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Switch to OpenStreetMap

switch2osm.org

91–100 of 210 posts

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#91

Ok.. i want to serve tiles... ok, I go here: https://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/ First option (Build a tile server using packages) ... i click on it.. ubuntu packages... i don't have ubuntu here, let's go back. Second option (Build a tile server from source), takes me here: https://switch2osm.org/?page_id=76 ... where is the documentation? How do i build it from source? Ok fsck it, let's try the "all in one solutio…

I tried to build my own OSM server a couple months back. I quickly abandoned when I discovered that the amount of processing to import their world map data file in Postgres would require several months (desktop Core i7 3770k / 16 GB ram but a 7200 rpm hard drive since there wasn't enough space on my SSD).

For a world map server you would need a beefy machine to make it less painful, something like 64 GB ram, multi nvme ssd and countless cores.

I wish they offered a Postgres dump of it.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#92
I evaluated OSM for an AR real-world strategy game (like pokemon go) I was building years ago (terramango.com), as implementing it would have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Problem with it in the US is that so many places don't have parcel boundaries, and if they do, they are often pretty far off from reality. We ended up using Google Maps (cost wasn't an issue yet because we were only in a private beta stage) and negotiated a limited free trial for parcel data from a private supplier. The private supplier scrapes county records (some of which are only available in person, and other countries charge a fee for access) and their records almost always lined up with Google's parcel boundaries, OSM did not.

Other countries I randomly spot checked did seem to have great OSM records though.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#93

Timely. Just started a project to document Bosnia and Hercegovina's remaining minefields on OSM. The build system consumes PDFs from the European Union Force as they are updated, georeferences them and pushes the features to OSM. Many tile sets on live maps are updated within the week!

[deleted]

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#94

Ok.. i want to serve tiles... ok, I go here: https://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/ First option (Build a tile server using packages) ... i click on it.. ubuntu packages... i don't have ubuntu here, let's go back. Second option (Build a tile server from source), takes me here: https://switch2osm.org/?page_id=76 ... where is the documentation? How do i build it from source? Ok fsck it, let's try the "all in one solutio…

It's not very difficult to install Ubuntu in a VM or spin up a cloud based instance. The bigger problem is their packages work on at latest Ubuntu 14.04, which is unsupported since April and I'd guess there will be a lot of incidental bitrot that may make getting it running unpleasant. But none of this matters, looks like there are several Docker based tile servers, which are a relative breeze to set up on any operat…

> It's not very difficult to install Ubuntu in a VM or spin up a cloud based instance.

I don’t think that is the point OP was making. If you’re even remotely thinking about running a tile server, you’d be able to spin up a VM of Ubuntu.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#95
post #45

For anyone that doesn't know, it's trivial to load OSM onto a Garmin GPS and use is for turn-by-turn navigation, for free. I've used it in over 40 countries (including Africa, Europe, North America) and it is staggeringly complete and accurate. From the mega capital cities to the tiniest village, it has every single dirt track, school, hospital, gas station, roundabout, intersection, etc. etc. I can count on one hand…

Some countries are mapped poorly in OSM. Examples are: Mongolia and Cambodia. Many roads and buildings are missing.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#96

Ok.. i want to serve tiles... ok, I go here: https://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/ First option (Build a tile server using packages) ... i click on it.. ubuntu packages... i don't have ubuntu here, let's go back. Second option (Build a tile server from source), takes me here: https://switch2osm.org/?page_id=76 ... where is the documentation? How do i build it from source? Ok fsck it, let's try the "all in one solutio…

I tried to build my own OSM server a couple months back. I quickly abandoned when I discovered that the amount of processing to import their world map data file in Postgres would require several months (desktop Core i7 3770k / 16 GB ram but a 7200 rpm hard drive since there wasn't enough space on my SSD). For a world map server you would need a beefy machine to make it less painful, something like 64 GB ram, multi nv…

Hmm, I run a handleful of OSM servers with similar specs and it takes a little a day or 2 to import the world to a HDD. Here's some benchmarks. It definitely helps to have a beefy server: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osm2pgsql/benchmarks

A Postgres dump would be massive.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#97
I love using OSM, but when pointing non-geeks towards it the experience of openstreetmap.org is not the best.

Myself I am a happy user of maps.me as an app (even paying user before they were acquired) and have built tons of toy tools around it (basically whenever I need to do a tech demo I use osm data queried from overpass etc.) and there are cool things one can do ... but the shiny user-friendly thing is missing and "don't give Google your data" for many doesn't work.

Edit/p.s. I know that openstreetmap.org is supposed to be the "developer site" and others are supposed to build the "nice" products, but it's the entry to the project, where the brand leads.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#98

Ok.. i want to serve tiles... ok, I go here: https://switch2osm.org/serving-tiles/ First option (Build a tile server using packages) ... i click on it.. ubuntu packages... i don't have ubuntu here, let's go back. Second option (Build a tile server from source), takes me here: https://switch2osm.org/?page_id=76 ... where is the documentation? How do i build it from source? Ok fsck it, let's try the "all in one solutio…

Another great option could be https://hub.docker.com/r/overv/openstreetmap-tile-server/

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#99

Timely. Just started a project to document Bosnia and Hercegovina's remaining minefields on OSM. The build system consumes PDFs from the European Union Force as they are updated, georeferences them and pushes the features to OSM. Many tile sets on live maps are updated within the week!

> Just started a project to document Bosnia and Hercegovina's remaining minefields on OSM. That's brave - one bug and you could have people walking into a minefield that you've told them was somewhere else.

They're already quite clearly marked, it's just that there's no digital map of them.

Re: Switch to OpenStreetMap

#100

With all due respect to OSM, isn't "the world’s best map data" an exaggeration? Especially if we count satellite images as map data.

Satellite images are not map data in the same way that a photo of a machine is not a blueprint.

I think if the machine was two dimensional and the photo had a measurement scale then it would be as good as a blueprint.
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