what 3 words

[Jaded]

Pyto causes mourners to fly to Yosemite…

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2022/09/16/typo-directs-mourners-join-royal-queue-5000-miles-away-california/

[quixoticgeek]

The 2021 accounts for @what3words are out.

They lost over £43,000,000 in a year.

Turnover fell.

https://twitter.com/cybergibbons/status/1579726108546994177

That's impressive...

J

[Jurek]

Blimey!

[Kim]

So, it was always about raising investor capital, rather than providing a useful service?  Shocking.

[mrcharly-YHT]

Best question on that thread:

WTF did they spend £43m on.

Their technology hasn't really changed in 5 years and doesn't have concurrency to worry about.

So basically this is marketing and peeing up the wall.

[Tim Hall]

My favourite comment from the twitter thread:

Strewth… that’s not a business. I’ve seen money laundering fronts with better finances.

[Lightning Phil]

https://what3words.com/money.laundering.down

[Lightning Phil]

https://what3words.com/worse.performance.ever

[JellyLegs]

At that rate of loss, there is a very aptly encoded location not 10 miles from where I sit.  https://w3w.co/money.soon.goes

[Cudzoziemiec]

So, it was always about raising investor capital, rather than providing a useful service?  Shocking.

Such cynicism in one so young absorption of 'the market' in one so middle-aged.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Not w3w, but more widely on creating a digital address system:

Ghana presents one such example. The country launched a smart initiative in 2017: a digital system to give every urban property an address. It’s a phone-based application which is designed to locate features anywhere in Ghana. The address is presented in alpha-numeric format (such as EY-0329-2478) and shows details such as the region and the metropolitan, municipal and district authority. It also shows the street name of the feature (a house or church, for example) and displays its coordinates.

Individuals can generate their own address and sometimes officials visit a property, generate the digital address for that property and supply the occupants with a tag, or physical label, to affix to the property.

https://theconversation.com/ghana-digitised-its-address-system-its-failure-offers-lessons-to-other-african-countries-creating-smart-cities-194454

[Cudzoziemiec]

Walkers in the UK have been warned not to rely on smartphones to find their way on hills and mountains, and instead learn to use a map and compass, amid an increase in calls to rescue services.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/27/walkers-upland-britain-told-not-rely-on-smartphones-rescuers-compass-maps

[Kim]

Walkers in the UK have been warned not to rely on smartphones to find their way on hills and mountains, and instead learn to use a map and compass, amid an increase in calls to rescue services.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/27/walkers-upland-britain-told-not-rely-on-smartphones-rescuers-compass-maps

I suspect the actual problem is ignorance of how to use a map, regardless of its medium.  But that's a fairly subtle distinction that the intended audience (who are no doubt using the online version of Google Maps or something daft, and being insufficiently careful about batteries) won't appreciate, so fair enough.

[Tim Hall]

Some friends of mine were up in the hills in Scotland last week and had cause to call 999. Initially they were asked for a w3w string which confused them somewhat. They offered a 6 figure map reference which then confused the call handler as it only had 6 figures...

Having got the call hadler to understand that a 6 figure map reference has 6 figures, they were then told "oh it's ok, we've got your position from your phone", presumably AML was working after all.
Amulance found them at the place they said they'd meet it.

[Kim]

Some friends of mine were up in the hills in Scotland last week and had cause to call 999. Initially they were asked for a w3w string which confused them somewhat. They offered a 6 figure map reference which then confused the call handler as it only had 6 figures...

Perhaps the system needed to know which map square it was in and was expecting the two-letter prefix that a human would know automatically on account of which hills were being discussed?

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think the practice now is to give OS grid refs to 8 figs. Another case of spurious precision, usually.

The whole experience sounds like what3fails. But at least it ended up with meeting the ambulance. Hope the injured person was okay...

[DaveReading]

I think the practice now is to give OS grid refs to 8 figs. Another case of spurious precision, usually.

8 digits (i.e. the 4 most significant digits of the northing and easting) would give both to the nearest 100 metres.  That doesn't sound like "spurious precision" to me.

[Tim Hall]

I think the practice now is to give OS grid refs to 8 figs. Another case of spurious precision, usually.

8 digits (i.e. the 4 most significant digits of the northing and easting) would give both to the nearest 100 metres.  That doesn't sound like "spurious precision" to me.

<egg sucking lesson>
It looks like there's  two understandings of 8 figure map reference. I think Cudzo means 6 figure (100m) precision then precision down to 10m. However the vanilla 6 figure map reference repeats every 100km(?), which is less than ideal if you're looking to be rescued. The statement can be qualified: "I'm halfway up Ben wotsit, grid ref 987654."

8 figure references as you describe are unique.  Presumably the first significant figure of the Easting and Northing does the job of the two letter square reference.
I don't think 8 figure references or two letter squares are taught enough.  (Makes note to see how much the Scouts will understand)
</egg sucking lesson>

[Pingu]

You need the letters at the beginning of the NGR.

[Kim]

8 figure references as you describe are unique.  Presumably the first significant figure of the Easting and Northing does the job of the two letter square reference.

Indeed.  Presumably on the basis that it makes the ingestion of the coordinates by Babbage-engines a bit less fraught and prone to fuckups, which is a worthy goal in any coordinate system.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I think the practice now is to give OS grid refs to 8 figs. Another case of spurious precision, usually.

8 digits (i.e. the 4 most significant digits of the northing and easting) would give both to the nearest 100 metres.  That doesn't sound like "spurious precision" to me.

<egg sucking lesson>
It looks like there's  two understandings of 8 figure map reference. I think Cudzo means 6 figure (100m) precision then precision down to 10m.

I did.

[DaveReading]

You need the letters at the beginning of the NGR.

Uniqueness requires either the 100 km grid square letter, or the corresponding numbers (0 to 6 for eastings, 0 to 12 for northings).

[Lightning Phil]

Some friends of mine were up in the hills in Scotland last week and had cause to call 999. Initially they were asked for a w3w string which confused them somewhat. They offered a 6 figure map reference which then confused the call handler as it only had 6 figures...

Perhaps the system needed to know which map square it was in and was expecting the two-letter prefix that a human would know automatically on account of which hills were being discussed?

Well the human might know, and on the blue first series you certainly would because that was how you knew the map.  SK08 etc. Someone with a modern map of the Peak District might know how to find their current grid ref on map but not realise there is a two letter prefix.  Plus some maps cross through 00 and thus letters in their grid refs.

[Feanor]

Yes, there can be some confusion around OSGB co-ordinates.

Eg the summit of Ben Macdui is at WGS84: 57.070419, -3.669233

Looking at an OS Map, using traditional 6-fig grid ref it is at NN988989
This grid ref has a 100m x 100m resolution, which is useful enough for paper maps.

Some co-ordinate conversion tools will convert the WGS84 to OSGB as 298891, 798948
The leading 2 and 7 define the NN 100k grid, per the picture above.
The additional 2 digits at the end (xxxx91, xxxx89) increase the resolution down to 1m x 1m, which is in the same order of magnitude as typical GPS accuracy ( say 3 to 5 m with a good sky view ).

The confusion with OSGB co-ords lies in whether the initial digit is the 100k square designator, or if it's the start of a higher-resolution co-ordinate within the 100k square.

My basic rule-of -thumb is:
If there are 6 digits, it's a traditional 100m x 100m resolution, and the 100k designator is required.
If there are 8 digits, it's *probably* a 10m x 10m resolution, 100k designator required.
If there are 10 digits, it's *probably* a 1m x 1m resolution, 100k designator required.
If there 12 digits, it's a 1m x 1m resolution, and the leading digits fully qualify the 100km square.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yes, there can be some confusion around OSGB co-ordinates.

Eg the summit of Ben Macdui is at WGS84: 57.070419, -3.669233

Looking at an OS Map, using traditional 6-fig grid ref it is at NN988989
This grid ref has a 100m x 100m resolution, which is useful enough for paper maps.

Some co-ordinate conversion tools will convert the WGS84 to OSGB as 298891, 798948
The leading 2 and 7 define the NN 100k grid, per the picture above.
The additional 2 digits at the end (xxxx91, xxxx89) increase the resolution down to 1m x 1m, which is in the same order of magnitude as typical GPS accuracy ( say 3 to 5 m with a good sky view ).

The confusion with OSGB co-ords lies in whether the initial digit is the 100k square designator, or if it's the start of a higher-resolution co-ordinate within the 100k square.

Useful post.