WEBVTT - TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Navigates Google Maps 0:00:04.240 --> 0:00:07.240 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production of I Heart Radios 0:00:07.320 --> 0:00:14.040 How Stuff Works. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 0:00:14.080 --> 0:00:17.079 I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 0:00:17.160 --> 0:00:19.880 I Heart Radio and I love all things tech and 0:00:19.960 --> 0:00:24.040 today's episode is a classic episode. It's a Friday, so 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:27.480 it's time to look back at classics. This episode originally 0:00:27.520 --> 0:00:32.479 published on February first, two thousand thirteen. It is called 0:00:32.640 --> 0:00:37.680 tech Stuff navigates Google Maps and yeah, I'd be lost 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:40.120 without it, so it's good that we actually covered this. 0:00:40.240 --> 0:00:43.599 Lauren Vogelbaum and I dove into this topic and I 0:00:43.640 --> 0:00:47.000 hope you enjoy this classic episode. It is the end 0:00:47.120 --> 0:00:50.120 of a long day here at How Stuff Works Headquarters. 0:00:50.440 --> 0:00:53.200 I don't know where I am anymore, which is good 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:56.080 because we're talking about Google Maps. So hopefully I will 0:00:56.080 --> 0:00:57.960 be able to find some direction in my life by 0:00:57.960 --> 0:00:59.480 the end of the show, because we live in the 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:03.080 incredible Sure. So you have a cell phone in your pocket? Right? Uh? Well, 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.440 technically my cellphones at my desk, but normally, yes, I 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:07.120 would in fact have it in my pocket. Okay, you 0:01:07.160 --> 0:01:10.119 have hypothetical cell phone in your hypothetical pocket. I'll roll 0:01:10.200 --> 0:01:12.959 with that and therefore you were connected to a network 0:01:13.000 --> 0:01:15.560 of systems that knows exactly where you are. It's both 0:01:16.240 --> 0:01:20.480 reassuring and yet terrifying, which I think should be the 0:01:20.480 --> 0:01:23.280 slogan for Google Maps. I used to have that on 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:27.280 my business card, Jonathan Strickland. Reassuring and yet terrifying. Well, 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:30.240 let's let's talk a little bit about Google Maps now. Now, Lauren, 0:01:30.280 --> 0:01:33.120 I know and your research because we alluded to it 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:36.480 earlier before we actually sat down at the microphones. You 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.520 said you had sort of a kind of a grand 0:01:39.600 --> 0:01:44.880 scale timeline of the Google Maps experience, which is not 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:46.959 what I was looking up. So I would be fascinating 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.040 to hear a little bit more about this, of course. Yes, 0:01:49.080 --> 0:01:52.080 and this is an extremely comple complex timeline that I 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.320 that I paged together from a single document that Google 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:57.800 has up on its website. So don't don't tell them 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:00.560 how the sausage is made, Laurena. We are brilliant. They 0:02:00.560 --> 0:02:02.800 don't know that. I actually want to go a little 0:02:02.800 --> 0:02:07.360 bit back before their timeline starts, which was when map 0:02:07.440 --> 0:02:10.720 Quest launched. Oh yeah, now see, I remember the map 0:02:10.800 --> 0:02:13.840 Quest days, folks. For those of you who have never 0:02:14.320 --> 0:02:18.200 used the web, back in the mid nineties. That quest 0:02:18.280 --> 0:02:21.120 was a revelation because it was this idea that, hey, 0:02:21.520 --> 0:02:24.320 there's this place I want to go, but I don't 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:27.200 read maps very well. I don't like having to sit 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.040 there and stare at intersections, and I don't I don't know. 0:02:30.240 --> 0:02:32.639 I don't understand how the folding works, or I have 0:02:32.919 --> 0:02:35.000 purchased the right one for this area. I don't know 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.880 which streets are one way versus two way, and then 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.160 I end up making a plan that ends up wrecking 0:02:40.200 --> 0:02:43.000 about a dozen cars, and I'm in a Michael Bay movie. 0:02:43.040 --> 0:02:47.320 Suddenly these are all bad things in my personal experience. Uh, 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:49.200 Michael Bay, if you want me in your next movie, 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:54.359 call me anyway. I can't explode the But the important 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:59.160 thing here was that you could actually plot out a pathway. Now, 0:03:00.040 --> 0:03:03.280 back then that was pre mobile web for most parts, 0:03:03.440 --> 0:03:06.960 so you ended up having to physically print the document 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:09.600 that would give you the turn by turn directions and 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:11.440 then take that with you in the car, in the 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:13.880 place of a more traditional map, which the company that 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:18.320 created map Quest actually began by making traditional maps, and 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.920 they still do. I think right probably you couldn't You 0:03:20.919 --> 0:03:24.360 could even have a voice turn by turn if you 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.600 had a passenger read out, Hey, you know that street 0:03:27.639 --> 0:03:29.560 we just passed. We totally should have turned there. They 0:03:29.560 --> 0:03:31.040 could do it in a robot voice if they if 0:03:31.040 --> 0:03:33.520 you really want them to. Almost every single person who's 0:03:33.560 --> 0:03:36.240 written with me eventually starts to talk like a robot. 0:03:36.920 --> 0:03:43.680 That's interesting and all right for reassuring and terrifying. I'm 0:03:43.720 --> 0:03:47.520 not sure if that one's reassuring at all anyway. Um So, 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.040 so yeah, let's you know, map Quest enjoyed a good 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:53.800 several years on the web, pretty much unrivaled, and then 0:03:53.960 --> 0:03:57.840 then in two thousand four, Google which at the time, 0:03:57.880 --> 0:03:59.640 do you know what Google was doing in two thousand four, 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:08.320 L for sho jesus see when Google incorporates I would 0:04:08.320 --> 0:04:12.160 have been discussing with Yahoo in two thousand No, I 0:04:12.200 --> 0:04:14.720 don't know what happened in well neither do I. So 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:17.680 this is like, this is terrific. That's awesome. So that 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:21.160 was a question of true you really wanted to know 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:24.839 a lot of curiosity. I bet Google was looking around. Well, okay, 0:04:24.839 --> 0:04:27.360 so at this time Google had already started to figure 0:04:27.360 --> 0:04:31.080 out how to monetize search. Okay, so this part I 0:04:31.120 --> 0:04:33.080 can talk about just off the top of my head, 0:04:33.440 --> 0:04:37.559 Google had cracked the code on monetizing search. And in fact, 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.000 if you look at Google as a company, a lot 0:04:40.040 --> 0:04:43.839 of analysts will tell you Google really is an ad company, 0:04:43.920 --> 0:04:47.280 not a search company. They serve up ads. They happen 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:51.240 to do that primarily through search. Well, they also determined 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:54.200 that searching it goes beyond just searching for a term 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:56.400 and getting a web page back. It also could mean 0:04:56.720 --> 0:04:59.520 finding ways to get to stuff. Now, Google did not 0:04:59.600 --> 0:05:02.960 necessary really have the people in the house to develop 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.560 that sort of technology from the ground up, right, and 0:05:05.560 --> 0:05:08.240 that is why they acquired two companies. They acquired where 0:05:08.279 --> 0:05:12.240 to and also Keyhole UM. Now, where Too was a 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:16.080 Sydney based company UM Design run by two Danish brothers, 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.839 I believe, and yes, I can never say that, so 0:05:19.880 --> 0:05:23.120 I'm glad that you did um and uh. And Keyhole 0:05:23.200 --> 0:05:26.080 was the company UM that had the software that would 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:29.240 become Google Earth. Okay, all right, So yeah, so you've 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:33.840 got the foundations for mapping software and and Google Earth, 0:05:33.839 --> 0:05:37.240 which Google Earth is a is a wonderful tool and 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:39.680 it's really super cool. We will not be talking a 0:05:39.720 --> 0:05:41.760 lot about Google Earth in this podcast because it really 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:44.280 goes outside the realm of what we're chatting about We 0:05:44.360 --> 0:05:46.640 might allude to it once or twice, but it's sort 0:05:46.640 --> 0:05:50.240 of its own thing as opposed to you know, it's 0:05:50.279 --> 0:05:52.839 like a separate product from Google Map. Sure, bits of 0:05:52.880 --> 0:05:54.880 it have been integrated to Google Maps to make it 0:05:54.920 --> 0:05:57.640 the rich experience that it is today, but for the 0:05:57.680 --> 0:06:00.279 most part it is a separate issue. Yeah, but but 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:04.359 integral to to creating the Google Maps experience that that 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:06.240 we know of today. Sure. So that was That was 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:09.960 two thousand four, two thousand five, UM February is when 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:14.200 the project of Google Maps was announced on the Google blog. 0:06:14.600 --> 0:06:17.960 And at that time, Google Maps was available only through 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:22.599 two web browsers. Those web browsers were Bob's who lived 0:06:22.600 --> 0:06:25.200 in No wait, no, I'm sorry, web browsers, not just 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:29.440 two people. One was an Internet Explorer, which was at 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:35.640 the time the dominant, overwhelmingly dominant browser. It's interesting to 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:40.120 see like the whole rise and fall of the various browsers. Uh. 0:06:40.160 --> 0:06:43.600 And the other one was not Netscape. Netscape was already 0:06:44.040 --> 0:06:46.600 off the charts at that point. It was Mozilla, which 0:06:46.680 --> 0:06:50.960 we would eventually think of as Firefox because Firefox it 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.400 was not you know, Firefox is not Firefox is a 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.680 direct descendant of Mozilla, but it's kind of a branch 0:06:57.000 --> 0:07:00.120 it split off. But anyway, at the time, those are 0:07:00.120 --> 0:07:04.839 the two browsers that supported Google Maps right um. Also 0:07:04.880 --> 0:07:08.280 in two thousand five, in June, Google Earth and Google 0:07:08.279 --> 0:07:13.280 Maps API both launched. Right API that's an applications program 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:18.040 that allows developers to create stuff that works with whatever 0:07:18.080 --> 0:07:21.640 it is the product is. So lots of different products 0:07:21.680 --> 0:07:25.440 have this, not just in Google Application programming interfaces. Technically 0:07:25.480 --> 0:07:28.240 what API stands for so this is an interface that 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:32.960 lets you build extra cool stuff that uses the technology 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:36.600 developed by someone else. So Facebook, for example, has an 0:07:36.600 --> 0:07:40.280 API that allows people to build the various games and 0:07:40.320 --> 0:07:45.080 other apps that run within the context of Facebook. So 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:50.080 the Google Maps API gave opportunities to other web pages 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:54.200 to have this stuff integrated into their page. So you 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:57.440 might see this was kind of a response to hackers 0:07:57.640 --> 0:08:00.360 who hackers were sit there and they were kind of 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:04.200 reverse engineering Google Maps to figure out how it worked 0:08:04.480 --> 0:08:08.880 and to try and give it new abilities based upon 0:08:08.920 --> 0:08:11.600 their own experience, and Google eventually said, you know what, 0:08:11.920 --> 0:08:13.680 let's just go ahead and create an API to make 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:17.080 this easier because there's some really cool stuff happening out there. Yeah, 0:08:17.160 --> 0:08:20.360 and also once you once you give people the capacity 0:08:20.400 --> 0:08:22.600 to use your product on their page, then you can 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:25.640 add your advertising into it. And yet again they are 0:08:25.760 --> 0:08:28.760 an advertising company. A lot more people use your stuff 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:30.840 if you make it easier to use. Who would have 0:08:30.920 --> 0:08:36.480 funked it? Absolutely insane? Um And in October of two five, 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:39.960 Maps for Mobile launched and uh and that was that 0:08:40.040 --> 0:08:44.120 was back early enough in in cell phone service industry 0:08:44.280 --> 0:08:48.520 that maybe not that many people were capable of using it. Yeah, 0:08:48.559 --> 0:08:51.679 two thousand five, you're talking about a time when uh uh, 0:08:51.880 --> 0:08:54.400 you know smartphones. If you listen to our history of 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:57.280 Smartphones episodes and if you have it, it's okay, we'll wait. 0:08:58.160 --> 0:09:01.240 But you know that that's pretty early on in the 0:09:01.320 --> 0:09:03.720 history of smartphones. I mean, until we hit two thousand seven, 0:09:03.720 --> 0:09:07.080 when the iPhone comes out, smartphones did not really become 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:10.360 a big thing in the consumer market. I mean, we 0:09:10.400 --> 0:09:15.120 had prosumers and executives who people in the business market, 0:09:15.120 --> 0:09:17.400 people who needed to be connected to their email all 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.079 the time and bury all that kind of stuff above 0:09:20.120 --> 0:09:22.719 our pay grade. You know, they were taking advantage of 0:09:22.760 --> 0:09:25.200 this stuff. But yeah, it's kind of interesting that the 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:28.120 Google got into that. Now, granted it makes perfect sense, right, 0:09:28.160 --> 0:09:31.600 because it's again, why why are you using these map 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:33.720 programs in the first place. It's usually because you have 0:09:33.800 --> 0:09:36.719 to find your way to some other location, and so 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.200 it makes us to do that most often, possibly business 0:09:39.200 --> 0:09:41.840 travelers have people who are going places. It turns out 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:43.480 that if you want to get from point A to 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:46.000 point B, it's not always convenient to carry a desktop 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:50.600 computer with you in the way. Yes, yes, um, okay, yeah. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:53.480 And then then two thousand and six was when um, 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:56.040 some of Google Earth's satellite images started to be integrated 0:09:56.040 --> 0:10:00.480 into maps. Very cool, making everything shiny um. And then 0:10:00.480 --> 0:10:04.600 in July, Live traffic on mobile launched also cool. Yeah, 0:10:04.679 --> 0:10:06.720 traffic is very cool. Yeah, we'll talk a little bit 0:10:06.760 --> 0:10:10.000 about how they do that later on. It's neat, Yes, 0:10:10.640 --> 0:10:15.280 it's mostly neat. It knows where you are, but but 0:10:15.320 --> 0:10:19.520 not you just you there. We go pretty much summed 0:10:19.520 --> 0:10:21.000 it up, but we will repeat it later in the show. 0:10:21.000 --> 0:10:23.760 Don't worry with a little bit more clarity and fewer pronouns. 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:30.319 Uh so yeah. Two thousand seven was when my Maps launched. 0:10:31.000 --> 0:10:34.920 My Maps being um uh the capacity for individual users 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:39.160 to make customized, shareable maps without using that fancy API 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.200 kind of stuff and needing to have an actual developer 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:44.600 working in things cool. So this weird idea, like, uh, 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:47.280 if you want to create a map that showed off, 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:52.320 say a particular hiking route or jogging route or something, 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:54.120 and you could send it off to someone else saying 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:56.840 this is what I use because it's really well lit, 0:10:57.000 --> 0:10:59.800 it's safe, neighborhoods. That kind of stuff very useful. Yeah. Yeah, 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:01.560 if you're having a progressive dinner party and you want 0:11:01.600 --> 0:11:03.360 to show people the route from one house to the next, 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.240 something like that progressive dinner party, it sounds like a 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:09.000 different thing than it is. I usually have aggressive dinner 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.760 parties where I just I just received further and further 0:11:12.800 --> 0:11:16.120 into the background that everyone who's listening is like, that 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.800 is so not true. He just gets more and more boisterous, 0:11:19.840 --> 0:11:27.120 he does. But I have I have no transitions for 0:11:27.160 --> 0:11:31.760 any of these in in may view, it was a 0:11:31.840 --> 0:11:34.840 thing that he um and and that was that was 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.720 when that was when they put some cameras on top 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:39.600 of some cars and sent them out into the world 0:11:39.640 --> 0:11:43.800 and took a whole bunch of pictures of everything, upsetting 0:11:43.840 --> 0:11:46.640 some people, which we will talk about again later on 0:11:46.679 --> 0:11:50.520 in the podcast. Um, but but but giving you giving 0:11:50.559 --> 0:11:53.640 you the capacity to visit a place that you have 0:11:53.840 --> 0:11:56.240 never been and get an idea of what it's like 0:11:56.240 --> 0:11:58.959 to walk around there. Very useful. I I used this 0:11:59.280 --> 0:12:01.000 when I took a up to New York so I 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:03.640 could figure out where I needed to go to catch 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.960 the subway, and so I was looking for visual cues 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.840 because uh, I'm a Southerner and I was lost in 0:12:10.880 --> 0:12:15.200 New York City and uh speaking speaking of which, a 0:12:15.240 --> 0:12:18.520 Google Transit was then integrated into Maps in October. Yes, 0:12:18.840 --> 0:12:21.439 very useful, so extremely useful, especially for people who do 0:12:21.520 --> 0:12:24.560 not drive. Yes, this this is the product that lets 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:28.360 you look up things like public transportation schedules in various cities. 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:30.720 And you know they roll it out gradually. You know 0:12:30.760 --> 0:12:33.920 they have to incorporate the data from various cities to 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:35.679 to get it back to you. But it it is 0:12:35.720 --> 0:12:37.800 really really nifty. I use it all the time here 0:12:37.800 --> 0:12:40.560 in Atlanta, where I'm going someplace where you know, I 0:12:40.600 --> 0:12:43.480 don't regularly go there, and I want to know, okay, well, 0:12:43.520 --> 0:12:45.760 if I need to get there by a certain time, 0:12:46.320 --> 0:12:48.040 what time do I need to leave my house or 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:52.000 to to make that happen. So yeah, very useful tool. Yeah. 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.840 In April of two tho then walking directions were added, 0:12:55.200 --> 0:13:00.120 further furthering the capacity. I'm seeing capacity a lot. This 0:13:00.160 --> 0:13:03.920 episode's okay, I often say the word pumpkin for no 0:13:04.040 --> 0:13:09.120 apparent reason. Pump in technology podcasts. I can't explain it. 0:13:09.280 --> 0:13:14.840 Excellent walking directions April two eight, and then uh Matt 0:13:14.960 --> 0:13:19.240 Maker in August, which let people start to write in 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:24.280 with changes um corrections to Google Maps, which is one 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:27.280 of the really big important things we think about the software. 0:13:27.280 --> 0:13:30.400 We'll definitely get into that too, Yes, um. October was 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:37.280 Maps for Android launched, something that I use frequently. I mean, seriously, 0:13:37.280 --> 0:13:39.400 it's one of It's one of the reasons why I 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:42.080 don't think I could ever go back from having a smartphone. 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:46.800 Is the map feature. Absolutely, I mean they are integral 0:13:46.840 --> 0:13:48.760 to my use. I do not remember what I did 0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:51.480 before I had that information on my phone. I certainly 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:55.080 don't remember where I was. I spent a lot of 0:13:55.120 --> 0:14:00.440 time printing out directions. October of two nine my next 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.320 plot point in this in this audio drama, and that 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:06.560 was turned by turn Navigation and Android, another thing I 0:14:06.640 --> 0:14:08.800 use a lot, which, Yeah, back to that robot voice. 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:10.640 You don't have to have a friend speaking in a 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.600 robot voice. Anymore, your your phone. You can be friendless 0:14:13.600 --> 0:14:15.640 and your phone will do that for you. I actually 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:17.840 count my phone as one of my closest friends, because 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:23.840 otherwise the list is really short. Two thousand and ten, 0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:28.400 biking directions added. Yeah, yeah, that that's also pretty cool now, 0:14:28.440 --> 0:14:29.840 and again this is one of those things that the 0:14:29.840 --> 0:14:34.800 crowdsourcing comes in handy. We'll talk about that again, but yeah. 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:37.680 By by August of two thousand ten, google maps mobile 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:41.880 heads surpassed a hundred million monthly users. That's a bunch. 0:14:42.160 --> 0:14:54.280 That's more than two um and uh making making google 0:14:54.280 --> 0:14:57.720 Maps in fact so big um and so popular that 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.760 by November there was this really interes sting news item 0:15:00.880 --> 0:15:04.600 where there was an international dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. 0:15:04.760 --> 0:15:07.800 Oh yeah, I read about this. So from what I understand, 0:15:08.080 --> 0:15:11.480 you had the borders were established between Nicaragua and Costa Rican. 0:15:11.880 --> 0:15:13.920 This is a border that's been it was. It was 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.640 a disputed border, which Google Maps, by the way, will 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:20.120 mark in red on international borders right are in dispute. 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:24.560 But but it had been settled in one way and uh, 0:15:24.600 --> 0:15:30.000 and then Nicaragua started to dig dig out part of 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.560 the river that separates the two countries, like they were 0:15:33.640 --> 0:15:36.920 dredging the river, and technically they were dredging the river 0:15:37.200 --> 0:15:40.200 on the Costa Rica side of the border, because they 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:43.120 took some exceptions. Costa Rica was like, hey, dude, what 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:45.720 are you doing? Except by saying hey dude, they actually 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:49.240 sent an armed group of people to stand at the 0:15:49.240 --> 0:15:53.600 border of the river and stare directly at the Nicaragua 0:15:53.640 --> 0:15:56.720 side and then the over and on the Nicaragua side. 0:15:56.760 --> 0:15:59.480 You had the government say wait, wait, wait, Google Maps 0:15:59.520 --> 0:16:03.640 says the is on our side, whereas I think anyone 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:09.160 would tell you that was probably a disingenuous move that yeah, yeah, 0:16:09.240 --> 0:16:10.920 that might have been. That might have been a little 0:16:10.920 --> 0:16:14.960 bit of a passing the buck. But anyway, multiply it was. 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:18.400 It was resolved that they were in fact on the 0:16:18.440 --> 0:16:22.320 Costa Rica side, and they withdrew and uh and then 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:27.080 Google also amended the map. But that's not the only 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:29.040 time it's happened. There have been other cases where the 0:16:29.920 --> 0:16:34.000 particularly around bodies of water, because it's it's hard to 0:16:34.000 --> 0:16:36.920 see the dotted line underneath because it's always underneath all 0:16:36.920 --> 0:16:39.360 that water, so it's really hard to tell where the 0:16:39.400 --> 0:16:42.800 border is, and Google sometimes will uh you know, in 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:45.280 their maps they have it laid out one way and 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:52.720 in quote unquote reality, which your mileage may vary. Uh, 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.960 it's it's a different it's a different layout. So there 0:16:56.000 --> 0:16:58.560 have been cases like that. Yeah, right right, But you know, 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:00.320 just just the fact that it was big enough that 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.240 that a government could sit there and say, well, Google 0:17:03.240 --> 0:17:06.400 Map said, is impressive to me. I you know, I'm 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:11.240 also we can justify this war because Google said this. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:13.280 I mean, gad, there was no war here. I don't 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:18.280 want to I'm obviously exaggerating for effect, but um, but yeah. Um. 0:17:18.359 --> 0:17:22.640 Two thousand and eleven, uh, Android had Indoor Maps premiere, 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.400 which is the fun thing where if you get lost, 0:17:25.440 --> 0:17:28.280 for example, in a mall instead of in a neighborhood, um, 0:17:28.520 --> 0:17:32.240 you can call up a map on your Android device 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:34.959 and have it tell you where to go. Um. And 0:17:35.000 --> 0:17:37.720 then in two thousand and twelve, which which we are 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:42.199 just recently out of, Google Plus Local premiered um. And 0:17:42.480 --> 0:17:45.720 towards the end of the year, Apple and Google Maps 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:49.640 had some exciting things happen in that Apple totally kicked 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:52.800 Google Maps at the App Store for the premiere about 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:55.320 three months about three months. Yeah, it wasn't until December 0:17:55.359 --> 0:17:57.720 that it came back. So but we will also talk 0:17:57.760 --> 0:18:00.520 about that a little bit later on in the episode. Yeah. Well, 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:03.080 and and now I think I'm gonna take a little 0:18:03.080 --> 0:18:05.240 bit of time here to talk about the nuts and 0:18:05.359 --> 0:18:09.439 bolts that Google maps. Um, this is uh, this is 0:18:09.480 --> 0:18:11.840 the technical part of our episode. And I'm not going 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:15.240 to get too deep into this because, for one thing, 0:18:15.280 --> 0:18:17.960 it would be very difficult to really really dive into 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:20.440 it in an audio format. I kind of need visuals 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.760 to help we can gesticulate all we want. Again, it's 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:28.080 not really going to come from helping Lauren. But beyond that, 0:18:28.240 --> 0:18:31.200 unfortunately it's lost. But but a couple of things I 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:32.639 wanted to talk about before I really get into the 0:18:32.720 --> 0:18:35.200 nuts and bolts. First of all, with the satellite imagery, 0:18:35.720 --> 0:18:37.920 that's kind of interesting in that there have been cases. 0:18:38.080 --> 0:18:39.720 You know, we talked about the border dispute, there have 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:43.439 also been cases where Google has been asked by various 0:18:43.800 --> 0:18:47.840 entities to blur out some of their satellite imagery, which 0:18:48.000 --> 0:18:50.720 we should also point out Google is partnering with other 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:53.760 companies to get the data and the images. It's not 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:58.719 that Google has satellites encircling the earth constantly taking photos. Uh. 0:18:58.880 --> 0:19:03.520 So the satellite imagery is acquired through other other partners. 0:19:03.560 --> 0:19:06.360 But there have been times where Google has blurred stuff out. 0:19:06.400 --> 0:19:09.040 In some cases, it no longer does blur out a 0:19:09.040 --> 0:19:11.600 few of those places like the White House, that kind 0:19:11.600 --> 0:19:15.359 of thing, right, but it used to be facilities. Um 0:19:15.640 --> 0:19:18.600 some it's like like like like military basis would be 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:21.479 a big one, right, And and so there have been 0:19:21.480 --> 0:19:23.480 ties where Google has blurred that stuff out a little 0:19:23.520 --> 0:19:27.479 bit to make it less likely that someone might use 0:19:27.520 --> 0:19:30.800 Google Maps in a military strike against a target, that 0:19:30.880 --> 0:19:34.639 kind of thing. Also, Uh, if you ever wanted to 0:19:34.720 --> 0:19:37.439 know what Area fifty one looks like, you can actually 0:19:37.440 --> 0:19:40.960 see that on Google Maps. Yeah, you can see its 0:19:40.960 --> 0:19:43.960 satellite you. Oh yeah, no, it's it's it's there now. Granted, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:45.760 you know, we should also point out the Area fifty 0:19:45.800 --> 0:19:48.600 one hasn't really been an active secret base for a while. 0:19:49.040 --> 0:19:51.240 They moved that we would have to talk to the 0:19:51.240 --> 0:19:54.159 conspiracy stuff guys. I'm pretty sure they're in Colorado now actually, 0:19:54.240 --> 0:19:56.280 and that's not a joke. I think they're really. I 0:19:56.320 --> 0:20:00.640 think the new base where a lot of the secret 0:20:00.800 --> 0:20:04.160 Air Force stuff where they're doing test flights of secret 0:20:04.320 --> 0:20:07.639 aircraft is out of Colorado and not area if if 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:10.320 do you want anymore, Um, that's just off the top 0:20:10.320 --> 0:20:11.840 of my head. But anyway, it is on there if 0:20:11.880 --> 0:20:14.800 you want to take a look at it. But getting 0:20:14.840 --> 0:20:17.600 into the nuts and bolts, it all starts with a 0:20:17.800 --> 0:20:22.280 project at Google that they call ground Truth. Now, if 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:24.840 you think about all the Google maps you've seen in 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:27.159 the various ways that you can customize it, where you 0:20:27.160 --> 0:20:29.960 can put push pens in, you can put different routes in, 0:20:30.119 --> 0:20:32.000 and you can view it in a million different ways, 0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:36.520 ground Truth is kind of the focal point of all that. 0:20:36.640 --> 0:20:39.240 Think of it as like the proto map. It has 0:20:39.480 --> 0:20:44.720 all this data and we're talking terabytes of data here 0:20:44.840 --> 0:20:47.159 that are going into making the maps what they are, 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:49.159 and that kind of terrifying amount of data that we 0:20:49.200 --> 0:20:52.440 can't even really deal with on a mental level because 0:20:53.080 --> 0:20:55.840 think about the stuff that's involved in a Google map. 0:20:55.880 --> 0:21:00.200 You've got the actual graphical representation of the map up, 0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:02.440 so you've got you know, streets, You've got you might 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:05.359 have you know, outlines of buildings, you have uh, the 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:08.600 names of landmarks, that kind of stuff. On top of that, 0:21:08.800 --> 0:21:12.639 all of those those pieces of information are linked to 0:21:13.320 --> 0:21:17.879 um coordinates right, physical coordinates right exactly, so latitude and 0:21:17.920 --> 0:21:21.400 longitude you know that those are all identified, so that 0:21:21.600 --> 0:21:23.639 when you look at a map, you're looking at it 0:21:23.760 --> 0:21:26.000 the correct you know way. It's not just a bunch 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.359 of random places. Hey, Now Rushmore is right next to 0:21:29.400 --> 0:21:32.040 the Grand Canyon, which is right next to Disney World. 0:21:32.119 --> 0:21:35.359 And I mean that's not a little bit more precise 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:37.520 than it used to be. Is all we're saying. We 0:21:37.520 --> 0:21:40.280 have we have precisely to scale right. And then on 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:44.720 top of that, you have things like business names included 0:21:44.760 --> 0:21:48.440 in this information. It's it's lots of info all together, 0:21:48.760 --> 0:21:51.600 and it's all there because you need to be able 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:53.800 to look at the map in one of a billion 0:21:53.840 --> 0:21:56.560 different ways. So all this data is there, and then 0:21:56.680 --> 0:22:00.479 Google's algorithms are what have to make sense of the 0:22:00.520 --> 0:22:04.320 information and display the information that's relevant to you in 0:22:04.359 --> 0:22:08.760 the context that you are using the maps in when 0:22:08.760 --> 0:22:10.320 you when you go in and say, hey, I want traffic, 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:13.159 HAIR want satellite, Hey I want to know how to 0:22:13.160 --> 0:22:15.240 get from point A to point B versus, Hey, I 0:22:15.240 --> 0:22:18.320 want to know how many different pizza places are around 0:22:18.400 --> 0:22:22.000