OpenStreetMap is Having a Moment (medium.com) 57
Joe Morrison: The first time I spoke with Jennings Anderson, I couldn't believe what he was telling me. I mean that genuinely -- I did not believe him. He was a little incredulous about it himself. I felt like he was sharing an important secret with me that the world didn't yet know. The open secret Jennings filled me in on is that OpenStreetMap (OSM) is now at the center of an unholy alliance of the world's largest and wealthiest technology companies. The most valuable companies in the world are treating OSM as critical infrastructure for some of the most-used software ever written. The four companies in the inner circle -- Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft -- have a combined market capitalization of over six trillion dollars. In almost every other setting, they are mortal enemies fighting expensive digital wars of attrition. Yet they now find themselves eagerly investing in and collaborating on OSM at an unprecedented scale (more on the scale later). What likely started as a conversation in a British pub between grad students in 2004 has spiraled out of control into an invaluable, strategic, voluntarily-maintained data asset the wealthiest companies in the world can't afford to replicate.
I will admit that I used to think of OSM as little more than a virtuous hobby for over-educated Europeans living abroad -- a cutesy internet collectivist experiment somewhere on the spectrum between eBird and Linux. It's most commonly summarized with a variant of this analogy: OSM is to an atlas as Wikipedia is to an encyclopedia. OSM acolytes hate this comparison in the much same way baseball players resent when people describe the sport as "cricket for fat people." While vaguely truthful, it doesn't quite get to the spirit of the thing. OSM is incomparable. Over 1.5M individuals have contributed data to it. It averages 4.5M changes per day. The stats page on the OSM Wiki is a collection of hockey sticks. [...]
I will admit that I used to think of OSM as little more than a virtuous hobby for over-educated Europeans living abroad -- a cutesy internet collectivist experiment somewhere on the spectrum between eBird and Linux. It's most commonly summarized with a variant of this analogy: OSM is to an atlas as Wikipedia is to an encyclopedia. OSM acolytes hate this comparison in the much same way baseball players resent when people describe the sport as "cricket for fat people." While vaguely truthful, it doesn't quite get to the spirit of the thing. OSM is incomparable. Over 1.5M individuals have contributed data to it. It averages 4.5M changes per day. The stats page on the OSM Wiki is a collection of hockey sticks. [...]
msmash is having a moment (Score:2, Insightful)
What the hell does that headline even mean?
Re:msmash is having a moment (Score:4, Informative)
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That’s not what jfdavis668 meant. It's ridiculous, as that term is not applicable to that thing, is what he meant.
But hey, millions of people believe "ownership" is applicable to "information" too, so ...
Now let me go to the north pole. And then go north. IDDQD, IDKFA, IDSPISPOPD.
Re:msmash is having a moment (Score:4, Informative)
I suppose this applies to OSM in a sense because they seem to be 'supporting' big tech. But this seems to be a more long term thing rather than a ' brief moment'
Re: msmash is having a moment (Score:2)
That's commonly referred to as having a senior moment.
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Very Happy Ammo Added
No Clipping Mode ON
Where would you like to go today?
Re: msmash is having a moment (Score:5, Funny)
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Having a moment means they have leverage.
Re:msmash is having a moment (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, when referring to one of my older relatives, them "having a moment" usually meant they just demonstrated their mind is currently not at full capacity. Something tells me that's not what was intended here.
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https://www.dictionary.com/ [dictionary.com]
interesting, but (Score:5, Informative)
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I was on an all cricket diet and I lost so much weight that the doctor insisted I go back to carbs.
Re:interesting, but (Score:4, Funny)
Really? Because I got lost in the headline, but only for a moment.
Somebody's not been reading the news (Score:2)
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He *did* mention that *oddballs* already knew all about this.
The whole of open source is having a moment (Score:3)
Nothing to do with OpenStreetMap... (Score:5, Informative)
But the article’s author comes across as a bit of a pretentious twat.
Re:Nothing to do with OpenStreetMap... (Score:4, Funny)
But the articleâ(TM)s author comes across as a bit of a pretentious twat.
Indeed. I would expect from an average graduate student to do another pass and edit down several parts of the article. Phrases like "irreversibly adulterated by these profiteering intruders" stand out. Also, a wonderful quote from TFA:
I'm in no position to comment on most of the things I write about. But in this instance, I'm particularly unqualified
So still not proprietary (Score:2)
when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:5, Insightful)
When you did not massively invest early on like google on your map data, and you are too cheap to pay Teleatlas or Navteq* for quality map data...
You turn to OSM! Throw them a few bread crumbs for their data, and frame it as sinergistic contribution to open source.
Hypocrites.
I do like and use OSM, nothing against them, but let's be real, their map data in many sites is lacking compared to the big three.
My post is to point out the hypocrisy of trillion Dollar companies not paying fair $ for quality data, instead relying on the efforts of volunteers...
* I like more the old Navteq name than the new "Here Technologies"
Re:when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:5, Insightful)
OSM is user driven to some extent and the commercial map software packages are good for the public roads and streets but when you are out in nature on lesser known paths then the cost of making a map suddenly increases while the revenue is more or less non-existent and only people that loves being out in nature really ask for such maps.
I am one of the persons that have contributed to OSM and that is in combination with being out in nature doing geocaching. A lot of commercial maps are often more or less uncharted when you are looking for geocaches in nature while the reality is that there are small paths created by humans and animals as well as logging roads that might have been left out.
Re:when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:4, Informative)
So much this!
I live in England, where signs are few and far between and official trails are in a constant state of warfare with farmers. OSM has helped me several times when trying to stay on official trails which were ploughed or turned into wheat fields. Google Maps had no idea the paths existed.
Re:when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:5, Informative)
When you did not massively invest early on like google on your map data, and you are too cheap to pay Teleatlas or Navteq* for quality map data...
Quality ? I moved to a brand new house some years ago, it took 2-3 years until it was present in Google Maps. OSM ? I added it.
Same thing for my bicycle ride from home to work : only OSM knows that there is an underway passage usable by bikes (because I added it also).
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Quality ? I moved to a brand new house some years ago, it took 2-3 years until it was present in Google Maps. OSM ? I added it.
Same thing for my bicycle ride from home to work : only OSM knows that there is an underway passage usable by bikes (because I added it also).
I'm not sure why that would be any surprise.
Google uses fleets of cars and vans for street view. That data and what can be seen from the street, combined with purchased satellite data for satellite view.
While the thought of a google van trying to drive a narrow bike path on that underway is a bit comical, outside of morbid creativity back here in reality, doing that would be the height of stupidity on so many levels.
As for your new home, I think you misunderstand what "quality" means, compared to perhaps "
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Re:when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm sorry, but in what world...?
Everywhere I personally have been, I always found OSM to be vastly superior to anything else. Hell, in my city, every damn park bench, trash can and important tree is in there! Literally! Our public transport organization officially uses OSM, and they enter the data that you get when you set navigation to public transport.
And that doesn't even mention the vast and extensive amount of features of OSMand. Going back to Google Maps is like going back to Playboy. Or Internet Explorer 5.5. (Not even 6.)
The only criticism you can give OSM, is that it still lacks Streetview. (Satellite data is available via Bing, or with a small hack, from e.g. Google.)
But Mapillary is starting to fill that hole.
If you complain that navigation in OSMand is slow... Well that's because it doesn't leak stuff to some "cloud", and processes it on the device, like it should.
Also, good luck with you GMaps when your reception is bad.
There are two kinds of people. Those who think OSM is awesome, and those who haven't really tried it.
Re:when you are a cheap-o company, hypocrisy works (Score:5, Insightful)
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I'm sorry, but in what world...?
Everywhere I personally have been, I always found OSM to be vastly superior to anything else. Hell, in my city, every damn park bench, trash can and important tree is in there! Literally! Our public transport organization officially uses OSM, and they enter the data that you get when you set navigation to public transport.
In Caracas and Maracay in particular, and in Venezuela (experioenced first hand). Also, try other LatAm countries (or so my contacts say). Ditto for some Eastern European and south East Asian countries (again, as per my contacts).
I am glad OSM works well for you, but the world is wide (even if with CoVID-19 it does not seem so).
As I said, I use OSM* from time to time, and have no beef with OSM, and yes, in some areas, and in some use cases OSM is great. But, in some areas, their maps are lacking compared to
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The quality of maps in OSM is generally good but where it falls down is the supporting functions like search and navigation.
Google has both its web search data and streetview data to back it up. It knows the number of every house because it read it from the photo they took of the front door. In fact it knows where the front door is of businesses are too, where as most other navigation systems will take you to the wrong side of the building if that's the nearest road.
On the navigation side it is integrated w
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My post is to point out the hypocrisy of trillion Dollar companies not paying fair $ for quality data, instead relying on the efforts of volunteers...
Well if OSM wanted to get rich they shouldn't have openly licensed their product.
What next, I get blamed for earning over 100k a year but choosing not to pay for Linux?
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You turn to Linux! Throw them a few bread crumbs for their OS, and frame it as sinergistic contribution to open source. Hypocrites.
I do like and use Linux, nothing against it, but let's be real, their file system and multitasking implementations are lacking compared to the big three.
My post is to point out the hypocrisy of trillion Dollar companies not paying fair $
What?! (Score:1, Insightful)
Re: What?! (Score:2)
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I imagined a large black lady going: "OH NO, YOU DI-UHNT! *shifts head from side to side* *waves finger*"
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msmash has always been awful. The fact that /. thinks clickbait sites should be emulated is sad.
My eyes are open (Score:2)
As always (Score:2)
A rising tide lifts all ships.
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A gazelle attracts all the tigers.
Soon to be leaking gazelle.
If lucky.
Otherwise Borg gazelle. Or Leatherface gazelle.
Free work, ... to embrace, extend, ... (Score:2)
If you're a beautiful gazelle ... and the tigers of the Savannah are converging around you ... You know the drill.
For-profit is for-profit is for-profit.
Dog eat dog eat dog eat dog eat dot eat dog.
Sociopaths are sociopaths are sociopaths.
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"If you're a beautiful gazelle ... and the tigers of the Savannah are converging around you ... You know the drill."
Tigers don't live in the Savannah, and don't hunt in groups.
Maybe you mean lions or cheetahs.
OSM is good because of commercial absence! (Score:5, Insightful)
* Advertisers trying to inject advertisements in location descriptions
* Malvertisers trying to remove or alter descriptions of the competitors of theirs
* Real estate sellers faking non-existing infrastructure or removing value-decreasing neighboring infrastructure from objects they want to sell
* Lawyers trying to sue contributors for just anything
* Competing map providers vandalizing the data
* IT companies trying to introduce stuff into the data that makes it incompatible with systems not of their own
OSM dominates the maps for outdoor / hiking (Score:1)
Beware ... (Score:3)
... of Geeks bearing gifts.
Google has not only a nice set of maps but a rather powerful API to incorporate their maps into your app. Great. But their API gives Google a hook into your customers' location data (and probably a bunch of other user data as well).
I had a nice little ADS-B display program which shows which planes are flying over my house. Using a feed from an RTL-SDR dongle, a Google map and some JavaScript witchcraft, it works pretty well. But Google has been up-selling their API, squeezing more and more data out of the users. Not a problem for me, since I don't make my page public. But it keeps breaking their interface. No problem. Switch to OSM with an open source third party animation package.
Oh Noes! We can't have that! People actually moving around in public without leaving a digital breadcrumb trail for LEOs (the actual customers for Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft). So we'll throw OSM a few breadcrumbs. Here's a few bucks and a snazzy API (just like Google's). And now you can play with The Big Boys. Just don't sell your map feed through an interface that we don't control.
P.S. Thanks for the tracking data on your users.
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> leaving a digital breadcrumb trail for LEOs
Why would any Low Earth Orbit need personal digital information?
china OSM ? (Score:2)
so hows it going in china?
has it improved? (Score:2)
My impression was that this platform had a thoughtful "send a correction" mechanism within it that was entirely unutilised. My street had a median with a cut in it at the mid-point, and OSM did not reflect at which turns were possible. Years went by with my correction not being applied.
I love OSM, but... (Score:2)
I would really appreciate it if the "skin" OSM uses looked more like other maps. What I mean is the colors used to signify major roads and highways.
If they made a skin to mimic Google Maps and all the other mapping programs, I'd be all in (and likely contribute more, as well).
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Google Maps, Bing Maps and Apple Maps don't look alike at all [pinimg.com].
You know this is petty, like saying you'd be more willing to contribute to Wikipedia if they changed fonts. OSM is mostly about the data itself, not about cloning the looks of the popular map of the day, and you can render it any way you want [zottelig.ch].