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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?

#41

Post by pbhjpbhj »

maxerickson wrote: post #29
timthorn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That exists. This blog post explains how to add Welsh names: http://cardiff.theodi.org/2018/02/23/mapio-eich-milltir-sgwa...

There's quite some resistance to adding translations and transcriptions, as they aren't really names as such. An example would be small towns in the US. They probably don't have a Welsh name, even if there happens to be a direct translation into Welsh.

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), motorway signs that are only in Cwmraeg for half the people passing them (they change over, useless if you passed already), travel announcements in Cymraeg first. Heck, if you ring 999 in an emergency you have to wait for the Cymraeg speaker to finish their 20s message before you start your call.

Welsh people use British-English language predominantly; the Welsh name is the name in English, the Cymraeg name sometimes differs.

[1] roughly: ~15% of the adult population say they know any Cymraeg, half of those are fluent (self reported). FWIW half of those fluent say they prefer to use English. So one could argue you're catering to <4% of the population.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#42

Post by 1996 »

Nux wrote: post #36
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…

+1 Here maps (it's the old Nokia maps, now under Daimler and others). Probably the best UX of any map apps and some great sounding voices.

I think we both have the same experience. User interface and user experience in Here are heads and shoulder above google maps IMHO, so much that after this, I also installed Here maps on my regular phone. The best interface is still on my old windows phone, with zero ads, back when Microsoft owned Here.

Someone said I found an obscure usecase. I disagree. Navigating without a reliable data connection is not obscure and uncommon!!

Even if it was, my obscure case is very embedded in my mind. I don't care about the 99% cases when google maps work. I care about the 1% when it doesn't work while I need it.

This is why after this, I've decided it was safer to migrate my mapping needs to a more robust solution.

I don't care about how wide user adoption is. I care that it solves my problem better than the alternatives!

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#43

Post by DanBC »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #35
timthorn wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That exists. This blog post explains how to add Welsh names: http://cardiff.theodi.org/2018/02/23/mapio-eich-milltir-sgwa...

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

What do you call Germany? Germany, or Deutschland? Why is the one you use more correct than the other?

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#44

Post by shiburizu »

0XAFFE wrote: post #38
shiburizu wrote: post #19

I just recently spent a few hours working with OSM and Nominatim as part of a project for my university, an event planning page for ActivityPub social media: http://fedevent.herokuapp.com/ OSM maps are quite detailed, perfectly serviceable...but Nominatim is not very good (at least in my experience?) I used https://github.com/perliedman/leaflet-control-geocoder to interact with Nominatim but entering something that c…

Did you have a look at overpass turbo[1]? With this API a lot more is possible than with nominatim. [1] http://overpass-turbo.eu/

This looks useful for the purposes of describing areas in detail but setting an event usually doesn't require more than a couple pins to show where it takes place.

I will keep this handy for any future geomapping projects I work on (which sounds like a possibility given that this was interesting to work with)

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#45

Post by mgkimsal »

chucksmash wrote: post #39
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…

Google Maps also offers offline maps.

came here to say that. it was a pleasant surprise in january of this year - had little internet connection while exploring a small island (got off a cruise ship). Found google maps had an 'offline mode', so I just downloaded the maps for the island and was good to go. Wasn't until April that maps notified me that the data was expiring and would be deleted.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#47

Post by themodelplumber »

dev_dull wrote: post #27
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…

Your anecdote falls into the trap I see often when comparing OSS software vs proprietary. You’ve found a obscure, uncommon use case where OSM works better. However, the opposite needs to be true for adoption. OSM needs to work better for 80% of the use cases, not the other 20.

OSS's greatest leverage points have always been in the niches, the cases where _if_ it's useful in your situation, you are a very lucky person indeed.

Having read the article I think it's using a great little leverage point: Do you have a website with a map? Does the map not work anymore? ("Yikes, will my map stop working," people think)

OSS doesn't have to win big popularity battles; the little cases here and there just add up over time. Soon it's in the background of everything, even proprietary software, because it's so useful that migration and contributions to the source code make sense.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#48

Post by bepotts »

I like that the arguments for OpenStreetMap were more about the advantages over Google Maps, instead of "because Google is a 'bad' company" like so many Google debates delve into.

I love using Google Maps for my applications, but I'll definitely look into OpenStreetMaps now.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#49

Post by nashashmi »

dev_dull wrote: post #27
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…

Your anecdote falls into the trap I see often when comparing OSS software vs proprietary. You’ve found a obscure, uncommon use case where OSM works better. However, the opposite needs to be true for adoption. OSM needs to work better for 80% of the use cases, not the other 20.

> found a obscure, uncommon use case where OSM works better.

Isn't that the entire point of open source technologies? If a platform is open source, then you can make whatever custom changes you personally need and make it work for your particularly scenario.

Downloadable maps, archivable maps, platform independent maps, faster loading maps, more accurate maps, more niche data centric maps, and fail-safe maps are all examples of maps that a particular person needs in a particular setting at a particular time.

It is not software for the masses, just software for the massive number of little things you could possibly need.

Re: Why Use OpenStreetMap Instead of Google Maps?

#50

Post by ghaff »

chucksmash wrote: post #39
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…

Google Maps also offers offline maps.

Which can't be downloaded in many places. I assume it has something to do with their licenses but, outside the US, I have run into a number of situations where I couldn't download an area.

ADDED: I always download the OSM data into Maps.me on my iPhone before I travel internationally. If nothing else, it's a useful backup.

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