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Attached: 1 image Google totally sucks!
  • unglueclass23@programming.devOPEnglish
    31·
    3 days ago

    https://www.404media.co/google-maps-lake-america-lake-ontario-name-change/ more about this for those that live under a rock

    It was unclear in the days immediately following the order whether Google would respect the name change. MapQuest, the 1996 navigation service that still exists but most people stopped using in the early 2000s as Google Maps took over, went viral last week after posting a screenshot of Lake Ontario on X, saying “We’re not changing it.” MapQuest also launched a “Rename Lake Ontario” web toy.

    based

    Google follows the U.S. Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), which formally changed the name for ‘Lake Ontario’ to ‘Lake America’ in the United States, according to Google’s announcement about the change, posted Saturday: “Since we update Google Maps to reflect name changes in official government sources, which is GNIS for the U.S., people using Maps in the U.S. will see ‘Lake America,’ those in Canada will continue to see ‘Lake Ontario,’ and those outside of the U.S. and Canada will see both names. These updates follow our long-standing policy for bodies of water with names that vary from country to country, and are starting to roll out now.”

      • SteveCC@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        3 days ago

        Thank you. Do you have favorite android apps? If so, which? What’s the easiest way to contribute local info?

        • TheTechnician27@lemmy.worldEnglish
          16·
          3 days ago

          For using OSM on Android:

          • I use OsmAnd, which is free on F-Droid. It’s very feature-rich, and I can customize it pretty much exactly how I like. There’s a good tutorial for beginners here.
          • However, some people prefer the simplicity of the app CoMaps, which is available for Android and iOS. It’s a fork of Organic Maps that arose over disagreements with Organic’s governance (see: open letter).
          • There are also specialty apps like Alpi Maps for more specialized uses of OSM (in Alpi Maps’ case, hiking).

          For contributing to OSM on Android:

          • I use Vespucci for more complex edits on Android, so things like adding features. (The rough iOS equivalent is Go Map!!.)
          • I use StreetComplete for a more trimmed-down, gamified experience. It isn’t a power user experience like Vespucci, but it’s often really useful if you’re just on the go and want to make small but meaningful contributions.

          The easiest way I’ve found to contribute local information is the iD editor on desktop; it’s the one that pops up if you click ‘Edit’ on OpenStreetMap.org. It strikes a good balance between user-friendliness and power user stuff. For full-on power users, JOSM is a good option. And the easiest way to contribute in a limited way is StreetComplete, which will ask you questions about existing features (like “does this traffic signal have a walk button for pedestrians?”)

          Edit: I linked to but forgot to specifically mention the OpenStreetMap Wiki, which is a great general resource.

  • BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.todayEnglish
    15·
    3 days ago

    Canada should announce that they’ve changed the names of all the Great Lakes to Canadian names, like Lake Toronto, and Lake Ottawa. Make sure there’s a Lake Saskatchewan, because there is no way Trump can read or pronounce it, so that will really piss him off. Maybe he’ll painfully stroke out and croak, and we can all read about it the Big Beautiful Obituary.

    • corsicanguppy@lemmy.caEnglish
      3·
      3 days ago

      The only one to change would be Michigan. The rest honour the Huron and Erie tribes, for instance, and Canada owes a lot of its success at defeating American invaders in 1812 to the then-cooperation of various tribes.

      Michiganders have done no wrong.

  • Gladaed@feddit.orgEnglish
    132·
    3 days ago

    Their policy is that they show the names used in your country. This isn’t news, but always has been like that.

    • generator@lemmy.zipEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      Only shows if you’re on USA

      PS: Google Maps show a different map/names depending on the country you’re in, e.g. in China Taiwan doesn’t exist

  • rants_unnecessarily@piefed.socialEnglish
    4·
    3 days ago

    Still lake Ontario on mine.

    Had to go check though I’ve moved over to Here.

    Edit: that was yesterday. Just checked and it is indeed America now.

    What the actually duck.

  • LordKitsuna@lemmy.worldEnglish
    63·
    3 days ago

    Wish i could rely on alternatives like OSM. But every time i try its horrendously bad. Search is near useless. Dont have an exact address? That sucks you won’t find anything. Directions are basic, roads that no longer exist are used, and ofc it can’t take current traffic into account.

    This is all in Seattle, WA so it’s not lile its a density problem. I have learning disabilities that specifically make navigation in unfamiliar areas nearly impossible for me. I need my GPS to be reliable, while Google does occasionally do something stupid OSM does it every single time i open the app.

    Which is a shame because its way nicer looking and uses less memory/cpu then google maps, stays snappy and has some cool extra features. But i need to be able to search abstract concepts like grocery, restaurant, ramen, hardware store and have it actually find locations. Hell even if i search a specific name like Safeway it usually cant find it. Needing an exact address only makes a map worthless.

    • joostjakob@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      3 days ago

      There are many OSM apps, results may vary a lot. For search and adresses, Magic Earth might be your best choice. They also integrate some open data sources to improve address search, and there’s some live traffic data. Of course, if the road data is simply wrong, there’s little to be done about that. But some fixes are easy enough to do yourself without previous experience, or you can just drop a map Note on OpenStreetMap.org describing the issue and someone will fix it for you. OpenStreetMap in the US doesn’t have the same level of detail as in Europe, but it is evolving quickly. So even if it is not perfect now, don’t give up on it forever.

    • unglueclass23@programming.devOPEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      Yeah search is definitely lacking I noticed as well. You need to give a specific address then it finds it. I would guess at least partly it’s because they don’t track you. Also some apps built on OSM are better than others for this.

      I’m also annoyed that countries’ borders are not obvious in OSM as the name of the country is not emphasized well enough and the outlines sort of blend together, there’s also too many cities displayed. I have found this also to be the case in Cartes and Facilmap

      Compare:

      Versus