The first time I went to Italy was, I think, when I was about 18 or 19 years old. My friend and I took the train down to Milan from Zug, Switzerland (where his father lives), and we got out of the train station without… Read More
All posts tagged “google maps”
Google Maps for the Roman Empire
Okay, this is neat. Stanford has created what is effectively Google Maps for the Roman Empire. What it shows you is the principal routes of the Roman World: the road network, the main navigable rivers, and the hundreds of sea routes that crossed the Mediterranean,… Read More
Popular times — how live is live?
I was searching for a location this morning on Google Maps and I came across the “popular times” chart that many of you are probably familiar with. It shows you how busy the location you’re looking at tends to be throughout the day. But this… Read More
Too many plug types is a problem for EVs
Google Maps recently introduced a new feature that allows you to search for electric vehicle charging stations by plug type. Here’s what it looks like when I tried it here in Toronto: While helpful, it demonstrates two things. One, there are too many plug types… Read More
Our ambient computing future
I noticed this week that Google has started to overlay augmented reality-type place markers onto Street View. The markers are designed to help surface the kind of local business information that you might otherwise find in search — phone number, hours of operation, and so… Read More
Rue Eugene Sue and rue Simart
At the intersection of rue Eugene Sue and rue Simart in Paris is a collection of mid-rise buildings that were constructed during Haussmann’s renovation of Paris in the second half of the 19th century. They were intended to house some 10,000 workers. Here’s an aerial… Read More
Paris and Vancouver population densities compared
In this January 2018 report from the Fraser Institute, they pegged the average population density of Paris to be about 21,067 inhabitants per square kilometer (2014 population year). It is the second densest city in their report after Hong Kong, but the densest in Europe.… Read More
Comparing ICE vehicle and electric vehicle travel times
While we were doing our West Palm Beach to Toronto road trip last weekend, I started wondering how much longer the trip would be taking had we been driving a Tesla. The drive, according to Google Maps, is normally about 20 hours and 46 minutes.… Read More
100 years since Cincinnati tried to build a subway
I can get lost on Google Maps for hours on end. I love looking at maps and I love using Street View to virtually explore cities. This morning I’m honed in on Cincinnati, Ohio (a city I’ve never been to) while I listen to this… Read More
From map books to Google Maps
When I was a kid I remember my parents having something called a “Perly’s” in their car. It was basically a map book and it was the best thing around. You would start by looking at a big grid of the city and then you’d find… Read More