More of my answers on Quora. This week: maps, cartography, and travel (mostly air travel questions, but featuring "luggage").
Maps and cartography
- Is there a specific word for the feeling of loving to look at maps of fantasy worlds?
- What are Mercator maps used for?
- Why do some people not use online maps (e.g., Google Maps, Bing Maps)?
- Is there an ISO standard for map square reference systems, such as GEOREF, MGRS, Maidenhead Locator, or WMO squares?
- What is the name of the little boxes on maps that contain ancillary information?
- How do I make a customizable map for my website like liveuamap does?
- What is the importance of a historical map in geography?
- Where can I see a map of the world's oceans with the political boundaries marked?
- What is the best way to do a detailed map of a country manually?
- I am in an unknown area, I have a compass, pace counting beads, pen and paper. How do I make a useful map of the area?
- How do cartographers detect trails that are not visible in aerial photography?
- The largest scale map of the UK I have been able to find is 1:1000000, is there any way I could find one twice as big/scale?
- Mapping: What is the latitude delta?
- Are there any mapping software partnerships?
- How do you find the geographical centre of an area?
- What is the distance between the North Pole and the South Pole, if you go straight through the Earth, and if you travel around the planet?
- How does the world map look if we enlarge south hemisphere and diminish northern hemisphere?
- Do you think that within our lifetime we will see online (GPS) mapping replace printed maps?
- Why do we use the latitude scale on a map to find the distance and not the longitude scale?
- How does bluetooth improves location accuracy?
- What are five places on isoclinic lines, agonic lines, and aclinic lines?
- Where is the geographic centre of China?
- Why is the Northern Hemisphere positioned at the top of most maps instead of the Southern Hemisphere?
- Why isn't the government enforcing mapping services (Google Maps, Apple Maps etc.,) to share details about the users who are over speeding?
- How do I embed maps on a website without using iFrame?
- What items should a map's key include?
- How are maps a social construction?
- Why don't mobile maps have scale?
- How can you tell which way a river flows by looking at a map?
- Do you use mapping software like Google maps to plan your holiday? Eg. distance of hotel from airport, or routes from hotel to main attractions, researching trams stops, bus stops etc?
- How can I download map tiles from Open Street Maps for offline applications?
- Is there a map of ley lines?
- Should the London Overground be shown as different coloured lines on the TFL map?
- Is there any world map available that represents true area of countries in the northern hemisphere?
- How do GeoMaps (GoogleMaps, OpenStreetMaps, etc.) identify and map out roads?
- Is Mapbox's pricing meant to be less competitive than Google Maps'?
- What is cartography?
- How does OpenStreetMap legally justify copyrighting their data?
- Does Google contribute to OpenStreetMap?
- In olden times how were people able to create maps of their country so precisely?
Google Maps, Street View etc
I seem to have written an awful lot about Google's maps. I've become a Quora "most viewed writer" on the topic. I love Google but I'm not a sycophant and don't hesitate to criticise it where appropriate.
- Why does Google Maps blur road signs?
- Does Google maps contain publicly accessible historical traffic data?
- Does blurring of Google Street View violate the principle of digital participation?
- What would the best country for me if I want to leave Germany, not liking their Google Street View privacy trouble? (someone who thinks Google blurring Street View is an emergency!)
- What do different colour lines in Google maps mean?
- How is Google Maps so accurate and up to date?
- How can I change my location settings on Google Shopping?
- How can I find out when the Google Street View cameras will be driving by my house?
- Why is Austria not part of Google Street View?
- In Google Maps when sharing a link, why is the default to show a long complicated link, with a short URL option?
- How do I stop Google Maps from asking to add my personal photo's to business premises I am near?
- How do you get a scaled map on Google?
- Why don't people use Google Street View to solve crimes?
- Is it true that Google Street View consumes 75% of all data storage on Earth?
- Why isn't dead reckoning built into Google Maps?
- Is it legal to drive Street View cars in North Korea?
- Why there isn’t Google Street View in Paraguay and other South American countries?
- How come there is no refresh button for traffic on Google Maps? And no "last updated" timestamp?
- Could Google feasibly partner with Tesla to improve Maps?
- Can Google Maps on the iPhone determine the size of the building you are in and the position of the people in it?
- Speaking morally, not legally, is historical value of Google Street View big enough to justify this “invasion of privacy”?
- How can you find the lat/long coordinate of a certain point in iOS Google Maps?
- How can one access Google maps own overlays (e.g., roads) through their api?
- Why is there very few App on Android and iOS that uses Google Street View?
- How does Google earn money giving their Google Maps API for free to the market? (this is really about their business model rather than their maps - but then that has a bearing on lots of things)
- How do I contribute a street view or panoramic image on Google Maps?
- Does displaying a location of a vehicle once on Google Maps API come under "asset tracking"?
- How do I find the distance between two locations in excel using Google maps?
- In Google India Maps, Jammu & Kashmir in its entirety is shown as part of India. How is Jammu & Kashmir shown in Google Pakistan Maps / Google China Maps?
- How do I map bands on Google Maps based on journey time?
- Is it possible to get Google Maps Live Traffic data?
- How work Place a DWG site plan on a Google Maps image and return to scale?
- Are there valid alternatives to Google Geolocalization API that are free and work well with Android devices?
- What stops a Google Maps engineer from looking at the raw satellite pictures of Area 51 and other restricted locations? (my most upvoted answer on Quora, by a long, long way - and it's not even one of my better answers)
- How does Google maps know so accurately 'how much' traffic there is on the road?
- How does Google Maps decide on the exact location to start/stop within a city while calculating driving directions between two cities (no precise location provided by the user)?
- How does Google calculate the distance arcoss two places in Google Maps?
- How do I Get a list of co-ordinates from Google maps according to my search query?
- How does Google maps coordinate system works?
- What kind of data does Google collect from its customers?
- How does Google maps know the layout of lanes and roads in small cities just by using the satellite images?
- How does Google Maps know my appointments?
- If one day Google asks for money in return for its maps data, would it be considered abuse of thousands of people who freely contributed to its maps system?
- Will OpenStreetMap become better than Google Maps?
- How often are the satellite images on Google or Bing updated?
- How does Google maps know whether the road is one way or two way?
- How does Google Maps know where the railroads are?
- Is the Google Maps picture of the Android robot taking a pee on Apple fake?
Travel
- Which country is the most hospitable in the world?
- What's the best way to travel from Beijing to Paris on foot?
- Where should I travel to first if I've never been out of the United States?
- If I'm using a JR pass in Japan, how can I book shinkansen tickets before my trip so they don't sell out?
- Is it racist to refer to something Japanese as 'Jap'?
- What makes it so important for people to dress well at the airport?
- Do airport X-ray scanners recognize gold from other metals in checked luggage?
- How are airplanes cleaned?
- Why do flight attendants ask us to open the window shades?
- Will I really be saved if I wear my seatbelt in a plane crash?
- Which airline has the best premium economy experience from Singapore to Edinburgh?
- How do "flexible" airfares work?
- What is the difference between "visa on arrival" and "visa free entry" for travel to a foreign country?
- What is good etiquette when on board an airplane?
- Why are there ashtrays in the toilets of airplanes when it's forbidden to smoke?
- What is the best way to get an upgrade from economy to business class on an international flight?
- Why do people queue up at airport gates despite having an assigned seat?
- Why are airlines allowed to charge such a premium for transatlantic trips which don't include a Saturday night?
- Why don't airlines have parachutes for passengers? (!!!)
- Why is airplane black box data not uploaded to the Internet?
- Last year's many airplane incidents have made me afraid of flying, but my lifestyle requires frequent air travel. How should I deal with the fear?
- Why can't I check-in online for my flight earlier than 24 hours prior to departure?
- Why don't airplanes have huge airbags to make them float when there's an accident that forces them to ditch into the ocean?
- What should I do to minimize the risk of losing my laptop when it travels through security?
- Why is San Francisco International Airport abbreviated as SFO?
- Is it safe to take Champagne in checked-in luggage on an air flight?
- Is it safe to take BART and walk around with a backpack and suitcase in San Francisco?
- Why do we call suitcase a 'suitcase'?
- What is the best luggage? (Quora rates me a “Top Writer” on the topic of Luggage as well, apparently)
- Do you ever travel with less than your allowance when travelling by air? Would you be happy to help friends/family with your spare space if you can trust them? If not, what would be your concerns?
- How do you manage to see and experience a country when visiting briefly or when busy?
- How can you tell if a pickpocket is near you when travelling?
- Should I carry debit cards or cash when visiting another country? Why?
- I'm developing a travel guide. How can I gather or get all the data for cities (sightseeing, restaurants, nightouts & shopping) and get their photos? How can I get information as a trip advisor?
- Where can I find the list of hotel booking websites used by Trivago for the comparison of prices?
- How do hotels get their rates?
- What are the advantages of working in a hotel?
- What software and/or startups are innovating the hotel/travel space?
- Why have some hotels stopped providing a fridge in hotel rooms?
- When did hotels start to provide conference rooms?
- What circumstances (positive or negative) are most likely to motivate you to write an online review of a hotel?
- What is the one feature, outside basic necessities like running water, that every hotel room should have? (wifi)
- What is the difference between a summit, a forum and a symposium?
Maps are one of my main loves in life and travel is one of my favourite pastimes. Others include programming, sex and Buddhism, which will get their own separate posts in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more answers/opinions.