
Google Maps, Bing Maps, & Yahoo Maps: Cartographic Design Differences - j053003
http://www.41latitude.com/post/557224600/map-comparison
======
rmc
Don't forget OpenStreetMap <http://www.openstreetmap.org/> a Free wiki map of
the world. It has a very unique style that I think is very nice. One of their
statements is "We make beautiful maps"

~~~
daffy_d
I think you're lucky it was forgotten.

\- It's highway markers look like gel capsules

\- Many users put their hometowns so that they're visible when you zoom out
really far (you see the suburbs of Salt Lake City & L.A. before you see SLC &
L.A.)

\- There seems to be 80 airports in every county (I've never heard of most of
the ones around my area)

\- It's incomplete in many places

\- It doesn't even give you directions

I'm sorry, but I just don't trust OpenStreetMaps over Google Maps. I'm sure
there aren't many inaccuracies, but it's not worth taking the chance when I'm
traveling in an unfamiliar area.

~~~
yellowbkpk
> It's highway markers look like gel capsules

There's a long-running bug in Mapnik (the rendering engine for the tiles)
that, when completed, will allow for SVG highway markers.

> Many users put their hometowns so that they're visible when you zoom out
> really far

Can you give more examples of this? More than likely it's due to problems with
the import of TIGER data a couple years ago. It should have been fixed.

> There seems to be 80 airports in every county

Yea ... I'll give you that one :).

> It's incomplete in many places

... and in many more places it is more complete than Google, Yahoo, or Bing.

> It doesn't even give you directions

<http://openstreetmap.org/> doesn't (the website is for the data and the
community around it), but there are several examples of websites that do offer
directions using OSM data:
<http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Routing/OnlineRouters>

~~~
daffy_d
_> It's highway markers look like gel capsules There's a long-running bug in
Mapnik (the rendering engine for the tiles) that, when completed, will allow
for SVG highway markers._

It doesn't really matter that they'll be fixed in the future... What matter's
is that's how they look _now_

 _> Many users put their hometowns so that they're visible when you zoom out
really far Can you give more examples of this? More than likely it's due to
problems with the import of TIGER data a couple years ago. It should have been
fixed_

See:
[http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=40.64&lon=-82.05&z...](http://www.openstreetmap.org/?lat=40.64&lon=-82.05&zoom=6&layers=B000FTF)

New York: insignificant NYC suburbs are visible; NYC isn't (Huntington, Islip)

Michigan: no Detroit on the map; but Zeeland and Warren appear

Indiana: Angola, Auburn, Warsaw -- all cities <15,000 pop.

Ohio: Louisville and Willard

Illinois: Algonquin and Harrisburg

Pennsylvania: no Philadelphia on the map; Hazelton and Camden

 _> There seems to be 80 airports in every county Yea ... I'll give you that
one :).

> It's incomplete in many places ... and in many more places it is more
> complete than Google, Yahoo, or Bing._

This is subjective.

 _> It doesn't even give you directions <http://openstreetmap.org/> doesn't
(the website is for the data and the community around it), but there are
several examples of websites that do offer directions using OSM data:
<http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Routing/OnlineRouters> _

Your solution is too complicated for normal people (read: non-tech people) to
figure out.

~~~
rmc
Both Warren and Detroit are 'cities' in the US, so both are tagged
"place=city", i.e. both at the same level. The map rendered can't draw both,
so it can't decide which to show, so it picks one. It's hard to come up with a
good way to rank the hierachies of cities.

------
ableal
Just this week, zooming in my local city Google map, I was struck by the
apparent importance of random small businesses.

At 'z=17', I'm getting a 'dance academy' and similar shops I never heard of,
or noticed, labeled at the same level as a huge Sheraton hotel. A nearby
residential hotel, which I also never noticed, gets to shout its name in all
caps ...

------
rradu
Google's pretty well known for not being so good with design, but when design
affects how functional their product is then the do a bang-up job.

------
ganley
I've long lamented how none of these are anywhere near as beautiful as a
decent printed map. Some of the OSM projects (e.g. toposm) are better, but
still not as good as (say) Rand-McNally or ADC. On my hope-to-do list is to
write a renderer for OSM data that produces really beautiful maps meant for
printing rather than viewing on a <100dpi screen.

------
IChrisI
I first read this title as Catastrophic Design Differences, which isn't far
off. The author is biased in favor of Google Maps (it's a bit hard to
differentiate between Google's 1st and 2nd level city markers), but I like the
comparison.

~~~
axod
I don't think its biased. Google is clearly more legible and useful. Bing is
so so but way too many quirks and unuseful stuff, less legible, Yahoo is just
insane. I don't think I've ever used Yahoo so I didn't realize just how bad it
was.

Very interesting reasons and analysis of the small differences that all add up
to Google maps market dominance.

------
oneplusone
The author clearly prefers Google Maps and is so biased in his analysis it is
worthless.

Take the coloring of highways. I actually find Bing's use of multiple colors
greatly increases legibility. The increase in contrast also makes it easier to
scan over the map. I cannot see how the author can state that less colors
results in increased legibility.

Bing Maps to me has a superior coloring scheme. When I look at Google Maps
they look like FisherPrice drew the map. Bing Maps' warm and desaturated color
scheme makes it feel more mature and consequently much more pleasant to look
at.

~~~
kenburnseffect
Can we knock off this "worthless" bullshit? Just because someone has an
opinion on something, doesn't mean that their analysis is "worthless".
Comments like these cheapen HN.

OnePlusOne, the same can be said about your comment: "The author of the above
comment clearly prefers Bing Maps and is so biased in his analysis it is
worthless."

If you're going to bitch about bias, do it without inserting your own.

~~~
oneplusone
I attempted to make clear what I said was purely my opinion and personal
preference. The author gives the impression that he is doing an objective
analysis when in fact he is just giving a personal opinion. It is deceptive.

~~~
tart56
OnePlusOne, there was nothing deceptive. It's a fucking blog. It's someone's
personal opinion.

 _I attempted to make clear what I said was purely my opinion and personal
preference. The author gives the impression that he is doing an objective
analysis when in fact he is just giving a personal opinion._

The author also attempted to make clear that what he said was purely his
opinion and personal preference. From the 4th line of the post: ..."I analyze
the merits of each of the different styles and discuss _what_ _I_ _believe_
are the advantages and disadvantages of each"...

Your comments are completely out of line.

~~~
gregorycase
People like OnePlusOne are why I don't allow comments on my blog.

The author was quite clear that he was stating _his opinion_.

