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Somewhat offtopic, but (almost) all of these websites use Google Maps. This means they probably are going to get large bills with this extra HN traffic flood. :
by lukeqsee 8y ago
Somewhat offtopic, but (almost) all of these websites use Google Maps. This means they probably are going to get large bills with this extra HN traffic flood. :(
Since these are non-commerical tools, my company (in my bio) would be happy to provide free maps for these websites—as would many other OpenStreetMap-based providers.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoThis is very kind of you! Thank you for supporting an open web!
- lukeqsee 8y agoOur company wouldn't be possible without the many, many others that built the dataset and keep it fresh. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. The least we can do is help them find a little fresh fruit. ;)
- solipsism 8y agoLet's not pretend that this is from the bottom of their hearts. This is a business strategy to increase penetration. Nothing wrong with it except the duplicitousness.
- kevin_thibedeau 8y agosymbiosis is not duplicitous.
- solipsism 8y agoWe would all be irritated if Facebook or Google tried to pretend giving its products away was any kind of charity.
- anoncoward111 8y agoAnyone who wants to load in a list of coordinates manually into a maps website is more than welcome to do so. That's what I did.
- toomuchtodo 8y agoProfit is like oxygen; necessary for survival, but not the point of living.
- xvedejas 8y agoIf people are doing good things, I don't much care whether it's originated from a _good heart_ or not. I'm totally satisfied with the idea that someone is motivated to do good by outside factors and is willing to take such an opportunity. It makes me much more optimistic about the course of humanity.
- barbegal 8y agoWhatever mapping service you use, more traffic means more cost and ultimately someone has to pay. Just like your company, Google Maps offers non-profits a subsidised service [1]. [1] https://support.google.com/nonprofits/answer/3367237?hl=en-GB https://support.google.com/nonprofits/answer/3367237?hl=en-G...
- StudentStuff 8y agoSure, but rendering tiles isn't anywhere near as costly as what Google charges. Google is using their mindshare as having the best maps to help them charge high rates for baseline service. On that note, Google Maps's quality seems to be significantly dropping. They're missing most of the 300k addresses that have been renumbered in the past decade in Kitsap County (just across the water from Seattle), and when I go much outside Seattle proper, their maps are spotty compared to OpenStreetMaps.
- clubm8 8y ago> Google Maps's quality seems to be significantly dropping. They're missing most of the 300k addresses that have been renumbered in the past decade in Kitsap County (just across the water from Seattle), and when I go much outside Seattle proper, their maps are spotty compared to OpenStreetMaps. Maybe because they like to wait and see if they can snarf up open source map data rather than generate it themselves :)
- StudentStuff 8y agoThe county literally offers this data for free in a weekly dump, as do most counties in the US. OpenStreetMaps is the only group to download those weekly dumps, every couple years one of large database providers that Google & Apple buy from will download it. But that right there is why they're both so far behind, with Google having the advantage of nagging their smartphone users to make their maps less shitty (which is why they're good in dense urban areas).
- vectorEQ 8y agothat's very kind gesture :) this idea is very good but it would be a shame if it cost people too much!