Google To Buy Waze For $1.3 Billion

An anonymous reader writes "Google and Israeli start-up Waze have agreed in principle on a deal in which the search engine giant will buy the road traffic information sharing application for $1.3 billion. Waze, which claims more than 40 million users, describes itself as an app bringing together 'the world's largest community of drivers who work together to fight traffic, and save time and gas money on their daily commute.' There have been previous reports that first Apple and then Facebook wanted to acquire the Israeli start-up."

Comments

Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

I wonder what their first move will be... Geotarding it like their navigation app? Or killing it altogether, like iGoogle and Reader...

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

Waze crowdsources routefinding, which is a huge computational problem. I imagine that like Dodgeball the technology, but not the actual user experience, will ultimately be merged into the larger Google Maps crowdsourcing operation.

This is a huge blow for Apple, who simply don't have Google's mapping resources and really need a way to bootstrap their maps improvement efforts. They don't have a web based map system to draw on, and as bad as Apple Maps is, the most pernickety users - the ones most likely to file correction reports - have moved back to the Google Maps app. Well, I know I have.

(That stupid "legal" link in the corner of even the tiniest API-provided, in-app map is exactly the sort of nonsense Apple is supposed to not do!)

Re:Geotarding?

[MrMickS]

This is a huge blow for Apple, who simply don't have Google's mapping resources and really need a way to bootstrap their maps improvement efforts. They don't have a web based map system to draw on, and as bad as Apple Maps is, the most pernickety users - the ones most likely to file correction reports - have moved back to the Google Maps app. Well, I know I have.

Other than some well publicised issues at launch time I've found that for me Apple Maps works at least as well as Google Maps. Maybe its down to where you are in the world.

At what point did you go back to Google Maps? Was it following the initial criticism and based on the reports of others or was it after you'd used it for a while?

Re:Geotarding?

[Errol backfiring]

For those who think "What on earth is geotarding?", http://www.shootingatbubbles.com/archives/geotarding-is-as-useful-as-llama-spit/ has an explanation:

• geo – geographical area
• tard – a fucking stupid idea

When combined it means locking out potential users of your web service because their geographical location conflicts with licensing and copyright agreements.

Re:Geotarding?

[stephanruby]

Other than some well publicised issues at launch time I've found that for me Apple Maps works at least as well as Google Maps. Maybe its down to where you are in the world.

I can't speak for the parent since I'm not an iPhone user.

But could it be that Apple doesn't have turn-by-turn walking directions yet, or real-time transit directions, or even somekind of street-view equivalent.

For instance, I read a consumer study in the UK a few years back that said that Google Navigation would consistently beat out its standalone gps competitors in terms of speed at getting to a destination, because it automatically showed a street view picture of the address at the end of the journey. Apparently, this small feature allowed the test drivers to arrive earlier by at least a margin of five minutes each time, because they didn't waste any time trying to find the exact address of a building once on the scene.

Re:Geotarding?

[wisty]

> This is a huge blow for Apple

I doubt it. I've said (when Scott Forstall stepped down) that Apple realised that it's not in the data industry. Sure, they can do a bit in-house, but they just don't have the resources to cross the moat that Google has with its infrastructure, code, and expertise.

Apple does hardware, interfaces, and marketing very well. It leverages other company's products (its kernal, the BSD userland, GCC / LLVM, and Google's online stuff) when it lacks any real competitive advantage. Google is a harder pill to swallow (since they can't just fork it and modify things to suit their needs), but it's a battle they've chosen not to have.

Android and Glasses are what they should be focus on beating, and they won't beat them if they lumber their own devices with half-assed clones of the things Google does best.

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

I gave it until the Google Maps standalone app launched, plus about a fortnight. It simply wasn't improving quickly enough in my region (which is not the US) despite my filing error reports daily. I check in on it now and then, and it took them four months to notice that the shopping centre in which one of their own stores was located was not, in fact, a large park. (In fact, most places with "park" in the name were marked out as parks, regardless of whether it made any sense...) Several other issues remain unresolved to this day.

A lot of my issues aren't with mapping data but design. It's presented like a car SATNAV with lots of POI icons for food etc. prioritised over things like road names, railway stations, major universities, etc. so while it's probably good when you're driving it's very hard to read as a pedestrian. Even the colour contrast is terrible, it's all cold-toned pastel shades for everything. That's one I can't see improving any time soon.

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

Well, they've got to get their maps data from somewhere, which means they're in the data industry now. The fact that Apple were bidding for Waze suggests they're stuck with it unless they decide to partner up with someone like Google again.

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

I should add, the bigger issue with Apple Maps' crappy data is that geofences can silently misbehave, because the conversion from an address to a geographical location and vice versa is hidden from the user, so there's no telling if or how it has gone wrong. Bad data in the maps app is one thing, but data that makes other apps work badly is the sort of thing that shouldn't happen on an Apple device.

Re:Geotarding?

[Paradise Pete]

Obviously Apple would have liked to have it, but if they perceived it as the huge blow you suggest then they would have offered more. Perhaps they're wrong, but that's their position.

Re:Geotarding?

[MrMickS]

Well, they've got to get their maps data from somewhere, which means they're in the data industry now. The fact that Apple were bidding for Waze suggests they're stuck with it unless they decide to partner up with someone like Google again.

Apple got their data from a number of different sources originally. One of these was TomTom which might explain the decent data quality in the UK. They were also reported to have been getting traffic data from Waze in some form already. Don't forget that Waze aren't a mapping company, they are a traffic company.

Apple aren't going to partner with Google because Google would have them over a barrel with respect to mapping on iOS. All they can do is iterate on the data that they've got, they were employing people to manage this in the different regions a while back, and look for other complimentary data sources. One problem with getting a new data source is merging it into the existing data and managing conflicts. I worked on GIS systems back in the early '90s and it wasn't trivial then with the small amount of data available. I can only imagine that its got worse as the data set sizes have increased.

Re:Geotarding?

[SenseiLeNoir]

See the next announcement that Apple is pairing with Microsoft to bring Bing maps in 3.... 2.... 1.....

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google is always talking about innovation but all they seem to do is absorb small companies into their borg collective. After the NSA fiasco there's no way I'm going to provide data to these people.

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

Ha, maybe it'd be more apt to say it's a huge blow to my hopes that Apple would get it kicked into shape this year.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google best?

Try telling that to the HGV drivers from a well known trucking company (No Eddie S) who get lost where I live due to Google telling them that
1) my road is a through road (I was 30+ years ago)
2) it is suitable for 32+Tonne vehicles (It is not).

Despite several people telling Google that their maps are wrong they never get changed.

The HGV's get to the end of my road and find it is a dead end despite the signs saying that it is a no through road.
Then they get stuck because reversing 1.5 miles back up a narrow lane is impossible.
My neighbor comes to their rescue and only charges them £300 to tow them back up the lane with his mega tractor.

As for streetview, Google never got down my end of the lane so we are some of the great un-googled of this world. Hurrah!
 

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped using Google's search engine yesterday. I hope you do to.

Re: Geotarding?

[Dog-Cow]

I'm in Israel. Apple Maps doesn't even have street names for all the roads in my town.

Re:Geotarding?

[thegarbz]

Apple got their data from a number of different sources originally. One of these was TomTom which might explain the decent data quality in the UK.

While no doubt that the quality of data was likely great, every source I've read so far plus my own observations have shown that they horribly mishandled the data. TomTom's maps aren't only good in the UK, they are actually excellent in many parts of the world including Australia. Apple also credit Sensis in Australia, the largest information brokers in the country. They literally got their data from the company that publishes the street director, telephone directories, and business directories, yet that didn't stop Apple Maps from placing the second largest city in my state 300km west in the middle of a nature reserve.

This is not the kind of thing that is easy to screw up.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because Apple kit is designed for hipsters and hipsters don't drive.

They cycle round on their fixies and care not what the road names are but where the closest place they can sip a latte is.

You're not Apple's demographic, you're just not hip enough, that's why you're having problems. If you were part of their demographic then you wouldn't be complaining, you'd just "think different" about it all and feel happy about the complete lack of worthwhile information and functionality.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

My neighbor comes to their rescue and only charges them £300 to tow them back up the lane with his mega tractor.

Sounds like a nice business model. Did you check whether he told Google that your road indeed is a through road for 32+tonne vehicles? ;-)

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

You're an imbecile.

Re:Geotarding?

[polyp2000]

Android is one thing - Glasses is another. Talking about the latter (Glasses) - Apple will do what they always do - wait until several similar concepts from different sources have tried and failed. produce something very similar and claim they invented the idea to great critical acclaim. N.

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

That doesn't mean that Google's not the best option available. You can actually file an erratum through their web site (it takes about 2 minutes) and you get an email response when they accept/reject the changes. You can submit a correction as a text complaint, or now you can actually edit the map data directly to correct it. And in my experience within a month it's settled.

That said, very few HGV drivers I'm aware of use Google Maps, they tend to use standalone satnav systems if only because you're not dependent on a good phone signal.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

You're using Ad Hominem

Re:Geotarding?

[markkezner]

I've found that they do correct map errors eventually, especially if given quality error reports. It usually takes a few weeks.

For your safety I recommend you make the correction yourself using Google Map Maker. There is still a human approval process but it should expedite your correction.
http://www.google.com/mapmaker

Re:Geotarding?

[cellurl]

You should suggest that feature on wikispeedia.org.
They are the keeper of speed limit signs.

Re:Geotarding?

[cellurl]

Its getting close to monopoly lawsuits. Google controls maps. That is a dangerous spot for them.

Who do you trust for speed limit information?

Re:Geotarding?

[Internal Modem]

Their first move will be to laugh and point at Facebook. This was a move to keep Facebook out of the game.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's not an ad hominem, you idiot, it is a insult, or possible just stating the facts depending on your POV. If Sockatume has said "You're wrong because you are an imbelcile," then that would be an ad hominem, but he didn't.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

What are you switching to?
Bing? (also collaborating)
Yahoo? (repackaged Bing in an uglier wrapper)
Something else? (first 12 pages of results for any search are SEO spam, dodgy online pharmacies, and other worthless crap)

Re: Geotarding?

[mrvan]

Well, if you live in Israel, Google maps doesn't have streetnames for almost half of your capital, or for your . Nor, for that matter, for the fourth and fifth largest city in your country.

And if you deny that those cities are in your country, could you kindly inform your government so that they can withdraw their troops?

Re:Geotarding?

[gl4ss]

Waze crowdsources routefinding, which is a huge computational problem. I imagine that like Dodgeball the technology, but not the actual user experience, will ultimately be merged into the larger Google Maps crowdsourcing operation.

This is a huge blow for Apple, who simply don't have Google's mapping resources and really need a way to bootstrap their maps improvement efforts. They don't have a web based map system to draw on, and as bad as Apple Maps is, the most pernickety users - the ones most likely to file correction reports - have moved back to the Google Maps app. Well, I know I have.

(That stupid "legal" link in the corner of even the tiniest API-provided, in-app map is exactly the sort of nonsense Apple is supposed to not do!)

well, it remains to be seen what they will do with it.
they might kill it and in 3 years after that introduce an identical feature in their own product line.

Re: Geotarding?

[mrvan]

Sorry, I messed that one up big time! It should be:

Well, if you live in Israel, Google maps doesn't have streetnames for almost half of your capital, or for your second largest city. Nor, for that matter, for the fourth and fifth largest city in your country.

And if you deny that those cities are in your country, could you kindly inform your government so that they can withdraw their troops?

Re:Geotarding?

[TheGratefulNet]

google nav sucks. at least on my android (2.3; yes its old but whatever happened to the 'its a nexus, it will always get upgrades' bullshit?)

I drive from san fran down to san jose. it tells me to get OFF 101 at redwood city, drive around the town a bit then get back ON 101 to continue south.

uhm, this is the bay area - you know - home of google. and they can't even get their maps app working properly on a simple 'stay on 101' route.

not to mention the sudden reboots during nav or maps. I look down at the phone since its been quiet for a while and I see a shimmering X. oh my god.... its rebooting and I have to restart and wait. WHILE driving.

google is a lot of shine but underneath, their programmers are nothing special. at least by the apps and 'stability' that I've seen from them.

now google will ruin waze. great. just great ;(

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

No, I'm making a reasonably accurate interpolation from the facts. I wrote that Apple Maps doesn't work for me because it's not suitable for pedestrians, and the response I got was a ramble about how Apple Maps is totally pedestrian-obsessed and some gibberish about hipsters. Clearly the response was written by someone with no reading comprehension.

Re:Geotarding?

[MMC Monster]

First of all, I really don't think Google controls maps.

Second, it's only an issue if they abuse the monopoly in order to leverage themselves in another field.

They have a mapping application for Apple iPhones. Microsoft has their own mapping application. So does Apple. So does Tom Tom. So do a score of others. Google leveraging maps to increase the share of Android only works if Apple and Microsoft pretty much admit they need Google Maps.

You have a better argument saying Google has a monopoly on videos since they own YouTube.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

This.

I am a Waze user (having moved away from Gmaps) and neither knows how to find my house when given my street address (I live out in BFE). Of the popular mapping applications + in-car GPS systems, only Apple maps can figure out where I live from my street address alone.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

ok, then lets say Navetq Telenav is a budding monopoly funded by the companies you mentioned.

If I try to raise money in the "Nav" business and get asked "does Google do it", then yes, Google is a monopoly or is nearing a monopoly".

So I have to play the "trusted source" card, eg, playing on the current "who do you trust" card in play.

Then, I may be allowed to Stay a while in the Nav business.

Eg, Waze was just in it to get bought, like any public company.

Help eliminate accidental speeding tickets worldwide

Re:Geotarding?

[Sockatume]

Somehow I totally blanked that you've actually tried to get it corrected.

Re:Geotarding?

[zoomshorts]

You KNOW this has more backdoors than any other software on the planet.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, there are some satnav devices made specifically for HGV and large vehicles. I expect this is to avoid the sort of situation described, like that one famous tale of a large truck getting stuck in a muddy road somewhere on Whales.

Re:Geotarding?

[tlhIngan]

Other than some well publicised issues at launch time I've found that for me Apple Maps works at least as well as Google Maps. Maybe its down to where you are in the world.

I can't speak for the parent since I'm not an iPhone user.

But could it be that Apple doesn't have turn-by-turn walking directions yet, or real-time transit directions, or even somekind of street-view equivalent.

And most likely, Apple doesn't want to tread heavily on app developers.

Apple Maps was done in response to Apple and Google not being able to work out an agreement to have serious deficiencies in the Maps program fixed. Like say, turn-by-turn navigation (it's consistently the #1 problem, and what Android users say is better about Android than iOS).

Of course, Apple doesn't want to be in the maps business (there are worthy competitors there already and Apple can't really contribute much to it). Plus with potential threats of monopoly and all that, they really don't want to get into something that other more experienced companies have done already. Transit directions? Plenty of apps already do that - and have plenty of open-data agreements and back ends to solve the issue. Including Google. Ditto pedestrian paths - lots of stuff out there already.

Re:Geotarding?

[Dishevel]

This is a huge blow for Apple

Ha!
This is no blow for Apple. Apple is locked in with its user base.

I literally just an hour ago at work had a guy show me his new iPhone. SWEAR TO GOD.
He told me it is better than "Droids".
I asked him what is better about it. His answer ? ...
of course ...
"It's an iPhone."

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, they aren't going to beat Android. Apple will never have the majority smartphone marketshare again. Android tablets have gained tremendous momentum over the past year, and that will continue. This sounds harsh and trollish, but it's a hard truth.

But, this is the model Apple have chosen. It's the reason they couldn't win the PC battle. They know this. Apple needs to be out front, and they need to move on, otherwise they stagnate. I think we're seeing this on iOS right now. They're doing what they're worst at, reacting.

They may have a shot in what looks to be an emerging market in wearables. I'm not sure a watch will cut it. Say what you will about Google Glass, but it's a real product, and it's innovative. The idea of a virtual assistant who can react in real time to what you are seeing or hearing is at once terrifying and the most awesome thing I can think of. That is within reach. Can Apple surprise us all? Sure, but its going to be harder to go up against Google who is innovative than it was to go up against RIM or Palm in smartphones who refused to compete until it was too late, or Sony who basically handed Apple the portable music market despite having at the time the most recognizable and marketable product name.

Re:Geotarding?

[amRadioHed]

2.3; yes its old but whatever happened to the 'its a nexus, it will always get upgrades' bullshit?

No one ever, ever said that. The N1 was severely limited by the space available on the device.

Re:Geotarding?

[metlin]

Apple Maps led me to a wrong route from Oakland to SFO during rush hour as I was headed to the airport, and ended up having to double back through the tolls twice. I almost missed my flight and it was a nightmare of an experience. Not the mention some of the crazy UX problems that I had.

And if anything, I consider myself an Apple fanboy, but that whole experience threw me off Apple maps completely.

Add with turn-by-turn navigation, Google maps continues to dominate as my go-to choice for navigation. YMMV and all that.

Re:Geotarding?

[filthpickle]

I had an iphone until someone relieved me of it several months back. I don't think I am going to get another fancyphone, but that is another story...

I do still have an ipad though. If I don't know where I am going, I usually look it up on google maps before I leave, then take the ipad with me. If I am looking for an address...I don't notice a difference. If I am looking for a starbucks on the way...I have learned that (at least in my medium sized city) the apple maps will piss you off.

I would wager that google maps would do the same from time to time...and that any time it happens on an iDevice, people are just quicker to blame the maps.

Re:Geotarding?

[aztracker1]

There are plenty of third party Jelly Bean (4.x) roms if you root...

Re:Geotarding?

[aztracker1]

I can't say how much I actually like the Nexus 4... No, it isn't the fastest, or have the biggest screen... bit it's the first phone I actually liked out of the box. It's also my 4th Android phone. I use Android mostly for semi-political reasons, and the rest for the contacts sync (the killer feature of my original G1, that got me hooked).

It was under $300 as an outright purchase, and using an mvno (Simple Mobile), my monthly bill is $50 for unlimited everything, though I did notice a data throttle the only month I cleared 2GB of data use. Speaking of which, tethering out of the box, and no extra charges on the mvno (it was when I tethered my laptop that hadn't been booted in a while, which then ran updates on my windows vm that kicked my data over the top).

Now, the down side, there are even more apps with spyware in Android than there are in iPhones... Don't install anything asking for permissions it *shouldn't* need, like "full network access" for a simple puzzle game (most apps get enough access without that), or full read-write to SD card (there are storage APIs already that don't require that) for a flashlight app (they do need camera access, for turning the flash on). Other than that, it's been a really nice experience... I don't play many games, so ymmv and all.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

I disagree. Apple really doesn't "compete" with Google on Android anyway.

Android is free. iOS is not.

Android runs on a multitude of devices from a wide spectrum of manufacturers. iOS does not.

Honestly, Apple is more in competition with device manufacturers than OS manufacturers.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

You bought AAPL stock near $700, didn't you?

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

Its only a blow for Apple if Google doesn't sell the resulting app on their devices.

Re:Geotarding?

[stephanruby]

Despite several people telling Google that their maps are wrong they never get changed.

I can actually confirm a similar experience I had with them 5 five years ago.

I submitted a correction, I double-checked the same location six months later, and it still wasn't corrected (I'm not even sure it ever got corrected, and this was in Mountain View near to where Google HQ is located). At the very least, they should issue me a ticket number so I can check back on the status of each correction I enter. I actually don't mind if my change gets rejected (but I'd at least like to know that someone took the time to look at it).

In your case, you should also check with your County maps as well. It could also be that Google Maps doesn't want to override official maps when it becomes a question of property lines. It wouldn't be the first time that people tried to alter Google Maps to prevent people using a public road that they're trying to appropriate for their own private use.

Google best?

Try telling that to the HGV drivers from a well known trucking company (No Eddie S) who get lost where I live due to Google telling them that
1) my road is a through road (I was 30+ years ago)
2) it is suitable for 32+Tonne vehicles (It is not).

Does Google Navigation even provide information for 32+ tonne vehicles? It just sounds to me like those truck drivers are using a tool designed for consumer driving navigation (when they should be using something else instead).

Re:Geotarding?

[Hobadee]

Waze aren't a mapping company

Apple aren't going to partner with Google

"isn't", damnit! "isn't"!

Re:Geotarding?

[BLKMGK]

I'm a Waze user and have corrected their maps a few times both with the online app and with textual reporting. I wouldn't say that they aren't a mapping company as they most certainly provide good tools for correcting maps and highlighting new roads.

Re:Geotarding?

[farble1670]

It's presented like a car SATNAV with lots of POI icons for food etc. prioritised over things like road names, railway stations, major universities, etc

+1. not only apple, but companies in general seem to think that the search for food or other consumer items takes precedence over all else in life. take a look at the apple keynote today ... where their calendar will suggest restaurants if you happen to put food words in your calendar appt.

Re:Geotarding?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Ad Hominem" is not Latin for "that's mean!"

Re:Geotarding?

[mjwx]

Sample size of 1, registered.

In my city (1.8 million, so not small) Apple Maps consistently fails to find places that all other mapping applications have been able to find reliably for years, it will direct you down streets that have a lot of roundabouts as opposed to a slightly longer but straight route, it's completely traffic, speed limit and roadworks unaware for my entire city... Roadworks and Speed limits are published by the dept of transport so this isn't secret info. Last time I used it to find a train station, it put me two streets away from the rail line and 4 KM away from the station.

Anyone I know with an Iphone switched back to Google Maps as soon as it was released.

Re: Geotarding?

[iamhassi]

I disagree that this is a blow to apple. I have been a waze user since 2009 and hate all the new changes. They actually have ads that pop up while you are driving! And waze shows the Facebook profiles of strangers on the map. That's shocking, I don't want strangers seeing where I am on the map with my Facebook profile showing too. Also waze removed google as a search option so I could no long do a search inside of waze for addresses. I am actually looking for a new replacement.

Re:Geotarding?

[mjwx]

Apple aren't going to partner with Google because Google would have them over a barrel with respect to mapping on iOS.

What you mean to say here is:

"Apple aren't going to partner with Google because they dont want to pay a fair and reasonable price for access to Google's data".

All Google asked Apple for was branding and giving the users the option of using Latitude (on Android it's default is set to off and opt out, so it would have been the same on Iphone). Apple was the one that refused to play nice with others.

I worked on GIS systems back in the early '90s and it wasn't trivial then with the small amount of data available. I can only imagine that its got worse as the data set sizes have increased.

It hasn't gotten better. The tools for merging disparate datasets have gotten better (ArcMap/ArcInfo is still shit, but not as shit as it was before) but the amount of data has and the differences between datasets have increased a lot.

The good part is, you no longer need to spend $6000 on a GIS workstation to run ArcInfo... you can easily run it on a $1500 PC, a $2000 PC will be the ducks nuts.

Re:Geotarding?

[TheGratefulNet]

from what I've read, you don't want to run JB if you are that memory limited.

I looked at the roms but nothing seemed to be usable; they were more POC's and demos but not something you'd use every day and depend on.

Re:Geotarding?

[farble1670]

I doubt it. I've said (when Scott Forstall stepped down) that Apple realised that it's not in the data industry. Sure, they can do a bit in-house, but they just don't have the resources to cross the moat that Google has with its infrastructure, code, and expertise.

dunno if it's a huge blow for apple, but it's painfully obvious that apple thinks maps and navigation technology is part of their core or they wouldn't have dove in head first building their own solution.

Re:Geotarding?

[JBaustian]

I have found that Google makes corrections to Maps when users notify them of the problems. I can immediately think of three reports I sent in which resulted in corrections.

Have you tried to tell Google about the problem with your location?

Re:Geotarding?

[JBaustian]

You are correct, sir, that truck drivers cannot use Google Maps. Larger trucks are only allowed on certain streets and roads, and Google Maps does not identify truck routes.

Re: Geotarding?

[viperidaenz]

Perhaps because not every street appears to have a name. I street viewed a few of the streets without names and they look more like a shared driveway that a proper street. (no kerb, no footpath, covered in trash, as opposed to footpath, kerb, gutter, slight littering of trash)

google, apple, facebook and israel

[Anonymous Coward]

talk about the axis of evil

captcha: disgusts

We are the Google

[Anonymous Coward]

Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. We will add your genetic distinctiveness to our own.

Re:We are the Google

[Anonymous Coward]

"And here is a complementary Google Glass surgically added to your brain"

Time for Google to confess

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nfgAa2Hu-o

"President Obama defended the two programs that exploded into public view". In other words he confirmed both leaks as true.

Google have denied their involvement in Prism.
http://www.wate.com/story/22534581/google-ceo-denies-companys-involvement-in-prism

"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Google CEO Larry Page and Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg are denying reports that depict two of the Internet's most influential companies as willing participants in a secret government program that gives the National Security Agency unfettered access to email and other personal information transmitted on various online services."

Really it's time to confess. If people use this traffic tracking system, then that data will go straight into the NSA computer, and be used against them. The President has confirmed the existence of these programs, its time for Google to tell the truth and admit their part in this mass surveillance. Same with Microsoft, same with Apple, same with Facebook.

$1.3Bn

[Anonymous Coward]

A much needed cash injection for the Israelis... That'll finance the murder of a few more Palestinian children...

Re:$1.3Bn

[Anonymous Coward]

Yahoo!

Not happy

[stephanruby]

I'm not too happy about this. Waze was the only alternative that could go toe-to-toe with Google Maps Navigation in terms of doing real-time crowdsourcing aggregation of driving data.

I know there are others like Nokia (which purchased Navteq, currently the leader in maps), Microsoft, and Tom Tom, but those others don't work nearly as well mostly because they haven't done anything new in the last ten years.

At least, there is Open Street Maps now, but that still doesn't have good turn-by-turn navigation (nor good real-time up-to-the-second information).

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not too happy about this either, being an Israeli. It seems likely that this app will disappear, and Google Navigation is not available in Israel for now...

However, if they leave the app as it is and join forces - maybe we could get even better things than before.

On the other hand I was much more frustrated when I thought Apple would buy Waze because Apple would have killed only the Android version, and I would never go Apple, sorry.

Oh well, at least the corrupt politicians will have some more tax money to work with...

GGF

Re:Not happy

[Shadow of Eternity]

Every time I've tried to use waze it overheated my phone so much it was physically uncomfortable to hold, google navigation on the other hand behaves nicely. If they take waze's features and google's performance I'd be happy.

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

Google is the new Microsoft. Didn't you notice all the shit you have to agree to use android 4. The million times it asks for permission to use your data with no option to quit asking if you say no.....

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

There's also Sygic, Navigon, Copilot....

I like Sygic

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

Google Navigation works in Israel (for me, on an SGS3, YMMV). AFAIK, Turn-by-Turn navigation works. It even does walking directions and public transport

Re:Not happy

[afidel]

Yeah, with the impending closing of igoogle I've switched my homepage netvibes and Waze was the only source of realtime traffic maps that would allow themselves to be embedded in a third party site. With this purchase I'm going to be back to popping out to a different site which is less than ideal.

Re:Not happy

[puto]

Nokia has owned Navteq for the last 6 years. Your post makes it sound like a recent purchase. Nokia has always been number one it is mapping product. It can found a house I own in South America, in a small town in Colombia, whereas google maps can get near it, and apple maps just acts confused.

Re: Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, waze also randomly locks up on me for about 10 seconds if I'm panning or zooming much.

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

So long as they don't throw out Waze's features, I don't mind at all ... I love the crowd-sourced maps and I use it daily.

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

At least, there is Open Street Maps now, but that still doesn't have good turn-by-turn navigation (nor good real-time up-to-the-second information).

Open Street Maps can be used by MapQuest's app, and for Android there's OsmAnd which is a good, offline turn-by-turn navigation app. It is still lacking good up-to-the-second information, though. Hopefully this will motivate someone to do so!

Re:Not happy

[Anonymous Coward]

then use Inrix Traffic

Nice

[Anonymous Coward]

Ada Korek Api Gas Fighter Indonesia

Good !

[Chatterton]

I like Waze very much and use it from time to time but I find very frequently that Waze make you take really stupid roads sometime more slower than the one with the traffic jams :/ Other problems I have with Waze are: From time to time it doesn't seems to be able to start the GPS of my tablet, Reboot my tablet just before an exit I should have taken on the motorway, Slow to detect that I have not taken its planned path...
Else I use Google navigation with lot less problems but I get in the traffic jams each time when i need to go in town :(

Now Google navigation with the traffic jam avoidance of Waze could be really be good.

Re:Good !

[Anonymous Coward]

Agreed - I use Waze because I feel like I get a better sense of traffic ahead (and I like having the speed traps marked). The time estimates are also very very accurate. The problem for me, and why I welcome this announcement is, like parent mentioned, Waze routing sux big time. It almost always takes me via non-optimal routes. Yesterday I used it to navigate from my home to a location, and it tried to take me North, then East, then South, i.e. about 270 degrees around the town, rather than take the south road out of town. Had I followed it, it would have added about 4 miles to my trip. It does this ALL the time. I've been commuting to a job for 7 months now, and it STILL hasn't figured out that it's better to take the east road, rather than travel 10 miles northeast and then 10 miles southeast (and burn a lot more fuel because that's all highway). I have to navigate to an intermediate point, and then re-route to work. BTW, it's much more willing to suggest the same route going the other direction, i.e. for the evening drive home. :-(

Google on the other hand tends to have good routing, so if they marry the Waze realtime traffic/obstacles/police features to their existing routing engine I think they'll have a very very good product.

Re:Good !

[afidel]

Waze optimizes for time not for distance so if those other routes are faster despite being longer then it's going to take you that way. Waze also has a preference for major routes it`s likely to have information from other wazers as to traffic conditions on. It's also possible it's a route bug, they do happen and waze allows you to report them, but IME it's hard to get a change approved unlike Google maps maker where you generally get an approval or rejection in a matter of days.

Re: Good !

[Anonymous Coward]

Waze has settings for a type of a routing, like fastest or shortest, and is set to "fastest" by default. You might want to try to set "shortest" instead and see if it improves your routes. It helped here.

Re:Good !

[Anonymous Coward]

Waze does not optimize for time. I can prove it and I have a very easy course. It is a basically instructs me to drive two miles forward, two miles to the left, then turn left for another two miles, instead of just picking a cross street that I'm on, and turning left right away and driving two miles only. This is because the cross street I'm on is not a prime street as marked on waze, and besides all streets having 35 mph limits, waze knows nothing about the speed limits. It only knows about the type of streets. It does not also know about time required to clear a stop sign, so it will often take me trough a primary street with stops, than on a parallel, smaller street inside the residential area (public road), with comparable speed limit but no stops.

Re:Good !

[FS]

Same here. I have found the same problem.

One of the biggest annoyances of Waze is that it seems to believe the majority rather than the truth. If the majority of people significantly exceed the speed limit down a narrow country road then it seems to think that I will too and sticks me there. I'd have to go double the speed limit in order for that road to be faster than the normal path. It also routinely puts me down "Local Access Only" roads as through roads. There is one turn on my route home that is "No Left Turn" but apparently some people with Waze break the law there too - I have seen many people do it - and so any map edits I have attempted for that turn have not stuck for more than a few weeks.

I can definitely see the appeal for Google though. This fits into their desire for automated self-driving cars. There are plenty of things (like the above) that need to be fixed before it will produce reliable material for that use though.

Re:Good !

[farble1670]

Now Google navigation with the traffic jam avoidance of Waze could be really be good.

google has traffic jam avoidance. it just doesn't avoid traffic for the sake of avoiding traffic. for example, it won't suggest a slightly faster alternate route if it' results in significantly longer distance. this is generally what makes sense. e.g., it doesn't make sense to drive an extra 20 miles to save 5 minutes.

the sad fact is that it's typically faster to just sit there in traffic. i suppose if you are the type to irrationally avoid traffic at all costs, then google nav might not be your cup of tea.

Google, Apple AND Facebook were interested ???

[Anonymous Coward]

The NSA must want that information really badly ...

Apple

[bWareiWare.co.uk]

I can only see this as a move to head off Apple (but why Apple didn't by them a year ago ...)

Re:Apple

[Anonymous Coward]

They were too busy spelling buy properly.

Re:Apple

[Internal Modem]

It was actually a move to fend off Facebook.

Unsubscribe from gmail, hotmail, yahoo, fb, itunes

[udachny]

It is time to unsubscribe from these wonderful services that these wonderful companies are providing for a wonderful miserly fee of your soul and private information.

Not sure this is good

[figleaf]

Instead of wasting so much money, I wish Google had investing in something much more worthwhile like offline navigation.

Re:Not sure this is good

[MrMickS]

Instead of wasting so much money, I wish Google had investing in something much more worthwhile like offline navigation.

If they did that how would they track where you are?

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Instead of wasting so much money, I wish Google had investing in something much more worthwhile like offline navigation.

If they did that how would they track where you are?

Batch uploads the same as today. Google maps isn't live-streaming your location data back.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Threni]

GPS.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Instead of wasting so much money, I wish Google had investing in something much more worthwhile like offline navigation.

If they did that how would they track where you are?

It could track your position with the GPS while not having a data connection. It wouldn't get traffic updates, and it would have to pre-load all the map data, but you could use a WiFi only tablet with those restrictions.

I'm not sure this is worth it, though. The move is towards all these devices having full-time data connections (i.e. you'll see more and more tablets purchased with a cellular data plan). So, this would be engineering a solution to a problem which will eventually go away as data connections on these devices become ubiquitous.

Re:Not sure this is good

[yabos]

Except when you're in a foreign country where having a functioning GPS map is very useful, you don't usually have a data connection since phones are often locked to your home carrier making data fees astronomical.

Re:Not sure this is good

[sourcerror]

There are other products which are pretty good at offline navigation:
http://www.igonavigation.com/

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes it is. How do you think they get real-time traffic data.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you even understand how GPS works when you're offline? The only good thing about your post is that it was short.

Re:Not sure this is good

[clarkholmes]

You know you can cache maps in Google Maps for offline use... or have you found that lacking in some way? (It's worked brilliantly for me.)

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

You're limited in the number of tiles you can cache, and you have to remember to use it, and (AFAIK) the map data doesn't actually let you use the navigation app.

I end up driving around in the National Radio Free Zone (in WV) a fair amount, and my standalone GPS is a must there. Waze & Google maps are fine around my house, but true offline navigation would be nice. Both will cache your route, but if you deviate for gas or something, can't recalculate & you're SOL.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

You can cache maps for offline use, I used to do it all the time before going into the mountains.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

IOS only, bummer. I have used CoPilot on Android, but I still prefer my standalone gps if there's no data where I am.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

He said navigation. Not maps.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Offline Google Maps caching won't do routing....at least on my phone. Pretty sure it requires a connection to google's servers for the routing part, though when offline, at least the Maps app will show you were you are located.

Re:Not sure this is good

[OGmofo]

FWIW, I thinks OruxMaps is great for offline navigation. It exists and is free.

Re:Not sure this is good

[farble1670]

I wish Google had investing in something much more worthwhile like offline navigation.

lucky for you, they have that already. menu > make available offline. select the rectangle of the map you want offline.

Re:Not sure this is good

[Anonymous Coward]

Which is why you use of foresight and - shock! - download the offline maps at home before you go on holiday. I know, crazy right? And doesn't cost you anything if you do it on your home wifi. I do this whenever I go away to another country, download maps of all the cities and routes I'll be travelling around, works a treat, as GPS is free to use anywhere in the world

Pop3 and Thunderbird

[Anonymous Coward]

I already did, pop3, I found that my ISP provides an excellent email. I was quite surprised how much easier Thunderbird is, and pop3 may be old, but it doesn't leave your email on the cloud.

Secure the link with TLS, I asked the ISP if their SMTP connections are force secure, he assure me it is.

My government may not protect my privacy, my British politicians may not have my interests at heart, I may be classed as possible terrorist to be watched, but there is a way forward here.

And it even works better than before!

Re:Pop3 and Thunderbird

[MrMickS]

I already did, pop3, I found that my ISP provides an excellent email. I was quite surprised how much easier Thunderbird is, and pop3 may be old, but it doesn't leave your email on the cloud.

Secure the link with TLS, I asked the ISP if their SMTP connections are force secure, he assure me it is.

My government may not protect my privacy, my British politicians may not have my interests at heart, I may be classed as possible terrorist to be watched, but there is a way forward here.

And it even works better than before!

Your email still passes through the ISPs server so the meta-data about who you received mail from and when, and who you sent mail to and when, is still recorded in their logs. If GCHQ see something they count as suspicious then they can apply to the Home Secretary or Justice Secretary to allow interception of your email and its done.

If the PRISM stuff is to believed then it doesn't matter where your email is delivered it just has to pass a listening point and they have it. So well done for changing your mail setup but I don't think it'll make much difference.

Re:Pop3 and Thunderbird

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh, you assume POP3 != "doesn't leave your email in the cloud" and your ISP (who provides the TLS for SMTP) won't be interested in your mail.

If you can't beat them, buy them!

[Bearhouse]

I use and like both Google maps and Waze; you can't beat streetview and the quality of Google maps, whilst Waze can give you some handy updates.
This really just goes to show what a massive failure Google has been in 'social' stuff, despite its huge success in other areas.
I still don't "get" Google plus, despite being a keen user of Gmail, Picasa, Docs etc.(urm, still waiting for the Picasa Android client, guys).

Main thing to remember, though, is always keep a 'hard' map loaded on your device too, for those tricky moments when there's no network coverage and you really need directions. Openstreetmap is OK, commercial offerings (I like iGo, YMMV) are better.

Thunderbird encryption

[Anonymous Coward]

True, but the email history isn't hanging around on a gmail or yahoo or hotmail server waiting to be read.

There isn't a PRISM interface to my computer like the one to Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo, so they *really* need to get real warrant, checked by a real person. None of this 'click a checkbox to say its legal' business. Only then can they get my email history.

I noted very carefully that General Petraeus didn't trust webmail send, exchanging messages with his girlfriend by writing a draft, leaving it for her to read, and she writes a draft, leaving it for him to read. Never sending email. If he can't ensure his privacy then none of use can trust these free US services.

The relay problem is more of an issue, my ISP tells me it rejects unencrypted links (no STARTTLS with a fail), but that doesn't mean all relays in the link are secure, or that my ISP wouldn't turn that off if forced by secret warrant.

I see Thunderbird has encryption built in, I need to figure out hot to get it to work and push people to using it by default.

What about the PRISM interface to Google glass? I still can't believe that we have this massive scandal, and European politicians are so in the pockets of the US, that they DEFEND US spying on their own citizens! How can they ensure democracy if they can't protect us from foreign surveillance??? What happens if we want to vote for the ANTI-US candidate, what happens if we want to *campaign* for the anti-US candidate??? Do we have a democracy or not?

Re:Thunderbird encryption

[MrMickS]

True, but the email history isn't hanging around on a gmail or yahoo or hotmail server waiting to be read.

There isn't a PRISM interface to my computer like the one to Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo, so they *really* need to get real warrant, checked by a real person. None of this 'click a checkbox to say its legal' business. Only then can they get my email history.

If they want to do business in the UK, or operate offices with the UK, it is. We have laws in place that require ISPs to keep communications logs for 12 months. No warrant is needed to access this data based on UK law either, just the say so from a senior official in the organisation making the request.

You are also assuming that PRISM is picking things up off the servers, from my reading of things, it doesn't. It can collect the data on-the-wire. So all that's necessary is that your mail passes a PRISM tap and your data is collected. Now the NSA might not be able to access that data without a warrant however GCHQ, based on the sharing of intelligence information provisions, can. So what is to stop them passing information of interest picked up in this way off to the US authorities? Its a neat end around on your privacy laws and what the majority of the outrage is about over here in the UK. Its not that the surveillance goes on but rather that the intelligence community appear to have found a way around oversight.

Re: Thunderbird encryption

[Anonymous Coward]

STARTTLS doesn't do much if, say, Verisign has inserted the NSA into their certificate chain of trust.

Re:Thunderbird encryption

[afidel]

From the information leaked PRISM is covered by a blanket warrant from the FISA court. Under previous law the FISA court would not have been able to sanction domestic monitoring but I'm sure it is under some authoritarian reading of how the FISA bill and the Patriot Act interact.

Re: Thunderbird encryption

[grnbrg]

I am amused at the amount of "HUR HUR, I USE SSL/TLS TO GET MY MAIL!!" posts. Very good. When you connect to your ISP or mail provider, it's quite possible (but far from guaranteed) that the NSA can't intercept the encrypted content. But how did that mail get to the mail server? (Or, if your sending, from your mail server to the recipients' mail server?)

It was almost certainly relayed via vanilla SMTP. Unencrypted. Via whatever network hops are needed, and probably through a couple of listening posts.

grnbrg

I hope waze app doesn't disappear

[agentgonzo]

I've been using Waze for ages and have an older iPhone so can't use apple's built-in nav. I use a combination of google maps and waze. Waze's navigation is sometimes a bit quirky and I've noticed that google's routing is better (also offers walking and cycling routing). Searching in google maps is far superior to Waze, though for some reason they *still* can't search your contacts on your phone!

The actual UI in waze is much better than google though. For some reason, google maps nav always seems to lag about 50m behind where I actually am (which means I've missed a few turnings a couple of times) whereas waze is spot on. Also, Waze is the only nav app I've ever used that zooms out enough. When coming off a motorway, it will be zoomed out enough for you to see the next turning so you know whether to be in the left/right lane of the slip road. All other maps don't zoom out far enough to show you this so you have to guess and switch at the last minute when you get close enough to the roundabout to see where you are going next.

I really hope that google doesn't kill the waze app after 'integrating' it into google maps.

Re:I hope waze app doesn't disappear

[Khan]

This is my exact concern too. I'm not a fan of Google Maps for driving and like you, have seen the delays (among other quirks) in the map nav. And unlike GM, Waze's integration into FB is something that's well done. Also, start time of the app in general is much quicker on my 4S. If they maintain it separately like FB did with Instagram, I'll be ok with that. However, given Googles track record and "Do Evil" stance, I'm not holding my breath.

Re:I hope waze app doesn't disappear

[agentgonzo]

I really can't see any reason for google to maintain two different nav applications. I expect waze to vanish within the next 12 months.

Elmer Fudd is impwessed

[Anonymous Coward]

It would be gweat during wabbit season.

Tom Tom doesn't spy on me

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks but Tom Tom doesn't spy on me.

Re:Tom Tom doesn't spy on me

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course it doesn't.

You ARE traffic

[gsslay]

"community of drivers who work together to fight traffic"

That's strange. I've always thought that drivers are traffic. Are they fighting themselves? Or just other communities of drivers?

There's definitely scope for competition here. Different communities, different apps, swore deadly enemies fighting to the death! Which one can stage a fake traffic jam that sends the other into a futile five mile detour, leaving the road half empty?

Re:You ARE traffic

[Xest]

"There's definitely scope for competition here. Different communities, different apps, swore deadly enemies fighting to the death! Which one can stage a fake traffic jam that sends the other into a futile five mile detour, leaving the road half empty?"

I feel this idea deserves much VC funding.

In light of NSA connection...

[Anonymous Coward]

Now they'll not only know where you are and where you are going,
they'll know your planned route and what traffic is like.

Re:In light of NSA connection...

[Sockatume]

Werner Heisenberg to the rescue!

And what a great URL this story has

[Begemot]

"google-to-buy-waze-for-13-billion"

who needs any dots between 1 and 3 ;)

competition

[Anonymous Coward]

Strategic blow to everyone not paying for Google Maps data (i.e. Apple). Google might simple kill the company off, or more likely sorta roll their tech into the main Google maps app. As long as nobody else gets the data Google is happy.

Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, ...

[Anonymous Coward]

I normally live outside the UK, so that's not a problem. When I'm in the UK, I'll POP3/TLS'd to my ISPs email service. I know about UK's insane surveillance culture already,

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data

From the Guardian example, they *do* extract the data from the servers.
"Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, Paltalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL, Apple.... Email, Chat voice/video, Videos, Photos, Stored Data, VoIP, File Transfers, Video Conferencing, logins etc, Online Social Networking, Special Requests (in bold no less)"

That's not on the wire, they got these companies to sign up and give the data over. The sign up dates are clearly stated, this is done by those companies.

"Now the NSA might not be able to access that data without a warrant however "

We saw from the leaked warrant, that there is no real warrant (here it is):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2013/jun/06/verizon-telephone-data-court-order

It's just a 'give NSA everything on everyone', renewed every three months. So NSA doesn't need a warrant after that, once the data is on their servers its there for any random search they feel like doing. All warrant free after that. PRISM data is probably also just funnelled into that database, again so it can be used without a warrant in secret. It might need a warrant to tap their servers, but from the leaked warrant we know the Judicial protection is a joke.

I think there is outrage at the surveillance in the UK. I think people are afraid to speak. [I've editing out a sentence here from this message for my own protection and the safety of my family]. I was going to the US for Thanksgiving this year, I really don't want to put my family through a DHS interaction. Too risky. I think I'll cancel.

For email, I'm pretty sure I'll remove the last of the data transit risks soon, it's a pity. I used to feel safe in Europe, now I feel like anything I say will land me in some prison somewhere on a trumped up charge.

Well, crap.

[zarmanto]

I really, really like Waze just the way it is, and have been using it on my iPhone since even before the whole iOS Maps debacle started... and having tried both of the new apps since then, neither Apple Maps nor Google Maps can compare to Waze, IMHO. Google better not screw this up.

Will Arab nations boycott Google now?

[Steve_Ussler]

Since it is buying an Israeli company?

really

[Anonymous Coward]

That's because Apple kit is designed for hipsters and hipsters don't drive. They cycle round on their fixies and care not what the road names are but where the closest place they can sip a latte is.

whats that about Ad Hominem?

Re:really

[lister king of smeg]

That's because Apple kit is designed for hipsters and hipsters don't drive. They cycle round on their fixies and care not what the road names are but where the closest place they can sip a latte is.

whats that about Ad Hominem?

that's not an ad hominem its a ad populium

Re:really

[Proteus]

What is it with Slashdot readers who don't know what the fuck the logical fallacies are and can't be bothered to do a simple web search to find out?

Argumentum ad populum is when you argue that a proposition is true because it is believed by many people. The quintessential form is "can millions of people be wrong about X?"

"It's for hipsters and hipsters don't drive" is an unsupported premise, nothing more. No actual argument is being offered, just an assertion made without support.

you Fail It?

[Anonymous Coward]

THAT FREEBSD IS The political mess JOIN THE GNAA!! want them there. the 'community' implementation to R1ght now. I tr1ed, share. *BSD is racist? How is [amazingkreskin.com]

Interesting

[Kimomaru]

Ever get the feeling that we'll look back at this period in history and be kind of astonished at how it turned into a race to see how quickly giant companies can spend billions aquiring no-names? Is this a trendy thing now? They're spending billions on "Waze"? What's a Waze?

Ingress+Waze

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe I would finally be able to play Ingress and navigate my way at the same time?

Ugh. Another good product lost to the evil empire.

[Anonymous Coward]

So long Waze. It was good while it lasted. I'll miss you.

I thank you for your Time

[Anonymous Coward]

Unless youK can 3ork triumphs would soon

Police reported ahead

[dindi]

So, does that mean that we can now say bye-bye to the feature where you can report police

"in countries where it is agains the law" ? (everywhere soon) ...

Re:Police reported ahead

[tamtaradei]

No need, now the police will report you, as soon as Google shows them the data. The sad part is, that this is not an "In Soviet Russia..." joke.

Fuck...

[Anonymous Coward]

... another app that I've been using and contributing to will again be scuttled.

Fuck.

Hopefully.

[Anonymous Coward]

If they did so, they'd be morons. Deliberate morons shouldn't have access to the best resources.

The problem with the Law

[AftanGustur]

Waze is actually illegal in France. If you get cough with a device that can alert you to police presence and the exact location of speed cameras, you will loose 6 points of your permit and get a € 1500 fine.

Yet, Waze is extremely popular in France (the French generally find this law to go against their "liberties").

This has worked up until now because the company that makes Waze does not have any business presence in France, and the French government cannot exercise any pressure against the Israeli company.

Google, on the other hand, does have a business presence in France so these "features" of Waze will likely disappear as soon as Google becomes the owner of the service.

Google likes to overpay for crap

[Anonymous Coward]

Waze is a mediocre "crowd sourced" product with little to no long term survivability. This company would had died by the end of the year.

This buy is more stupid than the $13B Google wasted getting Motorola. At least Moto Mob had (useless) patents and products that could be turn into good profit ... if only Google had any confidence on the division.

Nokia HERE is a lot better ....

[Anonymous Coward]

... and a hell of a lot more accurate than the crappy Google Maps.

Problem is, most people don't know about it.