6 ms·

I do lots of road trips to places I've never been, and I can't imagine doing it without Google Map. No idea how people in the past did it. For me personally, I

by osti 10y ago

I do lots of road trips to places I've never been, and I can't imagine doing it without Google Map. No idea how people in the past did it. For me personally, I could maybe do without other Google services, but without Google Map? Forget it. Actually, Google Search seems irreplaceable either.

kafkaesq 10y ago
I do lots of road trips to places I've never been, and I can't imagine doing it without Google Map. You've never heard of Bing Maps, or OpenStreetMap? Aside from the fact that before 2005 or so, people used to travel to all kinds of fascinating, exotic places around the world with maps made of... get this... paper.
- stuckagain 10y ago
  Or a map?
- osti 10y ago
  The search function on Google Map is really handy for when I need to find food and stuff. And offline maps for when I need to go places with sporadic internet is awesome as well. I know I know, you can actually travel with a paper map. But I'm spoiled, as are most people these days I'm sure. So without a phone app is just too much of a decrease in life quality.
  - wott 10y ago
    Or you could lift your eyes from your bloody phone for a minute while you walk and see that there are signs on or above store fronts which say "grocery" or something like that...
    - osti 10y ago
      Try doing that when the stuff you need to find is at least 100 miles away.
      - kafkaesq 10y ago
        One very seldom "needs to" pinpoint the location of something in a far-off city before one gets to the general area first. Which is what one used to do when traveling (i.e. at the first gas or train station in the general area, depending on the mode of travel, you get your coffee, your would get your donut/baguette/whatever... and a map of whatever fancy new city you've just arrived in). Sure. being able to do this online, for any place in the world, within seconds is a huge convenience... but ultimately just that -- a convenience.
- wutbrodo 10y ago
  Sure, and people used to get around with horses and buggies. But it's not much of an exaggeration to say that for a lot of people in a lot of places, life without the internal combustion engine isn't feasible. Pointing out that people used to use an inferior tool to do the same thing less effectively is kind of a dumb response to someone mentioning how critical a tool is. No real disagreement with the Bing/OSM recommendations tho
  - kafkaesq 10y ago
    People knee-jerkingly say they "can't imagine" living without modern conveniences -- their cars, TV, Skype, online takeout or grocery delivery -- all the time. Another interpretation is that they've grown complacent, and are arguably addicted to some of these conveniences. Which is exactly the state of conditioning that the companies offering these services would like them to be in. Either way -- even though online maps are definitely a boon, something about the idea that one "can't imagine" the world before 2005 (that is, before Google Maps) just doesn't quite add up.
  - wott 10y ago
    Using a map is not inferior. Quite the opposite. Once thing I noticed with most people who use GPS directions is that they have no idea where they are, no idea of their environment. When you use a map, you see the geography of the territory as a whole. You know if you go North or North-West, you know what is located near your itinerary and your destination, you know the different possibles ways, which ones are more direct or straight, which ones are longer but less steep and winding (and you know why: because of some geographical obstacle that you will later remember as a landmark as you walk/drive by it), you have a general idea how to recover if you take a wrong direction at some point or if for some reason you have to change your route. These are quite many points for which the real map is superior. And please: there is no "critical" tool there.
    - bamboozled 10y ago
      I really agree with this and encourage others to try a few trips without it. About 4 years ago, I gave up primarily using GPS guidance because I missed using my brain and I enjoy learning about new areas (georgraphy and topology) and routes. The added bonus of learning this stuff is that it makes the return trip or any future journeys even more enjoyable and totally effortless. Getting lost can be a great opportunity to interact with local person. Aside from getting directions, it's a chance to make a new friend and potentially find out about interesting activities or sites to see in the local area. Google maps (and similar products) can honestly be a clunky and frustrating experience for walking or cycling directions in big cities, the acuracy provided by GPS just isn't available if the signal is weak or moving through underground thoroughfares, it's terrible. When arriving in a new and exciting city, there is nothing worse than shutting it out by spending time staring at a phone. Studying an area before arriving solves this problem and interacting with locals often has major benefits. Plus you look like less of a vulnerable tourist. Another thing worth mentioning is edge cases, road works, detours etc can really screw the un-prepared. While travelling in semi-remote areas, I've seen Google maps do some really strange stuff, instructing me to turn around and go somewhere else etc, In this situation, one rarely will have network coverage to help out. So being prepared is an advantage. Sure, we're lucky to have the luxury of being able to pull up a map of pretty much anywhere on a tiny computer, but like most things, GPS guidance can be abused. Let's not fotget to use our brains, those things are awesome!
- yichi 10y ago
  This is one of the generation gap thing. Kinda like knowing how to install Windows 95 OS on a machine, you need to run all sorts of command line utilities before you can actually perform the installation, and you have to go out and get the drivers manually, and sometimes you have to use your floppy disk to install the CD rom driver so you can install the network driver from the CD, then select the right .ini file in the driver folder that matches your CD readers spec. People used to know how to do all of that, but nowadays? I think we'll probably have a generation of drivers who will simply not know what to do and would probably get lost easily if their phone breaks/data-plan runs out.
  - redpanda_ua 10y ago
    With any luck, that won't be an issue for a long time considering self-driving cars are on their way.
nebulon 10y ago
I can very much recommend maps.me as a google maps replacement on mobile.
pmontra 10y ago
> No idea how people in the past did it With paper maps. They are pretty easy to use and don't run out of batteries, work offline. Problems: no zoom and you must know where you are. The upside is that after all those years of training I tend to know where I am and I can afford not to enable location services on my phone. I open Google Maps and zoom to my position. Google Search works in a browser without being logged into Google. No app needed.
- falcolas 10y ago
  Paper maps and a bit of awareness of your surroundings will get you a long way. I'm actually a touch annoyed with some of the online maps for the lack of the right details. With a highway number and mile marker, I can pinpoint my position on a paper map. Can't do that with Google maps.
kscz 10y ago
How about Open Street Map? http://osmand.net http://osmand.net It's not perfect, but it provides a good base of functionality, and gets you to big tour destinations. It will also get you to most restaurants in a big city, but it doesn't have hours of operation or star ratings, so it's less useful in that regard. I wish there were more alternatives to Google Maps though. You're absolutely right that it feels indispensable to most people these days...
- danjoc 10y ago
  That one is unusable to me. I nearly throw my phone in frustration just trying to enter the destination. Region, City, Street, Building... wtf? Not only backwards, but four fields. Can't even search by destinations, like "Pi-hi cafe". You can enter fields, which never even works, or stick a pin on the map. It makes me furious just thinking about how awful it is.
  - girzel 10y ago
    The new version of the Osmand~ Android app introduced free-form text searching. It's a lot better, but still not good.
- marssaxman 10y ago
  Google Maps actually feels unusable to me these days, not indispensible! I don't know what Google was trying to accomplish with their last UI rework, but I can't stand using it anymore. I actually switched to Bing maps, because it was stupider, less helpful, and therefore more likely to give me the information I'm looking for.
gukov 10y ago
Obviously travel was possible before Google. I'd go as far as saying that travel was actually more enjoyable back then: the unknown, the exploration, the spontaneity. Today's travel consists of entering an address, getting your algorithm, following the steps, taking a celebratory photo. Then you simply head home.
- exergy 10y ago
  I vehemently disagree. This misty eyed myth of slow-life travel in the good ol' days with much exploring the unknown is balderdash. At least to the extent that google maps somehow precludes one from being able to do it nowadays. I remember those glory days before Google maps. When I was a kid, and we had to drive to someone's house as a family, we'd pray that dad knew where we were going. If not, it was a minefield of stress and frustration as we'd try to fathom the vague instructions given to us by the host, and navigate around a city with poor signage. We'd all arrive half an hour late, flustered, angry at each other, and in no mood to enjoy ourselves. Fuck those times.

by osti 10y ago

kafkaesq 10y ago

I do lots of road trips to places I've never been, and I can't imagine doing it without Google Map. You've never heard of Bing Maps, or OpenStreetMap? Aside from the fact that before 2005 or so, people used to travel to all kinds of fascinating, exotic places around the world with maps made of... get this... paper.

stuckagain 10y ago
Or a map?
osti 10y ago
The search function on Google Map is really handy for when I need to find food and stuff. And offline maps for when I need to go places with sporadic internet is awesome as well. I know I know, you can actually travel with a paper map. But I'm spoiled, as are most people these days I'm sure. So without a phone app is just too much of a decrease in life quality.
- wott 10y ago
  Or you could lift your eyes from your bloody phone for a minute while you walk and see that there are signs on or above store fronts which say "grocery" or something like that...
  - osti 10y ago
    Try doing that when the stuff you need to find is at least 100 miles away.
    - kafkaesq 10y ago
      One very seldom "needs to" pinpoint the location of something in a far-off city before one gets to the general area first. Which is what one used to do when traveling (i.e. at the first gas or train station in the general area, depending on the mode of travel, you get your coffee, your would get your donut/baguette/whatever... and a map of whatever fancy new city you've just arrived in). Sure. being able to do this online, for any place in the world, within seconds is a huge convenience... but ultimately just that -- a convenience.
wutbrodo 10y ago
Sure, and people used to get around with horses and buggies. But it's not much of an exaggeration to say that for a lot of people in a lot of places, life without the internal combustion engine isn't feasible. Pointing out that people used to use an inferior tool to do the same thing less effectively is kind of a dumb response to someone mentioning how critical a tool is. No real disagreement with the Bing/OSM recommendations tho
- kafkaesq 10y ago
  People knee-jerkingly say they "can't imagine" living without modern conveniences -- their cars, TV, Skype, online takeout or grocery delivery -- all the time. Another interpretation is that they've grown complacent, and are arguably addicted to some of these conveniences. Which is exactly the state of conditioning that the companies offering these services would like them to be in. Either way -- even though online maps are definitely a boon, something about the idea that one "can't imagine" the world before 2005 (that is, before Google Maps) just doesn't quite add up.
- wott 10y ago
  Using a map is not inferior. Quite the opposite. Once thing I noticed with most people who use GPS directions is that they have no idea where they are, no idea of their environment. When you use a map, you see the geography of the territory as a whole. You know if you go North or North-West, you know what is located near your itinerary and your destination, you know the different possibles ways, which ones are more direct or straight, which ones are longer but less steep and winding (and you know why: because of some geographical obstacle that you will later remember as a landmark as you walk/drive by it), you have a general idea how to recover if you take a wrong direction at some point or if for some reason you have to change your route. These are quite many points for which the real map is superior. And please: there is no "critical" tool there.
  - bamboozled 10y ago
    I really agree with this and encourage others to try a few trips without it. About 4 years ago, I gave up primarily using GPS guidance because I missed using my brain and I enjoy learning about new areas (georgraphy and topology) and routes. The added bonus of learning this stuff is that it makes the return trip or any future journeys even more enjoyable and totally effortless. Getting lost can be a great opportunity to interact with local person. Aside from getting directions, it's a chance to make a new friend and potentially find out about interesting activities or sites to see in the local area. Google maps (and similar products) can honestly be a clunky and frustrating experience for walking or cycling directions in big cities, the acuracy provided by GPS just isn't available if the signal is weak or moving through underground thoroughfares, it's terrible. When arriving in a new and exciting city, there is nothing worse than shutting it out by spending time staring at a phone. Studying an area before arriving solves this problem and interacting with locals often has major benefits. Plus you look like less of a vulnerable tourist. Another thing worth mentioning is edge cases, road works, detours etc can really screw the un-prepared. While travelling in semi-remote areas, I've seen Google maps do some really strange stuff, instructing me to turn around and go somewhere else etc, In this situation, one rarely will have network coverage to help out. So being prepared is an advantage. Sure, we're lucky to have the luxury of being able to pull up a map of pretty much anywhere on a tiny computer, but like most things, GPS guidance can be abused. Let's not fotget to use our brains, those things are awesome!
yichi 10y ago
This is one of the generation gap thing. Kinda like knowing how to install Windows 95 OS on a machine, you need to run all sorts of command line utilities before you can actually perform the installation, and you have to go out and get the drivers manually, and sometimes you have to use your floppy disk to install the CD rom driver so you can install the network driver from the CD, then select the right .ini file in the driver folder that matches your CD readers spec. People used to know how to do all of that, but nowadays? I think we'll probably have a generation of drivers who will simply not know what to do and would probably get lost easily if their phone breaks/data-plan runs out.
- redpanda_ua 10y ago
  With any luck, that won't be an issue for a long time considering self-driving cars are on their way.

nebulon 10y ago

I can very much recommend maps.me as a google maps replacement on mobile.

pmontra 10y ago

> No idea how people in the past did it With paper maps. They are pretty easy to use and don't run out of batteries, work offline. Problems: no zoom and you must know where you are. The upside is that after all those years of training I tend to know where I am and I can afford not to enable location services on my phone. I open Google Maps and zoom to my position. Google Search works in a browser without being logged into Google. No app needed.

falcolas 10y ago
Paper maps and a bit of awareness of your surroundings will get you a long way. I'm actually a touch annoyed with some of the online maps for the lack of the right details. With a highway number and mile marker, I can pinpoint my position on a paper map. Can't do that with Google maps.

kscz 10y ago

How about Open Street Map? http://osmand.net http://osmand.net It's not perfect, but it provides a good base of functionality, and gets you to big tour destinations. It will also get you to most restaurants in a big city, but it doesn't have hours of operation or star ratings, so it's less useful in that regard. I wish there were more alternatives to Google Maps though. You're absolutely right that it feels indispensable to most people these days...

danjoc 10y ago
That one is unusable to me. I nearly throw my phone in frustration just trying to enter the destination. Region, City, Street, Building... wtf? Not only backwards, but four fields. Can't even search by destinations, like "Pi-hi cafe". You can enter fields, which never even works, or stick a pin on the map. It makes me furious just thinking about how awful it is.
- girzel 10y ago
  The new version of the Osmand~ Android app introduced free-form text searching. It's a lot better, but still not good.
marssaxman 10y ago
Google Maps actually feels unusable to me these days, not indispensible! I don't know what Google was trying to accomplish with their last UI rework, but I can't stand using it anymore. I actually switched to Bing maps, because it was stupider, less helpful, and therefore more likely to give me the information I'm looking for.

gukov 10y ago

Obviously travel was possible before Google. I'd go as far as saying that travel was actually more enjoyable back then: the unknown, the exploration, the spontaneity. Today's travel consists of entering an address, getting your algorithm, following the steps, taking a celebratory photo. Then you simply head home.

exergy 10y ago
I vehemently disagree. This misty eyed myth of slow-life travel in the good ol' days with much exploring the unknown is balderdash. At least to the extent that google maps somehow precludes one from being able to do it nowadays. I remember those glory days before Google maps. When I was a kid, and we had to drive to someone's house as a family, we'd pray that dad knew where we were going. If not, it was a minefield of stress and frustration as we'd try to fathom the vague instructions given to us by the host, and navigate around a city with poor signage. We'd all arrive half an hour late, flustered, angry at each other, and in no mood to enjoy ourselves. Fuck those times.