Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[hotdogPi]

My work has me using a tracking/routing app that uses Wayz. 

Not a bad GPS app, but the Wayz app has a tendancy of popping up random I-65 icons on both other numb3red highways and even on railroad tracks!

And I live out in Colorado!!!

That's because you're using a knockoff instead of the real app (Waze).

[STLmapboy]

My work has me using a tracking/routing app that uses Wayz. 

Not a bad GPS app, but the Wayz app has a tendancy of popping up random I-65 icons on both other numb3red highways and even on railroad tracks!

And I live out in Colorado!!!

That's because you're using a knockoff instead of the real app (Waze).

And this knockoff uses numb3red highways.

[briantroutman]

As to your point about inconsistencies: I mentioned this a while back as one of the main issues with the update:

Sorry I missed that–although it's good to know that it's been noticed. I came across a few articles that discuss the update to Google Maps, and they seem to suggest a system that's more sophisticated than the reality bears out:

Google says it was able to achieve the new colorings by leveraging a new color-mapping algorithm for its satellite imagery. It's pretty nuanced too, as the imagery can even distinguish between dense vegetation – say, a forest – patchier sections.

- - -

First of all, great screenshots. Definitely the highest quality I've ever seen posted here. At least for those that are fans of drop shadows!

That's just the standard screen capture that's built into Macs (if you have one.) For years, ⇧ ⌘ 3 has been a full screen capture and ⇧ ⌘ 4 allows you to select a specific portion of the screen. But a fairly new addition is ⇧ ⌘ 5, which opens up a panel allowing you specify a specific window you want to capture (thus avoiding getting a glimpse of your desktop or any other windows in the capture). And as an added bonus, the capture includes the drop shadow (transparent) that normally would have fallen on whatever would have been behind it.

[Mr. Matté]

The Borough of New Morgan (I was unaware of its existence until just now–population 71 and a landfill) is "urban", but the much better known Morgantown, with its commercial, industrial, and residential areas, is "rural".

https://youtu.be/8CAbFDt3Evs

[jakeroot]

First of all, great screenshots. Definitely the highest quality I've ever seen posted here. At least for those that are fans of drop shadows!

That's just the standard screen capture that's built into Macs (if you have one.) For years, ⇧ ⌘ 3 has been a full screen capture and ⇧ ⌘ 4 allows you to select a specific portion of the screen. But a fairly new addition is ⇧ ⌘ 5, which opens up a panel allowing you specify a specific window you want to capture (thus avoiding getting a glimpse of your desktop or any other windows in the capture). And as an added bonus, the capture includes the drop shadow (transparent) that normally would have fallen on whatever would have been behind it.

That's pretty neat. There are Windows programs that allow it, but I've never bothered with them. Still, pretty neat that it's all built-in with a Mac.

As to your point about inconsistencies: I mentioned this a while back as one of the main issues with the update:

Sorry I missed that–although it's good to know that it's been noticed. I came across a few articles that discuss the update to Google Maps, and they seem to suggest a system that's more sophisticated than the reality bears out:

Google says it was able to achieve the new colorings by leveraging a new color-mapping algorithm for its satellite imagery. It's pretty nuanced too, as the imagery can even distinguish between dense vegetation – say, a forest – patchier sections.

Damn! That's way more complex than I would have ever realized. Still, it seems like it misses the mark. I assume they'll keep working on the algorithm until mismatches are eliminated.

In my example before, the areas north of the WA-512 freeway are just as 'rural' as parts south of it, yet are marked as urban. To the naked eye, the division seems more east to west than north to south, with the freeway playing no role at all:

[Scott5114]

Damn! That's way more complex than I would have ever realized. Still, it seems like it misses the mark. I assume they'll keep working on the algorithm until mismatches are eliminated.

As it is now, it ticks off some box on Marketing's list. Given that it's not going to affect anyone's usage of the map the way a road data inaccuracy would, there's no reason to keep investing time and money into it but pride in the quality of the work...And we all know how Google feels about that. "Yeah, we got the green background on rural areas that Marketing wants. Not perfect, but who's gonna notice? Anyway, time to get back to figuring out how to break the interface again. Mitch, you ever get that patch that forces users to scroll with their toes working on iOS, or is it just Android-only?"

[vdeane]

This looks interesting, though I would hope that it would be on the desktop too... the article only has app screenshots.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/23/21452661/google-maps-overlay-covid-transmission-risk-trends

[Eth]

This looks interesting, though I would hope that it would be on the desktop too... the article only has app screenshots.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/9/23/21452661/google-maps-overlay-covid-transmission-risk-trends

So at last we get the answer to the question "What will it take for Google Maps to finally display county lines?" A global pandemic.

[vdeane]

Has street view stopped working for anyone else?  Now, whenever I try to drop pegman anywhere, the area where the imagery should be is just black, and Maps is frozen with no way to get out.  Even the "report a problem" links don't work.

[hotdogPi]

Has street view stopped working for anyone else?  Now, whenever I try to drop pegman anywhere, the area where the imagery should be is just black, and Maps is frozen with no way to get out.  Even the "report a problem" links don't work.

It's working fine for me.

[ErmineNotyours]

Has street view stopped working for anyone else?  Now, whenever I try to drop pegman anywhere, the area where the imagery should be is just black, and Maps is frozen with no way to get out.  Even the "report a problem" links don't work.

Some Street Views are doing that, such as the promised CBS/Fox street in Michigan from another thread.

[vdeane]

Has street view stopped working for anyone else?  Now, whenever I try to drop pegman anywhere, the area where the imagery should be is just black, and Maps is frozen with no way to get out.  Even the "report a problem" links don't work.

Some Street Views are doing that, such as the promised CBS/Fox street in Michigan from another thread.

When I posted that it wasn't working for any.  Fortunately it's returned to normal.

[TheGrassGuy]

In better news, you can finally view 360 panos on the app!

(Also, is it just me, or are the rivers brighter?)

[jakeroot]

In better news, you can finally view 360 panos on the app!

(Also, is it just me, or are the rivers brighter?)

I don't think I realized the panos weren't in there, but it's great to have them now. Particularly for countries where there is no Street View just yet.

I don't think the rivers have changed. Or I haven't noticed a change. I do recall water bodies getting darker near the shore at one point (sort of a gradient effect), but that effect appears to be gone (I think it was part of the previous design, and one thing I really liked about it).

[TheGrassGuy]

In other good news...

You can see traffic lights again... if you zoom in close enough, one hundred freaking feet.

[CoreySamson]

Has anyone else noticed the horrid GSV quality on some really new shots? I was looking at I-10 east of Mobile yesterday and the picture dated from last September, but the quality was worse than every other picture taken in the area since 2008. It looks like the sun is messing with the new lenses Google is using, which is a problem I haven't encountered with shots taken 2-9 years ago.

[hotdogPi]

Has anyone else noticed the horrid GSV quality on some really new shots? I was looking at I-10 east of Mobile yesterday and the picture dated from last September, but the quality was worse than every other picture taken in the area since 2008. It looks like the sun is messing with the new lenses Google is using, which is a problem I haven't encountered with shots taken 2-9 years ago.

Yes. I've seen the purple striped images.

[hotdogPi]

This road seems to have two names on Google. N119 is really just an internal identifier (visible in the road inventory); every unnumbered road has one. How did someone at Google find the identifier and think that was the real street name?

[vdeane]

Has anyone else noticed the horrid GSV quality on some really new shots? I was looking at I-10 east of Mobile yesterday and the picture dated from last September, but the quality was worse than every other picture taken in the area since 2008. It looks like the sun is messing with the new lenses Google is using, which is a problem I haven't encountered with shots taken 2-9 years ago.

I don't recall that issue being unique to newer street view.  Maybe Google finally got around to stripping out the older stuff that was like that.

[STLmapboy]

Anybody else getting black screens on GSV? I'm using a VPN now so it's working. I think it may be a firewall thing.

[Ben114]

This may not be the worst of all things, but thanks Google!

[TheGrassGuy]

The blue lines in GSV are now a lighter color and more solid texture. Good or bad?

[jakeroot]

The blue lines in GSV are now a lighter color and more solid texture. Good or bad?

I think anything that improves contrast is welcome, up to a point of course.

[vdeane]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but at some zoom levels Google added more road types.  It's subtle, but there are differences between freeways/expressways and major/minor arterials for roughly zoom levels 7-9.

[jakeroot]

I don't know if it's been mentioned, but at some zoom levels Google added more road types.  It's subtle, but there are differences between freeways/expressways and major/minor arterials for roughly zoom levels 7-9.

Could you possibly post a couple links? I'm not seeing any changes just yet. Still the same subtilty that I was noticing before.