Remember Maps?
A recent trip that my wife, Joan, and I took got me thinking about how our Maps apps on our iPhones have transformed driving and navigation. Of course, many of us grew up using paper maps.
When I think of classic maps there are several memories that I’m sure I share with many of you. Here is a short list of map memories:
- A map was an essential planning tool for a driving trip to a new area. You would spend time plotting out the route from point A to point B. The family vacation was a significant planning exercise.
- For a family vacation, you might go to your local AAA office to order a triptik where the route planning was completed for you and assembled into a bound booklet. The online TripTik of today doesn’t have the same charm as getting that package of booklets in the mail on the week before your family vacation.
- A driving vacation required a driver and a navigator (roles usually filled by Dad -driver and Mom – navigator. The role of navigator was to have the map on their lap calling out turns and directions. Arguments could ensue if the navigator was slow to announce an exit or miss a turn.
- You would try to keep maps in the glove box of your car. If you were caught on the road without the necessary maps, you would have to stop at a gas station to pick one up. At one time, you could get those maps for free from the major oil companies like Phillips 66 or Texaco. Later, gas stations started to charge for those maps. Has anybody tried to find a map at a gas station recently?
- Every year, the family would try to score new state road maps from the Minnesota State Patrol booth at the Minnesota State Fair.
- Folding a map was a skill. A nicely folded map would last a long time.
- If you needed help with directions, the gas station was your first stop. They would gladly interrupt their mechanic work to give your directions to a nearby location.
Today, the classic map has been replaced either with the GPS in your car or a Map app on your iPhone.
Senior Tech Club Tip:
Update your iPhone software to IOS version 10.x in order to take advantage of the latest Apple Maps app. It compares nicely to other maps in the market, namely other good apps like Waze and Google Maps. It is a complete map that will help you find locations, businesses, landmarks and get directions. Best of all it works with Siri as no other map app can
This upgrade is an STC recommendation for iPhone 5 and later.
See the Senior Tech Recipe STR-103 Finding Places with the Maps App for coaching and information on the Maps app.
Safe travels,
Don
