Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[TXtoNJ]

When are tech companies ever going to figure out that people are getting sick of computer software and websites being dumbed down? 

Never, because they're not. Most people don't like too much complexity in their navigational systems. Roadgeeks like us do.

I think the upgrades are an improvement; however; they do force you to mess with your display contrast and brightness if you don't already have them optimized.

[vdeane]

Yeah, my home display isn't; I actually had to change the default theme for the text editor in Linux Mint because I couldn't see the highlighting of the current line in the default theme.  Now that I think about it, the minor roads do seem to be more visible at work.  I'm not an expert in monitors, though, so I'm not sure how to fix it.

[US 41]

I actually think the new Google Maps is getting to be a lot better than what it used to be. I still use the KML Map (ClassyGMap), but the new Google Maps has a lot of neat functions.

[Rothman]

No one, except us, uses Google Maps to look at roads. This change directly benefits the vast majority of users by highlighting important areas of interest (the orange blocks on the map), and muting the rest.

I really doubt that this is the case.  I'm sure those even just using it as a GPS would like to tell if they're unexpectedly coming up on a toll toad.

You can still see which roads are tolls, so long as you plug in some directions:

Meh.

[Rothman]

I actually think the new Google Maps is getting to be a lot better than what it used to be. I still use the KML Map (ClassyGMap), but the new Google Maps has a lot of neat functions.

The multiple destination feature in the mobile version was very, very late in coming, but I'm grateful that it's now here.

[TXtoNJ]

The clear delineation of commercial districts using orange tiles is an awesome feature.

[kphoger]

I got used to it in about two days.  Crisis averted.

[CtrlAltDel]

While toll roads no longer have that stripe on the sides, a lot of ramps still do, like you can see here. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8792165,-87.919907,16.5z

That makes me wonder if their absence is just a temporary thing.

[7/8]

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but they've now made it easier to move around in street view on mobile (or at least on my iPad anyway). Instead of clicking the arrows, which can be slow and tedious, you can now quickly swipe to move.

[myosh_tino]

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but they've now made it easier to move around in street view on mobile (or at least on my iPad anyway). Instead of clicking the arrows, which can be slow and tedious, you can now quickly swipe to move.

Nice feature I guess.  Doesn't do me a whole lot of good on my traditional computers which don't have a touch interface. 

[formulanone]

I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but they've now made it easier to move around in street view on mobile (or at least on my iPad anyway). Instead of clicking the arrows, which can be slow and tedious, you can now quickly swipe to move.

I find this feature to be helpful when you want to pan and swivel your view, but annoying when it assumes you don't want to pan, and moves you forward/back/left/right instead. I haven't quite figured out where that tipping point is...

[D-Dey65]

New problem; During my June excursion into the New York Tri-State Area, I spent a day in Brooklyn. And on that day I walked from the Prospect Avenue entrance at Park Place station on the Franklin Avenue Shuttle to Franklin Avenue itself, to Bergen Street to Utica Avenue before finally catching the IND Fulton Line station at Boys and Girls High School. When I tried to find out the walking distance between these two spots, it kept directing me two blocks west of the Park Place station and around the two blocks, and it wouldn't let me delete that part!


On the plus side, I was able to add some info on some rest areas off of I-20 in Georgia.

[7/8]

A small change I've noticed from the past few days. Google Street View has a new "Expand" button in the bottom left (see red circle in screenshot below):



This expands the box in the lower left corner to fill the bottom half of the page, allowing you to click on new Street View locations in a bigger area. You can minimize this by clicking the square in the bottom left:



The only thing I have to get used to is the removal of the "Back to Map" button in the lower left corner (see red circle), taken 3 weeks ago:



Instead, the only way out of street view is to click the arrow in the top left corner, which has been around for a long time (but I personally never used) (see red circle):



I'm sure it won't take me long to get used to using the arrow in the top left corner, and I think the expand box could come in handy.

[Bruce]

Well, looks like corporate ads have started appearing for some users:



Makes it really easy to see the number of Starbucks in Downtown Seattle.

[kkt]

Jeez.  Just the other day I was saying that a web search to locate the nearest Starbucks is just too much work, and I needed their locations to pop up every time I use google maps without being asked.

[TR69]

Well, looks like corporate ads have started appearing for some users:

Hmm, I pulled up your Totem Park example on my laptop, using Chrome, and I still just got the old generic icons for the businesses -- no corporate logos.

[Rothman]

Probably a repeat of a complaint:

A lot of people plan trips in the winter that they'll take in the summer.  Google Maps allows you to change your departure date to avoid seasonal road closures...but then you can't do multiple destination trips!  WTF?!

[hotdogPi]

My main problem with Google Maps (enough of a problem that I don't use it as my main online map) is that every time you scroll, it is considered a new page, and even using it for one minute will clog the history bar.

There are other websites that use Google Maps without having a history clogging problem (Google Mapmaker, also websites like zipmap.net and university webpages that are not meant for general purpose maps), but they don't have nearly as many features.

[vdeane]

That's why I always use Google Maps in an incognito browser window.

[jakeroot]

^^ why exactly is that a complaint? I like that feature. Makes it ridiculously easy to copy links.

Do you guys like to erase your browser history? Too ashamed of all that map browsing?

[SignGeek101]

My main problem with Google Maps (enough of a problem that I don't use it as my main online map) is that every time you scroll, it is considered a new page, and even using it for one minute will clog the history bar.

That's why I always use Google Maps in an incognito browser window.

I have a history blocker app that allows you to add websites on it that won't produce history on Chrome (my standard browser). Guess what the only website on it is... I wonder.

^^ why exactly is that a complaint? I like that feature. Makes it ridiculously easy to copy links.

Do you guys like to erase your browser history? Too ashamed of all that map browsing?

It's less about erasing it, and more about trying to access a webpage you looked at say, two days ago (because you want to), and being spammed with stupid Google Maps links. It is very annoying to say the least.

I don't try to hide anything (that is what incognito is for).  The history list can be an important resource sometimes, and having that essentially taken away from you kind of sucks.

[vdeane]

Honestly, I don't like the large amount of tracking sites do these days.  I actually do a large percentage of my browsing incognito because I don't want my Google search results affected by whatever happens to cross my mind on any given day.

It's also good for reducing the likelihood of triggering the paywall on certain news sites.  Pretty much any form of tracking using cookies or the browser cache won't work in incognito (IP address and browser header tracking still work, but those are less common and take more work to circumvent, and honestly aren't worth the trouble; dealing with the former will get you on a NSA watch list for using Tor, and the latter can itself be tracked because it's so rare).

[noelbotevera]

Honestly, I don't like the large amount of tracking sites do these days.  I actually do a large percentage of my browsing incognito because I don't want my Google search results affected by whatever happens to cross my mind on any given day.

It's also good for reducing the likelihood of triggering the paywall on certain news sites.  Pretty much any form of tracking using cookies or the browser cache won't work in incognito (IP address and browser header tracking still work, but those are less common and take more work to circumvent, and honestly aren't worth the trouble; dealing with the former will get you on a NSA watch list for using Tor, and the latter can itself be tracked because it's so rare).

Ads are off to the side, so I don't think of them as a problem. Better than pop-ups.

Paywalls, however, can burn in a fire. I have been able to get around them, however, if you know what to do.

[vdeane]

Google does more with one's search history than target ads.  It also factors into its relevancy algorithm, so it affects what results appear.  It's probably the luddite in me wishing that I could just have everything work like it did in 2005.

[Rothman]

Kind of depressing to go through my timeline and see that most of my trips are just to work and back.  Then again, glad I have some sort of proof of where I am if I'm ever falsely accused of a crime.