No More Whereis For Me

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The range of [Sensis](http://www.sensis.com.au) sites have been driving me crazy for as long as I’ve been forced to use them. They provide White Pages, Yellow Pages, and Whereis – all directories that are sometimes unavoidable. Their sites are slow, inaccurate and all-up pretty horrible.

The great news is that I can now ditch one of their sites, [Whereis](http://www.whereis.com.au) because Google has now come to the rescue. For a long time the big G has provided mapping services for the US and Europe. Now they’ve got Australian maps online. You can type in a vague search query, such as [Parliament House, Perth](http://maps.google.com.au/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=parliament+house,+perth&sll=-32.05208,115.7971&sspn=0.010676,0.014849&ie=UTF8&z=16&om=1&iwloc=addr) and it will take you right there. Furthermore, it will provide you with directions to and from another location should you so desire. You can also overlay Google’s satellite imagery if you want to see what the terrain is like.

So I recommend that you do as I have done – forget about Whereis and start using [maps.google.com.au](http://maps.google.com.au) for your directions!

  • http://mypages.iparenting.com/busselton/ Jennifer

    Hey that is really good and so quick. You know something is good when it pinpoints an exact address in Augusta WA!

  • marfs

    I’m going to give it a go! And you’re right- the sensis white pages site is so slow! It makes you almost want to go and get the phone book!

  • Nik
  • http://www.twosittingducks.com Andrew

    Fortunately, I’m on the other side of the country to Sydney, so I’m still okay with it! It’s a pretty funny situation though.

  • Patrick

    Great site, thanks Buddy.
    It is good to have a geek as a brother, you are my human RSS feed for useful web pages.

  • Steve@Sensis

    For the record – http://www.whereis.com is alive and well and still the most up to date source of online maps. But we’re not resting on our laurels and are continually working on enhancements. Have a look at the aerial images we added for most capital cities late last year (from a map, click on the ‘Photo’ button in bottom left). And there’s more enhancements to come so keep an eye out.

    While you’re at it, enter our comp to win a GPS portable nav unit at http://competition.whereis.com

    And as always, our developers are keen to hear your feedback re Whereis – visit our forum at http://workshop.whereis.com/forum/forum/index

  • Hof Burgmann

    WAKE UP STEVE!!!
    Steve@sensis said they are not resting on their laurels and the most up to date site.
    What laurels? Whereis the enhancements? Sensis is still THE SLOWEST SITES I’ve ever used. Who are you trying kid Steve? You are just a spin doctor with little credibility.
    It takes up to five minutes just to get to yellow pages then I’ve yet to make an entry that will return poor (if any) results.
    If Sensis made any improvements (besides add on gimmicks which take even longer to load), you will not find the need to lie to us. Will Sensis make it in today’s online market? Well even a dullard could see that they won’t the way they are performing and they way they treat it’s patrons.
    For example, in the time it takes for the Whereis home page to load, I’m already on the ACME mapper website, typing in a simple address with a usable result returning in seconds. It’s a real pleasure to use, and fun!
    On the Yellow Pages website, I can’t even select North Sydney as a search on the lower North Shore! Crazy! For these reasons and more, the company I work for, are choosing to not renew their advertising subscription to Yellow Pages Online. It cost a hefty premium and returnig minimal results.
    To all the people out there who even entertain the thought of using a Sensis site for their search… There are better alternatives, E.g. Whereis, use ACME mapper. Trading Post Online, use Ebay. I’ve yet to find an alternative for Yellow and White Pages, but that’s because I’ve not looked. I’m sure they’re out there, but for now It’s quicker use the books.
    Two questions to Steve, HOW MANY TELSTRA BIG POND CUSTOMERS EXPERIENCING THE SAME PROBLEMS WITH SENSIS AS THE REST OF THE WORLD? HOW LONG TILL T1,T2 SHAREHOLDERS REALISE THEY’RE GETTING RIPPED OFF?

  • http://www.whereis.com Joe

    I dont know if this thread is still active, but I would like to let you know that the whereis site has been updated and I personally think sensis have made a HUGE improvement. What do you guys, especially you Andrew and Hof, think?

  • http://www.twosittingducks.com Andrew

    Hi Joe,

    The thread is active in my view. I tried the Sensis site while it was in beta, and a few things about it bugged me. From memory, I think I got annoyed at having to delineate my data in seperate fields, and the tab key didn’t seem to efficiently move between them. So I stayed with Google.

    I’ve just checked their site out again, and despite still having the multiple field issue, it is a lot better. What I don’t like (although understand) is that the first field is a Yellow Pages cross-promotion. Yellow Pages sucks, and my first reaction is to type in an address. This site requires just that extra bit of thought about having to go into the second field, and then the god-awful required field of suburb, that it’s a bit frustrating.

    Still, it is a lot better than the old effort.

  • Bruce Jackson

    Has someone upgraded their servers in the last few days? These sites are now running much faster and a lot more responsive.