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Australian government could be source of Apple Maps bad info
Remember the story earlier this week about police in Mildura, Australia issuing a warning to motorists about Apple Maps when it was found that the app was taking people into the heart of the bush? Apple fixed the issue, pointing the pin for the town into the correct spot. But now, it appears that the company or one of its map suppliers may have picked up the erroneous data from the Australian government. The Register found a source for the map information; the Australian Gazetteer, which is the "authoritative list of 300,000-plus placenames." The Gazetteer shows two Milduras; the actual town, and an entry for "Mildura Rural City" exactly at the location that Maps erroneously showed the town. The latter entry, according to the Register's commenters, is at the center of the local government area referred to as "Mildura Rural City." As The Register notes, Geosciences Australia -- the agency behind the Gazetteer -- can't be blamed, since the data ultimately comes from the state of Victoria. Regardless of the source of the move of Mildura into the scorching Murray-Sunset National Park, at least Apple has corrected the issue.
Australian town relocated into desolate parkland, per iOS 6 Maps (Update: fixed)
Update: Per The Guardian & Cult of Mac, this geocoding error has been quietly remedied by Apple. Australians may now safely drive just as they did before. The town of Mildura in the Australian state of Victoria is home to some 30,000 people and is known for its agricultural bounty, particularly when it comes to wine grapes. Unfortunately, if you take iOS 6 Maps at its word, the town is missing. Maps searches for Mildura resolve to a point some 70 kilometers away, in the Murray-Sunset National Park. The Herald Sun newspaper reports that local police are quite concerned about this, given that the park is semi-arid, quite remote and there's no water available. MacRumors points to an ABC Australia report citing six individuals rescued from the park in the last two months, with at least five vehicles stranded. The constabulary is encouraging motorists not to use Apple's Maps app for guidance until this issue is resolved -- and to use common sense when dealing with any GPS application. "It should have been reasonably obvious to most people that things weren't what they should be," said police inspector Simon Clemence. "If you're driving from a capital city to a major rural town you would think there would be bitumen under your feet all the way and I think a lot of people realise that and come out, but some people just rely on the technology so my advice is you can't put your faith in technology. If it doesn't look right, if it doesn't smell right, it's probably not right." I'm curious how many drivers are literally entering the town itself as a destination rather than a particular intersection or address, and whether or not that might result in more accurate routing. But in any event, a glaring Maps error of this sort is likely to be prioritized for rapid correction by Apple's team of geocoders. Thanks Billy C.
