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Can you recommend a privacy respecting implementation for Android? I think you're right, and it's a bit past time to be switching.

Nail in the coffin and all that jazz. I'm moving *everything* off Google gradually. We tried the experiment, and got fucked. I'd rather pay for services and have some leverage with misbehaving corporations.

Karta GPS and Maps.me are the most popular ones on iOS and Android. I've only used Maps.me but it did OK enough for my purposes. I picked it mainly because the offline option is really good and the offline feature on Google Maps sucked ass by comparison back then. Be prepared to download a couple of gigabytes of maps for the offline functionality so better do that on a Wifi. Maps.me is ad-supported, and it is Russian if that scares you, Karta GPS was developed by a Portuguese company (I think), not sure how they support themselves. You are never going to find a free app like this that does not finance themselves through either ads, selling your data or charging companies for overlaying their store/restaurant/garage/hotel locations onto the OpenStreetMap's map data. That being said, at least they are not Google and will probably not rape your privacy anything as outrageously as Google and Morgan Stanley will. There is a list of mobile Apps on the OpenStreetMap Wiki:

iOS apps: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org...
Android apps: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org...

Can you recommend a privacy respecting implementation for Android? I think you're right, and it's a bit past time to be switching.

Nail in the coffin and all that jazz. I'm moving *everything* off Google gradually. We tried the experiment, and got fucked. I'd rather pay for services and have some leverage with misbehaving corporations.

Karta GPS and Maps.me are the most popular ones on iOS and Android. I've only used Maps.me but it did OK enough for my purposes. I picked it mainly because the offline option is really good and the offline feature on Google Maps sucked ass by comparison back then. Be prepared to download a couple of gigabytes of maps for the offline functionality so better do that on a Wifi. Maps.me is ad-supported, and it is Russian if that scares you, Karta GPS was developed by a Portuguese company (I think), not sure how they support themselves. You are never going to find a free app like this that does not finance themselves through either ads, selling your data or charging companies for overlaying their store/restaurant/garage/hotel locations onto the OpenStreetMap's map data. That being said, at least they are not Google and will probably not rape your privacy anything as outrageously as Google and Morgan Stanley will. There is a list of mobile Apps on the OpenStreetMap Wiki:

iOS apps: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org...
Android apps: https://wiki.openstreetmap.org...

Sepcifically for the maps on android, OSMAnd is an openstreetmap-powered solution that can also run offline.

For the rest of the de-googled smartphone see my other post above, with both solutions for no-google-apps phone and completely no-android phones.
(I personnally do the latter, running Sailfish OS on Sony Xperia)

Normal people do not want non-Google browsers and search engines. But one should be able to choose different map engine embedded in all the Android apps rather than the only provided Google Maps. There are various other ones with much better map data + primarily map rendering such as https://en.mapy.cz/ and obviously https://www.openstreetmap.org/ .

Did she check Open Street Map? https://www.openstreetmap.org/

Even if it lacked detail it can be added to.

All that was mentioned was commercial mapping operators.

You can see here that OpenStreetMap reports a similar time: 7h25, for 532km, passing via a very long detour.

Most likely, the router doesn't like the direct road, because part of it is tagged "unpaved", and that's estimated to around 20km/h.

isn't that google India IP address vandalized OSM efforts? from OSM blog: https://blog.openstreetmap.org...

Yes, looking at the map the pedestrian zone is about as big as one would expect for a European city of this size (c.f.Freiburg).

Though Pontevedra has the additional disadvantage of having destroyed or having had to destroy their trams system (as was common in Western Europe)

Yes, looking at the map the pedestrian zone is about as big as one would expect for a European city of this size (c.f.Freiburg).

Though Pontevedra has the additional disadvantage of having destroyed or having had to destroy their trams system (as was common in Western Europe)

Which is exactly how OSM started. Compare this image of Worcester in 2008 to how it looks now.

Which is exactly how OSM started. Compare this image of Worcester in 2008 to how it looks now.

Run your own map server locally (Sailfish server that works with multiple viewers, Android and iOS also have offline map solution, with MicroG providing several solutions for apps that require the Google Map API)

For the location service it self, you can have lots of replacement including offline too .

Fuck online companies.
( ^- that has actual very practical implications when you're abroad and have internet roaming or on a hike away from any connection services)

The strength of each solution lies in different areas. Google might be great for businesses and other commercial usage, plus of course routing (it IS generating advertisement revenue based on people's location data...), but OpenStreetMap (despite the name) is much better for outdoors and recreational usage when off-vehicle.

Just to given an example from my home city, compare the map detail in these examples showing the same area - which one would you choose for planning your afternoon hike?
Google Maps
OpenStreetMap

https://www.openstreetmap.org/...

All our effort ought to go towards OpenStreetMap. It's time to end proprietary map data and the anti-data commercial mapping businesses create to circumvent copyright law.

Some do. OpenStreetMap was instrumental in persuading the UK government to include some of the government-maintained maps under an open license. Historically, high-quality mapping data has been regarded as a military asset, because if you want to invade a country then having decent maps is essential. That's less important in an age of satellite photography (any foreign power that could plan in invasion almost certainly has satellites that can provide them with accurate mapping data) and so there's a slow shift to seeing it as a commercial asset.

Houston’s passenger station will be located in northwest Houston just outside 610 between Interstate 10/290. This area was recognized by the FRA as the location with the right combination of minimal environmental and community impact. This route allows the train to follow existing rights of way, while providing high-speed train passengers with easy, efficient roadway access and connectivity with planned transit improvements.

The current light rail in Houston doesn't go the location of the HSR station.

Yes. OpenStreetMap Netherlands has a Garmin map generator server.

You can load OSM on your Garmin without their software. Or really any software other than a file manager.

Telenav, which uses OSM, does try to get data back. And they abstract that data and OSM's uploaded GPS traces to feed the ImproveOSM JOSM plugin data.

I don't think they're that annoyed.

Just ignore it and use LineageOS. That's what I do (and CyanogenMod before that) and have been Google-free for years.

LineageOS is great as an OS, but it uses the Android ecosystem and to get most mainstream stuff to work you have to install Google's services. In which case you are back to using Google and their privacy "choices". Try using it with just software from Fdroid and you will find that whilst there's great stuff there, whole categories of software are missing.

This keeps getting better though. This is not like the proprietary efforts where all the work from failed companies gets thrown away. The Mer project did some great work and it's still available to start from. You can use LineageOS as a basis to start from. UBports is continuing the work on Ubuntu touch. There are a bunch of privacy respecting services like OpenStreetMap that you can integrate. Every time that somebody tries to build a new solution with copyleft software and open interfaces we move a step further in the direction of having a decent mobile system that respects privacy.

I've found that, for the places where I spend the most time, OSM is amazingly detailed and accurate compared to Google Maps. UW campus for instance, where foot paths are much better mapped in OSM:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/...

https://www.google.com/maps/@4...

Judging the two by the specific criteria laid out by the submitter, OSM appears to have the advantage.

Well there is always Navit which gets its data from Open Street Map. It runs on Android and other OSes but is lacking in the search functionality.

Stop sending them the contents of all your emails

I dumped GMail for Kolab, and am quite satisfied with that. Costs $3 per month for a privacy-friendly webmail based in Switzerland.

block their tracking shit that's all over the web

Using Disconnect, Self-destructing Cookies, and UBlock Origin seems to get rid of most of the crap on the web without breaking anything.

use alternate map services

There's the OpenStreetMap project: check out this online and this for mobile.

Data will be open sourced as well. We already have a HUGE database with Open Street Map: https://www.openstreetmap.org/ if things continue in this way, there will be a LOT of useful data for AI, like other things it will start. of course an AI could also collect data from the Internet too. think Microsoft tried something like with concerning results: http://www.theverge.com/2016/3... Anyway, I think the data one way or another will be there.

Or refer to the much more comprehensive list of OpenStreetMap-using iOS Apps at http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/...

This seems like something ideal for OpenStreetMap.

What's the end-user alternative?

What we really need is to make a concerted effort towards replacing all these centralized web services with distributed equivalents:

• Google Search -> YaCy
• Gmail, Google Drive, etc. -> OwnCloud
• Google Maps -> OpenStreetMap
• Hangouts -> XMPP
• Youtube -> ???
• Facebook -> Diaspora
• Etc...

Disappearing content more than appearing. Right to be forgotten, privacy, etc. It's all good and dandy but boy was Streetview way more usable just a couple years ago for telecom purposes and what not. Maybe a good thing since it's better to support open especially for cartography purposes. Oblig http://www.openstreetmap.org/ link.

Google does not deserve your help! They've got plenty of money to pay some schlub to fix it. Why should you work for a for-profit corporation for free?

If you want to volunteer to help improve maps, contribute to OpenStreetMap instead!

Take this plant for example: https://www.openstreetmap.org/...
Its 1200 meters away from the german border. With the west winds that are common in central europe, you'll get germany nicely polluted starting with the westmost city. Its a big deal for the germans especially now after fukushima.

It isn't the only problematic reactor in a neighbouring country, and it isn't the only reactor built almost exactly at the border.

Now there's no-one else for these sites to get their mapping from

Well, there's OpenStreetMap, which all third-parties should be using since, as TFA proves, using the Google Maps API is not safe.

Indeed, and it's nice of the /. editors to send us all this reminder of the fact that you shouldn't ever build anything that depends on a "service" provided by just one company. They can and sometimes do terminate such services, often without notice, or modify them so what you're using them for no longer works. And they tend to get access to all the info about your stuff, to use as they like.

In particular, any organization that depends on a company's service is run by fools. You might be able to use services like "the Cloud" as a sort of backup, if you don't mind the company seeing the contents of all your files. But you must plan for the day when the company you're using cuts you off. The only real way to do this is to make sure that you have (and control your copies of) all the hardware and software needed to keep it running. If you don't, you can be put out of business at any time, with little or no warning.

Personally, I hope that /. keeps posting the occasional stories along this line. It's clear that a lot of people don't understand it. Reminding people of such pitfalls is a public service, and it's useful to have such stories publicised when they happen. (And maybe this will get a few more people involved with openstreetmap. They could use a few more features. ;-)

Now there's no-one else for these sites to get their mapping from

Well, there's OpenStreetMap, which all third-parties should be using since, as TFA proves, using the Google Maps API is not safe.

No, it's not. Regiolith is regolith from Reggio.

They keep boning the interface for maps, someone could seriously make a buck just skinning it and giving easy access to the offline caching feature and so on.

Try this: http://openstreetmap.org/

Separated bike lanes ("cycletracks" is the buzzword here) are great.

Separated bike lanes are a total nightmare. On a major arterial route where there is no more than one junction every 3+ miles then they're great for the very small proportion of cyclists who are doing 50+ mile rides but in towns they're a disaster. (The vast majority of cyclists don't make journeys where there are no turnings for three miles - they're going from A-B because it's just about walkable but cycling is less effort and faster)

For motorists they're a nightmare - turning left for me (right for the US) you're going to be negotiating a gap through a barrier across the bike lane - possibly with two way cyclists to look out for. As a cyclist they're lethal - it's hard enough getting drivers to see a bicycle in front of them - it's a guaranteed certaintly that they won't see you if you're in a separate segregated lane - so they'll overtake and then hook you or turn across you without a moments thought.

Unfortuately, I can no longer get google maps to work at all but try looking at streetview for Tavistock Place in Bloomsbury, Central London
http://www.openstreetmap.org/#...

Try cycling along there - where pedestrians will step out in front of you or pushchairs will be pushed out in front of you and you have nowhere to go. Where people take great pleasure in smashing glass in the cycle lane because they hate cyclists and you can't go around it.

In my 10 years of commuting from N1 to EC2A, every time a new cycle lane got "designed" on my route I had to find a new route.

Some cycle lanes are good, a very, very few. The vast majority make the roads more dangerous for cyclists than no lane.

There's a "cycle superhighway" near Whitechapel. I'd never used it - but I'd heard of it by reputation - by the number of deaths to cyclists since it had been built. And the first time I used it I had to make two sudden stops for cars making reckless manoeuvres. The "cycle superhighway" makes it more dangerous - for one thing it keeps a space (mostly) clear of cars - so when someone wants to turn left (right in the US) they can pull out of the queue and nip along the "cycle superhighway" for a dozen feet before their turn. Of course, they do this at the last minute without warning and with a burst of speed and acceleration. A bit of scratched paint and another dead cyclist.

In cities (London), mix cars and bikes together. The average speed of the cars is hardly different to the average speed of cyclists. We've just had a guy gaoled for leading the police on a ten mile (car) chase across London (starting in Farringdon) and despite ignoring signals, driving along pavements, knocking cyclists off their bikes (you can google for the video of some of his driving if you're interested) it took him 40 minutes to do those 10 miles.

Give cyclists an extended green phase at junctions - allow them to get away first - to avoid the pinch at the other side of the junction - and it will also make it easier for pedestrians to finish crossing. Allow cyclists to turn left (right for the US) on red lights but don't think building segregated facilities, or magic paint on the road, will make life safer or easier for anyone.

Vespucci seems like the best option besides osmand. http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... https://youtu.be/FnU-b6EZ_sE?t...

I know that many people use Vespucci on Android http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... for mapping. I personally worked a lot with the OsmPad http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... for collecting addresses during on the ground survey.

I work with many computer maps. The OSM is one of the best, if not the best.

I know that many people use Vespucci on Android http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... for mapping. I personally worked a lot with the OsmPad http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... for collecting addresses during on the ground survey.

I work with many computer maps. The OSM is one of the best, if not the best.

Have you looked here?

They should just support and contribute to OpenStreetMap. The world does not need yet another proprietary map system, and Uber needs to focus on their core business rather than getting side tracked into a lot of silly vertical integration.

It is worth mentioning the efforts of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team: http://hot.openstreetmap.org/u.... They don't pretend to solve the whole crisis, but they do try to make navigation in the area a little easier by providing accurate and recent mapping information. At least in earlier crises, the effort was appreciated by the people on the ground: http://www.redcross.org/news/a....

Well yeah it's a wiki approach, so you can always fix problems yourself. This is always true although there's a bit of learning curve.

An easier thing is to simply report a problem with the data. There's a neat feature on OpenStreetMap.org called "notes" to let you do this. Read about it here http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... Maybe some active OpenStreetmap community folks will spot this and resolve the problem.

An even easier thing is ...while grumbling about useless data "where I live" ...you might actually mention where you live, so that somebody here might pass on the information or tackle the problem. Where are these out-of-date bus stops?

OpenStreetMap is a not-for-profit collaborative project to create a free and open map of the world. If you're going to grumble about it, at least do so in a vaguely useful way.

After 16 years of lurking I've finally created an id :-) I'm the primary author of Osmosis. The parent mentioned that there are no standalone java libraries available. This isn't strictly true. Osmosis exposes a command line interface and this is how most people use it, however it is built as a set of libraries that can be included as required in other Java applications. These libraries are all published to Maven Central. http://search.maven.org/#searc... Osmosis documentation is available on the Open Street Map wiki. http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/...

wouldn't those place properties be usually grouped by a relation like this one ?
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/...

For a project I'm working on, I started to play around with the OpenStreetMap data as a source for locations (from a guy who's never used GIS info systems), so I think I'd be a good insight into getting started with using this great resource.

Notes:
- I develop in Java mostly, but I have a generally well rounded skill set.

Firstly, I had to make the jump to Postgress and PostGIS, which are annoying to setup if you're not familiar with them. I had a MySQL instance running, but for the life of me, I couldn't get osmosis to import before getting the setup just right, which unfortunately wasnt' as simple and stright forward as I'd have liked to see in any docs. So after finally banging PostGIS over the head enough to accept the import, I was hit with a huge knowledge gap on how to actually access spatial and hstore based data. Admittedly, once you get the handle of them, the SQL access the data is quite expressive and powerful.

For DB imports, I used Osmosis for data import. I couldn't find any stand-alone Java based libaries for actually using the DB data which would help a lot (maybe I'll end up writing an open source one if it doesn't already exist). So, I basically dropped down to writing PostGIS based SQL queries, which is really quite expressive and well structured when the data is good (depends on the world region, mostly good for North America from what I found so far).

Secondly, there was the OpenStreetMap data itself. As someone who primarily wants to work on geographic barriers and political boundaries, there's a big disconnect between the polygons of the system and the political ones. Generally, there's always a node (think of a pin on a map) to represent a proper place name (New york city for instance) and a polygon that encompass what New York's political boundaries are, but quite often there won't be explicit ties between the two, so you're left with bridging the two yourself constructing queries for where nodes are within city / state / country / etc.. Anyways, thats as far as I've gotten so far, so good luck!

Some links that helped me:
http://www.postgresql.org/docs...
http://postgis.net/docs/manual...
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/... (Make sure to read carefully, becase its rather unforgiving and terse about bad environment setups)

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

Getting better every day. Used in several popular offline GPSes like Navmii already. Only a matter of time before it either takes over or at least drastically depresses prices.

Those things they plan to introduce -- web identifiers -- already exist:
http://www.openstreetmap.org/w...

Before the fusion experts get at it, you need the diving experts to go here to find it.