign in a small country town in NSW "ignore google maps" which is a reflection of how strongly mistaken belief about route-finding can require locals to act. (this is not a piece of cardboard, its a full on enamel finish legit sign. The road is a giant U-turn and the road above which it APPEARS on maps to connect to, cannot be reached. I wouldn't be surprised if pretty much every economy has one.
"Disregard GPS instruction to proceed further" in the NJ pine barrens from 2019: https://forums.njpinebarrens.com/threads/in-the-blazing-hot-...
Plus a number which warn off larger vehicles, like https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-ford-do-not-follow-sat-nav... and https://innway.blogspot.com/2012/11/do-not-follow-sat-nav-ju... . Both are from 10 years ago so hopefully things have gotten better.
Still happens though. https://www.herefordtimes.com/news/23399093.plea-google-satn... is from earlier this year, complaining about satnav sending people between Ruxton Green, Ross-on-Wye HR9 6EJ, UK and Llangarron, Ross-on-Wye, UK. Though they were going to "ask Google Maps to remove the road from their data", compared to a 2016 solution where Lyonshall Parish Council 'decided to try supplementing the existing sign with their own large red road sign reading 'HGV drivers - ignore satnav - you will get stuck!'
Google Street View shows some very narrow roads, with a last visit date of 2011.
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Google Maps has its pitfalls, but it's by far the most up to date in the cities I've used it. OSM lacks a lot of details that completely change how you'd move from point A to point B (I was missing overpass bridges and crossable paths in residential neighboorhoods), and point to point navigation is also not great. Then it completely lacks all the more commercial features Google has built on top of Maps (store details…
For countryside locations and topographic, OTOH, Google Maps (and Apple Maps) is a joke compared to OSM, though, at least in Europe.
Sadly I'm still not good with really basic compass and map positionning, and the GPS + average location info helped a ton in the past.