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Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

openstreetmap.org

131–140 of 215 posts

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#131
post #22

" but also made it mandatory to give your credit card number even if you do not go over the free limit !" Only if you are a new user. Google published a transition document for existing users and it says they don't have to add a card, but then of course your maps stop working for the rest of the month if you go over the $200 free quota. So current users have it easier, but new users have to add a card.

Why the downvote? Is this not correct?

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#132
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Probably the best UX of any map apps Except for the ads, which I consider to be pretty terrible UX compared to not having any ads. I'd be willing to pay to avoid any ads in HERE Maps.

I've been using Here Maps for 4-5 years now and haven't seen a single add. Are you sure we are talking about the same app?

The Play Store entry explicitly lists the app as containing ads.

I've definitely seen ads in it before, can't recall on which of Windows/Android/iOS platforms though.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#133
post #98
post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 conge…

Some of this is probably due to American vs European driving habits, with respect to long trips. It's hard to gain much by routing around congestion along a half-hour trip, but if you're going to spend half a day or longer then you definitely want to know when there's a wreck that makes it worthwhile to get off the interstate to avoid.

I'm in the UK. I have a half hour commute by car when there's light traffic. Congestion can easily add 10-15 minutes to that. There are at least three almost entirely independent routes that I can take to work that are the same without traffic so it's absolutely worth routing around it

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#134
post #23

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.

I use Carto's free tiles, which are great. I only found them when I did a project where the client had a Carto licence. I've used the free tiles (with Leaflet) for every map project I've done since.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#136
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Maps is pretty bad without fast, reliable data, I remember trying it on Sprint, no joy unless I could pull at least a megabit a second.

I have used it all day, every day I that I've worked in the last seven years on Sprint and very rarely have a problem. One strange thing I've noticed over the years is there's a difference on Android vs Apple -- can't count the times I've gone to the wrong place following the Android tablet in the car only to have to pull up the address on the iPhone to get there. When they first put the tablets in the cars I was usi…

I use mine anytime I have to go through high route traffic like interstates as their traffic data has saved me countless hours rerouting me through some accident. Totally worth it

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#137

Also you can try https://windymaps.com/app I think they're using osm data for their maps. Can navigate also on bike or hike.

Yes, they do, for most of the world, at least. In fact, it was originally a Czech-only map website Mapy.cz (and later a mobile app), with their own map data (they even have their own Street View-like function) in the Czech Republic. For the rest of the world, they used map data from the common commercial providers. Then, they switched to OSM for the rest of the world (keeping their own for the Czech Republic). And finally, they launched the international version of the mapping app after the success of the Windy weather app which used the map layer.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#138
post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> up-to-date, auto-updating, officially recommended and totally secure server images Plus volunteers to answer any and all support requests? And the tile rendering needs to be fast? $5/month isn't enough hardware to a world-wide tile server and it sounds like users aren't willing to pay for setup costs. > just want to "throw in a map", I don't want to spend a day+ doing it. There's plenty of SaaS offering OSM tile ho…

I think the $5/month he's envisioning is for the computing/bandwidth charges on the cloud providers he mentions. The software, container, images, etc. should all be provided for free, and the open source bug tracker should have a 1 second SLA for replying to questions on getting it set up. But on a serious note, yes, it would be nice if there was some pre-built container that just served the OSM tiles on an HTTP port…

We were using Google Maps but the change in pricing means that we will need to find another service. From this week onwards there won't be any free map loads a day. There will be $200 of recurring credits which are the equivalent of 100,000 map loads(monthly). Previously if you were signed up for billing you could get 100,000 map loads a day. I can imagine OSM becoming far more popular in the near future.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#139

I just recently spent a few hours working with OSM and Nominatim as part of a project for my university, an event planning page for ActivityPub social media: http://fedevent.herokuapp.com/ OSM maps are quite detailed, perfectly serviceable...but Nominatim is not very good (at least in my experience?) I used https://github.com/perliedman/leaflet-control-geocoder to interact with Nominatim but entering something that c…

Have a look at this page for alternatives https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Search_engines Pelias is the product from Mapzen (rip)

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#140
MapTiler Cloud is also an alternative based on OSM data. It is free for personal use and prices for businesses are fair: https://www.maptiler.com/cloud/ We also offer many advanced services like hosting own data, easy map customization tool, support for 55 languages with an autodetection and much more!
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