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Apple's Maps App Directs Alaska Drivers onto Airport Taxiway

locust76 said:
And now Google pays Apple for the privilege of developing for iOS :)
Click to expand...

Yes, $99 a year (that they were already paying, btw) certainly puts a huge dent in Google's wallet. The price they wanted from Apple was to put content in the app, which they are now able to do in their own. Face it, the switch to Apple Maps hurt Apple and their customers more than it hurt Google.
 
Of course the real question should be why has this airport got such non-existent security. You should not be able to randomly drive anywhere near an active runway.
 
Alaskans... :rolleyes:

Anyways, mapping is a solvable problem and Apple Maps suck. So why haven't Apple solved this problem? They could hire an army of unemployed people to walk around towns and cities to get more accurate data. There is a thread about how bad Apple's maps are here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1640706/. There was also a poll, and so far out of 181 responses, 30% of people outside the US agree that Maps is a 'festering pile of excrement' (more than those rating Apple Map's as 'great'), and about 17% in the US say the same.

I like Apple's attention to detail in most of the hardware and software, but they're really not making progress with Maps IMO. They need to pull their finger out and use that big fat wad of cash they have received from those of us buying iDevices to collect their own mapping data.
 
Google maps was launched in 2005 and well before the latest crop of smartphones. So basically to a much much smaller audience and to people normally accessing it from desktops.
Their data was not great in the beginning as I found quite a few mistakes with Google. I reported them and 1 took 4 years to finally get fixed. They have had many years to clean up the data and improve the service.

I use Apple maps all the time and it has worked perfectly everytime.
I love it if I am in an unfamiliar area to be able to just say "take me home Siri"
All you haters, maybe give it another try.
Just because some small airport in Alaska has the wrong road marked, doesn't mean the whole of Apple maps is broken.
 
I think that the big news here is that you can drive straight onto a taxiway with no gates. That to me is the big problem here

It would hardly be headline news if someone reported that they were directed towards a taxi way but a massive security gate prevented them!!

People also have to take some personal responsibility. I remember when sat navs became very common. Lots of stories of lorries getting stuck in lanes clearly too small for them and cars driving into lakes. The general feeling then was that these people had been stupid not to pay attention to where they were going rather than outrage at the satnav systems.
 
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Idiots

This sums it up....

"These folks drove past several signs. They even drove past a gate. None of that cued them that they did something inappropriate,"

Probably one way of thinning out the idiots in society.
 
I'm Happy with Maps

It seems to work very well around my corner of the woods (Los Angeles). I've had a few odd suggestions from Google Maps over the years. And something else. As they keep making Google Maps "flatter," they're screwing up the interface. I find a place, but then search all around for a way to see the directions from "here."
 
i dont know... is it really apples fault if people completely turn off their brain when following a navigation system?
 
woops...

Another Apple slip-up.

Maybe Apple knows if you drive really fast on the taxiway you'll get to your destination quicker. or a short-cut

Seems strange huh ? I'm just keeping score of how many time Apple stuffs up on Maps since the layoff's .... :)

Its only fair....

True, people shouldn't rely on navigation systems fully, but by the same token, it is also dangerous and should be fixes.

If you went by that logic, then any GPS could be useless as we know it. Its also that they don't read signs either.

Another "common mistake" category....
 
Lennholm said:
Yes, $99 a year (that they were already paying, btw) certainly puts a huge dent in Google's wallet.
Click to expand...

No, but the loss of licensing fees that Apple was paying (probably per device sold) to Google to use Youtube and Maps data was probably pretty painful...

Lennholm said:
The price they wanted from Apple was to put content in the app, which they are now able to do in their own.
Click to expand...

And they don't get a cent extra from Apple for their efforts.

Lennholm said:
Face it, the switch to Apple Maps hurt Apple and their customers more than it hurt Google.
Click to expand...

Why? Apple customers still get Google services. In fact, Google was forced to not only provide the same services, but to improve them. It doesn't look good for Apple's mapping service, sure, but I fail to see how the iOS enduser is suffering after Google was forced to create a maps app with turn-by-turn navigation and offer it on the App Store for free.
 
aloshka said:
Absolutely not!!! Google has ads everywhere. I searched for my bank and had 5 ads that showed up for refinancing a house. I will take Apple maps anytime. Granted, the directions have been perfect for me in CO.

Afterwards I got ads for bank of the west, which is my bank. Nice that google remembered that and kept throwing me ads. Google maps finally defeated privacy.
Click to expand...

hmm just opened up Google maps on my phone, no ads anywhere in sight....... brilliant maps tho!
 
everything-i said:
Of course the real question should be why has this airport got such non-existent security. You should not be able to randomly drive anywhere near an active runway.
Click to expand...

You'd think they'd have much higher security, what with all the russian diplomats flying in from Moscow to talk politics with Sarah Palin...
 
Still issues in Berlin, as well

After the iOS 7 update, Maps looks a bit better (especially when it comes to separating major roads from the rest of the pack), but the data still remains out of date. (At least over here in Germany – considering Apple's traditional US focus, I wouldn't be surpised if the American maps were of better quality.)

Berlin's old Tempelhof Airport has been closed for several years (i.e. before Maps ever came out) and is now a rather cool public park with runways still intact. Still, Maps insists on labeling the area as an airport. Considering how many iOS users there are in Berlin, I'm sure Apple must have gotten countless reports over the last year (several from me), but they don't seem to be top priority, apparently.

Don't even get me started on the business data in my neighborhood: Many listed businesses are either at the wrong location or they closed years ago. (Yes, I reported them – for a while, at least – bit all the errors are still there. Since none of the reports ever seemed to have any effect, I've pretty much given up on trying to improve Maps data over here.)

On the bright side: The local sat images are quite current, and the 3D buildings look stunning. Maps is my go-to app, if I want to impress people with eye candy or give them a visual idea of my neighborhood. For daily use, though, I fire up Google Maps.
 
Really?

I agree with the why is this news comment. At what point does the driver remove head from ass and read the signs posted. It sounds like the directions worked,he got to the airport, after that its time to put your gadget away and look out the window!

As far as Apple's maps go in my area they are vastly superior to Google's, that does make Google's effort bad, hey its a big planet.

I think these stories of stupid human tricks lower the value of this site. Can we read again about some parent giving their kid their iTunes password and then using it to buy stuff, please can we.

Duh.
 
Clearly Maps still has issues, what mapping solution doesn't? I have had Garmins tell me to turn onto roads that don't exist, and TomToms not know a historic road. I think this one is more human error... several signs and a gate should have been sufficient.
 
Maps still can't find our international airport in Fredericton NB. When you type in Fredericton nb international airport it takes you to airport rd which is nowhere near the airport. I've told them a few times but they haven't fixed it. Lol.
 
You're driving it wrong....

I don't think that this is a real safety problem for most users. Mapping solutions are only as good as the data that they use.

The problem is for Apple: although it might have looked like a promising idea to get a foot in the geo services market they totally depend on other vendors to get map data from them, while Google has the resources to produce their own.
It's a war that they just can't win. They shouldn't have started it and the best would be to leave as long as they can, settle with Google and integrate google Maps into iOS again. Their own product is so awful that it damages their brand and there's no chance to mitigate the shortcomings that are imported with that faulty map data.
 
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