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OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

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31–40 of 140 posts

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#31
post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on what exactly you want. Google Maps does more then just being a map, such as navigation, streetview, reviews,... In either case, I've heard quite some people being in love with Qwant Maps. And I try to get to build specialized maps with https://mapcomplete.org

Qwant Maps is discontinued, sadly. Features I would want most from a web frontend for OSM: * Smarter search in the local area that is currently focused, with possibility to search for generic terms like "atm", "bus stop", "bakery", etc. * Display of shops/restaurants/markets/etc with additional information like opening hours (which are available in OSM, I've added a ton of it through StreetComplete and often wondered…

May I recommend GraphHopper Maps? A bit routing focussed but soonish also for POIs: https://github.com/graphhopper/graphhopper-maps/pull/394

Also addresses in the current view are more important when you search.

Turn-by-turn navigation is also possible ... in the browser. See https://github.com/graphhopper/graphhopper-maps/pull/279

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#32
post #4

I love that you can host your own version of OpenStreetmap, and even create a street address lookup from coordinates (reverse geocode) only with a bit of Python and SQLite, using the OSM data: https://github.com/punnerud/rgcosm

Also have a look into this work: https://nominatim.org/2023/02/06/nominatim-lite.html

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#34
post #33

I recently started using TomTom amigo for car navigation in preference to Google maps and I noticed it uses openstreetmap data. Data seems good.

TomTom uses their own data though (they're a major provider of car navs and navigation devices).

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#35
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

StreetComplete is fun for casual contributions, but what OSM really needs is good local mappers. You can tell when a place has local mappers updating and monitoring changes in the real world. Even just taking care of the coming and going of shops is really useful. People who visit your area using apps like OsmAnd and OrganicMaps use that data!

I cannot describe [0] my pleasure and satisfaction when, visiting Germany, we found an icecream shop closed. We'd stopped by with the assumption Google Maps would have the correct hours; they did not, and we carried on without icecream. OSM, on the other hand, correctly showed the shop as closed for the day. [0] I can't, but my fiancee used the words "impossibly smug"

I mean, both rely on community contributions for this sort of thing, so it feels weird to be smug about this... It just depends on who decided to put the correct hours in.

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#36
post #34
post #33

I recently started using TomTom amigo for car navigation in preference to Google maps and I noticed it uses openstreetmap data. Data seems good.

TomTom uses their own data though (they're a major provider of car navs and navigation devices).

They are using OSM augmented with their own data. TomTom employs some mappers to fix issues they run into.

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#37
post #17

The amount of data OSM has nowadays is a treasure. It's just a shame that there's no well done generic web frontend that would make all this data accessible in a way that could rival Google Maps. The official openstreetmap.org web site just provides bare functionality with an almost unusable search, and otherwise focuses on editing OSM data. Probably the best generic "frontend" for OSM is Organic Maps, which however…

I think mapy [1] is the best frontend I've seen for OSM. Its search still isn't as good as Google Maps though.

They also have iOS [2] and Android [3] apps. I can't speak for the iOS app, but the Android one lets you download offline maps in a very space efficient way, similar to Organic Maps.

1. https://en.mapy.cz/zakladni?x=-2.2989613&y=53.1629710&z=8

2. https://apps.apple.com/cz/app/mapy-cz-maps-navigation/id4114...

3. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=cz.seznam.mapy...

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#38

If you appreciate OSM, consider installing the StreetComplete mobile app[0]! It lets you contribute to OSM in a very simple manner, via simple questions like, "Is there a marked crosswalk here?" I'm not affiliated, I just think it's cool. It's very satisfying to complete quests in your local area. [0] https://streetcomplete.app/

StreetComplete is fun for casual contributions, but what OSM really needs is good local mappers. You can tell when a place has local mappers updating and monitoring changes in the real world. Even just taking care of the coming and going of shops is really useful. People who visit your area using apps like OsmAnd and OrganicMaps use that data!

Re: shops/businesses, it would be nice if we could find somehow a way of having businesses themselves update their details: just basic stuff like opening hours and contacts. Not sure what's the solution for this though. One half of the solution certainly is just a convenient (web) UI for this, minimal friction just go to this website, enter your info, and click okay. But the other half is even making businesses aware that this is a thing. Mailing flyers with a QR code? x)

Re: OpenStreetMap Is Turning 20

#39
I really enjoy using OSM for my projects! It can be a bit daunting to figure out how to use the data because there are so many different tools in the ecosystem. I wrote this article recently to help anyone looking to get started querying OSM:

https://wcedmisten.fyi/post/how-to-query-osm/

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