When will online maps think like us?
By elcid73. Thursday, 3. November 2005, 15:32:30
Yahoo is primed to unleashed it's revamped volley into online mapping frey again with its beta yahoo map. So I've rekindled my thoughts on online mapping.
If you set an address as "home" in your favorites/bookmarks/whatever. Don't you think that a map should be smart enough to know that you know how to get out of your neighborhood?
Every online map I've used takes half of the space of my printed directions just getting to freeway two blocks away from my house. Look- I live here. I've told you that. I know how to get to the freeway. I'm going someplace I've never been before- give me the details on the destination end.
We should be able to set the scope of the search. If we are driving across country- we have a different scope than say- finding that new pizza place that opened up in town. You should get appropriate maps.
Even local maps- why is it that we can say "it's on 3rd Ave. Take 2nd to broadway and turn left, two block up on the left" One or two sentences is all it takes there, but online maps will probably spit out out least ten lines that have "0.1 Miles" and "Turn from 2nd Ave onto 2nd Ave W" or something when it's clearly the same street or the street changes name.
Worse- if you try to reduce the noise to focus on the signal by entering just a city name for the starting destination- you get some random point in the middle of the city that often produces even more garbage directions. I think you if don't specify, the directions the map should show the first road that takes you outside the city boundries.
I realize mapping the world is a difficult process. I realize that streets are poorly designed, not black and white, and you need to make special cases for "stay to the right as the road splits" kind of things. I assume it is no small task, and map makers are erring on the side of caution here. Generalization will not always work.
But you should be able to set a "Home" preference where you can set some level of abstraction like "I know where the major highways are" or "start all out of city directions from this freeway" so your directions start with "take I-95 South..." instead of starting from your driveway. Further abstraction should be possible with a "Details" or "Explain this" or "How do I get here" button that drills down.
Most often, I will look at the directions and then write down a simple three for four lines of directions from among the 25 or so. If what I'm proposing is too simlistic- then it would be nice if we could at least choose the directions that get printed out. That way- the user can decide what's important and what is not. I think that would be a good compromise.
Note- that's not really my address- it's a papa johns pizza place or something like that.
If you set an address as "home" in your favorites/bookmarks/whatever. Don't you think that a map should be smart enough to know that you know how to get out of your neighborhood?
Every online map I've used takes half of the space of my printed directions just getting to freeway two blocks away from my house. Look- I live here. I've told you that. I know how to get to the freeway. I'm going someplace I've never been before- give me the details on the destination end.
We should be able to set the scope of the search. If we are driving across country- we have a different scope than say- finding that new pizza place that opened up in town. You should get appropriate maps.
Even local maps- why is it that we can say "it's on 3rd Ave. Take 2nd to broadway and turn left, two block up on the left" One or two sentences is all it takes there, but online maps will probably spit out out least ten lines that have "0.1 Miles" and "Turn from 2nd Ave onto 2nd Ave W" or something when it's clearly the same street or the street changes name.
Worse- if you try to reduce the noise to focus on the signal by entering just a city name for the starting destination- you get some random point in the middle of the city that often produces even more garbage directions. I think you if don't specify, the directions the map should show the first road that takes you outside the city boundries.
I realize mapping the world is a difficult process. I realize that streets are poorly designed, not black and white, and you need to make special cases for "stay to the right as the road splits" kind of things. I assume it is no small task, and map makers are erring on the side of caution here. Generalization will not always work.
But you should be able to set a "Home" preference where you can set some level of abstraction like "I know where the major highways are" or "start all out of city directions from this freeway" so your directions start with "take I-95 South..." instead of starting from your driveway. Further abstraction should be possible with a "Details" or "Explain this" or "How do I get here" button that drills down.
Most often, I will look at the directions and then write down a simple three for four lines of directions from among the 25 or so. If what I'm proposing is too simlistic- then it would be nice if we could at least choose the directions that get printed out. That way- the user can decide what's important and what is not. I think that would be a good compromise.
Note- that's not really my address- it's a papa johns pizza place or something like that.
WIDGETIZE
Stu_Pedasso # 31. March 2006, 16:13
I don't know if it's still this way, but in the old days the "random point" that Mapquest picked in each city was the location of that cities telco central office.
vlad2344_1 # 29. July 2006, 09:10
"Most often, I will look at the directions and then write down a simple three for four lines of directions from among the 25 or so."
then you don't have a problem. If you want this...
"...it would be nice if we could at least choose the directions that get printed out. That way- the user can decide what's important and what is not. I think that would be a good compromise."
then you don't have a problem. It's called copy and paste... and you are familiar with the concept already. So, open a blank document, select the directions you want, right click on copy, move to select the open document, right click on paste, and voilá--you get to print only what you need.
How hard was that?
elcid73 # 31. July 2006, 14:55
That's not too hard- but the problem is that the online map/print page etc is designed around giving me maps and directions. A blank document is designed to... well... process text.
I paste my directions in, I have to copy in all the rest of the images, or adjust the formating, etc etc...
However, if MS word *was* able to read...say an xml formatted string of data and paste it as a "mapping" schema of some sort, then you might have an argument.
The point is- google,yahoo, maps et all are geared, designed and built to enhance the user experience of directions and mapping. Text editors are not. When I print my page of directions, I want to print my page. I don't want to adjust the font to get all the data to fit, copy all the image and everything else that is necessary. I want to to be formatted for printing directions, it'd be nice if it was formatted so I could fold the page and still see the relevant parts of the direction easily.
"How hard was that?" is not the point of the things I write about. I say "could it be easier... or more intuitive." and I still think the answer is yes in the case of mapping/directions.
Anonymous # 14. October 2006, 21:34
I've used Mapquest. Have an IMac 10.4 and AOL. When I go to cut and paste, the whole screen of directions disappears. What is that all about?
Anonymous # 19. October 2006, 22:18
Here is something I would like online maps to do: give me directions appropriate for walking or biking. I don't want to go on the busiest street and take the most direct route, I want to go on the safest and quietest streets. So, I agree with Stu_Pedasso, you should be able to choose from a couple of alternate routes, not just the one the mapping service automatically gives you.
Anonymous # 29. August 2007, 05:06
www.mapjack.com has online map service and location finder in San Francisco showing street-level (street side) pictures of every city street and can search for businesses and actually see the front of the business.