Amethyst Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I was supposed to go to a job interview today, and I couldn't make it because MapQuest gave bad directions. Not only that, but some guy ran into me in a parking lot. I was going slow, probably 10 mph at most, and he all of a sudden tries cutting in front of me and I couldn't stop because of the ice. Because we weren't going that fast, neither of us were hurt and our cars were just dinged. But it still pisses me off. I remember having asked the staffing agency for directions and all they gave me was an address. I figured I could trust MapQuest, but I can't even do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legion Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Well that just sucks. And that's all I have to say about that Amethyst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraphicsGuy Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I find Google Earth to be way more accurate. Mapquest has always been off with a number of things I've looked for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedah Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Yarp. Mapquest has problems. The way I do it is I use google maps with the hybrid mode, which lets you see both the satellite image and the roadmap. It makes it pretty easy to figure out which way you need to go by just looking at it like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I usually do these three things: I get the directions from Mapquest I get the directions from Google maps Then I look up the address on Google Earth and start zooming in and out and do angles and stuff until I get a bit familiar with the area. Unless I just wing it and get on the road and punch in the address on the nav... but that doesn't work too well either all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ouroboros Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Yarp. May I guess which movie you've watched? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlr72 Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 It just so happens that I'm a geographer by trade. You're much better off using a paper map because Mapquest and Yahoo maps, etc., use a system called Topologiically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing, or the TIGER system. It's error prone, and sometimes tends to take you on the "scenic" route, and nto the most direct route. Use a paper map or atlas, or at least a combination of a TIGER file and a map or atlas. You'll be much happier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Get a GPS. Even if you don't travel that much, just put it in your closet till you need it, they are getting affordable too, even a low end one will do better then mapquest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Get a GPS. Even if you don't travel that much, just put it in your closet till you need it, they are getting affordable too, even a low end one will do better then mapquest. Would be nice if I could afford one, but I can't. I have no money for that kind of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Get a GPS. Even if you don't travel that much, just put it in your closet till you need it, they are getting affordable too, even a low end one will do better then mapquest. Would be nice if I could afford one, but I can't. I have no money for that kind of thing. Hey, price them, some are really, really cheap. Prices have plummeted recently. My first one was over 1000 bucks, but I think you can get them now for less then 200.00 not bad, and you will be *amazed* how often it comes in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted December 6, 2007 Author Share Posted December 6, 2007 Get a GPS. Even if you don't travel that much, just put it in your closet till you need it, they are getting affordable too, even a low end one will do better then mapquest. Would be nice if I could afford one, but I can't. I have no money for that kind of thing. Hey, price them, some are really, really cheap. Prices have plummeted recently. My first one was over 1000 bucks, but I think you can get them now for less then 200.00 not bad, and you will be *amazed* how often it comes in handy. I can't afford $200 or less right now. Maybe a year from now, but not right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SWIM Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I can't afford $200 or less right now. Maybe a year from now, but not right now. Perfect time of year, btw, to drop "hints" to anyone that might be getting you something for xmass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurisaz Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 I was supposed to go to a job interview today, and I couldn't make it because MapQuest gave bad directions. Not only that, but some guy ran into me in a parking lot. I was going slow, probably 10 mph at most, and he all of a sudden tries cutting in front of me and I couldn't stop because of the ice. Because we weren't going that fast, neither of us were hurt and our cars were just dinged. But it still pisses me off. I remember having asked the staffing agency for directions and all they gave me was an address. I figured I could trust MapQuest, but I can't even do that. Eh, you don't like that, don't ever try to visit the Externsteine formation in Germany The closest village is Horn. I've been to Horn exactly 3 times. The first time with some friends (I wasn't the driver fortunately). We got into Horn fine, then found one of those infamous road signs with arrows pointing everywhere and the text "Alle Richtungen" (yes, this literally means "all directions"). Guess what? The sign was right. No matter what road we took, we came back to this place for at least an entire hour. You think the proverb says "All roads lead to Rome"? Well, possibly. I know for sure that all roads lead back to Horn... Second time was the Beltane party last year. Took note of every bend in the road, every crossroads et cetera. Almost made it back onto the main cross-country road back to our (Islington's and my) places, then found that there was some construction work ahead. Thought "oh well, will just drive around that". Twenty minutes later: "No idea where we are, but there's a road sign pointing to the city of Bielefeld - from there we will find directions!" Once there, we finally found signs "Autobahn to Hannover, this way". Great, we thought, we want to get back to Hannover. Let's take that road. That sign was the only one pointing to Hannover on the whole fucking continent! Once we were on the Autobahn... we were screwed. We finally made it back to Hannover... two hours late, 200 additional km, via faraway Dortmund. I was not willing to take another chance. The third visit to Horn went well, fortunately, because we had a native guide leading the way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosingMyReligion Posted December 8, 2007 Share Posted December 8, 2007 Actually, I use Yahoo! maps. It is surprisingly spot on accurate. Mapquest pisses me off something serious. And what is up with it not mapping your location once you already give your prior coordinates? I can never use the thing a second or third time. Definitely go with Yahoo! maps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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