[OSM-talk] Two experimental map services

[Darryl Shpak]

Jochen Topf wrote:
> Hi!
>
> http://geo.topf.org/comparison/index.html lets your compare different
> Google and OSM maps side by side. If you move or zoom one, the other
> will follow. This is for informational purposes only, don't use it to
> lookup Google map data and enter it into OSM.
>
>   

One interesting thing I noticed is that the data shown on the Google map 
here is not always the same data you'd get when looking at the actual 
Google Maps site. In my neighbourhood (a small area, with 15-20 
streets), I counted easily a half-dozen differences, some of which were 
significant (like entire roads that show on Google Maps but not in the 
comparison tool). It looks like the public Google Maps API uses a 
different dataset than the actual Google Maps site does: for the area 
that I was looking at, the map in the comparison tool credits Tele 
Atlas, whereas the one on maps.google.ca credits NAVTEQ.

So, it's possible that this map shows a difference between OSM and 
Google that's not "real", because this tool doesn't always reflect the 
actual Google Maps site (no fault of Jochen's, of course).

- Darryl