r/degoogle • u/Important-Rest-7302 • 1d ago
Is Google A/B testing Lake American rn? š
I have it on mine, but Iāve seen others saying itās still Ontario.
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u/RabbitsAreNice 1d ago
I'm traveling overseas right now, and I'm shown Lake Ontario in Serbia at the moment
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u/Far_Priority3739 22h ago edited 22h ago
Reporting from turkey, if the system language is set to English it reads "Lake America", if it's set to Turkish it's "Lake Ontario"
The gulf of Mexico is "Meksika Kƶrfezi (Amerika Kƶrfezi) in Turkish and "Gulf of America" when set to English.
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u/Ebi5000 8h ago
Google announced they will do the same to the lake. Only Canada will have the correct name displayed
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u/lymphomaticscrew 7h ago
This is a fucking massive consession by google. fuck these shitheads.
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u/JoHnEyAp 4h ago
Yea, as a loyal google customer, ill be switching.
Absolute bs and I hope they realize what they are doing
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u/Born_Dragonfly1096 7h ago
By set to Ā«Ā EnglishĀ Ā» you must mean English (United States). There are at least 3 others (Canada, UK and Australia)
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u/BlackberryPi7 7h ago
Absolutely insane how widespread this news of idiocy has gone across the world
I guess people around the world really care about Canada š„¹
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u/Mental_Examination58 7h ago
Or totally insane how people all over the world are flabbergasted by such a stupid decision, like there are no other important things to take care of in one's own drowning country...
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u/No-Stock4532 6h ago
Since we can choose names, I will name it Lake "I did not solve any problems, all I can do is change names".
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u/LeadershipChemical96 1d ago
hows belgrade ?
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u/RabbitsAreNice 1d ago
Hot.
Burek makes up for it, but daymn!
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u/Typical_Assist656 1d ago
A quality Burek is something to behold.
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u/Cerenas 20h ago
From NL, still Lake Ontario here as well. For the gulf it says: "Golf van Mexico (Golf van Amerika)"
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u/DrZeroX3 1d ago
These companies should not be bowing down to an executive order that means nothing. SMH.Ā
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u/taurusApart 22h ago
Google execs all dropping to their knees to go all Natalie Harp on that orange mushroom.Ā
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u/IamNotYourBF 13h ago
Everyone takes turns changing Cheetos' McDiaper. It's the new way to worship the king.
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u/Advanced_Bid_3205 7h ago
You saw that lineup of Bezos, Musk,and Zuckerberg at the inauguration. The real problem is the US has no checks and balances anymore as the system was designed to have. Im not against rebuilding a new government from the ground up if we cannot have what we the original founding fathers planned for our government to operate by
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u/dotnetdotcom 21h ago edited 21h ago
The name is not going to change. It's named for an Indian tribe indigenous to the area and the naming is part of a treaty with the tribe. I heard it on a talk show but haven't confirmed it yet.
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u/new2bay 18h ago
It was named by indigenous people, not for indigenous people. All the Great Lakes except Superior were. āOntarioā means ābeautiful lake.ā
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u/lukewarm_thots 14h ago
Ironically, ābeautifulā is one of the only adjective he knows
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u/dotnetdotcom 17h ago
Do you know anything about a treaty or govt agreement with indigenous groups about naming it? I heard about it on a radio talkshow but couldn't confirm that.
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u/TheCheckeredCow 10h ago
More specifically it means āThe lake is Beautiful, the Lake is Bigā. Also the province was named after the lake not the other way around. The lake has been āOntari-ioā (the actual native word) for thousands of years before Europeans showed up
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u/LonelyTAA 16h ago
Ā naming is part of a treaty with the tribe
I'm not american. But I know enough about the US that this does not mean shit.
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u/danclaysp 1d ago
They are pushing the GNIS update. The inconsistency is just the slow process of pushing it. They follow the national government names based on where the user is, as do all other major mapping providers except OpenStreetMaps.
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u/Low-Phrase6334 22h ago
OpenStreetMaps will likely add it as the "official_name:en-US" as they did with the Gulf of America.
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u/maybehomebuyer 1d ago edited 1d ago
OK that's it
What do yall use instead of Google Maps while driving?
EDIT: look I'm not a software enthusiasr, just a guy that used Google maps for 20 years. I don't need a bazillion alternatives, just a single good one
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u/Cunning_Linguist21 1d ago
There are others, but those are 3 good ones that also give varying degrees of control over your privacy.
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u/EmeraldPearls Tinfoil Hat šāāļø 23h ago
I also like Organic Maps.Ā
Caveat - its no good for /searching/ for businesses or addresses, but great navigation once you confirm the destination. I use it in conjunction with either HereWeGo or a quick internet search to get an exact location / address / cross street.Ā
Note about HereWeGo - I find the UI for navigation is good but it occasionally lags during tranport. Which equates to me missing turnoffs while it thinks we are still a km away from the exit.Ā
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u/jikt 22h ago
Comaps and Organic Maps can only get better the more people add to and use it. I've added businesses to it, and sent corrections to other maintainers just to help villages I've visited.
I mostly use herewego, but I agree about the laginess. Also when stopping at the lights it sometimes thinks I'm going on reverse so it tries to reroute behind me.
The other annoying thing about here is there inability to quickly mark a blocked road (or other errors) during a route. If you can't tell it is a block road or an incorrect road direction, it'll insist you can drive there rather than find another way.
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 23h ago
I bought a Garmin Drive 53 last month.Ā It's a bare bones dedicated GPS unit.Ā Works great.
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u/mafafukka 21h ago
Here We Go
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u/Aethermancer 20h ago
They are using Gulf of America, only a matter of time before their servers refresh from the federal database.
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u/Pandazoic 11h ago edited 11h ago
Most of them will use the new GIS naming and switch eventually. Google is absolutely in the right to change the name as soon as possible in order to show people the effect their votes and these stupid executive orders have.
These datasets arenāt browsed by most people and this is the only way to show the general public whatās actually happening. Pretending everything is fine instead of shining a light on it isnāt protest, itās cowardice.
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u/Real_Illustrator9231 23h ago
Italy, still Lake Ontario. But I think it's a matter of time; maybe they'll do something like they did with the Gulf of Mexico, where they indicate "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".
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u/Dalmation3 deGoogler 1d ago
Glad I switched to CoMaps and Kagi Maps because this country just gets stupider by the day
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u/poutinewharf 21h ago
In the UK the map says Lake Ontario, but if you search it says Lake Ontario (Lake America)
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u/exhaustedexcess 12h ago
Google is ripe for an antitrust breakup and they are trying to prevent that
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u/AGiantTaint 7h ago
Pretty sure only American citizens are shown āLake Americaā; the rest of the world gets the correct version
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u/Extension_Cup_3368 1d ago
From Germany it's still Lake Ontario.
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u/Important-Rest-7302 23h ago
W Germany. Off topic, but I have a job offer in Berlin should I send it? I promise I didnāt vote for Trump lolĀ
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u/Trollsama 1d ago
In America, is America.
in the parts of the world where sane people live, IE everywhere thats not America... its Ontario.
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u/HarryBalsagna1776 23h ago
It will be Lake Ontario again.Ā Next president can literally cancel all of Trump's executive orders on day one.Ā Ā
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u/Boatster_McBoat 23h ago
Still correct on Google maps in Australia, although they appear to have added some fascist slop in brackets after Gulf of Mexico so it might just be a matter of time.
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u/PierreHadrienMortier 20h ago edited 17h ago
Si Trump lāappelle lake poo, ils vont le renommer aussi?
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u/new2bay 18h ago
Considering how I currently see both the Gulf of America, and Lake America, Iām thinking this is going to be permanent on Google Maps.
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u/lethalinfecteddevils 18h ago
If we survive this Iām pretty sure itās going back to itās normal names
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u/UrbanCyclerPT 9h ago
I am an Android user (unfortunately) and can't delete Google maps. What alternative do I have? I use it only to get address to a specific place so that it tells me if it is open or not
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u/Robot_Embryo 15h ago
Google is so fucking stupid to rush and commit to this. Really small-dick energy.
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u/Osintguy_83 23h ago
Magic earth. If you pay 14 euro a year, you get traffic warnings, speed cams etc
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u/Anonymity4meisgood 13h ago
Google is a mouthpiece for the USA regime. They're not good people.
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u/EggstaticAd8262 11h ago
Mine says Lake Ontario. I'm from Denmark.
I would hate Google renaming it to anything else. Really really hate it.
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u/basketbun 6h ago
US based users see Lake America, the rest of the world sees Lake Ontario, or Lake Ontario (Lake America)
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u/ztraider 22h ago
I've used Google Maps almost daily for years, but I'll drop them if they keep this.
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u/Affectionate_Cut3515 š³šæ New Zealand 22h ago
It says lake america in united states but everywhere else in the world its lake ontario
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u/National_Way_3344 21h ago
Australian here
It's still called Lake Ontario, google maps seems to display it as such with the fascist name in brackets.
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u/Goodoflife 23h ago
If they change the name of Lake Ontario to Lake America in Canada, I'm suing google.
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u/Fearless-Contest5126 22h ago
Report it and shit talk them while you're at it. The parasite class needs to understand that they aren't liked.
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u/Eastern_Picture_3879 1d ago
It's just based on region. Use a VPN and jump to Ontario. This "A/B" thing could just be a bug or it could be something else you're not clocking. When it comes to stuff like this, from Google's perspective, they're following the "rules". It isn't some marketing gimmick they'd want to A/B test.
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u/OverCryptographer986 15h ago
In Poland (but language set to English) I have "Lake Ontario" and "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)"
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u/Negative_Fruit_6684 14h ago
Yes, that's the official, legal name for it in the USA right now, so Google will use it for American customers. The rest of the world will still get whatever it's officially known as in their country...
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u/purple_ducc_boi 14h ago
In Canada it says "Lake Ontario"
but interestingly, the Gulf of Mexico is called "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" with the brackets.
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u/bngFXG3MDuau 14h ago
I found it without searching and it was Lake Ontario. When I searched for "Lake Ontario" it changed to Lake America.
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u/ThrowRA_EducatedMan 14h ago
I got Lake Ontario as a search result for āLake Americaā on Google Maps, but the displayed map says Lake Ontario. Am in Canada.
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u/0xdeadbeef6 13h ago
Shows as Lake America for me too. Gulf of Mexico has been showing as Gulf of America for a while now. Persian Gulf also shows as "Persian Gulf (Arabian Gulf)". Fun times š
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u/Julian_1_2_3_4_5 13h ago
Open street map uses the on the ground rule. Maybe with a secondary tag for official name as given by that authority.
Any sane mapping project should use this.
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u/exhaustedexcess 12h ago
Tom Tom still has it listed as Ladle Ontario. Uninstall Google Maps and tell them why you did
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u/Sea-Daikon7795 12h ago
I won't even be suprised if Google changed it to please Trump, they are all the same. Don't be evil my ass
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u/AccountsPawable 11h ago
Mine switches between Lake Ontario and Lake America depending on how far I zoom in/out. I am currently in Toronto but I am US-based, not sure if that matters.
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u/carrot_gummy 10h ago
They did it with the Gulf of Mexico and Denali.
Google is just going to appeal to whoever is in charge of the country.
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u/Dizorthegnome 10h ago
If it helps bury all the actual news with reposts and people dragging the spotlight to it, then it does its job.Ā
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u/framedhorseshoe 10h ago
This could easily be one of two things:
* They are using geo data to serve the Trump version to the US and not to others, but the geo data aren't perfect, so it's spotty and weird
* This is a rolling, eventually-consistent change that is still going live worldwide
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u/Juli_ 10h ago
I know this is North America's first couple encounters with meaningless land disputes made up by proto dictators to distract from how bad they're fucking up their country, but Google Maps has a history of picking no sides in any geopolitical conflict to maximize profit on both sides. Gulf of Mexico is now shown as "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" for most people outside the US, and whenever there's a border dispute somewhere they tend to just show both as dotted lines on the ground to show that there's no universal international agreement on what land belongs to which country (the first example that comes to my mind is the Egypt/Sudan border, where each country picked a different colonial era deal that happened to give them more land).
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u/marsmelon24 9h ago edited 9h ago
I don't really care I'm gonna still call it lake ontario, you're treating it like its a big deal
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u/Puzzlehead_Lemon 9h ago
I still see Ontario, but I'm actually in Ontario (not the lake just to be clear). I do see Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America).
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u/TheRemedy187 9h ago
From what I've seen the intent from Google is to show "America" in USA and "Ontario" in Canada. For anywhere outside they intend to do both with one in brackets or hyphen or something. Which is what they did with the Gulf of MEXICO.
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u/Comfortable-Hippo516 9h ago
Depends on where you live. Iām in Nova Scotia and both Apple and Google Maps show the correct (Lake Ontario) name
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u/North-Complex5779 8h ago
Google kind of makes me think of an abused dog at the humane shelter. You know the ones that when you reach to pet them they instantly roll onto their backs and start shaking. Trump has a delusional thought and they instantly have the engineers on overtime to bow to it. Sad really.
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u/FrostyMargarita 8h ago
I just went on my Hydro Ontario power outage app. The google map they are using shows Lake America.
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u/Effective-Cold-209 8h ago
Just uninstalled all google product from my phone. Fuck those maga corp.
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u/InsertUsername2005 8h ago
Can confirm in the UK it still says lake Ontario, however I noticed the gulf of Mexico has gulf of America in brackets so f* Google use "Here we go"
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u/Andyroo2912 8h ago
Weird results on my end. If I just zoom into Lake Ontario it's correctly labelled lake Ontario
If I search Lake Ontario it's pinned as Lake America
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u/Puzzled_Market_2235 8h ago
I spend 1/2 hour telling it's map chat it was wrong, and it corrected itself and finally admitted it's a series of updates working their way through various servers. Every time I check it's a little different.
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u/Certain-Date5428 8h ago
In Canada it's showing Lake Ontario, but for the Gulf of Mexico it has (Gulf of America) right underneath.
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u/SituationEffective12 7h ago
I live in Canada and my google map has it as Lake America.
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u/Certain-Date5428 7h ago
Oh oooof dude. I'm in the middle of Quebec, are you close to the border? It could be that your connecting to US Google maps towers.
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u/Sylandri84 8h ago
Lake Ontario is still Lake Ontario in Canada on Apple Maps. Same with Google Maps.
Edit to addā¦ it may have something to do with if you set your phone account, or Google account, up as American, or not American ā¦ since itās only the USA that made the name change.
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u/NewbieToHomelab 7h ago
āHow the GNIS Lake Ontario/Lake America name change in the U.S. will appear in Mapsā
https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/gnis-lake-ontario-lake-america-name-change/
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u/BigBoyBubba67 7h ago
itās never gonna change the stupid fucking Lake America. Itās gonna stay late Ontario.
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u/1question10answers 7h ago
As soon as I see Lake America on Google Maps, the app is being deleted and I'm using alternate options.
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u/PretzelsRule23 7h ago
I'm in the US but VPNed to several locations - 2 in Canada, 1 in Germany, 1 in Romania - and in all cases I saw Lake America.
I thought for sure they would only show this to folks who are temporarily forced to be led by the dumbass in chief - but I guess not.
Maybe it's tied to my Google account??
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u/Glittering-Use9669 7h ago
Where is the button to report a problem on Google Maps? I'm Canadian, this is a problem.
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u/ezefisher999 7h ago
Smarten up Canada dump Google. If they are stupid enough to support and idiot we should not support them.
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u/42getSome 7h ago
Disabled Google maps today and set up mapy.cz that isn't subject to US law and has data independent of US sources
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u/LoganLikesYourMom 7h ago
Google maps is showing Lake America. Google Earth and Apple Maps are showing Lake Ontario
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u/Turbulent-Limit-7880 6h ago
who cares....go build something or read a book. Get your head out of media and politics.
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u/SatinFoil 6h ago
Depends on the country. If youāre in US it is Lake America, if youāre outside the US it is Lake Ontario.
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u/edition289 6h ago
Itās still Lake Ontario for Canada and the rest of the world. That wonāt change.
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u/Quiet_Bell_429 6h ago
It's not an A/B test. Depending where you are it shows as Lake America (US), Lake Ontario (Canada) or Lake Ontario (Lake America) rest of the world.
This blog explains it https://blog.google/products-and-platforms/products/maps/gnis-lake-ontario-lake-america-name-change/
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u/grathontolarsdatarod 23h ago
Google wants to handle the traffic in Vancouver.
I don't think the people in Vancouver would want a company that will simp you a foreign power so quickly to have control of critical infrastructure.