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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?

#141

Post by anticensor »

lucb1e wrote: post #75
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

I simply wouldn't be able to remember or refer to Russia if it was always called Русский, but I do agree that we shouldn't translate as much as we do. Be it names in translated books, cities, countries, software... For example, the number of translations for a small city in Belgium called Liège/Lüttich/Luik is just confusing, and it's not even a popular tourist destination (everyone drives through it on their way sou…

Russia is Россия in Russian.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#142

Post by izacus »

eigenvector wrote: post #85
brewrwe wrote: 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.

The problem is that there is no user-settable 'offline mode', so as soon as Google detects an Internet connection (even a very slow one) it starts trying to behave as if it's on a 100Mbps LTE connection. This makes many Google apps totally unusable on low-bandwidth networks. When you open apps like Hangouts, Google Maps, etc. on low-bandwidth connections, they immediately try to sync an onslaught of data before makin…

What are you talking about? There's literally a "WiFi only" toggle in Google Maps app.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#143

Post by kqr »

ganeshkrishnan wrote: post #122
crazygringo wrote: post #111

I totally support OSM 1000%... But frankly, it seems it's still a lot of work to build OSM into your own website/app, setting up your own tile server. I know there are instructions for this [1] [2] -- but to really get popular, it seems like there really ought to be up-to-date, auto-updating, officially recommended and totally secure server images on Digital Ocean, AWS, Google Cloud and Azure where anyone can spin it…

Takes a couple of days to set it up but the results are amazing. We also have setup the Geo coding and reverse Geo coding with nominatim. A million requests per day costs us peanuts as opposed to Google , which anyway suspended us due to international credit card verification issues. On a related note, Firefox on Linux came with duckduckgo as default and I am so impressed with it's search results. Unfortunately their…

> On a related note, Firefox on Linux came with duckduckgo as default and I am so impressed with it's search results.

I gave DDG a new chance a few months ago, first just on my phone as a pilot. It was good enough that I switched on all my devices. Huge difference from a few years ago!

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#144

Post by adrianN »

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.

You could try one of the Garmin handheld hiking GPS. I have an eTrex 20 that can read OSM maps and runs for a week on two AA batteries.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#145

Post by Qwertie »

mtmail wrote: post #126
Qwertie wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Around a similar time Mapbox also made their pricing much cheaper for lower usage users.

Current Mapbox pricing came into effect July/2017.

Ah yeah I say similar time because I don't check it too often but the pricing used to be: free, $500/month, and "contact us"

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#146

Post by Symbiote »

rjsw wrote: post #96
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I found one phone box where the instructions on how to call emergency services were only in Welsh, it was in a major tourist area too.

112 works in all of the EU, many other countries, and on all GSM phones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/112_(emergency_telephone_numbe...

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#148

Post by Symbiote »

theomega wrote: post #2

While I love OSM for the data and the free approach, one thing which annoys me with OSM is that their main map doesn’t support hdpi (retina) displays. That makes the map look ugly on iPad and MacBooks at least, I suspect on much more recent devices.

These look fine on my 4K display, but too small in my phone.

https://osm.rrze.fau.de/testhd.html

OpenMapTiles.org provide vector tiles using OSM, but they don't include all the data for efficiency.

I think the problem for OSM is choosing which data to include in the vector tiles. The tile could get very large, but the outdoor view benefits from including electricity pylons.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#149

Post by ant6n »

mtmail wrote: post #51
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…

https://maps.me/download/ (free for iOS and Android) let's you download countries for offline use. Includes search and car navigation. Based on OpenStreetMap data.

I just downloaded the app and opened it, and it showed me white, and told me I had to download my city first (56MB). I doubt you can download whole countries at that rate.

Also, including the App that was a lot of downloading just to look at a single map.

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