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Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

openstreetmap.org

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Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#61

Post by imhoguy »

dmortin wrote: post #23
alexandernst wrote: post #7

I always wondered who actually pays for the bills in OSM? Who pays all the servers, all the traffic, etc...?

With OSM you have to host the map tiles yourself if you add maps to your website, because OSM servers only provide limited traffic hosting via the API.

Anyone providing service on top of OpenStreetMap can or ideally should host/render stuff on own mirror server. However for small uses I recommend utilising simple reverse proxy caching e.g. with nginx. Here is snippet of nginx config from my geo side-project: https://pastebin.com/brTQ68nw

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#62

Post by jraph »

cdg7777 wrote: post #16

Well, Google can "correct" your spelling and take you to the correct city (let's say it's not a big deal), but mainly Google Maps rules for multiple points navigation A->B->C->... I think it allows 10(-ish) intermediary points.

Osmand on android provides this feature. You can also ask to avoid a specific road in the map.

Correcting the spelling and always guessing what your query means... Well not so much.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#63

Post by dominotw »

DanBC wrote: post #43
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really understand the approach to names which takes them and translates them: Pen-Y-Bont and Bridge-end are translations, but the name is one or the other. Transliteration seems fine to me, Caerdydd Cardiff, but we shouldn't say it's "name" in English is Diffcastle (or perhaps Taffcastle if you take an etymological approach). /rant

What do you call Germany? Germany, or Deutschland? Why is the one you use more correct than the other?

Germany is more correct because they write " made in Germany" on German products.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#64

Post by propogandist »

criley2 wrote: post #57
wtallis wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are gaps in cell coverage really that obscure a use case? Sure, if you're only using the maps to route you around traffic jams in your home town, offline maps aren't going to offer you any benefit. But I think most users also want their maps to continue to be reliable when heading out of town on a road trip. Google has improved the behavior of their maps app when data connectivity is interrupted, but it's still a sub…

Google makes it trivial to download maps for offline use, I have multiple states downloaded in Maps. Google Maps experience with offline downloaded maps is 100% quality and absolutely not "sub-par" or "frustrating".

by trivial, you mean logged into a google account where all 'offline' activity is synced and mapped to your account once connectivity is restored. I also find it hard to believe that Google maps offline can't give voice navigation (reverts to beeps) and that requires constant data connectivity... the app is constantly phoning home too.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#65

Post by amorphid »

ghaff wrote: post #60
1996 wrote: post #13

And if you can't use OSM, try Here maps. They are easy to download for offline use. Following the suggestion of friends, I have repurposed an old phone as a "travel phone" with maps of the whole world (or at least the parts I can download!) Not perfect, but when I catch a plane, I don't have to worry about local networks. Fun story: recently in Europe, Google Maps stuttered. Now and then, there was a networking issue…

Somewhat similar. I have a multiple generations old iPhone in a waterproof Otterbox case and I mostly use it for various GPS and mapping apps. I do have to remember to keep it charged--its battery life isn't what it was--but at a minimum, it's a useful backup to have.

If you ever venture into Android land, consider a phone with a removable battery for your next device. After having I really liked become barely chargeable, I made sure my next phone had a removable battery. I'm glad I did!

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#66

Post by gerdesj »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #41
maxerickson wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's quite some resistance to adding translations and transcriptions, as they aren't really names as such. An example would be small towns in the US. They probably don't have a Welsh name, even if there happens to be a direct translation into Welsh.

Cymraeg users often have a strong hatred of English language use, and users, and want to deny that Welsh counties were annexed in to England and want to try and hold back the tide wrt English language use in preference to Cymraeg. We get silly things in Wales like Cymraeg mono-lingual government announcements/adverts on the radio (accessible to about 7% [1] of the population vs c.100% if they were in English), motorw…

Cymraeg users often have a strong hatred of English language use, and users,

Not my experience (English - Somerset based - with quite a lot of work and friends the other side of the bridges). If you show some respect towards others, I generally find it returned. They are also not users but speakers. The only time I find dual language to be a bit of a pain is in lifts: being told the doors are closing in two languages is bloody stupid.

and want to deny that Welsh counties were annexed in to England and want to try and hold back the tide wrt English language use in preference to Cymraeg.

You might want to reread your history books and concentrate around 1066. The Norsemen didn't really give a shit whether you were "welsh" or "english" (neither of which, as we now know them, really existed as such at the time). You were probably a vassel, whatever language you spoke. I can't remember or even be bothered to look up when the concept of county was created. I think we still had hides and hundreds back then.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#67

Post by brewrwe »

themodelplumber wrote: post #47
dev_dull wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your anecdote falls into the trap I see often when comparing OSS software vs proprietary. You’ve found a obscure, uncommon use case where OSM works better. However, the opposite needs to be true for adoption. OSM needs to work better for 80% of the use cases, not the other 20.

OSS's greatest leverage points have always been in the niches, the cases where _if_ it's useful in your situation, you are a very lucky person indeed. Having read the article I think it's using a great little leverage point: Do you have a website with a map? Does the map not work anymore? ("Yikes, will my map stop working," people think) OSS doesn't have to win big popularity battles; the little cases here and there…

More like anywhere vaugely rural, Google Maps seems to fail. Going out to the San Juans? Have fun with missing business listings, incorrect road traces and names, or worse.

Just in the past decade Kitsap County (just across the water from Seattle) has renumbered 300k addresses. Google Maps is buying their address database from a vendor that rarely pulls this publicly posted data, thus leaving Google a few years behind (except for spotty user corrections). OSM comparatively gets this data right from the county every week, which is great since they're renumbering 30k more addresses currently. Google will take a few more years to get any of this data if they stick to their current operational model.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#69

Post by ghaff »

amorphid wrote: post #65
ghaff wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Somewhat similar. I have a multiple generations old iPhone in a waterproof Otterbox case and I mostly use it for various GPS and mapping apps. I do have to remember to keep it charged--its battery life isn't what it was--but at a minimum, it's a useful backup to have.

If you ever venture into Android land, consider a phone with a removable battery for your next device. After having I really liked become barely chargeable, I made sure my next phone had a removable battery. I'm glad I did!

Eh. I know the tradeoffs. If I really cared I could get a new one put in for relatively little money. I may but it's a pretty old phone at this point.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#70

Post by lucb1e »

kekub wrote: post #46

OSM does not offer live traffic data, which makes it hard to use it for real life navigation. Does anyone know a project that takes care for this kind of data?

Are you from the USA? I'll assume so, because I've often seen this on HN/Reddit: a lot of people there seem to use Waze or other traffic info sources for getting around traffic. I want to know whether I'll be delayed so I'll check before a trip (and also during a trip if it's >2h), but I can recall driving around a jam maybe once in my life. It usually isn't faster, and that's assuming the byways/B-roads aren't congested as well, in which case standing in the jam is definitely faster. It sounds like spreading the load over multiple roads in the USA is a must.
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