Apple Maps Branded Dangerous by (Australian) Police

[Lemurion]

I'm on both sides of the fence; I own and use iOS, Android, Mac, and Windows products on a daily basis.

Having said that, one of the key selling points of Apple products for a number of years has been that combination of UI and reliability that is generally articulated as "it just works." That's a great reputation for any company to have.

The problem with Apple maps is that it doesn't "just work," in fact it's so riddled with inaccuracies that there are people who have put themselves in danger by following its directions.

There are only so many times that this can happen before it starts affecting the company's reputation. Regardless of how good the products are, and I think many are very good, a string of high-profile failures can damage any company's reputation, and the better the reputation to begin with, the further they have to fall.

[elcreative]

Deleted - wasting time

[QuantumIguana]

Originally Posted by elcreative

And back comes that old fanboy insult/comment which just reinforces my original comment concerning repetitive pointlessness...

I don't have anything against Apple products. But disliking Apple products isn't an indication of insecurity, any more than liking Apple products is an example of insecurity.

[Laridae]

I just heard on the news that Apple has started offering Google Maps again on their app store.
No word on whether the icon for it was a white flag.

[frahse]

Originally Posted by Laridae

I just heard on the news that Apple has started offering Google Maps again on their app store.
No word on whether the icon for it was a white flag.

I have had a hell of a hard day, but that made me chuckle.

Thanks.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by stepberr

Something that should be pointed out is that the Police officer in the report said that he felt that people were putting too much faith in GPS software.The people who became lost had infact ignored road signs pointing to the correct road to Mildura because their App pointed the other way.

Exactly right. I mean *really*... what kind of idiot will prefer the GPS directions to clear street/road signs. They need to grow a brain. I have multiple GPS apps (including an android phone with Sygic and the builtin googlemaps/nav) and every one of them gets it wrong some of the time. Geez.

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by Laridae

I just heard on the news that Apple has started offering Google Maps again on their app store.
No word on whether the icon for it was a white flag.

I don't know where you've been hiding, but its GOOGLE who is offering the maps. Not Apple. I said some time ago I didn't think Apple would allow it, but I should have known better, since there are a bazillion apps on the store already which use google maps for their mapping. FYI the google maps offered now is just as clunky as Apple's, not impressed with either of them.

[SeaKing]

I fly and usually fairly low, and so I need 3D maps. Good to know where those hills are. Anyway, I know a lot of stories about people getting lost. Here is an old one reworked many times over the years in many places all over the world. It was before everyone had a GPS in a phone in their pocket.

A fancy dan News helicopter lands in the yard of a tiny farm house at the junction of two faint dirt roads in a very dry hilly area out West. A lot of sheep and goats on two hills, a few cows in a pasture and a little boy about 9 and a big dog are all that can be seen.
A pilot with all his gear dangling off him opens the door and gestures to the little boy who is watching with his mouth and eyes open very wide. The pilot hollers loudly because the rotor is spinning "come here." The little boy backs up remembering his mother's advice about strangers. The pilot speaks to his passenger a typical turned out News Lady and points at the boy, and she carefully so as not to split her tight pants opens her door and gets down from the copter and walks to where the little boy is now perched on a rock with a big sheep dog next to him watching everything.

Honey she says, our electronics got fried. We got no radio. We can't even tell which direction we are going. We need to get to Kit Carson City. Does one of these roads go there.
I don't know mam.
Well where do these roads go? We didn't see anything for 5 or 10 miles any direction and our gas is low.
I don't know mam.
The pilot has come up by now and says
Is there anyone at home besides you.
No sir.
Do you have a phone?
No Sir
Do you have electricity? I don't see no power line but I see a TV antenna on that big pole over there.
We got a generator but its not working.
Have you heard of Kit Carson City?
Yes sir.
Ever been there
No sir.
Where are your parents
Moms in LA with a car salesman and dads in the Navy.
My older brothers will be back by night to do some milking.
Kid do you know where you are
I think Jones county in the US of A Sir. That what dad says.
Kid you are the dumbest hayseed kid I have ever seen
The boy's eyes get wide again as he digests that remark and then
he get a big grin on his face as he gets on the other side of his dog away from the pilot and the News Lady.

I ain't lost mister!

[John F]

Originally Posted by elcreative

... it's now so repetitive as to be irrelevant...

+1000

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by elcreative

... it's now so repetitive as to be irrelevant...

It's fair to ask if that's how you feel, then why continue to read these posts and reply to them?

Obviously, some of us find these things not only relevant but at times very entertaining. As for it being repetitive, sure, because iOS map users have been getting into hot water over and over again. It's provided a continuous stream of funny stuff. However, we're unlikely to see many more instances of the Mildura mishap in the future now that Google Maps has come to the rescue.

--Pat

[elcreative]

Deleted - no point

[ApK]

Originally Posted by elcreative

So because there's a load of !!**!! posted, I should stop reading and miss the occasional worthwhile post... yeah, that makes sense :rolleyes

No, I think the implication was that it might be better to stop contributing to the !!**!! by posting !!**!! messages complaining about it.

BTW, in one of these map threads, we've discussed issues with Tomtom and Garmin maps, too. It's just that it's only generally entertaining when it's Apple. Tomom and Garmin issues don't seem to be of interest outside the GPS forums.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by ApK

No, I think the implication was that it might be better to stop contributing to the !!**!! by posting !!**!! messages complaining about it.

OK, I'll just ignore the juveniles sniping and forget about encouraging any worthwhile and/or fair comment... leave it to the company/product bigots... go for it...

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by elcreative

OK, I'll just ignore the juveniles sniping and forget about encouraging any worthwhile and/or fair comment... leave it to the company/product bigots... go for it...

You are directly calling participants in this thread juvenile and bigots which is worse than saying "some Apple fans are sheeple." This is not only against forum policy FWIG, but it seems to me very juvenile behavior in itself.

Moreover, you are not the arbiter of what is worthy, fair, or a "load of !!**!!." One man's "worthiness" is another's !!**!!ness. It might therefore be wise to stop trying to tell others what is worthy of discussion and what is not.

And I fail to see the humour about people being stranded in a desert area with inadequate food and water or following directions through a river with an unsuitable ford...

Agreed, and if you look back at my initial comment on Mildura in this thread, you'll see I specifically said it was not funny. And that it was life and death. My comment about the maps situation being hilarious has to do with all the other non-life threatening instances where the maps screwed up. And you have to admit, this has to be one of the funniest screw-ups in the history of software/technology!

At least Apple apologised, I'm still waiting for a comment/apology/correction from Tom Tom for an incorrect local mapping problem which indicates a non-existent U-turn from a motorway junction and instructions to turn through a No Entry sign, let alone Google who instruct pedestrians to make a mile and a half detour because they can't be bothered to notice a direct route between 2 points (which they have been advised about repeatedly over the last two years) but of course nothing else matters if it isn't Apple... nobody else has ever had problems with any other mapping/GPS systems... fair discussion

Were the mapping issues with Tom Tom and Google as pervasive and stark as they've been with Apple? Were they as dangerous? I fail to see how giving the least efficient route as in the case of Google is inherently dangerous. So, I don't think their mapping issues can compare with Apple's, especially since 1) Apple prides itself on saying "it just works" and 2) there was no reason they had to release a half-baked maps app when they did other than to try to stick it to Google. If they truly had their customers at heart they would have waited a little longer until more kinks were worked out until releasing the app. Many developers had already complained to Apple prior to the release that the app was faulty. They claim Apple was well aware of the problems.

Also, Tom Tom and Google have been pioneers in mapping and navigation. When they put out their apps/systems, they were not replacing something that worked with something that didn't.

--Pat

[ApK]

Originally Posted by elcreative

As for being an arbiter of what's worthwhile, I must disagree with you... we are ALL arbiters of what's worthwhile (or otherwise), and that's what's worthwhile to ourselves... something may be worthwhile to you but that is of little relevance to someone else's idea of worthiness... you may disagree with my ideas of "worthy, fair or a load of !!**!!" but you cannot tell me that I'm not the arbiter of what is or isn't "worthy, fair or a load of !!**!!" because each and every one of us is the arbiter of such things for ourselves...

Note the emphasis. I agree. So what value do you see in adding posts about such things to a public thread?