Random thoughts on Google maps

As I headed out on the road for SearchSOA.com, I needed driving directions. Needed to find the bucolic burgh of, well let’s call it Medfordshire, Massachusetts. Where it is does not really matter.

To get driving directions, the evening previous to this excursion, I employed the great compute cloud known as Google. I asked this learned hand for instructions, and printed out a map that told me to proceed from my home in Boston’s Mission Hill, and take Route 95 North, etc.

Everything is going well. It is the next morning. Time to go. Alas, I’d left my Google Map print out back at the office. No problem, of course, I go online and get directions again.

After heading to Route 95 I pull out the directions and discover Google has computed a completely different set of plans to take me from and to the same end points. I put on my human hat and successfully made the trip. No problem. But it did get me to thinking about the compute cloud.

Clearly, somewhat random results work in some cases. But, a lot of enterprise computing must provide far more solid results. Read the rest of the story.