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> When i'm using Google Maps, sometimes i have a feeling that you're not using the product you have produced. I have this feeling all the time with Maps. I rem
by cryptoz 9y ago
> When i'm using Google Maps, sometimes i have a feeling that you're not using the product you have produced.
I have this feeling all the time with Maps. I remember distinctly a time in Boston when I was almost late for a meeting. I was running down the street looking for the office building (first time in town) and using Maps to find my way.
But Maps wouldn't let me look at a map. At all. It decided that "shake to provide feedback" was far more important and as I was in a rush down the street, was interrupted every 1-2 seconds by a huge popup in Maps, preventing me from using the product at all when I needed it.
Yes, I know the setting can be turned off. But what kind of default setting is that? Don't let the user use your product? Pretty sure nobody in the Android Maps team had let the office building once before that feature was shipped. It simply rendered the product unusable.
Edit: I don't mean to detract from the product. It's an incredible product. Obviously. But it has simple flaws that seem clear if you use Maps for even 1 day as a regular person.
- Bartweiss 9y agoMaps has been increasingly awful about trying to help when it shouldn't. Features like 'warn about location closure' and 'recenter screen after accidental touches' are great, but they're so aggressive that simple tasks like "let me scroll over and see where I'm going" involve consciously trying to outwit the UI. It sort of feels like there's user testing or datagathering showing all false positive errors ("they bumped it then had to hit recenter"), but no data being counted up to see the false negatives ("they scrolled 15 times as undid each action").
- reaperducer 9y ago>Maps has been increasingly awful about trying to help when it shouldn't. A lot of Google products seem to be competing to become the new Clippy.
- nugi 9y agoThey are shooting for the MS BOB experince.
- rconti 9y agoTry using it on a bike's handlebars. But now that I know I can turn the 'feature' off-- awesome! I will say, bike routing is amazing on Google Maps. It knows about every path and shortcut and road that is blocked to cars but open to bikes.
- eythian 9y agoIt may be location dependent. For example, it doesn't know that I can bike across the street by my place, because there's a tram line down the middle. So it insists I go all the way to the end to turn around. It'll often also tell me to go a way that involves a left turn across effectively two lots of traffic, which is a nuisance when it's busy. Usually I use its routing as advisory, and figure out my own way based on it.