Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[Stephane Dumas]

I guess we got to check for alternatives like Bing, OpenStreetmap and Mapquest who are still there.

What do you think of Here? http://wego.here.com

[jakeroot]

I guess we got to check for alternatives like Bing, OpenStreetmap and Mapquest who are still there.

What do you think of Here? http://wego.here.com

I really don't have any trouble with Google Maps, but Here isn't bad at all! Satellite imagery is a little blurry in the SEA area, but otherwise pretty up-to-date. As are the roads themselves. Couple of changes lately that have been reflected. There's even a roundabout on Here WeGo that Google doesn't have listed (Google, Here WeGo).

[US 89]

I guess we got to check for alternatives like Bing, OpenStreetmap and Mapquest who are still there.

What do you think of Here? http://wego.here.com

I really don't have any trouble with Google Maps, but Here isn't bad at all! Satellite imagery is a little blurry in the SEA area, but otherwise pretty up-to-date. As are the roads themselves. Couple of changes lately that have been reflected. There's even a roundabout on Here WeGo that Google doesn't have listed (Google, Here WeGo).

It's pretty good with the roads themselves, but not necessarily with the highway designations. There are several route decommissionings, realignments, and the like that haven't been updated. But I guess it's no worse than Google, who has refused to listen to my edit requests.

[kkt]

Here's a pretty major problem: if I leave a Google Maps tab open too long, sometimes trying to scroll or zoom the map will freeze my entire OS, leaving me with no recourse other than to do a hard reboot. This is in Chrome 67 on macOS 10.13.5, and I can think of at least three times this has happened.

One could argue that that's MacOS's fault.  Nothing a user-mode program can do should be able to make the OS crash.

[20160805]

I guess we got to check for alternatives like Bing, OpenStreetmap and Mapquest who are still there.

What do you think of Here? http://wego.here.com

The accuracy for my local area, in regards to street names, highway designations, and general correctness, "just f***ing SUCKS now".

[hotdogPi]

Errors I can find:

Exits 19B-C on I-95/MA 128 are listed as 19A-B. Less than a year outdated.
US 4/MA 16 overlap isn't shown as a full freeway.
Exit 8 on the Everett Turnpike is listed as NH 101A Bypass. I'm pretty sure there's no such designation.
NH 122 continues into Massachusetts.
US 1A in Rhode Island is shown as RI 1A.
CT/RI 78 is not shown as a freeway.
RI 2 is shown on US 1 as if CT/RI 2 was a single route.
RI 103A is missing entirely.
MA 129 follows MA 129A through Lynn, and MA 129A isn't shown.
Old Dover Rd. in Rochester, NH is shown as NH 16B. It should be unnumbered. Similarly, part of NH 9 in the same area is shown as being overlapped with NH 16A.
MA 21 reaches I-91, Exit 2, which almost doubles its length.
MA 2 is not shown as a freeway between Exit 16 and Exit 28.
MA 125 got extended to MA 62 (about one mile).
Hopkinton, RI is listed twice.

Apple Maps has about the same number of errors.

[jon daly]

RI 2 is shown on US 1 as if CT/RI 2 was a single route.

This reminds me that I found an old topographical map that showed this as a multiplex, but that map was ooooold.

[Michael]

The changes to Google Maps for developers have started manifesting themselves in certain end products, and I have to admit I'm feeling a loss.

Looks like it manifested on ACME Mapper with a message saying:"This page can't load Google Maps correctly" while MyTopo still works for now but for how long?

ACME Mapper now has the "For development purposes only" message on satellite views.  When I first read that Google would be doing that, I was expecting them to add a watermark server side like Historic Aerials.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that for now, it's just a DIV that I can block with an Adblock Plus filter:

Code Select Expand

mapper.acme.com##div[style="background-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.496094); position: absolute; overflow: hidden; top: 0px; left: 0px; width: 256px; height: 256px; z-index: 100; "]

Hopefully, they don't start adding the watermark server side!

[ftballfan]

In Sandusky, OH, Rohde Street is marked as Rhode Street (confirmed as Rohde in the field)

[NE2]

In Sandusky, OH, Rohde Street is marked as Rhode Street (confirmed as Rohde in the field)

A minor error is not a reason they fucking SUCK.

[jakeroot]

A minor error is not a reason they fucking SUCK.

Of course, the reasons they fucking SUCKed have mostly gone by the wayside. I haven't had major issues like some here, granted, but even I've seen improvements in the last couple years. Still lacking in a couple departments (trips with more a dozen stops, for example), but vastly improved.

I would say, at this point, a more apt thread title would be "Google Maps still needs work".

[webny99]

I would say, at this point, a more apt thread title would be "Google Maps still needs work".

True, although this is the go to thread for Google Maps issues, even if they're not glaring/large-scale failures.

[jakeroot]

I would say, at this point, a more apt thread title would be "Google Maps still needs work".

True, although this is the go to thread for Google Maps issues, even if they're not glaring/large-scale failures.

There is the Incorrect highways marked on Google Maps thread for general non-technical issues.

[Michael]

Last night, I found this blog post from the author of ACME Mapper.  It's nice to hear that he's actively trying to fix anything that breaks.  I remember that something broke (I don't remember what) on ACME Mapper when Google first released the new map style, even though the new style wasn't on ACME Mapper yet.  Within a week, it was fixed.

[ET21]

Works for me now and have gotten used to the new updates

[Roadrunner75]

Probably discussed above somewhere, but I found a new way to get some of the recently retired "Lite" mode back by now using "Canvas" mode.  The URL would be "https://www.google.com/maps?force=canvas" which starts in 2D mode, which is essentially what "Lite" devolved into before it disappeared.  This saves me having to go to the settings every time to click off 3D, which is sluggish and completely unnecessary for me most of the time.

Now if we can just find the link to hide the search panel on the side.  I found some method that worked in good ol' Explorer and gives a full screen of the maps on launch, but doesn't have access to Streetview, so not good enough...

[jakeroot]

Now if we can just find the link to hide the search panel on the side.  I found some method that worked in good ol' Explorer and gives a full screen of the maps on launch, but doesn't have access to Streetview, so not good enough...

Click the up arrow in the bottom left. I've addressed this above several times. If you don't remain logged in, it's going to reset itself every time. If you do stay logged in, it will stay hidden.

[hotdogPi]

Now if we can just find the link to hide the search panel on the side.  I found some method that worked in good ol' Explorer and gives a full screen of the maps on launch, but doesn't have access to Streetview, so not good enough...

Click the up arrow in the bottom left. I've addressed this above several times. If you don't remain logged in, it's going to reset itself every time. If you do stay logged in, it will stay hidden.

That still won't fix it for me. I use private browsing (Safari's version of incognito) so that it doesn't clog my history.

[jakeroot]

Now if we can just find the link to hide the search panel on the side.  I found some method that worked in good ol' Explorer and gives a full screen of the maps on launch, but doesn't have access to Streetview, so not good enough...

Click the up arrow in the bottom left. I've addressed this above several times. If you don't remain logged in, it's going to reset itself every time. If you do stay logged in, it will stay hidden.

That still won't fix it for me. I use private browsing (Safari's version of incognito) so that it doesn't clog my history.

If you want to remain anonymous, Google isn't going to be able to remember your settings. Therefore it's always going to reset back to standard view, which includes an open side bar.

By the way, "clog [your] history"? You can't clog your history. There's no upper limit. If you meant "keep it clean", that I understand. But what difference does it make? How often do you view your history? I only use it once in a blue moon to track down previously-viewed adult videos.

(it's friday -- I stay up late doing nothing productive)

[J N Winkler]

By the way, "clog [your] history"? You can't clog your history. There's no upper limit. If you meant "keep it clean", that I understand. But what difference does it make? How often do you view your history? I only use it once in a blue moon to track down previously-viewed adult videos.

I use it fairly often for many purposes, such as tracking down articles I read in the past few days but did not bookmark and now want to share on Facebook, or re-visiting project advertisement pages that may have had new content uploaded to them.  For previously viewed content that is not readily Googlable (e.g., did not show up in the first few Google results, or is buried by other hits on the same topic), going to browser history is often the last hope.

In Firefox, history is filtrable by URL fragment, so I tend not to worry too much about clogging from Google Maps entries, but I can understand that being a concern for others because URLs or parts thereof are not always as remembered.

[jakeroot]

By the way, "clog [your] history"? You can't clog your history. There's no upper limit. If you meant "keep it clean", that I understand. But what difference does it make? How often do you view your history? I only use it once in a blue moon to track down previously-viewed adult videos.

I use it fairly often for many purposes, such as tracking down articles I read in the past few days but did not bookmark and now want to share on Facebook, or re-visiting project advertisement pages that may have had new content uploaded to them.  For previously viewed content that is not readily Googlable (e.g., did not show up in the first few Google results, or is buried by other hits on the same topic), going to browser history is often the last hope.

In Firefox, history is filtrable by URL fragment, so I tend not to worry too much about clogging from Google Maps entries, but I can understand that being a concern for others because URLs or parts thereof are not always as remembered.

That's also a feature in Chrome (pic follows); not sure how many people still use browsers that aren't Chrome or Firefox, though.

I have used Chrome's history search to track down quite a few things in the past. Still waiting for the day when each page's text is archived in the search tool, and can be searched through via the history section. Maybe put a three day max on that, but it would be cool.

[vdeane]

If you want to remain anonymous, Google isn't going to be able to remember your settings. Therefore it's always going to reset back to standard view, which includes an open side bar.

If they didn't insist on the sidebar being open by default, it wouldn't be a problem.

Incidentally, on the phone, it doesn't bother to remember either, which is weird because there's no incognito in the app.

[jakeroot]

If you want to remain anonymous, Google isn't going to be able to remember your settings. Therefore it's always going to reset back to standard view, which includes an open side bar.

If they didn't insist on the sidebar being open by default, it wouldn't be a problem.

Incidentally, on the phone, it doesn't bother to remember either, which is weird because there's no incognito in the app.

Perhaps not, but it's a 'problem' I solved weeks ago. Consider how many users might not be able to find the side bar if it weren't open by default; Google's choice makes sense. For those of us who don't need it, an extra step or two isn't ridiculous.

Side bar on Google Maps for the phone? I'm not familiar. The only side bar on mine has to be opened manually from the left.

[vdeane]

Honestly, the sidebar doesn't provide anything that isn't available elsewhere in the interface.  Traffic is already available in the menu.  Restaurants and whatnot are already easy to find by finding the shaded area on the map and looking at the icons for the businesses (does anyone even use the search results on the left?  Or is using the map only something those of us who are visual-spatial thinkers do?).

In fact, when I do open Google Maps for traffic, my actions are "close nag to enable notifications, hide sidebar, open menu, click traffic", so what used to be two clicks became four because my way of doing things and Google's don't match, and I tend not to change my ways unless something comes along that solves a pre-existing problem I had (on the other hand, if some company comes along and makes my way more annoying because they want me to be doing things a different way, then I just get stubborn and keep doing things my way no matter the costs).  That's probably why I liked technology better 10 years ago; back then, the paradigms I follow were still the main ones, so new features were ones I found to eliminate annoyances I had and make things easier; now, the dominant paradigms are ones that don't fit with the way I operate, so new "features" generally cause me annoyance.

Whenever I open Google Maps on my phone, it automatically opens an annoying panel on the bottom that looks just like the sidebar on the website.  Your's doesn't?

[jakeroot]

(on the other hand, if some company comes along and makes my way more annoying because they want me to be doing things a different way, then I just get stubborn and keep doing things my way no matter the costs).

Unfortunately, modern computing requires users to trust the internet, and adjust to change. If one does not trust the internet, the internet cannot trust back. Therefore every return to any website will be like visiting for the first time. I solved this problem by accepting a crowded history, blocking notifications, and staying logged in (I don't use Incognito, even to browse you-know-what). I'm willing to accept the risks. If you're not, by all means...but you have to be able to accept when your way of doing things causes you issues. You're not using the website the way Google intended for it to be used.