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History

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Google maps is a web mapping service designed by two brothers: Lars and Jens Rasmussen at Where 2 Technologies. In October 2004 Google acquired this company and converted their desktop program into web application. After additional acquisitions of a geospatial data visualisation company and a real-time traffic analyser, Google Maps was launched in February 2005. (En.wikipedia.org, 2018)

Google maps offer many kind of services such as:

  • Satellite images

  • Street maps

  • Panoramic view of streets ( Street View )

  • Route planning

Satellite images:
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Google is updating their application regularly what give users newest images of quickly changing environment. It also shows every kind of landscape of place that people want to explore. To access the satellite click on the image showed below. â€‹

Street maps:
 

This part of Google maps shows all roads and their names. It is helpful for people who want to check which way they should pick to get to their planned place.

It also show places as:

  • Marketplace

  • Restaurants

  • Tourist attractions

  • Education points ( University, School, etc… )

  • Hospitals

  • Sacral places

Street view:
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Google gave people opportunity to go even further in their exploration. Google Street view is a part of application that allows user to see the panoramic image of chosen place. You can access it by dragging the little human icon on the bottom of the website ( look at the screenshot below ).

It allow user to see the 360° image of place that he dropped little human. People can also move in almost every direction by left-clicking point that they want to go. There is only one disadvantage of this kind of discovering… you can only see the image made from the street ( google car can’t go everywhere )

Route planning:
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Google maps offer their users really useful tool called route planning. It allows people to check the best way to get to their destination. It is connected with a real-time traffic analyser which can help you with avoiding any kind of traffic on your way. Follow the instruction below to access all route options: 

- Step 1. Click 

- Step 2. Type your location and destination 

-Step 3. Select options

- Step 4. Look at interesting informations for you

It shows things as:

  • Distance to your destination (miles/km)

  • Road names and distance that you have to travel

  • Toll roads

  • Highways

  • Ferries

This tool also gives you few choices of roads that you can travel through:

  • Fastest

  • Shortest

  • Economic

  • Easiest 

 

Moreover you can use google maps as GPS app. This is probably the most used function of this application. It shows you visually the way that you are travelling and it follow your position on screen. This app gives even voice statements which way you should pick next and how far you are from direction change.

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References:

-En.wikipedia.org. (2018). Google Maps. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps.

- Google Maps. (2018). Google Maps. [online] Available at: https://www.google.pl/maps.

-My own experience :)

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