[elmerland]

I'm surprised the author didn't mention the main difference between paper maps and google maps. That is, google maps is interactive. With a paper map what you see is what you get. You had to cram as much information as it would allow. But this is not the case with google maps. You can zoom in, out, and anywhere in between. You can't compare the two based on the level of information displayed at one fixed zoom level because google maps is 3D whereas traditional paper maps are 2D.

[orillian]

A funny thing about interactive maps while driving. If I'm on my phone and I bring up a road map of the area I'm traveling and I am constantly zooming in and panning the app so that I can see locations around me then the map has failed me.

Landmarks are key to any map, but landmarks that fade in and out of focus are not all that useful. I used to be excited by the prospect of being able to bring up a map of my route and being able to see where I was going on my phone mounted to my dash. But as of late, I've been struggling to find the right zoom level that shows enough detail of the area I'm traveling while showing enough of my route.

On a number of occasions over the last year I've has to pull over and reorient myself on my map due to a failed pan/zoom attempt.

It's funny that this article came out at this time as I've been evaluating ways to mount a larger device (tablet) on my dash as maps on my phone has gotten to be rather cumbersome.

I feel that for the most part the details in this article are accurate, that the attempt by google to make the maps load quicker on mobile have compromised critical details available on the maps.

One of the key areas where this could be addressed is by loading details based on need. For example if I select a travel route between two locations, load more of the details related to that route and reduce the extras that fall outside my concern. Show me roadways that leave my target route, as well as the cities and towns along my route. Making an attempt to provide me the details I need without my need to interact with them as much as possible would be great.

[raldi]

> If I'm on my phone and I bring up a road map of the area I'm traveling and I am constantly zooming in and panning...

What's the actual problem you're trying to solve when you do that?

[basicplus2]

yes I have had a similar experience except needing to zoom in so the Map displays a road name as not all road names are displayed when zoomed out past a certain point.

[chris_wot]

From memory, Open Street Map has layers. I'd be interested in comparing OSM to Google Maps!

[maxerickson]

OpenStreetMap itself has no notion of layers. It has a rather simple data model for geometries and completely freeform tagging (so for example there is no technical enforcement of how a road is labeled a road in the main database). Naturally there is quite a bit of effort to use tags with clear shared meanings, but none of that happens in the database, it's the people building the editors and doing the editing that choose what the tags mean.

Consumers of OSM data generally do perform a data extraction step where the freeform tags are grouped together and perhaps normalized to some extent. So at that point you sort of start to have layers, but different apps will use different systems and rules for that step, so the layers are coming from the app maker, not from OpenStreetMap itself.

[ris]

OpenStreetMap is just a database. It has no concept of layers (except the `layers=` tag used for stacking order of objects e.g. bridges). Products which use OpenStreetMap data are free to apply whatever "layer" abstractions in their UIs they like.

[majewsky]

For a visual comparison, you can look at http://sautter.com/map/

[DonHopkins]

Maps, especially when used for real time navigation, are the poster boy example of what Bret Victor means when he says "Interactivity Considered Harmful". [1]

Interactivity is a failure state of software that could have predicted what the user wants from context and past behavior, and tailored the display and presented it to them without being asked.

"Further, the user might prefer to learn information while using her hands for other purposes, such as writing or eating or stroking a cat [or driving the car]. Each time software demands the user’s hands, this activity must be interrupted [at the risk of causing an accident]. Finally, the growing prevalence of computer-related repetitive stress injuries [and using smartphones while driving] suggests that indiscriminate interactivity may be considerably harmful in a literal, physical sense."

[1] http://worrydream.com/MagicInk/

[runarberg]

> With a paper map what you see is what you get.

That is not true. A good paper (road) map has three zoom levels. 1) A major map covering most of one side of the paper, with enough information to get you easily across the focus area of the map. 2) Often on the side a smaller, sparser macro area map, showing only the freeways and the major cities/towns, often spanning a slight larger area than the main map. 3) A few downtown/focus maps, that are far more detailed than the main map, showing more rodes (sometimes walking paths, and bike lanes, house outlines, etc.). Often on the side along with the macro level map, or on the back next to the index. And 4) a really good paper map has also a macro level public transportation map (often on the back as well) at a zoom level between (1) and (2).

[crispyambulance]

Yes, the interactivity (search, zoom, pan, satellite, topo, traffic, earth, streetview) of google maps acts very much like other dimensions to the map and makes it QUALITATIVELY different from paper maps.

The complaints of the OP are perfectly valid but they're more a matter of taste than an example of bad design decisions.

Maybe the OP would be satisfied with a couple of sliders?

    Less Streets-------------|--More Streets
    Less Cities-------------|--More Cities

[ozmbie]

>But this is not the case with google maps. You can zoom in, out, and anywhere in between.

The problem I have Google maps lately, is that i have to zoom so far in to see the names of some roads. To the point where nothing but the road is on screen before the name appears. It's a major UX issue.

[rcthompson]

Not only zooming, Google Maps also has search. If you're looking for Oakland, CA, you go to the search bar and type "Oakland, CA", and it shows up on the map. No need to scan the map for the thing you're looking for, that's the computer's job!

[shiro]

I guess the main complaint of OP is not about finding a particular location, but to create a mental map with the area of concern. To create mental map efficiently, the map has to show large enough to cover the area of concern, yet has to show enough landmarks to associate with. It's crucial to have both information simultaneously in a single sight---if you have to do something to see one information at a time it becomes very inefficient.

That said, I suspect that there's a fundamental difference of processing maps among people; I like to store a map in my head and trace mentally. When I drive, I prefer to see the map always north up, so it's easy to synchronize with my mental map. However, most car navigation systems orient the map as your direction---I find it very uncomfortable, but apparently that's most people want.

[kibwen]

In Google Maps, tapping on the compass icon in the upper right will toggle between north-is-up and forward-is-up views.

[wtbob]

I really wish someone would add an east-is-up mode, since that's the traditional orientation for maps — and the root of the word 'orientation' to begin with.

[pvinis]

I've never seen a map with east-is-up. Why is/was that preferred?

[groovy2shoes]

Because the sun rises in the east. At least in Indo-European cultures, which were once reliant solely on agriculture and transhumance, the sun was extremely important. Without a compass, it's also extremely convenient, being the easiest celestial body to spot. As such, ancient Indo-Europeans stood facing east when performing religious rites. The reconstructed proto-Indo-European words for "north" and "south" are also the words for "left" and "right" respectively, because the north is to your left when you're facing east, etc.

[bjelkeman-again]

I was going to a location yesterday that you couldn't search for. "The junction which splits the road going to A and B". I was very confused by the new Google Maps which essentially didn't show enough detail for a good overview and orientation.

[Bud]

Search is of course entirely useless, worse than useless, if you don't know in advance what you are looking for. Needless to say, search is not an adequate substitute for intelligent design and proper levels of detail on maps.

[ZeroGravitas]

Can you explain your use case here? Normal Google search is great for finding the name of films you can't remember by typing vague descriptions of the plot. Maps has similar functionality, like "local coffeeshops" or "<business> in <city>".

[maxerickson]

How do you search for "an interesting area in Woonsocket". Like say you want to go to a park and then walk past some shops.

[eru]

https://www.google.com/maps/search/an+interesting+area+in+Wo...

Doesn't seem too bad.

[larrybud]

My technique: When I'm in an unfamiliar city, I search for restaurants and then looks for clusters. When you see a cluster of restaurants, this tends to be a downtown and is usually somewhere 'interesting'.

[crispyambulance]

If you don't actually know what you're even looking for, NO MAP whatsoever will be able to help you-- perhaps just take a walk?

Of course, you DO have SOME idea of what you're looking for and that's where Google maps can help infinitely better than any paper map.

[lucb1e]

> If you don't actually know what you're even looking for, NO MAP whatsoever will be able to help you.

I use OpenStreetMap for this use case so I can only answer for them, and they seem to do a great job at it. If I am looking for the general shopping area, or office areas, or anything like that, I can zoom and pan through a city and find it very quickly. That Google doesn't show labels anymore makes it completely useless (and I've run into that a few times).

[panic]

On a phone, scanning can be much faster and more pleasant than typing.

[rcthompson]

Typing isn't the only way to search.

"Ok Google, show me a map of Oakland, California."

[Nullabillity]

Of course, that's usually going to backfire spectacularly if you're not in an english-speaking country.

[DonHopkins]

What's the most appropriate thing to do when a user asks "Do you know the way to San Jose?"

1) Answer "Yes."

2) Show a route to San Jose.

3) Play the song.

[DanBC]

> You can zoom in, out, and anywhere in between.

You can't zoom out if the information is only showed on a tight zoom. You need to keep zooming in and out.

Here's an example of how tight the zoom has to be to get eg bus stops to show up. For this example the user has to zoom in really close to get the bus stop shown, then either very careful start zooming out while keeping an eye on where their bus stop was OR keep panning.

http://imgur.com/a/tFRlS

[kbart]

Good luck trying to zoom in/out interactive map while driving motorcycle at 150 km/h.. I stopped using Google Maps for navigation years ago. I'd like to hear Google's explanation for their maps design decisions, because in my eyes (and all people I've talked to about this topic) they look spectacularly bad. I literary haven't encountered a single person that would say: "Google maps are cool" or "Google maps are getting better and better". Most of the times discussion about maps/navigation ends in sharing experience about alternatives. Lately I use Navigator on Android; it's simple, but gets the job done and as a bonus, supports offline navigation.

[Someone]

That's true, but they seen to cram in roads, at least visually. I would understand it if they optimized the display for navigation, where voice is the primary interface, and the display only is for support. For example, if the voice says "take exit X to Y" Y must be on the map, regardless of its size. And I would think (?of course?), it should not just jump onto the map and disappear a few seconds later.

So, if you plan a route, do the maps change depending on your destination?