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Open US GPS Data?
tobiasly writes "I read an article today about a map error on the popular Garmin GPS devices which often leads to truckers in a particular town becoming trapped. From my own experience, every electronic map I've ever seen (Google, Mapquest, my Mio GPS) has the layout of my neighborhood completely and frustratingly wrong. A quick search turned up only one open-source mapping project, but it's for New Zealand only. Why are there no comparable projects in the U.S. or elsewhere? Obviously such a project would need a good peer-review/moderation/trust system but I'd gladly put in the time necessary to drive around town with my GPS in "tracking" mode, then upload, tag, and verify my local data. Has anyone with more technical knowledge in maps and auto-routing looked more into this? Are there technical limitations to such a project? Should the government subsidize a project to create open, free, up-to-date electronic maps? Surely there is a public benefit available from such a project."
Only turrurists would have a use for maps, to locate large masses of population to attack. Are you a turrurist? Are you planning to fly a plane into my home? I don't want you havin' no access to no accurate maps.
Sadly, that's precisely the motivation for such a project to NOT exist. We, as a country, have not lost, but the majority, afraid of terrorism to the point of giving up freedoms and rights that just make sense to hold on to, has lost. Sometimes it's hard to be on the winning side.
Swinging back on topic here, I would love to see such a project come into existence. It might just convince me to buy a GPS and contribute something more useful than the drivel I get modded up for on Slashdot.
APK quotes people (including myself) without context and should not be trusted. Just thought you should know.
The GPS data is lousy to protect us from terrorism, of course. Some of us may even recall when the GPS data in the US was intentionally only accurate to about a block or so. The statement from the GPS providers was the same then - we didn't want terrorists to have good information on where anything in particular was in our country.
As long as the "global war on terror" is going on, we'll probably continue to see only semi-useful data from the GPS satellites.
In other words, forever.
Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.