I’m a sucker for anything that takes text data and turns it into something visual. This week I came across Location History Visualizer, a tool that creates a heat map using your Google Location History.

When I’m in another city and I want to see what neighbourhoods to wander, I crack open Foursquare. Some people use Yelp, some look for the brown-tinted areas on Google Maps. My friend Henry uses Pokemon GO.

If you’re old enough, you may remember carrying maps in your car and telling family the phone number of the place you’re going. But who does that these days, when you just have your phone on you at all times? Well, if you’re heading out for a hiking or camping trip, you may need to resurrect some old-school habits.

iOS: Navigating along roads is easy - just start up Google Maps or Waze - but finding your way on a trail in the woods tends to require a patchwork of PDFs, paper maps, and apps that only work for one park or system. Hikepack aims to change that.

In recent months Google Maps has gotten pretty persistent about letting me know where there are restaurants it thinks I should try or new places opening up in my neighbourhood — and I hate it. As it turns out, I don't really need the app to tell me what's going on around me and with each hot tip I get more and more annoyed.

If you collect a lot of geographic data for research, or if you like poking around census files or other databases full of stats, you have a new tool for visualising that data in a 3D, dynamic map. Uber has released Kepler.gl, an open source mapping software with an easy interface for uploading sorted data.

We all love the convenience of mapping apps, but many of us would prefer that the app stick with a route we know is golden, rather than rerouting us all over the place to save a few minutes in traffic.

If you're on the lookout for a new way to find upcoming gigs in Melbourne, local developer Matt Segal has come up with a great answer: an updating map that displays events as clickable pins, complete with name, date and entry fee (if any).

It's Monday and the weekend is gone (at least, for another five days), meaning you're probably not cranking out TPS reports at work as fast as usual. Why not take a break and engage in some self-care with Google's Pup View project? If you've ever wanted to see Japan from the back of an Akita, now's your chance (at least until it's time for your afternoon meetings).

When you go on a trip, you usually want to stay somewhere central, with easy access to a few local destinations: a conference centre, a few restaurants, a fun neighbourhood. You can't just eyeball a map. Travel times depend on more than just distance; they rely on street layout, highways and public transit. You could test each travel time on Google Maps, but sometimes you just want to see one big map of everywhere you can go in an hour. For that, try TravelTime Maps.

Starting today, if you ask Google Assistant on your phone, Chromebook, or Google Home device "Where's Wally?" you'll actually get an answer.

You don't want to live in a place that doesn't respect you as a person. Destination Pride, built by PFLAG Canada and ad agency FCB/SIX, rates cities around the world based on the legal rights and protections they give to LGBTQ people. While it's packaged as a holiday rater, it's more useful when choosing where to stay long-term.

Yesterday, the first medals of the 2018 Winter Olympics were awarded in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Google is rolling out an update to its Maps app, giving it a refreshed visual style, more easily recognisable markers, and context-aware information. If you're prone to getting disoriented using public transit, or get frustrated searching for a petrol station during a road trip, the update makes it easier to know where you're going, what's around you, and where you'll end up if you've missed your station.

If you're looking to go on a craft beer pilgrimage to the US, the home of many of the world's most highly regarded craft beers, this interactive tool lets you explore the US cities with the most breweries and highest rated beverages.

If you're not sure exactly where you want to go on your next holiday, or you know where but are flexible on when you go, this interactive map uses 10+ years of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) data to show you what the weather will be like. This first step in travel planning makes sure you'll have good weather for your trip.

Last Tuesday, I ate some green beans, a Clif bar, and one homemade sous vide egg bite. That's 2000kj. I swear I don't have an eating disorder -- it's just how you do things on this diet I've been trying. On Wednesday I was back to my regular 8400-ish kj and feeling fine.

Android/iOS: One of the best little features in Waze is the ability to share your location and ETA with a contact. This way, you can answer the "when will you get here?" question before it's even asked. Now, you can do that in Google Maps too.

Google Maps is hands-down one of the best navigation apps on Android and iPhone, but considering most of us use it while driving, it's easy to miss some of its features. Whether you're new to Google Maps or a veteran, let's take a look at the best ways to get the most out of it.