Apple Needs to Borrow a Google Maps Feature

Posted on by dudley228

By Jason Harris

I was going to Terrificon a couple of weekends ago. Usually, I would be using Apple Maps. In this case, I needed directions directly to the Winter Garage at Mohegan Sun since Terrificon was taking place near it. Apple Maps would give me directions to the casino, but not directly to the Winter Garage. Google Maps gave me directions instantly to the Winter Garage.

Apple Maps added in a version of iOS 14 the ability to report speed traps. I have been using it since it was added but have never seen any reports show up. I am wondering if the reason I haven’t seen it is that no one is using the feature on Apple Maps because they don’t know about the feature, or Apple is making sure it isn’t abused by waiting for a few reports.

Google Maps has the feature of reporting speed traps too. On my trip to Mohegan Sun, I saw a report of a police trap up ahead. It also mentioned how many people reported it and the last time it was reported. These are the two features Apple should add. I reported a speed trap and it showed up immediately. Apple needs to do this as well.

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Using Different Apps for My Trip to Macstock 2019

Posted on by dudley228

By Jason Harris

This year was my second year attending Macstock, which is in it’s fifth year.

Macstock is a conference for Apple enthusiasts. This year’s theme was create. It was a very inspiring conference. It’s a very fun, inexpensive conference that takes place in McHenry, Illinois.

I used a number of apps in the preplanning and during my travels to get there.

The first app I started using before my trip was Apple Notes. I created two notes for my trip. One note that contained the conference’s information was repurposed from last year’s Macstock note. I just added the pertinent information for this year. I called these notes “Trip to Macstock” and “Macstock Trip Information” and were started at the beginning of the year.

From Connecticut to Illinois, it’s a 16 hour trip. I left on the Saturday before Macstock. I made a number of stops on the way.

In my Trip to Macstock note, I had all types of information contained within.

I placed the information from the places I wanted to or potentially could visit if time permitted. The websites and admission prices of these places were included. If you want to see pictures of my trip, check out my Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/dudley228/

I also used a number of apps on a daily basis while I was there.

While in Chicago, I started using Apple Maps again. I had been using Google Maps until I missed a turn. I will admit I may have missed the turn because I read the map wrong, but I do know I never got a notification to turn either. Well, after that incident and I think there was one other one, I decided to go back to Apple Maps. It did quite well for me while I was there. I have stayed with the app once I was back in Connecticut. It has been over two months since I went back to Apple Maps and in that time I have had two wrong misdirects with it. That’s not a bad average when I use this app every single day.

AroundMe is another app I used while on my trip. This app allows you to search within your location. I used it mostly to find gas stations and restaurants. I have always enjoyed using this app instead of a map app because I feel it’s more exact over Google and Apple Maps.

The other two apps I used are the native camera app and the Camera+ 2 app. I love the presets on Camera+ 2 app. I used the macro, RAW, and Action presets. One of the pictures I took with the Action preset is right below this sentence.

I took over 1,000 pictures on my trip. More than 200 of those pictures were taken at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.

Switching From Apple to Google

Posted on by dudley228

I have gone back to Google Maps from Apple Maps. The reason for the switch is lately I have been having issues with Apple Maps. I had gone back to Apple Maps when I started using the iOS 10 Beta back in July. Lately when using the maps app, I would be following the directions when the voice dictation would start over again from the beginning of my trip. I would fix it by canceling the trip and just starting over again. It was annoying, but workable. It didn’t take long before it got worse. I switched back to Google Maps when this past Friday Apple Maps wouldn’t even give me directions to the place I needed to go to. I tried three times and gave up. I needed something that worked for my job so the switch happened.

There were a few reasons why I switched back to Apple Maps in July. One of the reasons was because of the upgrade and new look it got with iOS 10. Since I’ve been wearing glasses for over 30 years, I loved the bold, new look, which comes in handy for quick-glance information on the phone screen.

The biggest reason I switched back to Apple and it wasn’t something new with iOS 10. It’s the fact that when using Apple Maps while listening to podcasts it doesn’t talk over the podcast. I would never want to miss hearing any part of the podcasts I listen to.

When I started using Google Maps again I was happy to find out that it doesn’t give directions over podcasts any longer. I’m not sure when that changed, but it’s a welcome change. At the moment, I’m not sure if I will go back to Apple Maps if it gets fixed or even better. Time will tell. -Jason Harris