I Hate Dialysis Message Board

Off-Topic => Off-Topic: Talk about anything you want. => Topic started by: livecam on November 03, 2007, 10:15:52 AM

Title: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: livecam on November 03, 2007, 10:15:52 AM
The other day a bunch of us at work had an afternoon meeting away from the main office.  The others wanted me to ride along but since I was leaving for home after the meeting I told them I would take my car.  I had mapped the drive using Yahoo some hours earlier so I was prepared to go right to the place.  The instructions were pretty simple, a short freeway ride and a few turns, that was it.  Everything was fine until two of the streets that were supposed to intersect didn't.  I drove back and forth through the area several times stopping at numerous red lights and for sure the intersection between the two streets I needed did not exist.  I had to call the others and ask how they got to the location...embarrassing to the max.  In the end I was 15 minutes late and even more embarrassed.  Next time...I'm riding with them!
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Sluff on November 03, 2007, 12:21:38 PM
Sorry you were embarrassed by something that was out of your control.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Kitty Cat on November 03, 2007, 01:27:35 PM
Mapquest is almost the same. 4 different cars were going to the same place, starting from different towns. Only 2 of us had good directions. The ones coming from the other side of the state had directions that made no sense so they were late. It's frustrating when you count on something to get you where you need to be and it doesn't.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Jannie on November 03, 2007, 02:08:35 PM
The same thing has happened to me. Once I was driving my daughter to a classmate's house in our own town. Found the street on yahoo or google but when I went to drive to the street wasn't there. It was several miles away. Apparently the map was based on expected construction, not the real thing.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: livecam on November 03, 2007, 04:01:45 PM
I keep thinking those GPS navs that stick to the window are kinda silly and I've resisted getting one.  I played with one that belongs to a friend recently and it does seem to be a handy little device.  Maybe it is time to break down and get one, it might have helped the other day. 
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Chris on November 03, 2007, 06:02:11 PM
I had trouble with 4 different services and don't really use them anymore. I just use them as a guideline and use a GPS unit. I have a HP iPaq that has GPS on it that doesa good job, but have to wait each time HP issues a updated map from TomTom. For some reason HP takes longer to do an update than TomTom does for their own seperate units. Maybe it is a code difference, but then again it is not costing me to update like it would to update each time for a stand alone GPS unit.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: livecam on November 03, 2007, 06:32:24 PM
I have an el cheapo DeLorme USB receiver and laptop software that I bought a couple of months ago just to get familiar with the technology.  By the time you drag out a laptop and mount the receiver on the front window you have a kludge in the front seat that is an accident waiting to happen.  I've actually only tried it once in the car and just basically watched it update the map from work to home, looked at highway bearings, and found out how bad my speedometer calibration really is.  The little all in one boxes are really the trick for doing this if you want it done right.  I'm slowly coming around to the idea that it could be time to get one.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: kitkatz on November 04, 2007, 10:11:08 PM
Mapquest sucks.  I always try to check a real map before going somewhere based on Mapquest
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Chris on November 04, 2007, 10:43:08 PM
Maybe Rand McNalley should make maps online.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: KR Cincy on November 05, 2007, 07:18:25 AM
Google maps seem to generally be more accurate than Yahoo or MapQuest. And I think Rand McNally does have a map feature on its website...haven't used that one in awhile.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Chris on November 05, 2007, 02:21:02 PM
Google Satellite maps are 4 years olds, I can pinpoint  an aerial view of my house and it still doesn't show the new roads put in or the new houses. I would hate to be paying for that service and still be getting outdated information. I haven't looked for the Rand McNalley site yet, so I don't know how that one is.
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: goofynina on November 06, 2007, 05:24:41 PM
I prefer to go to my AAA and get my maps from there ;)  :2thumbsup;
Title: Re: Yahoo Maps: Not always that great
Post by: Joe Paul on November 06, 2007, 11:36:29 PM
I prefer to go to my AAA and get my maps from there ;)  :2thumbsup;
AMEN, the best thing going is a "triptic"  :thumbup;