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Why OpenStreetMap Should Be a Priority for the Open Source Community (linuxjournal.com)
"Despite its low profile, OpenStreetMap is arguably one of the most important projects for the future of free software," argues Glyn Moody, author of Rebel Code: Linux And The Open Source Revolution, in a new Linux Journal article shared by long-time Slashdot reader carlie:
The rise of mobile phones as the primary computing device for billions of people, especially in developing economies, lends a new importance to location and movement. Many internet services now offer additional features based on where users are, where they are going and their relative position to other members of social networks. Self-driving cars and drones are two rapidly evolving hardware areas where accurate geographical information is crucial. All of those things depend upon a map in critical ways, and they require large, detailed datasets. OpenStreetMap is the only truly global open alternative to better-known, and much better-funded geodata holdings, such as Google Maps.
The current dominance of the latter is a serious problem for free software -- and freedom itself. The data that lies behind Google Maps is proprietary. Thus, any open-source program that uses Google Maps or other commercial mapping services is effectively including proprietary elements in its code. For purists, that is unacceptable in itself. But even for those with a more pragmatic viewpoint, it means that open source is dependent on a company for data that can be restricted or withdrawn at any moment....
Although undoubtedly difficult, creating high-quality map-based services is a challenge that must be tackled by the Open Source community if it wants to remain relevant in a world dominated by mobile computing. The bad news is that at the moment, millions of people are happily sending crucial geodata to proprietary services like Waze, as well as providing free bug-fixes for Google Maps. Far better if they could be working with equal enthusiasm and enjoyment on open projects, since the resulting datasets would be freely available to all, not turned into corporate property. The good news is that OpenStreetMap provides exactly the right foundation for creating those open map-based services, which is why supporting it must become a priority for the Open Source world.
The current dominance of the latter is a serious problem for free software -- and freedom itself. The data that lies behind Google Maps is proprietary. Thus, any open-source program that uses Google Maps or other commercial mapping services is effectively including proprietary elements in its code. For purists, that is unacceptable in itself. But even for those with a more pragmatic viewpoint, it means that open source is dependent on a company for data that can be restricted or withdrawn at any moment....
Although undoubtedly difficult, creating high-quality map-based services is a challenge that must be tackled by the Open Source community if it wants to remain relevant in a world dominated by mobile computing. The bad news is that at the moment, millions of people are happily sending crucial geodata to proprietary services like Waze, as well as providing free bug-fixes for Google Maps. Far better if they could be working with equal enthusiasm and enjoyment on open projects, since the resulting datasets would be freely available to all, not turned into corporate property. The good news is that OpenStreetMap provides exactly the right foundation for creating those open map-based services, which is why supporting it must become a priority for the Open Source world.
> might very well object to OpenStreetMap because of the non-GPL licensing terms used by the project.
This doesn't make sense to me for two reasons. It seems to conflate open source with GPL, and also the OpenStreetMap software *is* GPL licensed.
Open source does not mean GPL. I'm fact, the people who write and promote the GPL will tell you they support Free Software, NOT open source. They'll gladly explain the difference to you. So open source doesn't mean GPL - in fact, not only can something be open source with being GPL, the two philosophies have some fundamental differences.
Also, the primary software for open street map IS GPL, so I'm not sure why you'd say "no-GPL license". The GPL is of course a software license. The OSM project put the same terms the GPL uses into a database license. It says basically the same thing the GPL says- if you distribute it, whoever you distribute it to gets the same rights you have. That doesn't change if you make some modifications before distributing it - your modified copy is still open license.
I think there are multiple roles for OpenStreetMap to play, but one that came to my attention was mapping areas where Google, etc. haven't gone in order to help get food and power to people after a disaster.
I spent (too little) time voluntarily mapping out areas of Puerto Rico, through a well-coordinated effort to analyze and review satellite and aerial photos of less densely populated areas. This type of crowdsourcing is pretty cool...
One of the sites to visit: Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team
OpenStreetMap should think about ways to do something similar. Open source street view pods, photos captures by drones, dashcam footage processing... Anything to automate the process.
There is Mapillary which can process standard images, spherical images and dashcam recordings as well as OpenStreetCam. They intergrate with OpenStreetMap.
"Focusing on users' needs" is not what the OSM Foundation does. OSM simply hosts map data in a database. That's it. Their only software is an API into that database, plus a web viewer and a couple of web-based map editors.
OSM does not make a mobile app, or routing software, or host a traffic conditions database. They didn't even write the rendering libraries that turn the map data into the image tiles you see on their own site! They use a renderer called mapnik. All those tools that exist today were built by independent third parties.Some are open source, while others are commercial.
The field is wide open for a Waze-like company to come along and use the OSM data as their map source. A couple have even been tried; I understand there's a fairly popular one in use in Germany.
John