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difficult to imagine why apple would have even attempted to get into this space ... they must realize they can only be a second rate player. maybe that's good e

by plg 12y ago

difficult to imagine why apple would have even attempted to get into this space ... they must realize they can only be a second rate player. maybe that's good enough for them? doesn't fit with their story/ethos though

stephenr 12y ago
Why do you assume an advertising company is better equipped/able than a technology company to run a maps/routing service?
- commandar 12y ago
  You're asking the wrong question. Why would an AI and automation company be better equipped/able than a commodity hardware company to run a maps/routing service?
- spinchange 12y ago
  Setting aside how one views/classifies the companies, you don't have to assume anything: Google's maps have qualitatively better data than Apple's because they've literally been driving & photographing much of the world's roadways. Apple shows no indication of having this kind of commitment and even if they did, Google has a significant, years-ahead lead.
  - stephenr 12y ago
    So your theory is that Google must have better data about what is in a specific place, and how to get there from somewhere else, because they have a photo of that place, from the street?
    - spinchange 12y ago
      Well, according the featured article we're commenting on, yes, that's about half of it in a nutshell. The other half is the algorithms they're running on all this street view data they're collecting. Is it really that crazy a notion that actually driving the roads and collecting all kinds of data from it yields higher accuracy maps than just licensing less robust data sets from others?
      - stephenr 12y ago
        trying to reverse engineer a photo of a property from the street into meaningful information, vs using data collected from businesses dedicated to providing mapping/location data, and information provided by people expressly interested in improving the available data? Sure, keep analysing that shop front.
        spinchange 12y ago
        Look, obviously there's more to it than _just_ street view and algorithms. The article also talks about manual reviews, corrections, and verifications by lots of human staff. Google also allows businesses to add/update their listings. I've done it for ours. I've then had someone from Google call me to confirm it too. They also have Skybox imaging now as well as Waze. I focus on street view because it is a big source of data (per the FA) and a testament to the comitmment and effort that's gone into it. In the U.S., how many other map makers actually drove 99% of the roads on thier map? Maybe that doesn't make a difference to you, but I think the central premise of this article and the general consensus of most users is that it does.
- plg 12y ago
  I just meant google has such a massive head start
  - stephenr 12y ago
    Apple licenses a lot of data from companies like TomTom and builds on the crowd sourced data provided by OpenStreetMap. Additionally, apple has a long history of striving to be the best at what they do. Google's approach is generally to be "good enough" across a broader range of services.

by plg 12y ago

stephenr 12y ago

Why do you assume an advertising company is better equipped/able than a technology company to run a maps/routing service?

commandar 12y ago
You're asking the wrong question. Why would an AI and automation company be better equipped/able than a commodity hardware company to run a maps/routing service?
spinchange 12y ago
Setting aside how one views/classifies the companies, you don't have to assume anything: Google's maps have qualitatively better data than Apple's because they've literally been driving & photographing much of the world's roadways. Apple shows no indication of having this kind of commitment and even if they did, Google has a significant, years-ahead lead.
- stephenr 12y ago
  So your theory is that Google must have better data about what is in a specific place, and how to get there from somewhere else, because they have a photo of that place, from the street?
  - spinchange 12y ago
    Well, according the featured article we're commenting on, yes, that's about half of it in a nutshell. The other half is the algorithms they're running on all this street view data they're collecting. Is it really that crazy a notion that actually driving the roads and collecting all kinds of data from it yields higher accuracy maps than just licensing less robust data sets from others?
    - stephenr 12y ago
      trying to reverse engineer a photo of a property from the street into meaningful information, vs using data collected from businesses dedicated to providing mapping/location data, and information provided by people expressly interested in improving the available data? Sure, keep analysing that shop front.
      - spinchange 12y ago
        Look, obviously there's more to it than _just_ street view and algorithms. The article also talks about manual reviews, corrections, and verifications by lots of human staff. Google also allows businesses to add/update their listings. I've done it for ours. I've then had someone from Google call me to confirm it too. They also have Skybox imaging now as well as Waze. I focus on street view because it is a big source of data (per the FA) and a testament to the comitmment and effort that's gone into it. In the U.S., how many other map makers actually drove 99% of the roads on thier map? Maybe that doesn't make a difference to you, but I think the central premise of this article and the general consensus of most users is that it does.
plg 12y ago
I just meant google has such a massive head start
- stephenr 12y ago
  Apple licenses a lot of data from companies like TomTom and builds on the crowd sourced data provided by OpenStreetMap. Additionally, apple has a long history of striving to be the best at what they do. Google's approach is generally to be "good enough" across a broader range of services.