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How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

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Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#21

Post by ucaetano »

nickysielicki wrote: post #18
ucaetano wrote: post #2

This is competitive pressures at work, similarly to IBM and other's investment in Linux in the early 2000's as a way to place competitive pressure on MS/Windows. If you're not the leader in the field, and won't be able to catch up just by investing, you try to make the leadership in the field (Google's) irrelevant. If the 2nd-best-by-small-margin base map info is open, having the best one isn't a competitive advantag…

Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. The reason that I still use Google maps is that it's fast and well-integrated with my phone, and it has a lot of added features on top of the actual mapping that makes it very useful --- things like location sharing when you're on a longer road trip, crea…

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now.

I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#22

Post by nickysielicki »

ucaetano wrote: post #21
nickysielicki wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. The reason that I still use Google maps is that it's fast and well-integrated with my phone, and it has a lot of added features on top of the actual mapping that makes it very useful --- things like location sharing when you're on a longer road trip, crea…

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Mapping is not a subjective topic, though. I'm saying that OSM data is objectively better for the rural parts of the world I've been to.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#23

Post by matt4077 »

Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #7
orblivion wrote: post #3

Seems like OSM has a future. This is great. Only sad thing is perhaps some day we won't be able to have the fun of making contributions ourselves, if the big companies handle all that for us like Google does. In the mean time, though, I can make an easier case to people as to why they should care about this, since it's now used by Apple and Pokémon Go.

> Only sad thing is perhaps some day we won't be able to have the fun of making contributions ourselves, if the big companies handle all that for us like Google does. There will always be room for individual contributions, because there are things that the big corporations do not care about. For example, many hiking trails and agricultural tracks good for cycling are missing from Google Maps because they simply do no…

I'm pretty sure that Google Maps does auto-discovery of hiking and biking trails by simply watching peoples' positions?

At least I've had rather good experiences using Maps for biking. Even small, unofficial paths were mapped, and travel times indicated that Maps had an accurate idea of their condition.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#24

Post by da_chicken »

ucaetano wrote: post #21
nickysielicki wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. The reason that I still use Google maps is that it's fast and well-integrated with my phone, and it has a lot of added features on top of the actual mapping that makes it very useful --- things like location sharing when you're on a longer road trip, crea…

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Except for Lotus Notes.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#25

Post by lwansbrough »

nickysielicki wrote: post #22
ucaetano wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Mapping is not a subjective topic, though. I'm saying that OSM data is objectively better for the rural parts of the world I've been to.

An interesting benefit of Google Maps which (I don’t think?) is available in OSM: different maps for countries with boundary disputes.

Google is basically the de facto map, even as far as many governments are concerned, and so showing localized maps of disputed areas may actually be saving lives.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#26

Post by lucideer »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #17
mariushn wrote: post #14

Feel free to install on Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mapswithme... or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.osmand.plu...

even better...don't need to use Google Play: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.osmand.plus/

also, the gp's first link (MAPS.ME) is available on FDroid as an open source fork with ads & blobs removed: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.github.axet.maps/

It also comes with some nice extra features added, but ymmv on the stability of those features

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#27

Post by lucideer »

bepotts wrote: post #9

Are Apple and Microsoft's map services built on OpenStreetMap? Or are they just contributing for the heck of it?

Not originally, though Microsoft have recently added an OSM layer to Bing, and Apple have attributed OSM as being a contributor to their overall AppleMaps dataset in some parts of the world.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#28

Post by ghaff »

nickysielicki wrote: post #22
ucaetano wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Mapping is not a subjective topic, though. I'm saying that OSM data is objectively better for the rural parts of the world I've been to.

>for the rural parts of the world

I'm sure that's true. Google Maps seems to be better or at least more consistent (and better at routing with real-time information obviously) for the things that Google cares about. Which doesn't include rural areas, hiking trails, etc.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#29

Post by ucaetano »

nickysielicki wrote: post #22
ucaetano wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Mapping is not a subjective topic, though. I'm saying that OSM data is objectively better for the rural parts of the world I've been to.

> I'm saying that OSM data is objectively better for the rural parts of the world I've been to.

Which is a subjective factor. "X is objectively better for the categories that I subjectively selected".

Mapping is a subjective topic, simply because there are endless ways to evaluate and compare maps, so attributing any type of weight to any factor is a subjective exercise based on your own personal preferences.

Re: How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

#30

Post by ucaetano »

da_chicken wrote: post #24
ucaetano wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Second best? At least in my experience, OSM data is leaps and bounds better than Google Maps in every way possible, and it has been that way for a couple years now. I'm sure that, for whatever product in the world, you can find a subset of people in the world who will swear that such product is, in they experience, the best in the world.

Except for Lotus Notes.

Not too fast: http://www.ilovelotusnotes.net/
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