Articles about Google Maps

One of the great things about travel is the food you get to try, authentic dishes that can sometimes only be found in certain locations. If you aren't picky about new things then you just may find something to satisfy your culinary dreams, perhaps a dish you've never heard of.

Google Maps has been guiding users to restaurants in both the US and UK for a while now, using a feature called "Explore Around You". Now the search giant is bringing this to more nations so both locals and travelers can find a location to satisfy their appetites.

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Watching the Super Bowl is easy. Sit down, turn on your TV, and you are good to go. With that said, properly experiencing the big game is something else. For maximum fun, it is a good idea to watch it with other people while eating delicious snacks.

If you are an Android user and not sure where to watch Super Bowl 50, Google has you covered. Its Maps service will help you discover some awesome places to watch the game. If you don't have any friends to call upon, don't worry -- you can use this as an opportunity to make some.

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There is no shortage of online blabbers making predictions about the future or bloggers pining pageviews with rumors about the next thing (usually from Apple). I rarely join the chorus of new year prognosticators—and won't now. Instead I make a wishful what-if aimed squarely at Google. Watching the blizzard blast the Washington, D.C. metro area, once my home and for most of my adult life, I got to thinking: Wouldn't a live feed, something like Google Drone Street View, be fantastic way to experience the storm?

Why shouldn't this be the next wave in drone deployments? If not from Google, then from newscasters? The low-flyers could go where snow would stop motorized vehicles; and, connected in real-time to Google Maps, provide contextual viewing experience. You can be there, too, even if living one-thousand kilometers distant. Newscasters could use drones to give a more immersive watching experience.

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It's hard to have too much storage, and cloud storage is particularly handy. Microsoft may have cut the amount of space OneDrive users have access to, but Google is giving you a way to gain 1TB of Google Drive space for free.

There is, of course, a slight catch. While the storage space is free, you will have to work for it. It's all part of a big push of Google's Local Guides program. Make contributions to Google Maps in the form of uploading photos, writing reviews, and correcting mistakes and you'll be rewarded in a number of ways.

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Google has unveiled updates to its Google Maps for iOS and Google Maps for Android apps. The big news in this latest release is the addition of support for the Apple Watch on the iOS platform.

Both Android and iOS users also gain additional new features including support for comparing ETAs across a range of transit options, plus the ability to generate directions and call businesses directly from a list of places.

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I'm going to let you in on a little secret -- I am overweight, and love to eat. It's true. While I have been known to chow down on fast food like McDonalds and Taco Bell, my true enjoyment is higher-end dining. Dinner at a fancy restaurant is a great way to relax after a hard week of work.

When you live in a place like New York, however, deciding on a place to eat can be difficult. The number of high-quality restaurants are endless. With that said, you never want to try a new place on a whim and end up having an expensive and disappointing meal. If you are an Android user, you can now explore and discover new restaurants without fear. Google Maps will now assist you in dining discovery, and depending on where you live, will offer curated listings as well. Hopefully this will come to iOS too. Bon appétit!

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Sir Isaac Newton famously said that "If I have seen further, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants". Newton referred to the scientists who came before him, but Charles Darwin could have uttered a similar phrase. The explorer and scientist visited the islands of Galapagos and saw literal giants in the form of turtles, or tortoises to be precise. In fact, Darwin brought one home to England, though Harriet eventually resided in Australia before she died at the age of approximately 176.

Now you can see these famous, and seemingly ageless, creatures on Google Maps. No need to board the HMS Beagle and set sail, just look on your computer.

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Google has come a long way over the years, but one thing has remain remarkably simple: its logo. There have been various designs for the six, colorful letters and today the company has taken the wraps off the latest version... complete with an uppercase G!

It's going to take a while for some people to get used to, but the clean, sans serif look of the new logo is simultaneously modern and retro. But today's announcement is about more than the main logo -- this is the launch of a new 'identity family'. In addition to the main logo, there's also a new four-color G icon, as well as similarly-colored imagery for other elements.

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Google is everywhere, you cannot run and you cannot hide. Well, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but if you use Android or any of Google's services, it is compiling data to track your actions and behaviors. The search giant may know your favorite restaurants, sexual tastes, plus home and work locations too.

If you use Google Maps and location services, the search giant is even tracking your movements. While that can lead to powering some useful solutions, it is also creepy as hell. Today, Google announces "Your Timeline", which is a tool for Android and desktop that shows you all the places you have been. While it is sort of cool, it is also a reminder that Google is watching you.

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Whenever I use Bing Maps I get the sense that Microsoft has long conceded that its service will never be as popular as Google Maps. Otherwise it would look more visually appealing -- not as if it is a low-priority product -- and frequently gain new, powerful features. With Windows 10 on the horizon -- and Bing a key part of the experience -- not having Bing Maps ready for an influx of new users feels like a missed opportunity.

However, Microsoft is actively working on a major redesign for Bing Maps, which might put it back on consumers' radar. "Users want a map experience that is fast and easy to use, and makes the most of the visually rich data that maps can bring to life", says the team behind the service. And with lots of changes, it certainly looks promising.

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As a wise man once wrote, "I'd like to be under the sea". Now you can go there virtually, thanks to advances in technology. No, you won't be diving to the depths of the Marianas Trench, but you can get a feel for what is beneath those waves that both fascinate and terrify us.

June 8th is World Oceans Day, dedicated to protecting what we have -- the coral reefs and the life that thrives out of our sight. Google has been sending its Street View team undersea in recent times and now does so again in honor of the upcoming day.

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When it hit the national news that searching for certain racist and offensive words in Google Maps brought up the White House, I was immediately appalled. As someone who grew up listening to Hip-Hop music, I've heard similar language before, so I was not offended by the words themselves. I was, however, disappointed in the apparent disrespect towards our President and the ignorance of the perpetrator.

With that said, I was not angry at the search giant, as I knew it was not the company's doing, but simply a byproduct of a user's anonymous free speech. Heck, Barack Obama and Google are quite close -- blaming the company makes no sense. Of course, modern society and the public relations machine requires an apology for this, so today, Google has done so. Do you think the search giant needed to?

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Google hides lots of Easter eggs in its products and services. Usually fun little extras designed to amuse. However, the latest one discovered in Google Maps is of questionable taste.

Tucked away in Pakistan, close to the New Islamabad International Airport, is a cartoon image of Google’s Android urinating on an Apple logo. Nice.

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It is no secret that Nokia is pondering the sale of its HERE division. The Finnish company wants to focus on the telecommunications market, and HERE, which offers location services, mapping and navigation software, seems to be nothing but extra weight to lug around. Seeing as a sale is inevitable, the question is, who is going to buy it?

A rumor that's floating around now suggests that Nokia has pitched the sale of HERE to Apple, among other companies. The Cupertino, Calif.-based corporation would certainly stand to benefit from acquiring the technology that powers HERE, as its own attempt at offering navigation software to iOS users has not gone particularly well. Such a purchase, while extremely interesting for Apple, would have deep implications for HERE's current clients, which will most certainly not be favored by it. Here's what it could entail.

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The Loch Ness Monster is right up there with Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman, and many lesser known legends as well. We're not here to tell you what to believe, that's entirely up to you. Either way, Loch Ness is one of the most famous locations in Scotland and you can now visit it from the comfort of your home or office.

Google Maps has gone to the trouble of putting the famous lake into Street View -- no monsters involved. It conjures up images of the famous Surgeon's Photo, the most enduring, iconic and fraudulent image of Nessie. Still, the location is beautiful, and for those not able to make the trip this is the next best thing.

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