I started because I needed a customizable online map for a website and no map out there was really complete where I needed. So instead of waiting for commercial services, I started to log ways using GPS and add them to OSM.
I already did a small modification on our street we live in, because it was not a one-way street anymore. But we also have a vacation home on a vineyard where the road does not even exist and I figured if I can log gps coordinations while going up to the gate then maybe I can use those coordinates to import them as a way in OpenStreetMap to be precise. Or, since it exists on google maps, maybe getting coordination data from there and use that to create the way. Is something like this possible?
You have to use data you created yourself. It is not allowed to use proprietary data from Google. If you use Android, then the Vespucci app may help you. Allows to log the way and then directly add it.
The simplest way is to trace it on the starllite imagery available on the editor built-in to osm.org. If it’s not visible there, here is the wiki’s list of Android apps that can record GPS tracks, and it’s not hard to find the other pages on the wiki about getting those off your phone and into the map. Some of those apps can probably do that bit for you, I’ve just never tried
I only used Windows because I wanted to play video games. My family computer has always been an Ubuntu machine. Since starting university I played less games and I heard that compatibility has gotten much better since the last time I tried to play video games. I decided to Dualboot for a while and decided to fully switch after using the mess that windows 11 was when it was newly released
I think my first experience was around 1993 or 1994. I downloaded the 3.5" disks at the university and then uploaded onto my 386. No GUI, all command prompt. :).
Right around that time, too, I found some network cards and co-axial cables and 3-4 of us in the house put the cards in our computers and could see each other’s computer. Couldn’t do much else though. Hahahaha.
Gonna come out with a controvertial take here, but I am actually fine with anonymised usage stats/telemetry if they are solely designed to improve the product, and as long as there is an opt-out. Many people are get furious about telemetry in firefox or distros, but when i ask what their precise issue is with it, can give no answer.
Sending these stats is also a contribution to the projects that help improve software.
I think a lot of the arguing people are doing here is about the usefulness of opt-in vs opt-out. And personally I tend to agree with the side of the opt-out group; telemetry that users opt-in to is just less useful overall for figuring the average needs of your users. Opt-in is way too self-selecting and shows you very little about what actually needs to be worked on for everyone. However, if the telemetry is not privacy-respecting then opt-out is not a good thing at all. But I think I trust the endless OS system that fedora is trying to use.
I would say opt-out is fine as long as the option is presented to the user early on in the UX. Like for example during installation. If it’s opt-out but the option to do so is hidden then that’s not good.
Many people are get furious about telemetry in firefox or distros, but when i ask what their precise issue is with it, can give no answer.
They already gave you their answer. They don't think collecting data without very deliberate opt in is acceptable. There is no need for anything more precise than that. It's a perfectly complete answer on its own.
Personally, i see metric/telemetry collection like democracy; you are perfectly entitled to not participate, but if you opt out you also forfeit your right to complain about bugs or missing features.
I work on a companion app for a piece of very expensive hardware where our users are trained on how to report problems, and I’d still have 1 stack trace from our telemetry system than 1000 user reports. Our privacy policy explicitly states that we collect some information for the purpose of identifying and fixing issues, and for product development, and that we won’t sell or share that data. We operate in the EU, so the amount of money we could get from a data broker selling that information would be a rounding error on the fines we’d see if we did.
Absolutely read the privacy policy and call out weak policies, but “metrics” and “telemetry” are not synonyms for “spying”
Because constantly, throughout the entirety of the corporate controlled internet era we are now in, and I mean constantly as in it is hard to find an exception, anonymous data collection has at some point in the future turned into non-anonymous data collection to sell to data brokers.
Hell, there are a staggering.number of services being caught with ignoring opt-out preferences even and non-anonymously tracking users via identification numbers.
The problem I have with it is that eventually, every single closed source “anonymous” consumer telemetry will eventually become de-anonymized and almost always sold. If any capitalist company sees a cash cow that they aren’t milking, shareholders or rich owners will demand that it be milked.
I would struggle to find a case where it hasn’t happened with any popular software
I regularly do edits in my city. Its way better than google maps. Especially when you're travelling and want to visit the less tourist crowded parts of whereever you are.
Windows has just become worse and worse over the years. I was building a new PC and realized I wasn’t going to give MS my money for a terrible OS when Linux was free.
I love the idea of OSM, been trying to use MagicEarth on iPhone which leverages OSM, but I run into similar issues that your describe. I’ll be honest tho, I never even thought of trying to contribute, may look into it as a little hobby in my free time.
IIRC Kubuntu/Ubuntu and DSL in 2003-5ish, and IIRC programs were compiled on the local machine back then.
I mostly sticked with Windows cause most of the 3D packages are on Windows (I’m a 3D generalist). Was exposed to centos variants while working in the industry.
After covid, I had a lot of time to get back onto GNU Linux.
Installed an early version of Slackware on a 386 in the 90’s. Went through a couple it jobs so I ran windows for a bit until 2002. I had bought a nice laptop and it came with windows xp. Xp was so bad after windows 2000 that I had to find something else. Played with redhat and a couple other dostros then went back to Slackware and have been on it ever since.
It’s funny you mention xp being so bad, I’ve always remembered it as the one people loved. But I was using MacOs 9 in the school computer lab while xp was getting reamed for its ui and early security issues so.
I started running Windows 2000 in 1999 with a Technet Beta. It was fast, stable, reliable. Bought the new laptop with XP and it would hang from resume often. Then plugging in USB devices would stop being recognized and I had to clear duplicate entries out of the registry. Then my work desktop couldn’t open a second Vmware guest without swapping where it could run four guests under windows 2000. I burned one of my MS support calls asking them why it wasn’t reading the swappiness reg key only to be told they drop support for that so XP would have plenty of free ram but start swapping as soon as I tried opening the second vmware guest. I had to stick in another hdd and dedicate it to swap to get a second vmware guest just to run. But then there was the huge security hole thinly disguised as a web browser called internet explorer. Despite me running as a non-admin, file and registry permissions locked down, unnecessary services disabled, all the typical desktop security stuff just a simple mis-typing www.gogle.com into IE would result in popups and a malware infection. The second time I got infected bad enough to require a reinstall I setup a dual boot of redhat and eventually just quit using windows. Supposedly they fixed some of those issues with later service packs for XP but windows 2000 beta was faster, more secure and more stable than XP. It was just a big turd.
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