On Sat, Sep 5, 2009 at 8:40 AM, Jonathan Bennett<openstreet...@jonno.cix.co.uk>
> To put it another way: We will have succeeded not when the public uses > openstreetmap.org instead of Google Maps, but when Google Maps uses > OpenStreetMap data instead of Navteq, Teleatlas, or other proprietary > data sources. I'm somewhat new to the project (a few months and a few mapping events), but I want to chime in here. I agree completely that the goals of making a free mapping platform are key to the project, but I'll tell you that I've already encountered people who are frustrated with the lack of good support in OSM for simple API calls. Let's do a head-to-head comparison between OSM and Google Maps Premium. The later costs $16,000 a year. That may sound like a great deal of money, but you have to remember that for a company, this isn't a large investment- they don't have to pay for the hosting costs, the server maintenance, etc. I think there's market here to work with companies to provide commercial OSM support- providing mapping data quickly, creating the styles people want, etc. The other reason this is important (going full circle on this topic) is that it needs to be easy for people to play with the OSM system without jumping in with both feet. I'll bet you the Free Software Day people aren't against OSM, but it needs to be super-simple to map with it for this one-time event. That's why projects like Mapstraction are so important to OSM. - Serge _______________________________________________ talk mailing list talk@openstreetmap.org http://lists.openstreetmap.org/listinfo/talk
