Articles about Google Maps

Easter eggs -- secret extras hidden in software and on websites -- are not quite as prevalent as they used to be, but there are still plenty to be found out there. Google is one company that continues to hide little gems in its products, and many of them are games.

From Google Search and Android, to Maps and Google Earth, there are numerous little pick-up-and-play games that are perfect for killing a few minutes at work. So, grab yourself a coffee, have your fingers poised over Alt-Tab in case the boss appears, and get ready to play!

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Uber is considered the king of ride-sharing in the USA by many. Why is this? There are many likely factors, but ultimately, its brand got an early boost. There is definite name recognition, and the company's marketing keeps the brand on consumers' minds. In other words, "Uber" is to ride-sharing, as "Band-Aid" is to bandages. Many people do not consider alternatives.

But what if consumers did not need to be aware of the alternatives? What if they were instead shown multiple brand options -- including pricing -- next to Uber? This would not be good for Uber. There would be very visible alternatives -- with potentially lower prices -- which could take business from the aforementioned leader. Today, Google Maps is slowly enabling this very thing by expanding on its initial ride-share options, adding some significant choices when searching for a ride -- Lyft nationwide, and Gett in NYC. While Uber should be worried, consumers should be absolutely thrilled.

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Google Maps is a great tool for helping you get from A to B -- until you find yourself in an area with no data reception, that is. To help combat the problem -- and fighting expensive data charges at the same time -- Google is introducing a new Wi-Fi only mode which forces Google Maps into offline mode.

As well as preventing the app from struggling to download data over a rubbishy or non-existent connection, the update means that Google Maps relies entirely on your saved maps -- something Google says could boost battery life. But there's more!

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You've probably noticed that it can be hard to make out details on Google Maps. You're not alone; Google has noticed too, and the company has just launched a redesigned version of the essential travel tool.

The changes apply to the desktop, iOS and Android versions of Google Maps and the most immediately apparent difference is the new color palette -- much subtler and easier on the eyes. But Google has also cleaned things up to improve visibility, and added new 'areas of interest'.

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Google has done a great job of mapping the globe down to street level, but it's not perfect. You've almost certainly encountered errors and omissions on Google Maps, and starting today the company is making it easy to point out missing and incorrect data from the comfort of your mobile.

Crowdsourcing the collecting of map data is a great way to ensure that Google Maps is kept constantly up to date. It means that as businesses close down, change names, or open up, users can submit feedback to Google straight away so the information is available to everyone as quickly as possible.

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When Google Earth was first released, it was life-changing. While people take it for granted now, seeing aerial views of the entire planet -- including something as mundane as your neighbor's roof -- was something many folks never thought possible. This satellite imagery is now used in other mapping solutions, such as the ubiquitous Google Maps, giving us the ability to see the world from the comfort of our homes.

Google's satellite imagery looks great, but as those in the tech world know, there is no such thing as "good enough". Better is always just around the corner, and today, the search giant announces that its imagery has been improved.

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The Olympic games are a time when the countries of the world should put aside their differences to engage in sport. Whether that actually happens, however, is debatable. While the athletes are surely capable of focusing on the competition, it can be hard for long-standing disagreements to be forgotten -- even temporarily -- by their home countries.

If you plan to visit Brazil for the Olympic games, and to focus on sport and having fun, Google has you covered. In anticipation of the 2016 Rio Olympics, the search giant is bringing the 'Explore' feature to Brazil Maps.

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Summertime is on the horizon, which for many folks means traveling by car. Whether taking a short drive to a local beach, or a cross-country family vacation, the warm weather makes for a fun time -- if you have air-conditioning, that is! Nowadays, smartphones make the experience even better, thanks to streaming music and GPS-based mapping services.

Unfortunately, keeping your phone charged and easily accessible is problematic. Wires can easily get tangled, and holding your phone while driving is dangerous. Not to mention, when multiple people are in the car, there may be arguments over who gets to use the 12V outlet. Today, Bracketron unveils the TekGrip Power Dock -- an elegant smartphone charger and mount that may alleviate many of the aforementioned woes.

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Believe it or not, I have never been to the opera. Truth be told, I am more of a sports and chicken wings kind of guy, but I am not opposed to more sophisticated things. I've been to my fair share of Broadway shows, and eaten at fancy restaurants with cloth napkins, but the opportunity to attend the opera has never surfaced.

Thanks to Google Maps Street View, however, I can now experience the Sydney Opera House, including its famous "sails", from the comfort of my computer. Yes, you can now take a virtual tour as if you are really there!

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Generating a shortened URL to share content may seem like a good idea, but it may also expose you to unnecessary security risks, a new research paper shows. Titled Gone in Six Characters: Short URLs Considered Harmful for Cloud Services, it explains how short URLs can be used by malicious players to plant malware, copy personal files, and retrieve all sorts of personal information, like your home address, among other things.

URL shorteners, as their name suggest, are meant to bring long links, that can contain dozens of characters, usually down to just a few letters and numbers. That has some clear benefits: shortened URLs suit SMS messages and tweets better, look nicer in conversations, and allow services to track the number of clicks for a specific link, among other things. But the fact that they only contain a handful of characters makes them susceptible to brute-force search.

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Less than a month after its last update, Google has rolled out Google Maps for iOS 4.17. The big news here is the addition of taxi services when comparing route options for six countries, including the US, UK and India.

Supported taxi services include Uber, plus 99Taxis (Brazil), Ola Cabs (India), Hailo (UK and Spain), mytaxi (Germany and Spain), and Gett (UK).

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When I was in elementary school, and even early into high school, I would decorate my notebooks and binders with stickers. In the 80s, it was Garbage Pail Kids, and as I got older, rock bands and such. Yeah, I was totally cool.

In the tech world, customization is always popular, including stickers. Think about it -- some people decorate their laptops with stickers, while other folks put case badges on their gaming PCs. Today, Google is bringing virtual stickers to Google Maps on Android.

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Remember the days when we went everywhere with either a printed map or none at all? That's not the case these days as we almost universally have maps at our fingertips. Leading the way in this market is Google, which powers many mobile devices, though it's far from the only option.

Now the search giant is rolling out an update that it hopes will improve getting around town. This comes in the form of a dedicated tab aimed at commuting in the fastest way possible.

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South Africa, as the name implies, lies at the very bottom tip of the continent for which the nation is named. The coast is a region that has long been feared by mariners, who dubbed it Cape of Good Hope -- hopes were that you would survive the journey around it, passing from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

But there is much more to South Africa than just that, there's a history there and, also great wildlife that needs to be protected, not to mention the beautiful scenery.

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It's been almost five years since the infamous Japanese earthquake and tsunami event. On March 11, 2011 the cataclysmic natural disaster unfolded, seemingly before our eyes thanks to 24-hour news coverage. The world watched in horror and donations poured in for relief efforts.

While I doubt anyone has really forgotten that terrible day, it has faded in the memories, except for those who live there or have friends and relatives in the area.

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