Google Maps

A knife sharpening truck parked outside of O.J. Simpson's old Brentwood address tops the list of curiosities captured in Google Inc.'s street-level photographs of Southern California. Others include unflattering snapshots of passers-by, a woman gazing out her window in Encinitas and a sea gull above La Jolla caught mid-flight dropping a surprise below.

How helpful is Apple Maps? Not very, according to a company that found Apple Maps is three times more likely to get someone lost than Google Maps. Most generally regard Google Maps as the superior software, but the crowdsourcing company Crowdflower decided to take a look at the data and figure out how exactly the two softwares, and Bing, compare. Specifically, Crowdflower set out to answer how often each service will get you to the right location. To find out, the company took a look at directions to 1,000 businesses in the U.S. and another 100 in the U.K. QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge The company used its resources to go to the website of each business and find the address listed.

Did you have trouble downloading the Google Maps for iPhone app last week? That might be because lots of people were downloading the app -- more than 10 million in 48 hours to be exact. Jeff Huber, a Google senior vice president, revealed that statistic on Google+ on Monday. But the number of downloads, though impressive, is hardly surprising. Apple users had been looking forward to the return of the Google Maps app ever since it was removed from the iPhone three months ago and replaced with Apple's own software, Apple Maps.

Apple iOS 6 users, rejoice. It looks like Google Maps is back. Well, not really. An iOS developer in Tokyo has made an app called ClassicMap that looks a lot like the Maps app of old. The app uses Google Maps, shows you your location, lets you zoom in and out, and even drop pins. Perfect, right? Not quite. Top 10 gems in iOS 6 Although ClassicMap appears to give us the Maps app used for the first iPhone through the iPhone 4S, it's missing too many key features to be worth using.

Along with airports and shopping malls, museums are some of the toughest indoor places to navigate. Who hasn't found herself wandering aimlessly around a gallery of Greek and Roman artifacts while trying to find an exhibit of Impressionist paintings , or peering at a dimly lit minerals exhibit at a natural history museum when really you want to see the giant whale skeleton? Well, help is on the way. This week, Google announced it added indoor floor plans of 20 American museums to its Google Maps for Android.

Google Maps might make its long-awaited return to the iPhone and the iPad on Wednesday night, according to a report. All Things D says unnamed sources have confirmed Google Inc. plans to release its Maps app for Apple's iOS mobile operating system Wenesday night. If that is indeed the case, there will probably be many happy iPhone users. QUIZ: How much do you know about Google? They have had to deal with Apple Maps since the Cupertino, Calif., company gave the pre-installed Google Maps app the boot in mid-September with the release of iOS 6. IPhone users quickly became frustrated because Apple Maps didn't seem to provide nearly as much information as Google Maps, its "Flyover" 3-D imaging feature didn't work correctly and commonly gave inaccurate information.

The rift between Apple and Google over a map app grew wider Tuesday as Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said Apple device users shouldn't expect the company to offer them a Google Maps app anytime soon.  Apple dropped Google's app and replaced it with its own in the latest operating system, iOS 6, that it released last Wednesday. That meant the new iPhone 5 also did not include the Google Map. It had been a feature on the iPhone since the smartphone first launched in 2007. The Apple Maps app offers new features to iPhone users, including 3-D maps, advanced live traffic updates and voice navigation, but it doesn't support directions for public transportation and its maps app doesn't appear to be as accurate as Google's in some areas.

It's no secret that the biggest failure of iOS 6 has been Apple's decision to replace Google Maps with its own app. The app, which came with the new operating software, has a cool 3-D Flyover feature, but in general it's much worse than its Google predecessor. The new app provides inaccurate maps that sometimes place businesses in the middle of rivers , poor-quality satellite images that are not helpful and less information than Google Maps. On top of that, the 3-D Flyover feature barely works and often provides horrible results ( look at what it does to the Hoover dam )

If you worry that our culture's reliance on GPS and mobile maps is ruining our ability to explore the hidden nooks and crannies -- the unexpected -- in our world, this story is for you. It's the tale of former Marine Sgt. Winston Fiore, 27, who just completed a 408-day, 5,000-mile walk through nine countries in Southeast Asia to raise funds for the International Children's Surgical Foundation--an organization that provides free plastic surgeries to...

Tired of getting bad directions? Google Maps, Google's popular mapping and driving directions tool, is letting users correct its maps, Wikipedia-style. The new map feature is part of a larger effort to exploit the collective knowledge of those who visit Google, the most frequently used search engine. Since last week, users with Google accounts have been able to move the small green arrows that pinpoint addresses on its maps.