Best Online Mapping Site? 603
bbulzibar asks: "I've been using MapQuest most of my life, but now as my mind is slowly expanding, I want to see if Yahoo! Maps is a better service for driving directions. According to one article I have read, Yahoo! is better at displaying maps, but what about calculating directions? Does anyone have any experience with differences? For example, Yahoo! and MapQuest give differing routes to go from Bloomington, IN to Madison, WI." I particularly like MapBlast's "Line Drive" direction style -- what's your favorite online mapping software?
Definitely MapQuest (Score:5, Interesting)
I've caught them in exactly two errors in four or five years of regular use. I'd gladly pay a monthly membership fee for them if they weren't a free service. (SHHHHH!!! Don't tell them.) ;>
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:3, Funny)
For their first couple of years of operation, their database apparently had El Camino Real through Silicon Valley marked as a freeway. The driving directions would often tell you to stay on El Camino for about six miles, which considering there is an unsynchronized traffic light every three blocks, would get old fast. They appear to have fixed that problem some time ago, though.
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:2)
OK, this is driving me nuts. There's an El Camino Real Blvd in Clear Lake, Texas (just south of Houston) near JSC. I thought it was one of these local things, but if there's one in Silicon Valley I must be wrong. WTF does El Camino Real come from, there's obviously some history I'm missing here.
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:4, Informative)
Heh. It caught my attention when I moved from the Clear Lake area to the Bay Area. Bugged me, too.
El Camino Real is "The King's Road". There are actually two El Camino Real's - one in California and one in Texas. They are esentially the first interstate roadways in the New World. In both cases, they were built to link a series Spannish missions.
Following El Camino Real in California [pacificnet.net] is a bit twisty, but one can piece it togeather. Texas' El Camino Real [houstonculture.org] appears to be a bit simpler.
I would guess Clear Lake's road is simply a nod to this historic highway (located much further to the north).
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:3, Informative)
Well, depending on your definition of "first interstate highway" you would have to give that title to either the Boston Post Road [wikipedia.org] or one of three roads [dot.gov] built in the 1950's. The problem is that interstate roads didn't truly exist in a legal sense until the
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:2)
Re:Definitely MapQuest (Score:2)
Seriously?! (Score:5, Funny)
HOLY SHIT do I feel old.
Re:Seriously?! (Score:2)
Re:Seriously?! (Score:2, Funny)
Took you a while to figure it out, didn't it.
Re:Seriously?! (Score:3, Funny)
Do you really need to know how to install a clear window in your chasis along with a strip of LEDs that flash according to the ambient music, though?
Sweet Spot (Score:5, Insightful)
Somewhere between 2 and 3(or similar) on the zoom scales. 2 is just a tad too close, you click 3 and BAM you get the whole town. No neighborhood street names or other smaller details to help guide you on that last mile. Sure I could print directions or two maps, but it's still very annoying.
It would nice to be able to click on a particular street name or other landmark and have it 'stick' through zoom levels.
Yahoo(and Some of the others also wack out my neighborhood map. I live 2 houses from the county line and Yahoo breaks my street on the county line putting the ends 200 m apart. It would cause somebody using it for directions to my house to drive about a mile out of the way if coming from the other county.
Oh yeah, and why is the push pin marker on the wrong side of the street 80% of the time?
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:2)
I'm betting they look if the house number is even or odd, and try to guess what side its on from that value.
I dunno about other states, but many Utah addresses follow a strict numbering guide. For example, in my county, any odd numbered houses are always south or west of the road. So the mapping services place the house on the correct side almost 100% of the time.
I'm betting you probably live in an area tha
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:2)
On Winders, I use Mappoint (aka "Streets & Trips"). Rand McNally's Streetfinder is dreck.
If anyone knows what Mappoint's data file format is, drop me a note.
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:3, Informative)
There's a mapping service for Germany and most of Europe here [map24.de]. I like their interactive map display using a JAVA applet. Works well on Linux as on Windows, and allows you to zoom around very freely. Worked well for all routes I needed recently. Don't know about your other points of critique, but at least I find the interface usable enough to get good results, and mostly exact enough to get a decent enough description.
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:3, Funny)
If this is true, just remember that the marker is always on the wrong side, and you'll get the right answer 80% of the time. I suspect your real problem is that they're wrong about 50% of the time.
Re:Sweet Spot (Score:3, Interesting)
Maps for walking routes? (Score:5, Interesting)
Something I have been looking for is a mapping site that will let me plot a route - say from 42nd and Madison to 14th and 6th - as I would walk it, not as a car would have to drive it (that is, ignore one way streets and such). Generally, because I want to find out how far I have to walk to get to a meeting or something.
Extra credit would be if I could draw a diagonal line through a park (since I can cut through). Or if it estimated walking time the way it done driving time.
Any ideas?
Re:Maps for walking routes? (Score:3, Informative)
It gives 3 route planning choices - by foot, by foot and subway, and by car.
Re:Use Vindigo (Score:2, Informative)
huh? (Score:2)
Re:huh? (Score:4, Informative)
Here's an article on Yahoo's shift from MapQuest:
Yahoo! to MapQuest: Get Lost [internet.com]
Yahoo maps gives terrible directions. (Score:2, Interesting)
Mapquest gives terrible directions. (Score:2)
My exhaustive test!! (Score:3, Funny)
Yahoo++ || --Mapquest (Score:3, Informative)
I'm sure there are several examples going the other way as well. In any event, its always better to have several competing services than one monopolistic non-innovative service.
Some UK map sites (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Some UK map sites (Score:2)
Re:Some UK map sites (Score:3, Interesting)
The formatting of the route planning directions leaves a little to be desired, but that's the biggest fault I can think of. On the whole it compares favourably even to MS Autoroute - except it's free, always up to date and cross platform.
If you don't have java it falls back to a static image.
Re
I've always preferred MapBlast (Score:3, Insightful)
3 Microsofts Mappoint...please do not kill me! (Score:2, Interesting)
but i love microsoft's mappoint. [mappoint.com] it has pretty good maps and shows where theres construction on roads and the time periods the construction goes through. (i.e. there is construction for the next 20 miles on i-40 east from august 2, 2002 to october 4, 2004) and it has an easy to use interface, but i haven't tried it with anything but IE so it will probably kill mozilla or something.
i've also used expedia.com which i have found to be horrible, and i used to use
Re:3 Microsofts Mappoint...please do not kill me! (Score:2)
This MapPoint [microsoft.com] is better yet...load it onto your notebook and you can take it with you to look up addresses and routes withou
Re:3 Microsofts Mappoint...please do not kill me! (Score:2)
Mapquest ~= Yahoo Maps =~ NavTech (Score:5, Informative)
I always amused by the direction that Navtech would give for one path a couple blocks from home. It would direct me over the barrier between the N & S lanes of a road. Doubly Ironic that my wife worked for NavTech at the time.
Other than that, I use mapquest more often than not, just out of habit.
Re:Mapquest ~= Yahoo Maps =~ NavTech (Score:5, Insightful)
They are (often, mostly) the same (Score:2)
Re:They are (often, mostly) the same (Score:2, Informative)
An alternative service (Score:5, Funny)
Mapblast's Line Drive (Score:2, Informative)
In the UK: My vote is for Line Drive on Mapblast [mapblast.com] for directions, and streetmap.co.uk [streetmap.co.uk] for er, street-type maps.
Line Drive is surprisingly accurate (to 1/10 mile) if you reset your mileometer at every turning and reference point, and follow the distances. But who does that? (A: me, I'm a navigational klutz and need all the help I can get)... MapKlutz Hint: Do a return journey route too...
...Oh, and MS bought Mapblast, so it sucks now (sorry, forget where I was for a minute!)
Microsoft Streets and Trips (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Microsoft Streets and Trips (Score:4, Informative)
The best part about S&T is that it's more interactive. I've got DSL and S&T is still faster. You can reroute the map if you *know* there's a better way. You can define multiple points on the journey and have a complete route. You can use it to print out *good* directions to meet up at some point.
Best part of all is portability. You can download a S&T map to your PDA (Ain't vendor-lockin grand?) or keep it on your laptop and view the directions that way.
Re:Microsoft Streets and Trips (Score:2, Interesting)
One nice thing about it is that you can take a laptop along and always be able to find your way. On trips if your navigator/passenger isn't totally brain dead you can use it to get around traffic jams, etc. in real time. It's also p
Re:Microsoft Streets and Trips (Score:3, Informative)
When Streets and Trips 2004 came out, grabbed a copy of it on sale (was like $25) after rebates.
Just got my copy of Mappoint 2004 about 2 weeks ago. Really like the updated maps.
What I do think needs some work is the GPS interface. MP can track the location of your vehicle from a gps device, but it does NOT hel
MapsOnUs / TeleAtlas (Score:3, Informative)
A few years ago, I was told by someone in the know that TANA tended to be more accurate in actually knowing where a given location was, while NavTech was better at turn-by-turn directions. No idea where MapQuest fits in (at the time, I thought they used NavTech).
IMHO, it's worth checking several sources to triangulate. Just check the fine print on the generated maps, to ensure that you're not looking at two presentations of the same data.
Just moved to Cincinnati... (Score:2)
I've found that Yahoo! has a tendency to map the the shortest distance as the crow flies, which almost inevitably turns out to be a long drive than Mapquest, which tends to get you to a freeway faster. Since I live next to a major freeway most trips are faster by using it i
MSN! (asbestos undies on...) (Score:4, Interesting)
How old are you? (Score:2)
Uh oh, he's posting to /.
NetNanny must be on the blink again.
Re:How old are you? (Score:2)
Both have advantages / drawbacks. (Score:2)
Rand Mcnally (Score:2)
ZIP2 was the best!! (Score:2)
yahoo for international maps (Score:2)
On the other hand I have found maps.yahoo.ca to be quite an excellent service. Go yahoo go.
Re: (Score:2)
Is NavTech Data OpenSource/Freely available? (Score:2, Insightful)
I was wondering if the data on the CDs you buy from NavTech is actually available in a handy electronic form for free?
It just seems like linux is missing a really cool opportunity to cash in on the embedded navigation market but doesn't seem to be doing so and I was wondering if this is because we can't get any access to decent electronic roadmap data without significant cost or NDAs.
Re:Is NavTech Data OpenSource/Freely available? (Score:2)
We're extremely lucky there any sites left that offer free NavTech data. Don't push it.
Re:Is NavTech Data OpenSource/Freely available? (Score:3, Informative)
Yahoo + Mozilla = Trouble (Score:2)
Yahoo changed their mapping program such that many of the buttons no longer work using Mozilla 1.4.
Is it an issue with Mozilla or with Yahoo! I don't know but I know who won out in my case. Mapquest did!!!
Re:Yahoo + Mozilla = Trouble (Score:2)
I use Yahoo with Mozilla almost on a daily basis. On multiple computers, I can assure you that it's your problem and not Mozilla.
Yahoo is superior to MapQuest just in the capacities of the Yellow Page integration.
Another: mapsonus.com (Score:2, Interesting)
Can't say its better than the rest though.
Re:Another: mapsonus.com (Score:2)
I don't use maps... (Score:2)
Wait, was this a poll? I don't remember. Maybe you could direct me to the proper section...
Still can't beat (Score:2)
that old guy... (Score:3, Funny)
Just git out here on the street and make a left. No, sorry, that's right. No, no, wait, left is right. Now, once you're headin' out that way, be shore to drive slow, cuzza dem potholes the danged gummint never fixes. I swear, those politicians never do a damned thang whut they don't hafta. Spendin' all that money on trips and whatnot, and never a thought atall about the little guy and his shocks.
Why, I remember, just last month, it was. Or maybe the month
AAA takes road construction into account (Score:2, Interesting)
Re: (Score:2)
I vote for Yahoo Maps! (Score:2)
Someone mod up the parent! (Score:2)
Hilarious.
Be wary of spaces! (Score:2)
Try fishing (Score:2)
The maps are PDF so it appeals to my computer senibilities. The site does not include navigational info unless you can read coordinates, so it is useless to dummies. All in all it is the best map site on the net.
Clearly Hibernate (Score:2)
Delorme (Score:2)
Microsoft ate and killed MapBlast (Score:2)
I wonder if there is any way to force Microsoft to sell the original MapBlast system, rather than simply suppressing it.
Aren't anti-competitive takeovers wonderful?
MapQuest and Yahoo pritty good. (Score:2)
Use both! (Score:2)
Driving Life!? (Score:2)
I sure hope he means his Driving life, otherwise he's is no more than 10 years old. And if he is driving at 10, I understand why he uses MapQuest, he can't see over the dashboard!
Automap services are great if you are going somewhere new, but if you are going to take a route frequently, nothing beats driving it a few times then getting out an old-fashion paper map and seeing if you can shave a few minutes of your trip going down side roads, etc.
Traffic is still
Security issues with MapQuest (Score:3, Informative)
MapQuest has some security issues, and I wouldn't recommend using it without cookies turned off or blocked.
There's a cross-site scripting attack which allows people to steal cookies for the site, which will include personal information such as the last three searches you did.
See this advisory [securiteam.com] for more info.
Re:Security issues with MapQuest (Score:4, Funny)
Oh no! They'll find out the quickest path between all the porn and bong shops in the Indianapolis metro area! The horrors!
maps... (Score:2)
Yahoo Maps for me (Score:2)
When I got to the UK, I use multimap.co.uk myself. It seems to work pretty well with just a postcode.
Mapopolis on my Pilot (Score:2, Interesting)
the route (Score:2)
Well, I just happen to be an expert on that. First, take 37 to the loop around Indy. Go north to 65. Continue on 65 until 94, and go west. From 94, take 294 West/North. Then, 290 West/North. Then 90 West/North. This will take you to Madison.
Bring a bunch of quarters, dimes, and nickels to pay for toll. It's just a few bucks.
NY Area PPL Beware Yahoo! Maps (Score:2)
The absolute best way... (Score:2)
My family and I did this over labor day and the amount of detail I was able to extract from the maps was amazing. I
Yahoo's burned me a couple times (Score:2)
I keep going back to figuring out my own route once I know where the destination is. I'll use Yahoo or MapQuest to give me an idea of roughly how to get there, but I always take an atlas or local roadmap and my GPS with me.
Aereal photos (Score:5, Informative)
I refuse to use Yahoo for maps ... (Score:2)
So I get there and start driving to my destination, only to discover that the directions on the map had me driving the wrong direction down one way streets.
I also noticed that the maps did not indicate which street were one way vs bi-directional.
I ended up buying some maps from a gas station
They all suck IMHO (Score:2)
Telmap (Score:2)
Available from MapMinder [mapminder.co.uk], is a mapping service developed by Telmap [telmap.com]. The map itself is beautiful (especially compared to MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps).The client is in Java, and works on all platforms with a Java Virtual Machine, but the website itself is sometimes broken on various browsers - if you decide to test it, I suggest going straight for the map [mapminder.co.uk] after registering (they have a 30 day free account). The map on this particular website is only for the UK, but the underlying technology is (obviously) not li
Yahoo!'s "Nearby businesses" good for moving (Score:2)
Mapquest NOT (Score:2)
Don't pick, use Google (Score:5, Informative)
When searching for an address, I've taken to just searching Google for it. The search is recognized as an address, and the top two links are for Yahoo & MapQuest; each gets opened in a new browser tab for comparison. Sometimes I prefer one, sometimes I prefer the other, but being able to have them side by side so easily gets the job done nicely.
Random recent observations, based on things I happened to be searching for earlier today:
For searching for domestic addresses, neither Yahoo Maps nor MapQuest has completely won me over. Searching both is easy enough that, barring a site redesign on the Mapquest side or a software upgrade on the Yahoo side, I for one will probably keep using both.
Does anyone know of any good alternatives to the "big two"? Or how about for international addresses -- is Yahoo good enough for addresses in e.g. Canada or Europe, or are there better local alternatives? I've seen streetmap.co.uk cited a lot by Londoners, but I don't know what people tend to use elsewhere, or if streetmap.co.uk has any major competition.
Don't visit Rhode Island! (Score:5, Funny)
"Go up this street to where the jewlery store burned down, take a left onto 6 and get off near where the old onramp used to be, then head towards Fort Thunder, which is now a Stop and Shop"
Seriously, that's how we give directions here. I didn't believe it until I caught myself doing it.
Re:Don't visit Rhode Island! (Score:2)
Sometimes you end up giving directions like "Get off 295 at Rt 30, go east about 6 miles, after passing two Wawas, turn right at the following light. Then go 2 miles and you'll see another Wawa. Turn left. etc etc"
This usually requires knowing what a Wawa is, and that's leads to another joke about SJ and Wawa: "You know you're from South Jersey if you know what a Wawa is, and can easily name the location of
Re:Don't visit Rhode Island! (Score:2)
Re:Don't visit Rhode Island! (Score:2)
Re:Don't visit Rhode Island! (Score:2)
Re:2 additions i'd like to see (Score:2)
I recently used the feature to tell the thing to give bme directions from Missouri to Phoenix, AZ via Flagstaff, AZ.
If I recall it can be used down to the street address level.
Re:Rand McNally of course... (Score:2)
You, too? Actually, for me, Yahoo Maps has steered me wrong about 50 times, and gave me very unclear directions another 50 times.