skysight-inc/HackerNews huggingface dataset:
In London I am used to check the Maps app almost everyday. Problems I had so far:

- I am still waiting to get a correct location when searching by post code.
- Searching by the street name sometimes gives me that same street name somewhere in the USA even with the GPS on and map centered on my current location.
- I was in Holborn centered on my location, searched for a Nando's, it told me to go up that same street. Turns out it was down, wrong location for that Nando's.
- It is much more difficult to differenciate between an underground and a rail station since they look almost the same unlike Google Maps or Bing Maps.

I have been using Google Maps mobile web app and the Bing native app with good results. Still a step backwards because both are much slower than the old Maps.

So yes, people are having real problems.

Small edit: I don't trust the new maps data anymore, that's the biggest problem though.
Although the app's lack of proper search and laughable location plotting, my chief issue with the new Maps is the aesthetic, which I consider to be unequivocally inferior to Google Maps.
Uhm, what?

How the hell do you know that Google would have allowed them to use all of that for reasonable terms? You do not. You are just clueless.
There are some interesting folks in Detroit, lured by the same attitude:

http://omnicorpdetroit.com/blog/
Most Windows 8 devices will have Intel, not AMD chips. Another chunk will ship with ARM, also not AMD. I seriously doubt that this will have any significant effect on Windows 8 app development (unless Intel also gets on board with this).

As for why they mention Windows 8, that's because so few people have touchscreens for their a Windows 7 devices. Fruit Ninja with a mouse is probably not too fun.
And as scott_meade points out, all the claims were canceled.
Your Reputation On The Internet.
My main use for my phone is maps.

Using the Google Maps app, this never happened to me in hundreds and hundreds of routes.

Using the ios6 maps app for the first time, to locate a verizon store to go and order my iphone 5, it failed to find a Verizon store I knew was there from previous research. I had to settle for mapping the street and finding the store myself.

I'm not saying the old maps app didn't do that to you, just that the rate of that sort of occurrence, given the evidence I've seen, was much lower in ios5 maps than it is in ios6.
Google hasn't even submitted an app,that's been confirmed.
An apology should never have to be inferred, with that said expecting a full out apology from apple is asking a lot, not that it isn't warranted.
> While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by
> downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest
> and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their
> websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their
> web app.

I was quite surprised they listed competitors. Is this an unusual move or a normal/expected thing to do in a case like this?
A closer look at Clover Trail, and why it matters
They can't approve Google's map application, until google submit one.
Obfuscate Windows Phone 7
Should you obfuscate your WP7 application?
Is there any indication there is a Maps app from Google awaiting approval? I thought the consensus was that Google is scrambling to build one now. This sounds like speculation.
Does Persona do MFA?
Conversely, I don't even use open source software that doesn't have a simple README on Github showing me plentiful examples on how to use the damn library.

Sorry, if you don't have documentation, even a little bit, you're just not worth my time. There are at least two other libraries out there with better documentation. The fact they might be worse software doesn't even matter because all I'm looking for is a solution.
Wouldn't you have noticed that three months ago when you downloaded the beta after WWDC? If you were displeased, you could have worked around MapKit. Sure, you shouldn't have to, but I wouldn't blame Apple for making your app "terrible" when you've had plenty of time to make it not that way.
This is on HN because...?
Part of the rationale for cutting ties with Google Maps seems to have been to avoid being reliant on a major competitor for core functionality. Partnering with Microsoft would simply have been trading one competitor for another. Presumably this is the same reason they didn't partner with Nokia either.
One obvious example would be if you had hired the interviewee in question. If so, it would be awfully difficult to demonstrate discrimination against them!

Don't get me wrong, it is a very bad idea to ask these questions. But it is not illegal, strictly speaking.
No need to infer. From the letter:

"We are extremely sorry"
They had to if they considered that what Google was asking was unreasonable. For all we now Google might have asked for things Apple was not comfortable giving them, starting with user data and all the way up to co-branding.
It could be the Goldilocks problem for Apple with their own - supposedly - high bar for quality that made them end up with their own vastly inferior product. I imagine we'll see some scoops on the inside baseball in a few weeks.
Great to see this letter from Tim Cook. When was the last time such a letter was written by a CEO?
Are we allowed to discuss this without violating Patent number: 6715762

http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US6715762

Maybe this is a way to avoid parking tickets, who knows, anything is viable with the right lawyer these days.
They don't want to partner with anybody. All that would do is recreate the problem they faced with Google: losing control and sooner or later negatively affecting user experience as New Partner Co. begins to favor its interests over whatever future interests Apple may or may not have.

Far better to rip the band-aid off now, tune the dataset over time, and ultimately emerge with a better overall experience that you now control completely. Already the system-wide integration of mapping is far superior in that regard. That just wasn't going to happen with Google or any other partner which would forever live as a walled garden of an App.

Inaccurate mapping data is, after all, a (relatively) finite problem.
Works in a current Firefox Nightly (18).
> (the chap was later re-employed)

Actually, he was offered his job back, but didn't take it up. It's unclear if the offer was before or after he won an appeal against Waterstone's dismissal (it is not unusual to get an offer for reinstatement but still run the employment tribunal process to win compensation for the dismissal). But in the meantime he'd gotten an offer from Forbidden Planet to run their blog, and apparently reached a settlement with Waterstone's instead.

As far as I can tell, he still runs the Forbidden Planets blog (as well as his own at http://www.woolamaloo.org.uk/ ).
Ask HN: How does an experienced freelancer get work?
Hello HN.

I am a highly experienced developer who has recently taken to freelancing. I looked at several freelancing websites only to be outbid by outsourcing companies with ridiculous rates. Are there other avenues, forums or resources that would help me get work?

Please do share any advice you've got, thanks a million.
Well, they had two choices in front of them. Suck it up and partner, or suck it up and risk this situation.

Whilst I'm sure they'd have gotten a 1-year licensing agreement with Microsoft I can only guess it'd come with a steep price tag on. Plus they'd just been burnt by dealing with a third party. Plus (again, sorry), they need to have the Maps application being used by people worldwide to improve the quality. It doesn't get better with time, it gets better with users moaning.
Surely the news is Akami is v6 (which they have been for some months and whitehouse.gov is a CNAME for) ...
I keep reading similar arguments and I wonder was there ever any piece of evidence to support it?
Actually, from everything I've read, it appears Google refused to allow Apple to implement those features (see, for example, http://allthingsd.com/20120926/apple-google-maps-talks-crash...). Google wanted to keep those features exclusive to Android maps.
Here's an HN discussion about a particularly egregious example:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4405296

There are strong indications in this case and mentioned in the discussion that the textbook industry is actively catering to professors who work like that.
I swing the other way, I think it looks much better in many ways. I much prefer the typography and a few other design touches.
How do you sharpen your saw?
Wait, where does it say that?
The real question is why do
Primary Examiner: Kien T. Nguyen
and
Attorney: Peter Lowell Olson

Still have jobs at the patent office ( if they do ). We should be able to demand the termination of public servants who do not do their jobs.
Jobs. Antennagate.
I suspect that cutting the google deal short was intentionally done leave Google flat footed with no map app on iOS. Simply put it cuts google out of that market for a while leaving Apple the only major player on their device.

While it isn't perfect being the only big map player in that system means that over time customers will just accept that is their only option, and those with problems will see improvements. By the time Google releases a map app many customers may already be committed to the default experience.

Some folks may continue to make comparisons between the two and switch back, but the majority may not and thus an easy win for Apple where if there were a competing Google Maps they would face a far steeper challenge even with time to improve their own product.

As for partnering with MS I think Apple simply wanted to go on their own considering that they were already were severing a partnership over maps.
That's the simplest explanation, though. These other conspiracy theories about Apple wanting to withhold features from its customers and catch Google with its pants down are nothing more than mindless speculation.
Video is also a poor replacement for text because it is MUCH more laborious to create and update, so it probably won't be updated.

If someone were willing to make a video, writing text should be a given.
Google could have been asked to provide the same features, but there must be concessions Apple would have to give Google. These trade-offs, when evaluated by Apple, were not something that served their customers better. You can disagree with that, but it doesn't mean they are lying. And if it isn't obvious they are lying, it certainly isn't blatant.

To get what they wanted without trade offs, without hidden compromise of their customers, they had to leave their partner. A partner, mind you, who had shown they will put better products (GMail app, Map app) on their own platform (I like both those apps on Android, and GMail on iOS is a joke).

By building their own from the ground up, they also prevent this from happening again with another external partner who wishes to gain some leverage over the richest company in the world.

I'm not apologizing for the decision, or the quality of maps. And while I love to stigmatize liars, this accusation waters down the insult of blatant lying.
Considering that Apple knew that every single aspect of its software will come under scrutiny, Releasing the software in this state indicates callous attitude towards the users.

Do I believe that the software will improve? Yes.. eventually. I know in enterprise software provides like IBM tend to ship hardware with incomplete software and rely in service packs to complete the functions.And if Apple thinks that the same model will work for Consumer products, then they are plain wrong.
Conversely, there are many problems, most notably in the low-level mathematics, which can be parallelised. Matrix multiplication for example...
A fun anecdote regarding Maps.

I was talking with a friend of mine last night on the iPhone. She was complaining that her iPhone was working poorly, and she was frustrated with it. I asked if she had updated to iOS 6 yet, since sometimes a restore cycle can clear things up. She told me, no, she wasn't, because she heard maps were terrible. I said, "did you hear they are terrible, or have you used them and think they're terrible?" She said she heard only. Interestingly, though, she said she had been using turn-by-turn with "a voice telling her when to turn." I asked her to go to Settings and check, and sure enough, she had updated and actually liked new Maps.

I don't deny that new Maps aren't at the level that GMaps were, but they're not really that terrible, either. Unless you required a feature that is gone now (transit, which I don't), then it's really not so bad, at least in my experience, and has improved since the betas.
> Inaccurate mapping data is, after all, a (relatively) finite problem.

Not if you live in the area that has very low resolution maps. IMHO "finite problem" is an antithesis to accurate maps. Mapping requires constant improvement. For example roads in the area where I live have been modified 3 times in last 5 years.
I live in the United Kingdom, and can say that the new maps are a vast downgrade. Central London seems OK, but outside that there are numerous problems. Off the top of my head areas that I have visited lately have no high detail satellite, satellite photos with clouds or points of interest in the wrong place or not existing at all.

This isn't some hypothetical problem, this is going from maps I use all the time with success, to maps that have become vastly less useful.
Multiple independent sources have confirmed that their contract with Google prohibited Apple from implementing turn by turn. That's why Apple chose to roll their own app. If you're going to accuse someone of lying, it would be a good idea to have the facts on your side.
I'm pretty sure that will cost both money (likely prohibitive) and significant developer time.
Not branded as from Steve Jobs himself, but this is very reminiscent of the 'Antennagate' letter Apple issued after the introduction of the iPhone 4: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2010/07/02Letter-from-Apple-...
Apple has built a reputation of only releasing products that were absolutely completed and quality controlled. From my understanding, the company ethos has been that any defect, no matter how small, would result in the product being delayed.

Speaking from my own perspective, admission or not, I think it's the break in that expectation that has me disappointed.
PortableApps.com Platform 11.0.1 Released: Enhanced apps, navigation and more
I went through both Samsung and MSFT patents that 'refer' to this patents.
This patent, in both cases, is cited by the examiner. So, my idea behind that is the examiner either didn't like his job or had a good sense of humor about whole patent process!
Could this have been a joke by the patent examiner who handled the document?

If you look very closely at this Microsoft patent document (http://www.google.co.uk/patents/US8181265?printsec=abstract#...), on page 2, you'll see that the reference to the swing patent has an asterisk next to it.

The document says, specifically, on page 2:
…
6,368,227 B1* 4/2002 Olson…472/118
…
* cited by examiner

A handful of other the "cited by examiner" references are to apparently useful references (other patents that cover antipiracy stuff). Dunno why the examiner would add the swing patent unless perhaps they thought their system was a joke? Or am I misreading what the asterisk means? (The examiner also cited the "method of exercising a cat" patent in this document.)
There isn’t really. Neither is there for the opposite.
This is how you do it. Well done, Mr Cook.
Seconds Opens Up SMS-Based Payments System to Let Anyone Text to Buy
This is an amazing combination of osmos with a bit of asteroids. The game play is excellent. I really hope this gets turned into a full game with levels.
And... Minecraft isn't a beta, demo, trial, or test version?
I'd like to have a longer discussion on the topic with you. Check my user info and shoot me an email :)
Could A Lunar Supercomputer Work?
> That's a very small effect. A professor doesn't make much money off of a single textbook- selling to one class wouldn't be worth the trouble of writing.

Unless you sell it to a new class (possibly multiple classes) every year.

> Even revision (working with the editor) is aggravating.

That assumes an editing process that isn't streamlined and automated towards the singular goal of making previous editions obsolete and forcing students to always buy the most recent one.
No they don't. In both cases, this patent is cited by the examiner, who probably had good sense of humor.
I haven't dug into Mousetrap, but I made Keypress because I needed/wanted the arbitrary modifiers and counting combos features which mousetrap does not have (and also Mousetrap hadn't been released yet when I started work on this). Keypress also gives you a lot of control with the explicit options like is_exclusive, prevent_default, prevent_repeat, and is_ordered. The prevent_default option for instance will prevent the default behavior on all keys that are part of a combo if it thinks you are working towards a combo (for instance, when pressing up + right, both keys events will have preventDefault applied).

As I mentioned, I didn't actually try using Mousetrap, but from looking at the documentation Keypress should have at least the same features and then some more very specific features that are probably only useful for games.
Out of curiosity do you know any stats on ad earnings from them vs Google Ads? As I'd imagine for the majority of people they're looking for maximum return, and willing to cope with the lack of customer service.

(I have no stake in it, I use no ad networks but I am genuinely curious).
Crazy thing is according to TomTom there is no problem in the actual map data they provided. (I think they're right. I've driven across Europe without major problems using TomTom. There were no complaints about the TomTom App according to the 4.5 star reviews). According to TomTom, Appel combines their data with data from other sources and Apple has a problem combining/rendering the data...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/09/21/tomtom-apple-maps-...
Sorry for themselves?
I agree completely ... unless you get on the front page of HN and one of the Googlers here (e.g. @Matt_Cutts) notices, you probably won't find anyone to help you.
>Unless you required a feature that is gone now (transit, which I don't), then it's really not so bad

I think this is another example of the biggest general complaint about apple Maps, that it's too US-centric. Here in Europe a mapping program that can't do transit is a joke.
I agree. The new Maps looks really nice, it just isn't very useful. IMO it's a great example of form over function.
Look at the last page. The claims are "cancelled". I'm guessing that makes the patent invalid.
Using bootstrap default styles on a production site is lazy and shows a complete disregard for the art of design and front-end development. It's like buying a template from themeforest for $30 and changing the site title and name, except even worse: it's even less unique and more recognizable.

I am super particular and nitpicky about design and front end things and have an abnormally high level of attention to detail so for me any company that uses default bootstrap in production is automatically not legit (this may not be the case for others). A legit company has the time and resources to create a custom unique design and interaction style that is suited to their brand. A BS company does not, so they use bootstrap.
Wow. That is pretty fascinating.
1/3 the quality? Have you used the maps? I agree that they're not amazing, but in my experience the complaints about low quality seem overblown.

It's a first generation product. By putting it out there and getting actual user feedback, this should accelerate the development.
It is still used often in test automation, probably because of Expect. I use it to automate database backups, performing ETL while acting as an intermediary between Oracle's sqlplus and MS's bcp as well as for one-off GUI utilities.

It really is a shame it lost out to Perl and Python. The language is so damn pragmatic. Programmers who enjoy snapping together executables in shell will feel at home with Tcl. It functions like a portable shell. Also, Tcl embodies the philosophy of simplicity in implementation better any other software I've encountered; the C API is simplicity itself. It's actually a great way to organize large programs too, just make the commands do more work with C algorithms and data structures and expose less text-output-chatter to Tcl, in other words, make the commands do "big" things and glue them together in Tcl. It's BSD licensed. It has a surprising number of packages due to it being so trivial to convert existing C libraries to Tcl commands using the dead simple API.

I'm surprised more open source OSs (Linux & BSDs) have chosen Ruby, Python, and Perl as opposed to Tcl. Tcl seems like the more consistent extension of the Unix Way.
SublimeText2 plugin (mac): save file, switch to browser, refresh in 1 keystroke
As mentione by backprojection: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4585346 the term you want is FLOPS.
Array Languages Rock
Un-fucking-believable. The CEO of Apple has come right out and admitted that Maps is sub-par, and the Apple fans are still trying to pretend that the problems are not real.
Yes, Berlin still has (or at least recently had) an oversupply of living space. Look at Hamburg or Munich, and you'll see that nearly every listed apartment has the broker's fee of 2.38 monthly rents (legal maximum) payable by the tenant.
That's true in many places in the US as well. We have plenty of big cities with well-developed public transportation, after all.
The problem with AdSense is not that there are no alternatives (there are plenty - chitika, adbrite etc.) The problem is that those alternatives pay way, way less.
All the customer service in the world isn't going to help if your website makes 10x more with AdSense than with any other ad broker.
It's unusably terrible for some people (like me). Apparently I now live on the moon: http://cl.ly/image/3q3v262G3P2s
Work your real life connections, you'll start by taking some pretty crappy work (it'll possibly feel like a career downgrade for a bit) but word will spread and opportunities will present themselves. You just need to produce great work, and stick to it.

Only key advice i would suggest is simply not to lock yourself into one contract for too long, unless its a great one. Nothing worse than some great work coming up, and not being able to take it because you're already too busy.
From a purely competitive standpoint, this is why Google should be releasing their Google Maps app immediately, and if Apple drags their feet, they should launch a lawsuit to force them to do so.

First off, it would probably be a really good PR move for Google.

Second, if Apple dragged their feet in terms of approval and Google sued them, it might force some changed in terms of how anti-competitively the App store behaves. I could totally see the Justice Dept or FTC stepping in the way they did with Microsoft.

Lastly, if Google added their maps app, it would immediately supplant the Apple app, and a lot less people would use Apple Maps. This would give Apple less data to make their maps better, and keep them at a competitive disadvantage for years.
I don't know how to respond to this other than "lol".

Apple often releases products that many consumers would consider "incomplete". The only difference is that Apple never admitted to being wrong ever. Their branding depends on being seen as shiny software company-upon-a-hill. That's the only difference here, they admitted to making a bad decision. Their little spat with google just made this an unusually bad one; one that they couldn't paper over.
If you were commenting on a patent on a complex technical subject then fine, this is on swinging. There is nothing other then gross negligence that can explain why this was approved.
>>They don't want to partner with anybody

They run iCloud on Windows Azure, why not run their map service using Bing Maps data?