OpenSignal Nets $4M to Build Out Its Crowdsourced Mobile Sensor Data Maps

techcrunch.com

25 points·exap··8 comments

Nice! Hopefully they will use this to become more open. Right now all you get is a map and some small API stuff. No free/open licenses anywhere.

Indeed, their lack of openness is frustrating. I recently wrote[1] about the importance of open source code, and open data too, specifically in terms of crowdsourcing projects for scientific advancement. It'd be great if more of these projects were open, especially the ones with "open" in their name.

[1] http://www.jacobsheehy.com/2014/02/open-source-software-is-i...

(Full disclosure: I run an open project, PressureNet, that WeatherSignal competes with in the crowdsourced weather data space)

WeatherSignal is completely open for non-commercial use, and our data is actually being used by many of the same researchers as PressureNet!

And we're working on making our data more open - with our new resources we'll have more time to work on improve the data we make available via both our website and API.

Non-commercial restrictions and "completely open" are firmly at odds with each other.

i would like to know more since i don't see that way.

all my writings, drawings and 3d designs are share with non-commercial licenses. code is always gpl.

The FreeCulture wiki page on NonCommercial licenses lays out the arguments much better than I could.

http://freedomdefined.org/Licenses/NC

Wow, congrats! I interviewed for a job at OpenSignal, but unfortunately didn't qualify. Really great team though, and so much potential with their datasets. Hoping to see more from them.

Thanks Yosh - really nice of you. I'm sorry it didn't work out differently.

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