[OSM-dev] Garmin GPX madness

Stefan de Konink skinkie at xs4all.nl
Mon Sep 22 12:19:08 BST 2008


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David Earl schreef:
> On 22/09/2008 11:51, Stefan de Konink wrote:
>>> Stefan and Oliver - if you really believe that the community have been
>>> brainwashed by Garmin, what's your plan of action to reverse the
>>> brainwashing and liberate our minds?
>>
>> I see many mappers in NL being 'so happy' with Garmin because OSM maps
>> run
>> on it. Happy-happy-joy-joy! As long Garmin is not actively committed to
>> help OSM in the compiling of maps or publishing open specifications, or
>> even open up the firmware, why do you even care for these devices because
>> they have a screen? Wake up! If someone would buy a device for tracking
>> take some el-cheapo NMEA receiver that does export the error-margin, and
>> hook up your phone or GPS, the user will get the same fancy screen...
>> with more possibilities of navigation and mapping.
> 
> You're being really unfair attacking us as you have been. We're not
> trying to promote Garmin, but lots of people do have them.

I'm not being unfair at all. I just point out that the device has more
issues with respect to tracking. That was the start of this discussion!

> This is the first discussion I can remember on these lists about this
> issue. There's no flashing lights on the website that says the info from
> Garmin receivers is lacking. You've only mentioned vaguely "algorithms
> exist" to make use of accuracy info, but that's a fat lot of good if
> they aren't built in to our editors. 

If you want me to add this url to all my posts, I am happy to do so...
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/index.php/Mapgenerator

Look when this page was created. This is *not* new technology.


> Database objects don't have
> references back to the tracks (or other sources) from which they were
> derived, so you can't tell whether one's additional trace is better than
> the one from which what's already there is derived.

I can be mean to you now, but I don't :)


> So at the moment, the additional info is irrelevant to ordinary mortals
> and info that some devices (and not just Garmin I imagine) may have
> problems in the future is not advertised.
> 
> I think this is a complete smokescreen at present.

I think if you want to train a user about tracking, it is good to show
what error margin we are working in, within OpenStreetMap, in The
Netherlands we have AND data, it is clear that the data is shifted at
many points, with the respect to the traces. Now what is leading? A
trace that actually claims a certain margin or some track on OSM? How to
prevent a user to move roads because he claims that the trace he just
made is more precise than the one on the map?


Stefan
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