Facebook Hires Former Apple Maps Manager Richard Williamson

[szw-mapple fan]

Facebook Maps — where you can track anyone anywhere!!

EDIT: I can see someone already beat me to it.

 

[e-coli]

Times have changed somewhat since then. Its a much bigger risk to do that these days.

The exact opposite is true. There are more ex C-level and former-executive-level startups happening right now than you can count.

I think Apple should take advantage of opportunities for crowdsourcing.

That's called Waze. 😉

 

[GenesisST]

Does anyone know what Scott is doing for real?

Probably swimming in money

 

[ArtOfWarfare]

I think Apple should take advantage of opportunities for crowdsourcing. Supply some data to maps, and get some credit on the iTunes store. For example, an iOS app that lets you check the street name and add house numbers / businesses / other things where you are.

I like the idea but it seems to me that if you give incentive for cheating, people will. Crowdsourcing is fine, but don't include money like that.

 

[carlgo]

A blunder that big meant people had to take the fall, and he was one of them.

It seems unfair to blame it all on him. We don't know what went on behind the scenes, who was the real culprit, and who got thrown under the bus.

This is not the first time Apple has bitten off more they can chew. Cough...MobileMe....Cough.

I think this probably went much higher than even Forstall. Sadly we may never know the truth.

Exactly. He was not done and somebody up high released it before it was ready.

 

[Mr.damien]

In few days, the checkin in Facebook will check you on some other places instead.

 

[b166er]

... Google has been doing this for eight times as long as Apple. It'd be shocking if Apple had already surpassed them in content.

Technology wise, you're wrong, plain and simple. Google's mapping services are bulky and dog slow. They have to load individual prerenderedimages tiles for every zoom level when you're in top down view, and don't even get me started on how stupid their street view implementation is from a resource perspective (or UI perspective.) Apple's vector based maps + flyover put Google maps to shame.

I'm in the US, so my mileage may be different from yours, but I find the content to be acceptable. It hasn't been wrong yet, but there's some things that it doesn't have (like public transit routes... That's by far the biggest reason I have Google Maps installed on my iPhone, although to be honest, I memorized the major routes over a year ago and I rarely need to take any minor routes.)

I live in Philly.

And from a user standpoint, that user being me, I'm right, plain and simple. Apple maps has no idea what is what around where I live. And I've used it in other cities such as Richmond, VA, Daytona, FL, Charleston, WV, New Orleans, LA and more. I am not a bird, I am a man. So street view is actually helpful to me at times, although it's not 100% accurate (but no service I've ever used is). Flyover serves no purpose to me. I have had consistently more "luck" navigating with Waze than I have had with Apple maps.

I love Apple stuff, I use a Mac and an iPad almost daily. I'm not trying to say one company is better than the other, just that in this specific area I had to go with someone else.

And I did acknowledge that Google has been doing this longer, in fact that was my point. I'm not going to start a hamburger fast food chain- there are other companies that have been doing it forever and I wouldn't stand a chance. Apple makes money in a lot of different markets so they can afford to throw cash at Apple Maps until it is at least on par with Google, and I'm sure they will. But as a user, I'm not going to wait for them and deal with their crappy product, I'm going to use something else until their version is at least as good.

 

[iGrip]

... Google has been doing this for eight times as long as Apple. It'd be shocking if Apple had already surpassed them in content.

It will be shocking if Apple merely catches up to Google. It would be astounding if Apple ever surpasses Google.

 

[Analog Kid]

For any young people starting their careers, let this be a lesson to you: don't be afraid to fail.

Seriously. For all the public humiliation of Apple Maps, Williamson still landed another job. He didn't become a pariah. Failure hurts, not doubt, but pushing yourself beyond your limits teaches you a lot as well. I'm sure he's being well taken care of at Facebook.