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Google Maps' Moat

justinobeirne.com

481–490 of 619 posts

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#481
post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same in Netherlands. Google Maps has recently become worse and worse. Small pedestrian roads are missing, and the navigation is getting stupid. Google applies the one-way limitations for cars also on cycling routes.

To go with the comparison mentioned in the article though, Apple maps doesn’t even have an option to cycle at the moment. I never use it in London for just that reason. They’ve decided that it’s more important to add ride sharing as an option before cycling in what I can only assume is a product of their being in suburban America.

>> is a product of their being in suburban America.

Close, but imho is has more to do with liability, a fear common at all american companies. Car drivers are licensed. They can be expected to obey traffic laws. So when google sends them down the wrong way on a one-way road, nobody blames google. They blame the adult who listened to their phone rather than the signs. But bicyclists are not licensed. If google says that a road is open to cyclists when it isn't, and something bad happens, few will blame the 12yo unlicensed cyclist just following their phone's directions. This is why google, imho, seems to be limiting bicycle routes to those areas with the most clearly defined paths, preferably separate from roads.

And the one-way thing for bike routes is likely based on the widespread understanding that bicycles on roads must obey all the rules that cars do. Going the wrong way on a one-way road is illegal in many areas no matter what vehicle you use. This may never be enforced, but google's legal team probably isn't willing to depart from the letter of the law.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Richly ? Like in terminator or like in Asimov's foundation ?

Like in Paperclip Maximizer, except instead of paperclips, the universe will be tiled with humans forever clicking on ads.

Like Cookie Clicker, but clicking ads instead of cookies.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#483

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here, I've been using Google Maps in Northern Europe (in many countries) and does get worse every quarter). Perhaps there is a massive focus on the US-side. WAG: is Google preparing to be Amazon's drones mapping service that thy care so munch to even know each and every building/caravan is?

I don't think that's how Google approaches product development. I was wondering the same, i. e. "what are building shapes actually good for". But if you look at the article's screenshots, i think the obvious answer is: they're simply more fun to look at, and maybe add a certain sense of what a neighbourhood looks like. If this were a feature for something like drone landing, it wouldn't show up in the public renderin…

Building shapes are for AR occlusion.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#484
post #422

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are right when it comes to streets and bicycle lanes and such. When talking about usability, display quality and search, not so much. I realize the value lies in the data, but for the casual map user there is a long way for OSM to go. Besides, I don't see any reason why Google can't add OpenStreetMap as an additional data source in some or all areas (right in the spirit of the article). It will be interesting to…

OSM has a GPL-like data license. You cannot combine it with another data source without releasing the combined data source.

If the OSM database is used as is and not used to modify any of their existing data, the existing data wouldn't have to be released. IANAL, but it seems to me that the data could be used in conjunction with existing data for the purposes of rendering tiles and not require releasing any other data sources.

https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1.0/

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#485

One thing I really appreciate about Google Maps is how accurate the times are. There have been numerous times where google maps says is will take x minutes to get there and I think "Nah, I'll be able to get there faster than that." Nope, I've never had google maps be off by more than a minute or so. I think it must take into account not just road conditions and traffic, but also how much I am likely to go over the sp…

I also found them to be crazy accurate for walking directions. I always think "well, I fancy myself a speedy native New Yorker amongst all that gawking tourist data Google must have, I can cut down this half hour walk by a few minutes at least". Almost always arrive right on their estimate.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#487

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cycling is a relatively new feature even on Google maps. I believe it appeared about three years ago? While Apple is still playing catch-up, it appears to me that cycling, and all other features mentioned in the article, are exceptionally ameliorable to machine learning, and its advances over the last few years. Apple being the only other company in the world with access to the wealth of position data on users' phone…

I first used Google Maps for cycling over 7 years ago.

It might have differed by region. I went on a bike trip from Denmark to Greece in 2010 and remember doing all sorts of GIS to get good mapping data.

I seem to remember discovering Google's bike directions, including the height profiles, a few months later and being slightly miffed that it wasn't available for my trip.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#488
post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If Apple can’t keep up with Google, how is anyone ever expected to launch a competitor to Google without VC money?

Same as usual: Picking a niche and trusting that Google prefers to spend its attention on improving adwords rather than on inventing a niche product. Google is scary, because it's unusually competent for a big company. But apart from that it's the same as usual: The bigcos can devote a big team to build whatever it is you're building and then leverage their existing customer relationships to sell it to many of their…

Most bigcos aren't doing that because it's illegal, not because they don't want to.

If you, e.g., have market dominance in operating systems, you can't prefer any web browser, install any browser as default, or advertise any based on the OS. In the same way, if you control web search, you can't prefer one web shopping site, or one web maps service. And you especially can't integrate one, but not the other.

The goal of all this legislation was to ensure that a company like Google can't use their advantage in search to gain an advantage in maps, to avoid exactly the current situation.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#489
post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>when they stopped sending out DVDs in the mail. Don't they still do?

ha, yes, you are correct, there it is at https://dvd.netflix.com it seems like ages ago that anyone has mentioned getting a netflix dvd in the mail.

It's still the only way to watch many movies & TV shows. There's just so much not available on Netflix/Prime/Hulu/Play, or not available on streaming at all.

Re: Google Maps' Moat

#490
post #176

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google's not infallible either. I was looking at a map and noticed that it labelled a restaurant called OPH in Chanhassen, MN. The Original Pancake House is one of my favorite restaurants and is sometimes abbreviated OPH, so I was intrigued. Going to the street view you can see that it's a purely residential area with a park and a pool and no restaurant in sight. Try it for yourself.

I just tried it and ended up being sent here: https://www.google.com.au/maps/@44.8508646,-93.4259796,3a,15... Back out of Street View and you'll see I've landed at Prairie Center Dr, Eden Prairie, MN. Is this right? What's interesting is that if I type "oph chanha" Maps autocompletes "OPH Summerfield Drive, Chanhassen, MN, USA" but then if I hit Enter, it thinks for a fraction of a second then just stops dead. If I h…

The Summerfield Drive address is the one I noticed that is wrong. I have no idea how they determined there was a restaurant at that location.
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