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Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

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Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#341

Post by georgebarnett »

AWildC182 wrote: post #329
georgebarnett wrote: post #317

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should Apple give away their improvements? I’m genuinely curious why you think they should do this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Database_License Because they would be legally obligated to when using OSM as a base for anything. Also, because it would benefit society.

If Apple was legally obligated to contribute back, they would do so.

They have a good history of community contribution (eg. Darwin, WebKit) so I’m willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, instead of some random anonymous internet commenter angst.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#342

Post by acdha »

K0SM0S wrote: post #293
SamBam wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Maps also got the person there 5% faster than Apple Maps, in that study. This really does call for a larger study, though. It would be nice to see how the error bars and potential differences come out across different trip times, and different drivers.

You'd probably end with significantly different results based on country. Somehow the underlying logic of mapping AI seems to be more-or-less of a fit for national road systems — for instance in Europe, with lots of discrepancies between borders, it's really hit or miss: in France and Germany I end up on stupid country roads to save 2 minutes on a 2h drive, but that seldom happens in the Netherlands (granted they hav…

It’s horrible even in the U.S.: the model seems to assume left turns are cheap so I always get these routes which involve 15 minutes sitting at an unprotected turn across heavy traffic. I, and apparently a number of other people I‘ve heard mention it, have largely stopped using it because the times are wildly off - and that’s along the East coast in some very popular areas, not exactly an obscure edge case.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#343

Post by acdha »

flyingfences wrote: post #267
forty wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe it's a good opportunity for you to start following speed limits and stop risking everyone's life :)

Driving over the posted limit is not dangerous on most roads.

When you’re not distracted or tired, have great visibility, and there are no hazards or unexpected behavior by other road users. This is true far less frequently than people believe.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#344

Post by advisedwang »

chapium wrote: post #333
graeme wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect it may be california-centrism. Bikes are a vital mode in Europe and many other parts of the road. In california car is king, bikes are either recreational or for hardcore commutes. You can see similar assumptions in how Siri is designed. (“Users only speak one language at a time”) or the effectiveness of multilanguage support in autocorrect. Most people outside north america use their own language + english…

Counterpoint: google has bike directions and exists in California.

Google has much more of a non-CA and non-US engineering presence than Apple.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#345

Post by bstar77 »

I was blown away this morning when I fired up maps. I use maps for traffic data for my commute. The UI improvements are great and I love that there's geometry now for just about everything. Looking forward to discovering new features as I use it more.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#347

Post by manicpolymath »

Swizec wrote: post #324
K0SM0S wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd probably end with significantly different results based on country. Somehow the underlying logic of mapping AI seems to be more-or-less of a fit for national road systems — for instance in Europe, with lots of discrepancies between borders, it's really hit or miss: in France and Germany I end up on stupid country roads to save 2 minutes on a 2h drive, but that seldom happens in the Netherlands (granted they hav…

I remember using some car’s built-in GPS once and it wanted me to take every freeway exit and get right back on after. Because it decided that saves time/distance. Maps really need a “not worth it” features for tiny optimizations. I’d often prefer a slightly slower route that’s less work to drive.

> I remember using some car’s built-in GPS once and it wanted me to take every freeway exit and get right back on after. Because it decided that saves time/distance.

It feels like cheating to the other drivers who didn’t take the “short cut” and leads to delays all around due to the extra merging going on. (exhibit A: I-85N vs. I-285 in Atlanta, aka Spaghetti Junction)

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#348

Post by xoa »

andrewljohnson wrote: post #47

Shameless plug, but we just shipped our huge Gaia Topo update too. Gaia Topo focuses on the backcountry, and specifically downloading for offline use: https://blog.gaiagps.com/easy-to-read-tiny-to-download-the-a...

Interesting, I do a lot of backcountry with no cell and have mostly relied on old style maps turned to PDFs and downloaded or various OSM apps, this looks up my alley. One question though I often have for membership programs: how does it apply to families? I very much value all 4 of us in my household having the ability to share key apps and data, particularly for something that has safety applications. I see you have a Teams program but that looks commercially oriented. Apple has "Family Sharing" but for paid apps. How does that scenario work with Gaia Topo? If I grabbed a 5 year premium sub, would the kids be able to run off that too (at least while they're living at home) or does each individual need a separate membership?

Not trying to single you out or anything, I think a lot of the current app sales models and sub models are fairly individual focused at the present stage of things. More explicitly addressing couples/families (including what happens as they grow up/split) might be worth considering though, I think a lot of people will spend significantly more if it benefits links with household members.

Re: Apple delivers a new redesigned Maps for users in the United States

#350

Post by CamperBob2 »

acdha wrote: post #342
K0SM0S wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd probably end with significantly different results based on country. Somehow the underlying logic of mapping AI seems to be more-or-less of a fit for national road systems — for instance in Europe, with lots of discrepancies between borders, it's really hit or miss: in France and Germany I end up on stupid country roads to save 2 minutes on a 2h drive, but that seldom happens in the Netherlands (granted they hav…

It’s horrible even in the U.S.: the model seems to assume left turns are cheap so I always get these routes which involve 15 minutes sitting at an unprotected turn across heavy traffic. I, and apparently a number of other people I‘ve heard mention it, have largely stopped using it because the times are wildly off - and that’s along the East coast in some very popular areas, not exactly an obscure edge case.

It's just incredible that major map providers don't understand how problematic left turns are.

There's a reason you seldom see UPS and FedEx trucks trying to turn left in crowded urban settings. It's because they cost time and money. Why don't Google and Apple understand that, and give us an option to avoid or discourage left turns?

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