Google changed it to America
Posted by Chris in Tampa on 2/11/2025, 3:01 am




As a test, I visited Google Maps using Mexico's country code TLD:
https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@24.6,-89.0,6z

Based on their blog post:
https://blog.google/products/maps/united-states-geographic-name-change-feb-2025/
It's supposed to have its actual name of the Gulf of Mexico if you set your region to Mexico, which I tried.

But it doesn't work. Must use my IP address instead.

I was wrong about it only naming part of it. I didn't think they were renaming the part of the Gulf near Mexico and Cuba's coasts, but they are. I misread the "seaward boundary with Mexico and Cuba" part.

Would be nice for a Google option of "No stupidity". They are introducing some annoying things this year, like less free map loads for websites. I'll be removing Google Maps, at least the model plots, from my site during hurricane season. Whenever I get around to it, I'll create new maps from somewhere else. They will remain at HurricaneCity. I'll let the free map loads be used there. Google has an annoying quota I have to change to avoid being charged. If you don't, they charge you. There is no option to not ever be charged. You must have your credit card on file to use maps on your site. And then, they will require two factor authentication but I don't want to risk for some reason not being able to more easily login to change the quota, so I'm not taking a chance. I'll always leave the daily quota low so that it won't charge me at the end of the month. On most occasions I can ask Google to be considered a crisis responder and get a lot more free credits for a month or two, but on one occasion they didn't give it to me. I didn't end up needing it though. I'm never paying. Never have, never well. Google, the supposedly "don't be evil" company, their former motto of sorts, now being... difficult.

And they recently decided to remove part of a policy on AI that banned uses that were "likely to cause harm":
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy081nqx2zjo

I didn't read their reasoning:
https://blog.google/technology/ai/responsible-ai-2024-report-ongoing-work/
I don't care. Today it's changing a map, tomorrow it's whatever the U.S. asks them to do next.
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In this thread:
NWS Service Change Notices - cypresstx, 2/7/2025, 12:50 pm
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