Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How Facebook, Apple and Microsoft Are Contributing to OpenStreetMap

theodi.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 177 posts

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

#151

Post by collyw »

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…

What's a good phone app to use it with on Andorid? (As I understand it, Open Steet Map is the data).

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

#152

Post by amelius »

detaro wrote: post #143
amelius wrote: post #140

I wish they contributed to DuckDuckGo as well. Or perhaps the issue is that DuckDuckGo is not open-source?

Microsoft provides the search index for DDG in the form of Bing.

Interesting. I wonder in what format the index is provided. (Hopefully then don't simply anonymize and forward user-searches to Bing).

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

#153

Post by stereo »

LukeWalsh wrote: post #101

During a rotational program out of college I was the product manager at Facebook working on maps as the team led up to the first ML contributions to OpenStreetMap ( https://2016.stateofthemap.us/how-can-ai-help-us-make-maps/ ). There's an interesting story about a large mistake I made that is interesting to share: I started working on this project because I believe that map data should be open as did everyone else on…

Hi from the OSM data working group. Please don't do massive imports like this without discussing them first with the local community, and the global one if there's no significant local one.

The impact from the massive Facebook edit was more important, I think, and people are still very skeptical about whether massive ML mapping like this can provide value to OSM today. Announcing and discussing the edits first would have been better PR. Recovering goodwill will take a lot of time and effort.

Our guidelines prohibit undiscussed edits like these, and not only the ones that cause trouble. It is not respectful to the unpaid volunteers that cleaned up after this that LukeWalsh seems to think it was "not […] so bad".

Please see:

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_Edits_code_of_...

https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/Guidelines

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

#154

Post by jakecopp »

collyw wrote: post #151
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…

What's a good phone app to use it with on Andorid? (As I understand it, Open Steet Map is the data).

OsmAnd! It can download vector maps for countries at a time so you can navigate offline. It's a bit janky sometimes but hey.

CityMapper uses OpenStreetMap data for the cycle and walking route planning (even though the GUI is Google Maps). Best cycling directions you can get, full stop. The algorithm is by CycleStreets, a UK academic start-up out of a university.

Maps.me is more user friendly than OsmAnd and feels more like Google Maps, but needs internet and just feels a bit strange to me. Ad supported but you can turn the ads off in the settings.

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

#155

Post by TulliusCicero »

kqr wrote: post #141
TulliusCicero wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You declined to do so, but that's your decision. This kind of patronizing attitude is unnecessary and silly. The vast majority of users of any software product are only interested in being just that: users. And that's totally okay. No need for passive-aggressive shaming.

After re-reading my own comment, I agree and am sorry. I meant to put the emphasis on "your decision", in order to highlight the freedom argument for OSM. I realise it totally sounded like the emphasis was on "you declined", which makes it a personal attack, and that was never intended nor necessary. Again, sorry.

Good on you, you're a better commenter-person than I am.

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

#156

Post by Avamander »

m_eiman wrote: post #106
Avamander wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Especially navigation. Google can plan my trip from start to end, perfectly. There's not a single OSM-based thing that comes even close.

Galileo works pretty well for me, pathfinding and all. https://galileo-app.com/

Doesn't have a web user interface, I can't plan a trip from my small phone screen.

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

#157

Post by anderspitman »

Is there anything OSM-based like gmaps with the ability to search for ie restaurants in an area, then get voice navigation to the location? Even something that lets you search for "McDonalds near this address" would probably be good enough for me to switch.

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

#158

Post by MintPattern »

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…

What are some OSM-based mobile apps that I can compare against Google with?

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

#159

Post by sabas_ge »

MintPattern wrote: post #158
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…

What are some OSM-based mobile apps that I can compare against Google with?

In what area? OSM data cover lots of use cases. For navigation on Android check out Maps.me or Osmand.

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

#160

Post by sabas_ge »

rmc wrote: post #110

Yahoo (remember them?) allowed OSMers to use their aerial imagery from 2007 till 2011. Microsoft has allowed OSMers to use Bing aerial since 2010, and to be honest, it's probably been the most beneficial contribution to OSM of the ones in the article. Also, Apple gave a talk at SotM about "working with the community" and demanded that that talk not be recorded (unlike all other talks thre) or shared with anyone else.…

Just to point out that the Apple talk was not recorded due to the company wide policy. (I was at SotM) On the FB import you still think of the first import, but after that they worked a lot with the local communities.
Post reply on HN