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Behind the "My Location" Errors In Google Maps

Posted by Soulskill on from the i-can-see-my-house-from-here dept.

waderoush writes "Ever since Google added the 'My Location' feature this week to the desktop and laptop versions of Google Maps, allowing Firefox and Chrome users to see their current location on a map, people have been reporting bizarre location errors — Manhattanites, for example, are being told by Google that they're in Austin, TX. Ted Morgan, the CEO of Boston-based location software provider Skyhook Wireless, talked about the problems in an interview Friday. Skyhook's Wi-Fi-based location-finding technology was passed over when Mozilla adopted Google's own location services toolkit for Firefox 3.5 in April; Morgan says that was unfortunate for Web app developers, because Google's 'crowdsourced' database of Wi-Fi access point locations is far less reliable than Skyhook's."

6 of 78 comments (clear)

  1. Skyhook's implementation really is inventive by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The initially war-drove around, mapping APs. Then when users connect to those APs in the database and query the location, they also send back a report on other nearby APs. This allows their database to grow and become more accurate over time, without them having to keep war-driving previously established areas.

    1. Re:Skyhook's implementation really is inventive by bstreiff · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Skyhook's reliance on wireless APs doesn't work so well when the APs move. I took my APs with me when I moved to a new place, but my iPhone (which uses Skyhook's assisted-GPS) thought I was always at my old place for months until I realized what was going on and that I should submit my AP MAC addresses to correct their location.

      It's possible that it sees an AP near you that's recently been moved.

  2. Re:Remind me not to use Firefox 3.5! by General+Wesc · · Score: 5, Informative

    As any sane person would expect, and thirty seconds on Google would confirm, the browser asks permission before sending the location data. Screenshot. No privacy is being taken away.

    Lesson of the day: don't make nutty assumptions, and don't post knee-jerk reactions based on them.

  3. Re:Remind me not to use Firefox 3.5! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please dear god tell me that screenshot isn't from your computer! That's gotta be one of the most disturbing skins I've seen in a long time.

  4. I hate this 'location-based' crap by 0123456 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    A while ago I was working in Italy: Google would then redirect me to Google in the Netherlands, and Facebook rather kindly switched automatically to displaying its pages in Dutch. Steam usually gets the location right, but won't then let me use my perfectly valid British credit card to buy games when I'm not in Britain.

    This is one of the most user-unfriendly ideas to infest the web over the last few years.

    1. Re:I hate this 'location-based' crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      Language switching based on guessed location is evil. That's what the accept-language HTTP header is for!