[Talk-ca] Using OpenStreetMap on a daily basis

[Fabian Rodriguez]

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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
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