3 ms·

Does this need to be a service? If it's simply repackaging OpenStreetMaps for Garmin GPS devices, wouldn't a downloadable application be better? Edit: Looking

Does this need to be a service? If it's simply repackaging OpenStreetMaps for Garmin GPS devices, wouldn't a downloadable application be better? Edit: Looking at https://www.openmapchest.org/about/ https://www.openmapchest.org/about/ it seems he's just doing what's described at https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mkgmap/help/How_to_create_a_map https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mkgmap/help/How_to_creat...

jeroenhd 5y ago
I don't own a Garmin device, but based on these instructions it does indeed look like this service turns OSM maps into Garmins proprietary format, with pre-compiled maps available. There's probably some manual work going on behind the scenes given the limited storage space available on smart watches, but I agree that releasing the conversion tool would be better. Still, maps take up a huge amount of storage space and a centralised download location for this stuff makes it easier for everyone to just share them over bittorrent. If everyone used the tool, they'd all hit some OSM tile server with some massive requests (sometimes downloading an entire country) every time they'd update the map. You and me could probably use mkgmap to generate our own maps, bbut the majority of smart watch users won't be. There's value to these centralised services in that the end user doesn't need to k ow much more than how to download a file and drag it around in their file manager. You can't really expect the general public to use the command line (anymore).
- anticensor 5y ago
  > If everyone used the tool, they'd all hit some OSM tile server with some massive requests (sometimes downloading an entire country) every time they'd update the map. There are Overpass API servers for that purpose. They lag a few hours behind the main database but they allow larger queries.
  - matkoniecz 5y ago
    Overpass API is not suitable for downloading entire countries. Use https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Planet.osm#Country_and_area_extracts https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Planet.osm#Country_and_a... for that (right now https://download.geofabrik.de/ https://download.geofabrik.de/ is typically the best). See https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Downloading_data https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Downloading_data in general.
- iamtedd 5y ago
  > You can't really expect the general public to use the command line (anymore). Yes, good point. I started reading the linked OSM wiki page, and the more I scrolled, the more I understood why Ben had this service. However the energy he spent on the service, he could've spent on a single, simple, downloadable app, but what do I know. I don't build anything.

jeroenhd 5y ago

I don't own a Garmin device, but based on these instructions it does indeed look like this service turns OSM maps into Garmins proprietary format, with pre-compiled maps available. There's probably some manual work going on behind the scenes given the limited storage space available on smart watches, but I agree that releasing the conversion tool would be better. Still, maps take up a huge amount of storage space and a centralised download location for this stuff makes it easier for everyone to just share them over bittorrent. If everyone used the tool, they'd all hit some OSM tile server with some massive requests (sometimes downloading an entire country) every time they'd update the map. You and me could probably use mkgmap to generate our own maps, bbut the majority of smart watch users won't be. There's value to these centralised services in that the end user doesn't need to k ow much more than how to download a file and drag it around in their file manager. You can't really expect the general public to use the command line (anymore).

anticensor 5y ago
> If everyone used the tool, they'd all hit some OSM tile server with some massive requests (sometimes downloading an entire country) every time they'd update the map. There are Overpass API servers for that purpose. They lag a few hours behind the main database but they allow larger queries.
- matkoniecz 5y ago
  Overpass API is not suitable for downloading entire countries. Use https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Planet.osm#Country_and_area_extracts https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Planet.osm#Country_and_a... for that (right now https://download.geofabrik.de/ https://download.geofabrik.de/ is typically the best). See https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Downloading_data https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Downloading_data in general.
iamtedd 5y ago
> You can't really expect the general public to use the command line (anymore). Yes, good point. I started reading the linked OSM wiki page, and the more I scrolled, the more I understood why Ben had this service. However the energy he spent on the service, he could've spent on a single, simple, downloadable app, but what do I know. I don't build anything.