[OSM-dev] Google Map Maker

[Steve Hill]

On Tue, 24 Jun 2008, Frederik Ramm wrote:

> Now that Google have unveiled their offer, which obviously must have
> been some time in the making, the words have even greater power: Us
> out in the open, honestly saying what we do and what we want, and
> them working for months behind closed doors on some secret project
> that is then one day presented to the gasping public.

This is the standard Google model I'm afraid.  They are often described as 
an open source company, but they really aren't.  Google is generally a 
good citizen when using existing Free projects - they generally submit 
code back and such good stuff.  However, they are rather less open when it 
comes to their own projects, with most of them being closed source (e.g. 
Google Earth, Picassa, the search engine itself, etc.).  Whilst some of 
their projects do have open source code, they by no means have an open 
development model (look at Android as an example - they've been making a 
big deal about it for a while, but it has essentially been created behind 
closed doors).

I have no problem with Google working this way, but I do wish people 
didn't keep trying to pass them off as a Free software company.

Unlike open projects such as OSM, Google try to retain as much control as 
they can for as long as possible - they guide the direction of the project 
themselves, with very little scope for the community to shape the project.

> Other than that, I think it's a positive development because OSM will
> automatically get some of the publicity by means of contrast.

Yes, although it is a double edged sword - there is already a problem with 
people outside the Free software world not understanding the differences 
between free (as in beer) and Free (as in speech) and the real benefits 
the latter can bring (how often is the "why don't you just use Google's 
free (no cost) maps?" question heard?).  This further muddies the waters 
for the people who didn't fully understand the freedom concept to begin 
with.

  - Steve
    xmpp:steve at nexusuk.org   sip:steve at nexusuk.org   http://www.nexusuk.org/

      Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum - Whisper, Evanescence