[NanasBack]

Technology for the sake of it, which actually makes 'it' worse.

For example:-

BMW SatNav Perspective View.

I don't often drive into a city, but went into Birmingham last week and noticed significant coloured blocks around each road on the SatNav map.
I usually use either North Oriented or In Direction of Travel views.
However, switched to Perspective View and it appears as if you are driving between the actual buildings on the display.
They even have little windows and doors...

What a waste of time programming all that data in and for what?

Without the buildings there, you could still see to either side, what other roads are around you.
Now its actually like being in the street you are on so can't see anything either side on the map display because the buildings are in the way.
WTF?

What is the point of this?

Anybody use Perspective View?

[73henny]

Use it all the time. You can use the buildings as landmarks.

[Wills2]

Always perspective view, I agree the 3D buildings are a pain especially when I used to drive a lot in London as I'd be thinking the same as you it was confusing.

I'd zoom out to get rid of them, I use my HUD now but I do find that using sat nav over the years has dumbed down my own "follow your nose" sense of direction, I used to travel all over the country in the 90/00s with nothing more than an AA map and often not even that but I always got there.

I guess I used to prepare more before the journey.

[B58_Touring]

I only ever use perspective view, I find north orientated the worst of the lot. The 3D thing can get in the way a bit but you can just zoom out slightly and it disappears

[t5pilot]

You could always use perspective view & disable the 3d building view. It's a check-box option in the settings.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Wills2

Always perspective view, I agree the 3D buildings are a pain especially when I used to drive a lot in London as I'd be thinking the same as you it was confusing.

I'd zoom out to get rid of them, I use my HUD now but I do find that using sat nav over the years has dumbed down my own "follow your nose" sense of direction, I used to travel all over the country in the 90/00s with nothing more than an AA map and often not even that but I always got there.

I guess I used to prepare more before the journey.

It's bizarre isn't it? I'd drive 400 miles to my destination, perhaps a cursory check of the map at a coffee stop, based on a route memorised from the OS. Barely ever got frustrated or lost. I'm far worse now after over a decade of relying on nav.

Perspective view every time for me. Maybe the less nice looking views would work better and lead to less confusion!

[JustChris]

Use perspective view all the time every time. Just have building 3D turned off.

[NanasBack]

Well, thanks for the settings info.

I hadn't spotted the 3D tickbox option.

(I now also have traffic lights all over the map. Would be really good if they indicated real time light colour ).
I guess they'll never provide a speed camera tick box option.....

Well, I thought the detail was a waste of time, but clearly, other folks have different views.

But there's more:-
When we had our latest BT tv box, television recordings were now in a menu under the caption MyTv.
Selecting this presents lots of little pictures - of something associated with the programs recorded.

I never realised I needed to see pictures related to the programs recorded in order to choose them later..
What was wrong with the old style chronological list of text ? Under the title Recordings?
You know. Just a list of the titles of the programs you recorded, to watch later.

Window 10.
Pretty much the same as Windows 7 and even XP.
Just another level of camouflage to negotiate, to get to the menu you need, in order to change a setting for something.

They've spent millions on that dross.
And it's infuriating having to navigate around the extra layers to get to the same old settings.
And I keep forgetting how to get there.

Anyone use Windows?

[Techno 9000]

Yep. I often use the search function in the pop out that you get when hitting the 'Windows' key.
Type the name of the setting you are thinking of and it often comes up as a result. Quicker then searching through layers of menus yourself.

[RobUK]

For me personally, these buildings overlays aren't much use and are more just eye candy. I drive along Brighton sea front and there on the satnav is the Palace Pier - well I know it's there, I can see it for myself!

However I don't suppose the effort they've gone to including this is necessarily a waste of time. If you think of Augmented Reality featuring a lot more in our futures then this is a stepping stone on the way to cars that could provide much more sophisticated views of the outside world to inform and assist car occupants. They can just keep building on the data that's already there.

Or perhaps someone much more au fait with AR programming can tell me that's all bollocks

[doncarlyon]

Someone doesn't like change

[kitster]

I do find the buildings a bit distracting. However I'm pretty much using Waze nowadays which doesn't have 3D buildings. ProNav is my backup nav.

[agentorange]

My spatial perception must be different to many of you here. I find perspective map views totally disorienting and the 3D buildings add an overwhelming amount of visual clutter. My wife tried to show me the way out of Dallas/Ft Worth Airport on her iPhone using perspective view and I came close to driving us to Houston by mistake. Flat map view with North at the top, please.

[AlRex]

If there are too many building I agree it can become too cluttered and hide the roads but on the other hand when in places that are new to me and I see something big in 3D I wonder what is it and make sure I keep an eye out for something good!

[Ronstein]

Interesting to see how different people's brains work. Another vote for perspective view and I find 3D buildings really useful in unfamiliar cities with complex junctions as you can see exactly which buildings to use as landmarks.

Entirely on board with the Windows argument. NT was simple and effective and none of the trickery added since helps us to run our business. Also, Microsoft keep building on the original tech (windows NT Kernel), so all sort of issues and vulnerabilities are carried over from previous versions.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by saltyamigo

Is the map routing done by BMW software do they use TomTom etc? Mine is awful it keeps trying to take me off the motorway or dual carriageway onto single track roads, it's OK when it's roads you know but in strange areas it's a nightmare, I have no confidence in it at all. I set up my phone with Google maps instead now which is not what you should need to do with a £900 in car option.

Try waze as well, it's excellent for picking the quickest route. I often use it even to get home when I'm out about in my home city, as it will quickly identify which of the myriad alternative routes are the quickest (inevitably some of them will be at gridlock, but not the same one each day!).

[Ronstein]

Originally Posted by saltyamigo

Is the map routing done by BMW software do they use TomTom etc? Mine is awful it keeps trying to take me off the motorway or dual carriageway onto single track roads, it's OK when it's roads you know but in strange areas it's a nightmare, I have no confidence in it at all. I set up my phone with Google maps instead now which is not what you should need to do with a £900 in car option.

Have you set up the Route preferences to FAST? If it's set to SHORT then that's exactly what it will do, take the shortest route.