Apple Defines Its World View Enablers: Money and Convenience?
November 30, 2019
Easy. Convenient. Confusing? Reality?
We noted that Apple continues to explain different versions of maps. “Apple Taking a Deeper Look’ at How It Handles Disputed Borders”
The write up reported:
Trudy Muller, a spokesperson for Apple, said that no changes have been made to the Maps app outside Russia and only Russian users have received the update because of new legislation in the country.
The idea, of course, is that maps have different purposes.
Apple may want to consider this statement by Alan MacEachren:
The representational nature of maps, however, is often ignored – what we see when looking at a map is not the word, but an abstract representation that we find convenient to use in place of the world. When we build these abstract representations we are not revealing knowledge as much as are creating it. — How Maps Work: Representation, Visualization, and Design, p. v. Note: MacEachren taught geography at Penn State.
But Apple is developing maps in order to facilitate revenue. The action seems destined to make acceptable an action which some find inappropriate. You can’t change a battery in an iPhone, but Apple can change the map for Russia. Some Wild West claim jumpers liked arbitrary maps too. The reality was gold. Priceless motive, right?
Stephen E Arnold, November 30, 2019
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