Honestly, I'd say there's a much higher anti-Apple/pro-Google sentiment than there used to be. I've been downvoted heavily for point negative things out about Google. The tech zeitgeist moves onwards.
There's a big difference between constructive criticism of genuine problems (such as issues with Apple Maps searching) where you may learn something and the "you're holding it wrong" kinds of comments. I'd go to reddit if I wanted to read a bunch of dumb repeated jokes.
Really? I submitted a story earlier about state police in Australia saying that Google maps are dangerous and it's been completely ignored. Ok, maybe it was a repeat of a story that had been previously submitted, but since not a sniff of the story has appeared, I'd suggest that the pro-Google/anti-Apple sentiment is far more pervasive here. I'd think were the opposite true, we'd have seen much more of this story.
I searched HN for this story and was surprised to not find it, so I submitted it myself. It was dead within an hour.
And really, thinking about it now, it probably deserved to die, just as the Apple story probably deserved to die. The only real lesson from these stories is that you can't blindly follow your GPS… and everyone should've already known that. But all that did get hashed out in the Apple thread and really doesn't need a rehash so soon after the first story.
So… is the missing story the result of pro-Google/anti-Apple bias? It certainly could be, but I can't say that's the only plausible explanation.
I enjoy hiking as a hobby and while I plan route with the use of a computer, I'd personally neverer rely soley on electronics when I'm out. The only reason that I suggest that bias is there is that the Apple story garnered quite a lot of attention, with much of the criticism extolling the virtues of Google maps. This was a timely reminder that they are not the panacea of mapping either. I wouldn't ever use Google Maps to plan a hike, they simply aren't reliable enough. So I take and accept your point, but will reserve a healthy amount of scepticism.
Edit: A case in point is the sub thread on search in the AppStore vs Google Play. I use Google Nexus and iOS devices and can assure you that the Play store on the phone is worse that the AppStore. The online version is significantly better. Discoverability is awful in both. This maybe my opinion, but it's based in real world use of both.
Following a late night flight into the Orange County airport a couple of years ago, Google Maps on my iPhone directed me into the ocean. I was lost, it was nearly midnight, and instead of seeing the road continue on like the map showed me, I saw the dark expanse of the sea.