Jaunted - Tag: Maps

Moscow: Technology Gets Smacked Down by Old-School Guidebook in Moscow

juliana — 2009-05-26T17:11:02-05:00

The folks over at Cond� Nast Traveler recently sent three writers on a mission to Moscow and gave each of them a different tool to use in completing some touristy activities. One writer was armed with an iPhone, the other was given a new BlackBerry Bold phone and the last writer was left with an old-school guidebook from Eyewitness Travel.

Interestingly enough, the writer saddled with the guidebook ended up completing the required tasks much faster than the other two with the internet at their disposal. And here's why:

Know Your Global Plugs and Sockets

Omri — 2009-05-19T14:40:43-05:00

Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally can be frustrating. Carrying around a bevy of electronics internationally, only to discover that you can't plug them into the local walls sockets, is liable to push a weary traveler over the edge. In an effort to avoid any international incidents, computer maker EUROCOM has put together this wonderfully clean map of worldwide plugs and sockets, which we're dutifully passing on to you.

Of course you could just buy a universal plug adapter - this one's currently selling for $2 - and never worry about plugs or sockets again. We prefer the all-in-one devices to alternative multi-piece plug sets, even if the all-in-ones are a little bigger. A bit more bulk just seems preferable to having lots of small parts floating around.

BMI Wipes Israel Off the (In-Flight) Map

JetSetCD — 2009-05-01T13:11:47-05:00

Imagine for a moment that you are traveling with a major airline, and winging your way from one major world city to another, but your destination fails to appear on the in-flight entertinament LiveMap. What do you do? If you're an Israeli heading home from London on a BMI plane, you file a complaint against the airline with your tourism ministry, and get that stuff fixed before it becomes an international incident.

Will Google Change The Way We Travel?

Omri — 2009-04-01T09:16:31-05:00

This month's Conde Nast Traveler has a fascinating backgrounder on Google Earth and Google Maps by Mike DiPaola. It turns out that the ability to visualize every part of an increasingly interconnected planet might have a few consequences for tourists:

So, will the new technology relegate paper maps and bound atlases to eBay and Antiques Roadshow? Since ancient times, maps have included only what was deemed important by the mapmaker, with scads of other stuff left on the cutting-room floor. Now all of it can be stored and accessed, and a map can be customized not just by a cartographer but by you. A map can never fully be the territory it purports to represent, but as layer upon layer of information becomes available, the screen inches ever closer to reality.

New Site Helps You Dig Your Hole to China

Victor Ozols — 2009-03-29T14:16:07-05:00

Have you ever wondered where you'd end up if you could somehow dig a hole straight through the earth from where you were standing? Of course you have. Everybody has. Well, now there's a nifty website that can answer that question in seconds. The Antipodes Map couldn't be simpler to use. Pick any location on earth on a Google map and it will automatically generate its antipode, i.e. the land (or ocean) located on the opposite side of the world.

Key West: Good Ideas: Key West Map Doubles as a Lens Cleaning Cloth

Victor Ozols — 2009-03-07T15:03:07-05:00

We're headed to Key West next month and I've been geeking out on the research, poring over all the travel guides I can find and lining up a few bars, restaurants and museums to check out while we're there. I wanted to pick up one of those Streetwise maps, but they don't have one for Key West yet, so instead I ordered a Rand McNally Fab Map for six bucks from Amazon, and I'm glad I did.

Staten Island: Google Maps Hates Staten Island, Sends Drivers to Schenectady Instead

Victor Ozols — 2009-01-25T16:17:19-05:00

Wait till the Wu Tang Clan hears about this one. A software glitch on Google Maps is confusing a neighborhood in Staten Island with the upstate town of Schenectady, sending Great Kills-bound drivers on a three-hour, 170-mile odyssey in the wrong direction. As the Daily News points out, the 10308 zip code is coming up in searches as Schenectady, and those looking for directions to the Shaolin hamlet will instead find themselves rolling up the New York State Thruway if they're not paying attention. Staten Island Councilman Councilman Vince Ignizio doesn't think Google is dissing his borough like so many others have before, but he hopes the glitch is fixed nonetheless. After all, Staten Island needs all the visitors it can get.

[Photo: Daily News]

Related Stories:
· Software Glitch Sends Staten Island Google Maps Users on a Major Detour [New York Daily News]
· Google Maps Coverage [Jaunted]