Apple maps

[It'sNotTheBike]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

Nice thought, but given his drive to crush Google, I am almost certain this was his idea and nobody else's.

I tend to agree that the use of "maps not from Google" was something Jobs
wanted to do. It was necessary because Google can and will use things which
are proprietary as weapons in the marketplace and that means that other companies
which chose to depend on Google product would be placing themselves in a vulnerable
position.

However, I very seriously doubt that Jobs would have accepted some of the product
that Apple has produced recently. Safari 6 losing its RSS reader and the control
over databases placed on the computer by websites are simply unacceptable.

I don't see the point in using Apple Maps in its less-than-ideal current form when
third-party solutions which allow nav without the need for a continuous cellular data
connection and which work quite well are available. Navigon, Motion X, and others are
good tools, and I speak from actual experience with these apps.

I think Tim Cook is a bean counter and that we will not in the future see the sort of excellence
from Apple that we saw when Jobs was at the reins. All good things come to an end, of course.


.

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by It'sNotTheBike

However, I very seriously doubt that Jobs would have accepted some of the product
that Apple has produced recently. Safari 6 losing its RSS reader and the control
over databases placed on the computer by websites are simply unacceptable.

We're getting off-topic here, but I find Safari 6 to be the best release yet. The built-in RSS reader was absolute crap. IMO,of course. I use Google Reader within Safari 6 or Reeder on my iPad, so I don't miss the "loss" in functionality in Safari 6.

I don't understand what you mean about "databases placed on the computer" at all. Browsers store cookies only. Browser plugins store caches and stuff specific to those plugins, which has nothing to do with Safari itself.

I don't see the point in using Apple Maps in its less-than-ideal current form when
third-party solutions which allow nav without the need for a continuous cellular data
connection and which work quite well are available. Navigon, Motion X, and others are
good tools, and I speak from actual experience with these apps.

I agree. I use Motion-X GPS and Motion-X Drive.

I think Tim Cook is a bean counter and that we will not in the future see the sort of excellence
from Apple that we saw when Jobs was at the reins. All good things come to an end, of course.

I disagree.

[SnoDrtRider]

Here's a food one!

From BGR (Boy Genius Report)

Link to article http://www.bgr.com/2012/09/21/ios-6-...ticism-hiring/





The above image, captured Thursday evening on an iPhone 4S running iOS 6, shows the world-famous George Washington Bridge mere moments after it collapsed into the Hudson River along with much of the hillside along the coast of New Jersey. Thankfully, this devastating catastrophe took place in a bizarre world that exists only in Apple’s (AAPL) new iOS 6 Maps application.

[It'sNotTheBike]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

I don't understand what you mean about "databases placed on the computer" at all. Browsers store cookies only. Browser plugins store caches and stuff specific to those plugins, which has nothing to do with Safari itself.

Browsers do not store cookies only. Some years ago that was true but things have
changed in several ways.

There are cookies and there are also Flash cookies. And then there is the
database which can be created by a website ( this database is permitted by the HTML5 spec,
and such databases install persistent data about your browsing habits on the device you use to browse
the web ).

If you care about privacy this stuff matters.


See this link for more on the HTML5 databases which can be stored on an iPhone as well
as on a computer running recent versions of Safari.

http://www.devdaily.com/iphone/iphon...istory-cookies



I agree the RSS reader on Safari 5.7 sucked, but it was sufficient for my needs and I prefer
using it to using a Google product even if the Google product works better. I have my reasons.

I very much hope you are right that Apple's glory days did not end with the death of Jobs.
Time will tell ...



.

[9Dave]

Played with the 3D some more. Seems like in big cities, like NYC, they have the building view. In secondary cities, it is not available and you get a more muddled view.

Turn by turn is OK.

The availability of map data will make or break the app. As one of the articles notes - there is no map data for Grand Cayman. There is data for the USVI. I also checked some places I know in Germany and the data there is fine. Strange. Might be a licensing issue.

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by 9Dave

The availability of map data will make or break the app. As one of the articles notes - there is no map data for Grand Cayman. There is data for the USVI. I also checked some places I know in Germany and the data there is fine. Strange. Might be a licensing issue.

Great North Korea coverage, though

TomTom is a Dutch company, so it's probably not a surprise their European maps correspondingly are better than for North America. This also seemed to be the consensus with TomTom's GPSes.

[guavadude]

Are the maps on Tom Tom's gps devices this bad? Seems like someone would have noticed by now.

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by guavadude

Are the maps on Tom Tom's gps devices this bad? Seems like someone would have noticed by now.

While I have no TomTom device to compare to, I would certainly think it's the same map data on iOS as it is their GPS devices.

[rdtrvlr]

I used google maps for work a lot . i updated to ios6 .long story short I put an address in northern ny. it wanted to send me 39 mi north of where I needed to be. not a fan of app maps

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by rdtrvlr

I used google maps for work a lot . i updated to ios6 .long story short I put an address in northern ny. it wanted to send me 39 mi north of where I needed to be. not a fan of app maps

On your iPhone, go to m.google.com/maps. Voila! Google Maps is back!

[It'sNotTheBike]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

Browsers store cookies only.

Apparently you are not going to admit your above comment was in error

By the way, how much does Google pay you to be a shill ?

[EmmEff]

Originally Posted by It'sNotTheBike

Apparently you are not going to admit your above comment was in error

I stand corrected. You are 100% correct. Does that make you feel better now?

By the way, how much does Google pay you to be a shill ?

[guavadude]

Google maps on safari isn't the same as the app. The data is the same but the way it's displayed and the response time is very different. I have Navigon and motion and both are great at turn by turn routing but I usually use the google maps app for a quick overview when unsure about a turn. The gps apps seem much slower overall.

Still hoping to see a google app in the app store sooner than later. In the meantime I'll be testing everything out when AT&T decides to deliver my phone. Also want to see how well my iphone 4 works as gos without cell service.

[abhibeckert]

I've been following this pretty closely (I'm an iPhone developer, so I have had early access).

My take on it is the new maps app is really nice. In many ways it's the best GPS product I've ever seen. It is miles ahead of the google maps app it replaced.

It's really fast - so fast you would swear the data is stored on the phone, not being loaded over LTE/3G. And it looks good, everything is easy to read, the colours are spot on, it has the perfect combination of showing all the details you need without information overload. The 3D flyover thing is nice too, for cities where it works.

Unfortunately the data is crap. Until/unless they improve that, this new app is almost as useless as the old one.

As for why they removed google maps... their contract with Google expired. Nobody knows why it didn't get renewed... rumour is both Apple and Google had multiple points of disagreement.

It's a bit of a tempest in a teapot really, there are great third party GPS/mapping apps available and no serious map user ever used the built in google maps app. Now there is a new built in app and we will continue not using it. For casual use, the new one is plenty good enough for most people.

Google will probably release their own app anyway. If they don't, or if it takes a long time, then we should all direct our complaints in that direction.

[9Dave]

Originally Posted by EmmEff

Great North Korea coverage, though

Can you imagine one of those Google cars driving though North Korea?