Mapquest using OpenStreetMap | Hacker News Reader

Mapquest using OpenStreetMap

open.mapquest.com

39 pointsbhudman15 comments

When I visit that page it tells me "OpenStreetMap powered by mapquest". Shouldn't that kind of be the other way around? I mean, in this case, mapquest is using the maps from Open Street Map, so IMHO, I'd say that OSM is powering Mapquest here.

Not that it matters much.

I do love Open Street Map though, also because it's so easy to contribute. I could very easily improve the map around where I live. One particular street for example has been closed off two years ago and OSM is still the only map that gets it right.

No. OpenStreetMap is data. MapQuest is an engine that displays the data.

Also.. not particularly surprising. MapQuest hired one of OSM's community managers this summer. Good to see collaboration and innovation on top of good data.

The labels are so crazy, how can Elizabeth be shown instead of New York?

The labels are choosen automatically by software. It is a bit of an outstanding issue has to how to make that work correctly with USA cities. The whole data set is a wiki, anyone can edit anything. It's not obvious how to place the labels in an objective manner.

There's some info here about how the US concept of "city" clashes with the UK concept, which was used as the basis of some data naming decisions, and the effect it has on the US map.

http://compton.nu/2010/10/city-labels-in-openstreetmap/

Same for Montreal. All the small towns around are shown much earlier.

There's a good analysis here on what makes Google Maps look better than the competition: http://www.41latitude.com/post/2072504768/google-maps-label-...

This could be really useful. My university campus for example, is shown in much greater detail on OSM.

The various hiking and biking trails that I use are likewise far better detailed on OSM. They also have better maps of neat stuff like train tracks. Down to individual tracks at trainyards/stations in some cases.

It would be great to have all the biking or hiking trails on the map.

I went mountain biking a few months ago and the maps were hand drawn on a piece of paper. It was embarrassing when I got lost.

If you zoom in far enough the trails are visible. Obviously, if the trail isn't mapped yet it won't show up. Feel free to add the trails that are missing!

You might also consider www.opencyclegmap.org. It takes the same OpenStreetMap data but renders things of interest to cyclists.

Has some serious issues updating tiles. When I zoom in all the way, it's totally hit or miss if I get image or grey gears.

Open... and wrong. It thinks my address in in a city 60 miles away.

The easy interface to map-data editing is quite nice.

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