Google Maps Now Has Your Location, Still Doesn’t Know Where You Are
Like I mentioned in an earlier post about the features of Firefox 3.5 some browsers–Chrome 2.0+ and Firefox 3.5+ to be exact–now have location based services available using the W3C Geolocation API. If you are using one of these browsers and go to Google Maps you will notice a new little box with a circle inside.
This–theoretically–allows Google Maps to locate your position. Location based services like this have been more or less a fad in the past and none have really caught on save location based cell phone applications. Only time will tell for this one.
My experience with location based Google Maps has been less than ok. When I clicked the button, told Firefox to allow Google Maps to access my location–and remember my settings–I was told I was about 60 miles off of where I really was.
Come on location based services! You can do better than that. Its not like I am in the sticks on a poor connection either. I am in a decent sized city on a fiber internet connection and that was the best they could do.
I’m not complaining really. The less “they” can find out about us the longer we can postpone the apocalypse–which is fine by me…
Google maps is not perfect. There are lots of military sites where it doesn’t have very recent imagery and the imagery is low res so you can’t zoom in. At least we have a few secrets still in the web world.
Mine says this, “Your location could not be determined.”
I think I’ll go on a hacking spree; thanks GoogleMaps.
i have used it on my ipod touch in a few different places and it is probably within as little as 50 to 150 feet off