Who's responsible for MapGate? Scott Forstall? Tin Cook? Steve Jobs? Google? The earth?
So if Steve Jobs was still around, who would he be chewing out this weekend for unveiling their flagship product with a major software app that is below par? Does the buck stop with Forstall or Cook on this? While I do think this problem is a little overblown the criticisms of the map app have been mostly accurate.
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I think it's safe to say that every major move that Apple makes for the next three to five years was carefully planned by Jobs before he died. Apple purchased all of the mapping companies long before he left the company, and we all know how he hated Google. It's a pretty safe bet that Apple would have done this sooner or later, but I'm not convinced that the product as it stands right now would meet Jobs' exacting standards, so it may not have happened in this OS release.
Calling it "mapgate" legitimizes what that implies. I don't think it's a good idea to do that.
Why does it matter? Just need someone to assign blame to?
It's simple. The contract with Google expired. Therefore they are no longer licensed to provide that service. Google maps are not coming back as the system default maps. Ever.
The new maps system will get better over time, until then people should be productive by reporting incorrect data on the maps or find something more important to do with their time. Because right now too many people are bitching only for the sake of bitching.
Originally Posted by beg_ne
Why does it matter? Just need someone to assign blame to?
We'd rather just the truth, I think, for the purposes of holding conversations about the topic. For example, if Apple did not renew because Google refused to license turn by turn, or if Google did not renew because Apple refused to allow ads in the UI. Knowing the reason can let us speak far more clearly about it.
You're right about everything else you've said, though. Particularly that last bit.