• by using a paper map like some sort of mystical land pirate

    Oof, I remember going to people’s homes to install phone and Internet links using paper maps because we didn’t have maps on our phones back then and the GPS were mostly shit and out of date.
    Some of the smaller villages were barely there on the regional maps, aside from maybe a dot near a main road with none of their actual streets.
    For these, we’d call or stop by city hall, sometimes they’d have a shitty map or just directions.

    I’m getting old…

        • MajorHavoc@programming.dev
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          3
          ·
          edit-2
          4 months ago

          That brings back some (mostly annoying) memories!

          I recall wanting (and maybe using?) an option on MapQuest on dialup to choose how many of the turn-by-turn targeted maps to download, to save time and ink.

          And I recall having to factor in dial-up map image download times and printer print-out times, into my total travel-time calculations.

          Yes, I should have downloaded and printed the maps the night before, but my mother had a phone call with her mother.

        • Omgpwnies@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          4
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          4 months ago

          Good backup in case your phone shits the bed or you end up somewhere with no data

          • youRFate@feddit.org
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            5
            ·
            4 months ago

            You can download your trip for offline use in google maps or Apple Maps. Or fall back to the gps of your car.

            I really don’t see any point nowadays tbh.

            • dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world
              link
              fedilink
              arrow-up
              1
              ·
              3 months ago

              Eh. I might consider this if I had a long and complex road trip. Last major trip I took (1000 miles) I stayed on interstates for about 90% of it.

    • lone_faerie@lemmy.blahaj.zone
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      1
      ·
      4 months ago

      Ngl, I still do the modern version of this. I tend to leave GPS off on my phone, so I’ll use Google Maps or OpenStreetMap to plan a route beforehand and then just use road signs to navigate.