"They could just have done so and so", as if we are privy to any inside information.
I really hate it when people choose to make up arguments with no solid ground when there are plenty of criticisms to be made.
It's the "Apple has made a terrible irresponsible mistake" stuff that confuses me.
Incidentally, where are you that Apple's maps don't work for you? I'm in Chicago and they work better for me than the old one did.
Edit: What were your problems with Google maps in Chicago? I remember it was kind of stupid sometimes (e.g., it would tell me to take the pink line 3 blocks and transfer instead of just walking three blocks and getting on the red line), but I don't remember them being inaccurate.
In addition, I often feel that public transit and walking directions go hand-in-hand. I would be willing to see someone try to separate them, but I'm skeptical of the user experience.
All of the big boys are angling to be in the game (don't forget Bing maps).
I may keep a folded paper map handy whilst traveling abroad, however, for the foreseeable future.
> THE USER DOESN'T CARE.
Source: https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=638477#c129
> NOT MY POINT.
I completely understand how it makes business sense for Apple to develop it's own mapping product, but that doesn't mean that they have to release software that is missing huge chunks of functionality. There seems to be this false dichotomy that Apple had two options: "release a product that is nowhere near ready to ship," and "rely on Google forever." There is a third option, which is "develop maps secretly, do the first two 90%'s of the work, then drop Google maps." Many on HN have argued that maps can't improve until they are used. That is doubtlessly true for some aspects: POIs, especially businesses, aren't going to be added until Apple maps gain mind-share, and there will be errors in the data that Apple bought until someone bothers to tell Apple to correct it. I can forgive Apple for that. But those are the things belong to the third 90% of the work.
If anything, this piece at Daring Fireball just reinforces the idea that Apple has a problem somewhere in the chain of command. It really seems like there's nothing that would have prevented Apple from waiting another 6 to 12 months to announce it's mapping product, except that someone drastically underestimated how difficult it would be to compete with Google. Frankly, I think that's why iOS 6 doesn't have transit directions--the only thing you can do with a late product is drop features or push back the ship date.[2]
I really do welcome all the things that Apple is trying to do maps in iOS 6, and I think they will have a good product in a year's time (or maybe two). That does not, however, mean that I want or will accept broken maps on my phone in the interim.
[1] Apparently this is everyone in Japan, a dude in Portugal, and many people who use public transit to get around in big American cities. For some, the addition of turn-by-turn is a bigger gain than the loss of public transit and street-view.
[2] This is also why I can't see the third-party transit thing as a viable solution. The end-game is that Apple will bring transit in-house the same way they did with the rest of maps. Actually, maybe it's a brilliant strategy on Apple's part to pick really good team to do transit directions. Embark seems to be doing a good job, but they seem to be focusing on just a few transit systems in big cities, with no inter-city transit. Hopefully Apple will acquire them and provide the resources to have really complete coverage.
Again: isn't that a good thing?
I do wonder if this is an opportunity for Microsoft to sell a complete platform experience while Apple is taking a breather.
Disclaimer: I just recently started working for MSFT in a position not at all related to Windows Phone. I also don't own a Windows Phone.
Apple knew this was going to happen, and did it anyways. It is therefore part of a strategy.
One problem, though: It sucks that, in order to make a move that makes economic sense, you have to break stuff for your users. And not just break. REALLY break.
Gruber talks about the options Apple had, and one is "wait one more year having less features than their competitors". Well, that sounds exactly like what Apple would do in the past, in order to have a better user experience. You know, the infamous "customers don't want this or that" that Jobs would always say when they didn't have something ready.