[OSM-newbies] openmoko freerunner for both maps and recording tracks?

[Denver Gingerich]

On Mon, Sep 8, 2008 at 10:33 AM,  <herve.openstreetmap at ouvaton.org> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I'm a real newbie, with up to now only a vague experience in digital maps
> (used a Route66 CD on a macintosh till when they stopped selling updates),
> an even more vague exp. in GPS devices (only used other's) and 10 mn of
> (happily) experiencing TangoGPS on a linux laptop.
>
> I consider buying an Openmoko Freerunner device, in the idea that it would
> provide both an usable "ordinary GPS" function (with OSM maps preloaded)

What do you mean by this?  When most average people say "GPS", they
mean a device that will give them spoken or displayed directions from
point A to point B.  OSM is not at a point where you can use its data
on a FreeRunner to do this.  However, if you just want OSM maps to see
where you are, then the FreeRunner with tangoGPS will do that just
fine.

> and a way to record datapaths occasionally during travels or week-ends in
> my neighborhood to update OSM.
>
> Let's add that I consider the Freerunner mainly because of its open source
> software, but I am not a computer beef (for instance, using my 1-month-old
> linux laptop is *still* hard as soon as it comes to install/updates).
>
> Knowing this, what would you advise re. the freerunner:
>
> - is it a bad idea, should I buy another device instead (why? simpler?
> easier? What are the most used devices here btw?)

It depends how comfortable you are with a Linux command line.  Pretty
much all the configuration for a FreeRunner needs to be done through
an SSH session to the FreeRunner from your computer (over USB).  Have
you used the command line before?

> - is it the right HW but should I consider other SW? (what's simpler?)

It's definitely the right hardware for this, provided you are
experienced enough with the command line to configure the FreeRunner.
The FreeRunner is a nice general-purpose computing platform so you can
run things like tangoGPS on it.

The operating system that comes with the FreeRunner is fairly stable,
though it is lacking in a few ways.  The primary features it lacks are
the ability to install new applications from the GUI and the ability
to configure a wireless connection from the GUI.  You can do both from
the command line, but it's a bit of a pain.

In terms of GPS software, tangoGPS is quite awesome.  It will show OSM
maps with your location and can track routes for uploading to OSM.
I've done both.

> - should I start with an ordinary GPS (with recording capablity) and leave
> the actual using of OSM maps for later (or just on the laptop)?

That would be simple, but you would miss out on being able to see
where you are with OSM, which I've found to be a very invaluable
feature.  Even when tracking it is useful to see where you are because
it's easier to tell what needs mapping; if you're on a street that
doesn't appear in OSM on your FreeRunner, then you're collecting
useful data to input later :).

> BTW, I tried, but didn't find, a way to search the maillist existing
> database: I opened a couple of months' archives in the web interface but
> didn't really manage to scan the whole archive: did I miss something?

A query like the following in Google will search the archives for "freerunner":

site:http://lists.openstreetmap.org/pipermail/newbies/ freerunner

> Should my question be sent to the normal "talk" archive instead?

The newbies list seems like an appropriate place for your question.
Personally, I subscribe here instead of talk because the newbies list
is much lower-volume.


On another note, I agree with Risto that you should not expect to use
your FreeRunner as a normal phone.  The software is not stable enough
yet to make the average person happy using it as a phone.

Denver