Monday, December 10, 2012

Police confirms that Apple Maps are dangerous




The fact that the iOS map app is a completely mess is not a news anymore. Apple itself recognized this fact and encouraged its users to use other similar applications. However, this was not just a friendly advice, it was a very serious warning especially since Australia police is trying to persuade people to use Apple maps because they might have some very serious problems otherwise.

This aspect was possible after a few cases of motorists were rescued by the police because they had to save their  lives after they followed the directions from this app. They were trying to get to a city, to Mildura, but they have been directed towards the national park. The problem, according to the police is given by the fact that Mildura, which is a small town, in the middle of the Murray Sunset National Park which is situated approximately 70 km away from the location.

This shows us the fact that the map is not only inefficient but it could lead to very serious negative effects.  The tests of the police have confirmed this aspect and the fact that this was not just an error of the system, the map is really designed in this way , and everyone should be very careful about this aspect. They have specifically stated "Anyone travelling to Mildura or other locations within Victoria should rely on other forms of mapping until this matter is rectified." (Musil, 2012).

This is perhaps one of the most obvious aspects that reveals the capacities of this app and the fact that using it, might lead to very negative outcomes. The example of the motorists that have risked their lives because of this app is not the only one, but now an authority is able to show these aspects and certify the fact that the app is very dangerous, at least in that case. There are many other examples however, so many that even Apple had to recognize this aspect and could not hide it no more. However, considering the latest aspects revealed by the police, I think it is necessarily for Apple to stop providing this service, that puts in danger the lives of the people, and they should do this at least until they are able to solve their problems. 

Source: cnet.com
MO

No comments:

Post a Comment