If you’re one of those people who always asks ‘Are we there yet?’ – Google Maps doesn’t like annoyance and will likely respond to you in a scolding manner. That is, provided you have Google’s latest update for its mapping app.
This is not the only Easter egg that Google has hidden in its software, and certainly not the last one. But it is a fun one nonetheless. It’s like it’s built with the perfect answer for when you’re on a field trip with your kids, and one starts asking that same question, over and over again. Positively annoying and irritating, isn’t it? Well, apparently Google is of the same opinion.
The search engine giant of San Francisco knew that this whine could make you jump into a canyon of aggravation, so to not endanger the lives of everyone, this could even be considered a safety measure.
To enable this feature, all you have to do is turn on the turn-by-turn navigation so as to enable the voice feature which will give you, well, turn-by-turn voice notifications, obviously. Then you can test it by setting a destination, going on the road, and asking the famed question that is on everyone’s mind when going home. You can do this by hitting the dictation button on the top right side of your screen.
This is definitely not the most inventive trick from Google. Yet it is a nice reference to National Lampoon’s Vacation. Oh, I almost forgot the actual demonstration. When you first ask the question, the robotic voice answers with a basic estimate of the time it will take you to reach your destination. Then, if you ask another two times, you will get two simple negations – “no.”
The magic happens when you ask the fourth (and probably final) time. Then Google’s voice says that if you ask it again, you will not be stopping for ice cream if you ask it again, in a clear reference to the line by Chevy Chase in the movie mentioned above.
Yet, this is not the only feature which becomes available with the latest Maps version. You may now track all the locations you have visited (if you want to, obviously) so that you can actually retrace your steps. If you see a place where you would like to go again, then you can favorite it, and even add a personalized name.
So, are we there yet?
Image source: akamaihd.net
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