81–90 of 201 posts
That or people just find whitespace aesthetically pleasing and Google designers went kind of crazy with it.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Isn’t it more a problem of having algorithms do what used to be done by humans? I.e. when you look at a Google map it is using the latest GIS data to construct a “good” representation for your screen resolution using your specified zoom factor and possibly even with dynamic overlays or highlights. Likewise, when you read an e-book you can read it on many different display sizes, pick your own font, and font size. So…
That's part of the problem, but you can at least design the algorithm with the benefit of expertise about how humans do it, either by studying the field yourself or hiring people who do. The way Knuth approached algorithmic typesetting is a good example.
I'm surprised the author didn't mention the main difference between paper maps and google maps. That is, google maps is interactive. With a paper map what you see is what you get. You had to cram as much information as it would allow. But this is not the case with google maps. You can zoom in, out, and anywhere in between. You can't compare the two based on the level of information displayed at one fixed zoom level b…
The problem I have Google maps lately, is that i have to zoom so far in to see the names of some roads. To the point where nothing but the road is on screen before the name appears. It's a major UX issue.
Gripe: The font used on this blog is so thin it's almost invisible. I dislike this trend.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>and later led the Apple Maps team I'm not sure that puts him in a position to be trusted to criticize google maps. Apple maps has been considered inferior to google maps since its launch. Just because he has ideas about how to pack an overwhelming amount of information onto a map doesn't mean it's a good idea for normal users.
Apple Maps has actually significantly improved since its launch, and I wish people would give it its due. I, for one, often prefer Apple Maps to Google Maps nowadays.
So I am not crazy after all! The other day I was driving in Palm Springs, and I was using Google Maps. I literally had to zoom in until the road I was on almost completely field the screen before it would show me the name of the road or the roads around it. They did something to their display algorithm where you now have to zoom almost entirely into an area to see anything about the area, very inconvenient.
Especially driving country roads and having to zoom in to kite level in order to see the medium sized villages is ridiculous.
Anyone know if Bing Maps is better?
So I am not crazy after all! The other day I was driving in Palm Springs, and I was using Google Maps. I literally had to zoom in until the road I was on almost completely field the screen before it would show me the name of the road or the roads around it. They did something to their display algorithm where you now have to zoom almost entirely into an area to see anything about the area, very inconvenient.
Not sure I agree, in my opinion most of us use search & destinations nowadays, even in offline mode. The only reason I look at a map is to gauge distance between me and my destination.
So I am not crazy after all! The other day I was driving in Palm Springs, and I was using Google Maps. I literally had to zoom in until the road I was on almost completely field the screen before it would show me the name of the road or the roads around it. They did something to their display algorithm where you now have to zoom almost entirely into an area to see anything about the area, very inconvenient.
Finally I have an explanation to why GMaps have been annoying me so much. Especially driving country roads and having to zoom in to kite level in order to see the medium sized villages is ridiculous. Anyone know if Bing Maps is better?
Gripe: The font used on this blog is so thin it's almost invisible. I dislike this trend.
On the whole the HTML and CSS on that blog are a mess though.
Firefox's Reader View helps here by bypassing the author's styling completely.