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Wazers on the map

Post by stevecody
Hey all,

When do the Wazer icons appear on the map in my mobile device, and do they update their location periodically? I'm just wondering when my icon is on the map and how often my position is updated. I frequently pass wazer icons but they are long gone so I have no idea when they were actually at that location or not.
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Post by keepitmovin
i think the concept of showing people on the map is great. but the way it is now is totally useless. if the person is not where it says they are they might was well not be there at all. it would be nice to have it real time for the people that want to opt in for example, understanding privacy concerns etc.
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Post by keepitmovin
AlanOfTheBerg wrote:Real time would be near impossible and completely hose the entire Waze network. Millions of people would opt-in and then we'd have network gridlock with the servers trying to keep user location sent out every second. Your phone would also run at a crawl speed as it tried to keep hundreds of local Wazers updated in real time on the map.

No thanks.
ok...so what is the point of showing them when they are not really where it shows they are? maybe the icons should appear as ghosts.
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Post by mirarkitty
AlanOfTheBerg wrote: However, real-time visibility to everyone would also significantly, and negatively impact the performance of both your smartphone/device
I can play MMOs over my phone's internet, and although I haven't found one, possibly on the phone - it has a rather strong graphics engine. This is not an issue... unless you're looking at the lowest common denominator. (If one user can't use the feature, then noone should have it?)
AlanOfTheBerg wrote: as well as saturate the waze outbound network traffic from the servers, sending real-time location of hundreds of Wazers to each of hundreds of thousands of apps active at any given moment. I don't think Waze is prepared for that kind of onslaught.
Neither do I. Waze servers are not MMO servers. :)
I don't think Waze want to pay for the bandwidth for millions of user position updates every second, and it's not needed.

I would like something intermediate. It would be enough to send position and road and direction a wazer is on - then my client could move the icon according to the latest average speed on that road from that position + the time of that position. (And just stop the icon where the road ends.)

On a highway this would give enough precision to make the wazer feel live instead of a ghost, and the position would be inexact enough for privacy. In an area with many turns, you can't follow the wazer, but it would still feel alive.

Most of that can be added just to the client, no extra bandwidth needed (maybe the timestamp). The client already knows the roads and the average speed.

(Add the feature of a smaller delay for wazers near me, say in a 100m radius gives 15s delay. Then I can see whoever is next to me in a jam or at a crossing, or even in front of me on the highway.

That however would need something on the server.)
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Post by ncc1701v
If you want other Wazers on the road to be able to find you, it's not so easy (privacy). If you want someone at home to be able to find you, there's good ole Glympse.
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... and the "v" is for Volvo.

Post by ncc1701v
chapelheel66 wrote:Rather than building a sense of community, I think having wazers on the map in its current form does just the opposite because it is a letdown to know that the people you think are there aren't really there.
The only thing it's good for is getting a sense of how up to date the traffic reports are.

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... and the "v" is for Volvo.

Post by Plinko75
pogglywoggly wrote:I know I wouldn't want someone to be able to actually track me down through the app so the slight delay is welcomed
I am curious as to why there is the option to go invisible? The delay is not welcomed at all for me personally and I would love to see Wazers in real time. Also it doesn't load all of the Wazers on the map anyway.
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Post by pogglywoggly
keepitmovin wrote:
AlanOfTheBerg wrote:Real time would be near impossible and completely hose the entire Waze network. Millions of people would opt-in and then we'd have network gridlock with the servers trying to keep user location sent out every second. Your phone would also run at a crawl speed as it tried to keep hundreds of local Wazers updated in real time on the map.

No thanks.
ok...so what is the point of showing them when they are not really where it shows they are? maybe the icons should appear as ghosts.


Just to give an idea of what is going on. Usually if you see a lot of wazers ahead there is probably a lot of traffic or something ahead. I know I wouldn't want someone to be able to actually track me down through the app so the slight delay is welcomed
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Post by rbthomp76
I wonder about this as well. Sometimes I pass an icon on the map but there are no cars there.. Ghost wazers I guess.


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Post by stevecody
Thanks. That makes sense.

I think I'll get my wife to turn Waze on while we're out driving and she can track my Wazer and see how often I'm updated.
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