Domain: cloudmade.com
Stories and comments across the archive that link to cloudmade.com.
Comments · 7
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Re:good for some purposes, needs driving direction
As mentioned, http://map.project-osrm.org/ is one of the best routers that uses OSM data. There is also http://open.mapquest.com which might even integrate with the MQ mobile app so you can find a route in a browser, then send it to the MQ app to take in the car. There is also routing on http://maps.cloudmade.com/ although sometimes it seems like they are a little out of date.
But there is code being worked on to integrate OSRM into the osm.org website itself.
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Re:Visual appearance of Google Maps is supreme
There are lots of map designs based on OSM -- take a look at http://tiles.mapbox.com/ for a few, and a tool which makes it (technically) very easy to make your own (e.g. for when you need a map, but don't want to ask Google for a license).
Or zoom into http://maps.cloudmade.com/# and click "Change Style".
Different views are useful for different purposes, and Google doesn't yet provide anything like this. For example, I often use OpenCycleMap, since the irrelevant roads (motorways etc) are shown in pastel colours, but the useful routes (cyclepaths) are highlighted. On that map, click the layer switcher (top-right corner) and choose "public transport" to see bus, tram and train routes marked -- that's not a proper planner, but it's useful to show the existence of a route. (I don't know how complete the bus route data is, try somewhere like London if your city has no buses.)
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Some free resources
GIS and vector data of the world
http://downloads.cloudmade.com/
http://www.naturalearthdata.com/ -
Re:openstreetmap.org
With OpenStreetMap, you can clone the maps (get dumps and install the software) and use them on your own servers. If you're serious about using maps on web sites, you either give Google a few bucks (with the special API for those who wants to pay) or you use your own servers. On the browser, you can install special libraries like leaflet to have pretty maps like Google.
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They already make money out of OSM
There are plenty of commercial uses of OSM already, and some are making quite enough money out of it. One that I personally use is offmaps.com, but that's obviously barely the tip of the iceberg.
But the question is whether OSM can make money out of it or not. Considering CloudMade are paying 40 employees, I guess they *do* can make money out of it, by "providing APIs for web sites, applications, and devices to use the rendered map data." (source is Wikipedia, probably the CloudMade website would provide more details.)
OSM is an example of success: open geospatial data and business profit.
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Re:MapMaker vs. openstreetmap
Try maps.cloudmade.com - there are numerous others. The point of OpenStreetMap is to make the data free so anyone can build a routing site, custom map or whatever - and not so much, in itself, to be an all-singing all-dancing alternative to Google Maps.
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Re:Handheld GPS and Linux
There are many Garmin handheld models that even accept free OpenStreetmap data (in img format, get them from http://www.cloudmade.com/ ).
Highly recommended.