-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On 2013-07-09 00:41, Guillaume Pratte wrote: > Hello, > > I have been a serious user of OpenStreetMap for less than six > months, and I am proud to recently have achieved my one hundredth > contribution to the project. I really love the OpenStreetMap > project, and I would like to replace my daily usage of Google Maps > with OpenStreetMap.
I wondered the same when I first got interested / active in OSM. It's unfortunate osm.org is not a bette rshowcase of everything possible. I think Bernie says it best: On 2013-07-09 08:13, Connors, Bernie (SNB) wrote: > IMHO all of your issues could be solved with applications of the > OSM data. The goal of OSM is to create an open data set that can > be used by anybody to solve all of the issues in your list. The > goal of OSM is not to create a replacement for the Google Maps > website but to create an alternative to the Google Maps data. Emphasis on **data**. If you are comparing http://maps.google.com to http://openstreetmap.org, it's bound to be frustrating/dissapointing. When I show http://osm.org, I always emphasize it's *only one way to render the huge amount of data in OSM* - defintely not a replacement or even comparable to Google Maps. It also took me a while to understand this, but then everything else made more sense :) [...] > First point: searching. Second point: accessing POI information. Someone did this by using the XAPI OSM server: http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/User:Plenz/OSM-POI http://www.lenz-online.de/cgi-bin/osmpoi/osmpoi.pl > Why do we input address, business hours and phone numbers on shops > and restaurants if the map cannot easily display this information > to the user? Why do I have to show the map's data in order to have > information on a point of interest? On a PC I just use nominatim to search for a place [1], then use the "detail" link [2]: http://pix.toile-libre.org/upload/original/1373396748.png The point of adding this information is to improve *the data*, not the maps. Regarding searching nearby POIs (such as a cafe), I use Wheelmap on Android, it works very nicely (including routing and sharing): https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=wheel&fdid=org.wheelmap.android.online > Third point: maximum zoom level. Some area are densely populated, > and OpenStreetMap's current zoom level is not enough to see all > details of the map. [...] Agreed :( I believe it's a hardware/resources limit, but the data should be enough to render higher details. > Fourth point: sharing a point of interest. [...] I get an URL > similar to this that I can share: > http://www.openstreetmap.org/?way=225637513 That's what I do on a PC except I use the Nominatim search. > Fifth point: routing. Why is there absolutely no routing > implemented on the main OpenStreetMap website? This is I concede a > naïve question, as it might be simply because of limited server > resources. Once we have our new servers, is this something we want > to implement, as a community? Again, resources? I would say yes, we need to show as much as we can of all that OSM can do. > I really like the OpenStreetMap project, and I dream to be able to > use it as a primary map instead of Google Maps. I feel resolving > these issues would bring me many steps closer to making that dream > come true. An important step to doing this is to completely remove Google Maps from your mobile device. This also seems coherent with keeping your datased "pure". > What do you all think? Do you also have showstoppers that prevent > you to use OpenStreetMap as your primary and daily map? Bus / public transportation routing is my major blocking point at this time. Before becoming a more active OSM contributor I used this funcitonality of Google Maps, so it's harder now not to miss it. I am hoping the STM beta site currently using OSM + custom data will take care of this (incluing mobile). F. - -- Fabián Rodríguez http://openstreetmap.magicfab.ca -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.12 (GNU/Linux) Comment: PGP/Mime available upon request Comment: Using GnuPG with Icedove - http://www.enigmail.net/ iEYEARECAAYFAlHcboUACgkQfUcTXFrypNWEqgCg8/FQs+uFrSM6rrRsXXSIr4yE NskAoNQt42mZJmZNSVySzhbuRgD34AR5 =WUSF -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Talk-ca mailing list Talk-ca@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk-ca
