Measuring Distance in Google Maps

Now that I use Google maps often every time I want to go somewhere, there are functions that I accidentally discover. These are ordinary functions that can be useful especially when you want to walk towards your destination.

One is to measure the distance between two points. Interesting observation is the ‘measure distance’ menu does not show up when the device is online so go off Wi-Fi or data mobile whilst doing this. 

So, here is how.

Whilst the map is open, enlarge the map for a better accuracy. Then drop a pin to where you want to start measuring. Just tap the screen lightly to activate the red location pin. 

Notice the ‘measure distance’ menu appear when offline. When online, the menu is not available.

Tap the ‘measure distance’ to anchor the dropped pin to the starting point.

You can go back online at this point or you can remain offline. 

Drag the map to the direction of your target destination and let the movable target circle hover over the destination. You can see the distance between the two points at the left lower corner which reads 0.383 mi. 

This is the distance when travelled in straight line but it would be different in real situation when you follow the road or use different roads. 

Here’s how to road map it. 

Whilst dragging the map, place the first turn to the road you choose then tap the ‘plus button’ to anchor the first turning point. 

Continue doing that every time you encounter a turn or a bend, until you reach the destination. If you make a mistake, just tap the ‘back’ arrow button at the top.

The measurement is expectedly increased to 0.522 mi as the road map follows one of the roads rather than a straight line. The more presses of the ‘plus’ sign makes the measurement more accurate.

If you know how to initiate ‘measure distance’ whilst online, please share it at the comments box. Thanks.

Bus Blues

I can no longer afford to own a car. It’s been many years that I have not driven one. So I let the driving to my chauffeur, the bus driver.

The beauty of having someone to drive you around town is you can do anything; enjoy the view, read magazine, play games, talk on the phone or doze off. This is without worry of getting a fine or worst, waking up in A&E. It is still better than not to wake up at all, though!

Public transport saves you time and money on parking fees and reduces the occurrence of forehead-crease inducing stress of finding one.

Thanks to Google maps and data providers for making it easier to find which bus to take and the connections to get to your destination. Everywhere is just a tap away.

I see people doing just that. They do it whilst at the bus station, inside the bus and they’re tapping away whilst on the move. Dangerous, when their concentration is all but the perilous movements around them. I did exactly like that, gathering near misses and ‘I’m sorries.’

I decided to end this up and adopt a better way of doing things. Waking the phone, keying the passcode, finding the way on the internet takes time and needs total concentration.

Recording this on the phone using screenshot is a quick way of accessing the same information and easy way of reassuring the progress of the journey.

With this technique, I still need to wake up the phone, key in the passcode and browse through my screenshots. So I did an ‘old school’ technique.

I use Google maps to get the details of my destination. To tailor the data I need, I set the search to just include the bus, which is cheaper than most mode of transport. 

On default, it shows all of the available types of transport. Just tap on the service to exclude it from the search.

I choose ‘arrive by’ in the query which I find it a better option.

With a sticky note, I wrote down the relevant information like station name, bus number and time of arrival from the station and to the connecting station. I included the stop IDs as well until the final destination is reached.

Then I stick it at the back of my phone inside the protective transparent cover. 

So every time I need to review my destination, I just flip it around to see my progress. 

Old school can look cool when you’re just flipping your phone to see your route whilst others are still waking up their phones, keying their passcodes, checking their photos or going to the internet to find the route information.

Being Practical

Is it right to replace our mobile phones into the newest piece of technology as soon as there's a new one available? I can sense those who have the means are nodding their heads right now. There’s nothing wrong about that. but ios it ethical?

The saying goes, ‘don’t try to fix it if it’s not faulty’. So why replace it, or in marketing terms, upgrade it? 

People are drawn into new things. Just a few tweaks of the camera setting and additional feature in a new phone can make people form a long queue to get hold of the new variant. Adding power words like XL, HD, 5G, or vegan friendly resonates to the already conditioned consumer thinking.

 I remember many years ago, there was a concept of a modular phone. The individual components like camera, Bluetooth, nfc, etc. can be added like a piece of Lego. The idea is, if there is a new camera, just remove the camera block and replace it with the new one. If there’s a new feature, just find an empty block and fit it in. That was the way when computers were primarily tower computers. 

Why this idea did not took off? Although a good thought, it can be a fiddle. Consumers don’t like complicated things. They like to buy, then open and use.

There’s not much incentive in keeping your old phone aside from the obvious, saving some dough for something else. Sad thing is the operating system providers stop supporting old versions. Compatibility issues to new technology arise after more or less than 4 years. 

I can only think of the mobile and data providers to set up a ‘decreasing tariff’ to those who continue to hold on to their old mobile phones to reduce electronic waste. It can be bad thing for the company, but can also be a positive choice for the consumers. So why not use providers that offer second hand units which usually have lower rentals, the likes of music magpie, envirofone, giffgaff, voxi refurbished phones and so on. 

It may not be appealing to everybody but this little thing that we can do can save us some money and is friendlier to the planet. Phones are primarily made for ringing, anyway.