Google Maps just fucking SUCKS now

[hotdogPi]

Another thing that sounds really stupid is corporate names for stadiums. Nobody ever refers to stadiums by their corporate names, except on TV and radio.

Huh? It's universally known as Gillette here.

[kphoger]

But it's just as politically motivated.

But that doesn't mean Google Maps should continue calling an airport by a name and code that it no longer has.  The name change may have been politically motivated, but the change happened.  Not changing its name on the map would be just as politically motivated—but also factually inaccurate.

Another thing that sounds really stupid is corporate names for stadiums. Nobody ever refers to stadiums by their corporate names, except on TV and radio.

Again, we're talking about maps.  Even if nobody in Wichita refers to the baseball stadium as Equity Bank Park, that doesn't mean Google Maps shouldn't label it that way.  After all, that's its name.

[thenetwork]

Huntington Bank

Another thing that sounds really stupid is corporate names for stadiums. Nobody ever refers to stadiums by their corporate names, except on TV and radio.

Huh? It's universally known as Gillette here.

Huntington Bank has gone nuts as to naming rights of stadiums/arenas. In Toledo, there is a Huntington Bank Arena. In Cleveland there is Huntington Bank Field (Cleveland Browns Stadium).  And I know there is at least one more Huntington Bank Arena somewhere in the Midwest.

[I-55]

Huntington Bank

Another thing that sounds really stupid is corporate names for stadiums. Nobody ever refers to stadiums by their corporate names, except on TV and radio.

Huh? It's universally known as Gillette here.

Huntington Bank has gone nuts as to naming rights of stadiums/arenas. In Toledo, there is a Huntington Bank Arena. In Cleveland there is Huntington Bank Field (Cleveland Browns Stadium).  And I know there is at least one more Huntington Bank Arena somewhere in the Midwest.

Huntington Bank Stadium - home of Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Huntington Bank Pavilion - concert venue in Chicago

Huntington Bank Arena - small arena in Tupelo, MS

[kphoger]

Huntington Bank has gone nuts as to naming rights of stadiums/arenas. In Toledo, there is a Huntington Bank Arena. In Cleveland there is Huntington Bank Field (Cleveland Browns Stadium).  And I know there is at least one more Huntington Bank Arena somewhere in the Midwest.

Huntington Bank Stadium - home of Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Huntington Bank Pavilion - concert venue in Chicago

Huntington Bank Arena - small arena in Tupelo, MS

Huntington (Bank) Park - home of Columbus Clippers

[GaryV]

Huntington Bank has gone nuts as to naming rights of stadiums/arenas. In Toledo, there is a Huntington Bank Arena. In Cleveland there is Huntington Bank Field (Cleveland Browns Stadium).  And I know there is at least one more Huntington Bank Arena somewhere in the Midwest.

Huntington Bank Stadium - home of Minnesota Golden Gopher Football

Huntington Bank Pavilion - concert venue in Chicago

Huntington Bank Arena - small arena in Tupelo, MS

Huntington (Bank) Park - home of Columbus Clippers

Huntington Place - convention center in Detroit (aka Cobo)

[kphoger]

Huntington Place - convention center in Detroit (aka Cobo)

Well, I was limiting my list to "naming rights of stadiums/arenas".

[thenetwork]

Huntington Place - convention center in Detroit (aka Cobo)

Well, I was limiting my list to "naming rights of stadiums/arenas".

Wasn't thinking of that one.  I know I've seen or heard of another Huntington Bank Arena or Stadium besides the two forementioned.

[elsmere241]

Another thing that sounds really stupid is corporate names for stadiums. Nobody ever refers to stadiums by their corporate names, except on TV and radio.

For a while, my rule of thumb was to not invest in a company that I knew primarily from its having put its name on stadium.  Something about how many of them collapsed fairly quickly after having done that.

[vdeane]

Now Google won't even let one view a business's hours without being signed in.    What is the alternative to Google Maps for business info/reviews/photos?  I refuse to be signed in to browser it.

[JayhawkCO]

Now Google won't even let one view a business's hours without being signed in.    What is the alternative to Google Maps for business info/reviews/photos?  I refuse to be signed in to browser it.

Yelp, which isn't updated nearly as often by businesses.

[kphoger]

I'm currently browsing Google Maps in Opera, in 'private' mode.  And, in order to see business hours or more than ten pictures, it's asking me to log in.  *grrr*

Now Google won't even let one view a business's hours without being signed in. 

Yep.  It's hit or miss, though:  some days it's back to normal, other days its as you describe.  For example, today I can see business hours and stuff.

[bandit957]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

[kphoger]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

Does it have business hours, hundreds of user ratings per business, customer reviews, and photos?

[vdeane]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

Does it have business hours, hundreds of user ratings per business, customer reviews, and photos?

I think it's safe to say that this, street view, traffic information, and the ability to customize directions are the four things keeping me on Google Maps this point.

[The_Ginger]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

Does it have business hours, hundreds of user ratings per business, customer reviews, and photos?

Amazing idea: combine the good Google Maps things with a pure-OSM base layer map.

[kphoger]

I think it's safe to say that this, street view, traffic information, and the ability to customize directions are the four things keeping me on Google Maps this point.

I also think it's safe to say that four reasons is a lot.

As much as this move irritates me, there's still nothing nearly as useful as Google Maps in several important ways.

[hotdogPi]

I've noticed that Apple Maps is good for a few select things, even though Google Maps is better in general:

• Apple Maps' transit layer shows more transit lines than Google Maps does; Google Maps doesn't tend to show long-distance systems such as Amtrak or certain European systems. (Vienna should be a good test case.) This is visual, though; Google still knows the ones that aren't shown exist when you ask for directions.
• Apple Maps shows correctly shaped highway shields rather than just circles/ovals.
• At least on my laptop, Google Maps will clog browser history because every time you pan creates a new page. Apple Maps is an app rather than a website, so it won't do that.
• Google Maps and Apple Maps have different street view covered, so make sure to check both.

Unfortunately, Apple has renamed Lake Ontario; it just took a few days longer. I was fully expecting this, since the Gulf of Mexico also had a few days' difference between the two services.

[vdeane]

Apple Maps' transit layer shows more transit lines than Google Maps does; Google Maps doesn't tend to show long-distance systems such as Amtrak or certain European systems. (Vienna should be a good test case.) This is visual, though; Google still knows the ones that aren't shown exist when you ask for directions.

That would be nice; it would also be nice if they could show bus lines on the transit layer (maybe dashed lines to differentiate).

[kphoger]

That would be nice; it would also be nice if they could show bus lines on the transit layer (maybe dashed lines to differentiate).

One thing I've run into is that the routing Google Maps shows for a given bus route doesn't always match up exactly with the public transit agency's own map.  If a bus route does a bunch of turns near a downtown area, for example, the exact streets it takes can vary between Google Maps and the agency's route map.  But I never know which one to believe:  is Google Maps wrong, or is the transit agency's map out of date or otherwise inaccurate?  And where did Google Maps get its data, then?

[hotdogPi]

Apple Maps' transit layer shows more transit lines than Google Maps does; Google Maps doesn't tend to show long-distance systems such as Amtrak or certain European systems. (Vienna should be a good test case.) This is visual, though; Google still knows the ones that aren't shown exist when you ask for directions.

That would be nice; it would also be nice if they could show bus lines on the transit layer (maybe dashed lines to differentiate).

Apple Maps shows some bus routes. For example, for the MBTA, there are thin lines, but you have to zoom in quite closely. To prevent visual overloading, it only shows routes in what MBTA considers to be in the high-frequency network (guaranteed every 15 minutes or closer, 5 AM - 1 AM, 7 days per week).

[Scott5114]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

Does it have business hours, hundreds of user ratings per business, customer reviews, and photos?

Did the Thomas Guide? Or H.M. Gousha?

At some point you have to rate a map on how good it is at being a map, and not how good it is at being a kazoo.

This expectation that a map perform the functions of a phone book, kazoo, space heater, rhombus, tire iron, wheel of fortune, airbrush, nose hair straightener, geegaw, omelet maker, moustache, boat wrestler, ham pickler, salt and pepper shaker, and squeegee is a terrible damn problem, an instance of one that we're dealing with on a societal level here. The more functions that are bundled into one item, the more you have to lose when that item quits working properly.

Accepting a small amount of inconvenience can buy you a huge amount of independence. That's why you don't have a smartphone, right?

[Rothman]

At this point, OpenStreetMap is more useful than Google Craps for most things.

Does it have business hours, hundreds of user ratings per business, customer reviews, and photos?

Did the Thomas Guide? Or H.M. Gousha?

At some point you have to rate a map on how good it is at being a map, and not how good it is at being a kazoo.

This expectation that a map perform the functions of a phone book, kazoo, space heater, rhombus, tire iron, wheel of fortune, airbrush, nose hair straightener, geegaw, omelet maker, moustache, boat wrestler, ham pickler, salt and pepper shaker, and squeegee is a terrible damn problem, an instance of one that we're dealing with on a societal level here. The more functions that are bundled into one item, the more you have to lose when that item quits working properly.

Accepting a small amount of inconvenience can buy you a huge amount of independence. That's why you don't have a smartphone, right?

Meh.  I don't know.  Navigation services seem to add more value than just a paper map.  It's progress, despite Google Maps' en#$*(tification.

[vdeane]

Yeah, if you're looking for businesses, getting a map of where they are is pretty important.  From there, it's not a stretch to get into things like the user reviews and photos.  Even the old Yellow Pages included a small road atlas at the front (at least, the one for Rochester did).

[Scott5114]

Yeah, if you're looking for businesses, getting a map of where they are is pretty important.

Address lookup is sufficient for this. (And in most cities west of the Mississippi, with a little local knowledge, you don't even need that. If some business says they're located at 6900 W. Flamingo, I don't need a map of where that is because I know that 6900 W. corresponds to Rainbow Boulevard.)

Frankly, I like having at least one thing in life that capitalism hasn't pissed all over...I have enough places trying to grab dollars out of my pocket without going to the trouble of looking up new ones.