Row breaks out over Google Maps definition as UK insists it still maintains sovereignty
When you are searching online for some of the remotest islands on the planet, it helps to get the name right. But a row has broken out over the labelling of the Chagos Islands on Google maps.
The UK maintains that it still holds sovereignty over what it terms British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) – one of the smallest of red dots on the traditional cartographic globe.
Continue reading...Convicted murderer Gioacchino Gammino tracked down in Galapagar, near Madrid, where he had lived undetected for 20 years
An Italian mafia boss on the run for 20 years was tracked down to a Spanish town after being spotted on Google Maps.
Gioacchino Gammino, a convicted murderer listed among Italy’s most wanted gangsters, was arrested in Galapagar, a town near Madrid, where over the years he had married, changed his name to Manuel, worked as a chef and owned a fruit and vegetable shop.
Continue reading...Organisations in Scotland say they have tried to contact Google about the dangers but received no reply
Scottish mountaineering charities have criticised Google for suggesting routes up Ben Nevis and other mountains they say are “potentially fatal” and direct people over a cliff.
The John Muir Trust, which looks after the upper reaches of the UK’s highest mountain, said attempts to contact the company over the issue had been met with silence.
Continue reading...Updated version promises ‘more vibrant’ representation of natural features and built environment
Google Maps is getting a visual overhaul worldwide, finally letting users distinguish forest from floodplain, and desert from snowfield, at a glance.
Alongside the changes to natural environments, a new set of maps will be rolling out in major cities, beginning with London, New York City and San Francisco, aiming to more accurately represent the built-up environment to help pedestrians and cyclists navigate.
Continue reading...Rescuers in Baunei called out 144 times in past year to save visitors from impassable roads
The mayor of a town in Sardinia is to attempt to end the use of Google Maps by tourists in his local area because visitors keep getting lost on mountain roads.
Salvatore Corrias, the mayor of Baunei, a mountain village in Ogliastra province, advised people to use traditional paper maps as “so many” visitors have had to be rescued after being led astray.
Continue reading...People had to get by without the search engine giant before it was launched in 1998. But is it possible to live your life – and do your job – without it these days?
Halfway through my week without Google, my wife mentions that she would like to go out to see a film that evening, and I agree to deal with the logistics. In what I initially think is an inspired move, I drop by the local cinema on the way home and scribble down all the film times in my notebook. Then my wife insists on going to a different cinema.
“Can I do this by phone?” I ask her. “Is 118 still a thing?”
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