Switch to !organicmaps@sopuli.xyz
You will thank me later!
this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2025
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I switched recently, and it is really good. It doesn't have public transport yet (for the most part), and I rarely drive, but for walking, hiking and biking it is very nice. OpenStreetMap is shockingly well developed, I had no idea this existed. It has almost all the local businesses in my area, really did not expect that. It doesn't have restaurant reviews and stuff though.
My area was missing a bunch of businesses, so I added them. It's really easy, so definitely consider helping fix stuff as you notice it. I usually take the time to add metadata like phone number, hours, and website, because sometimes that's useful.
@sugar_in_your_tea @Habarug there's an app called StreetComplete which gameifies this as well. Gets a bit addictive if you're not careful
Thank god it doesn’t… fuck that. Most times it’s bs anyway.
Nah disagree, I often check google maps just for reviews if I want to find it try a new restaurant. But I can imagine how difficult that would to implement in oss and most importantly, moderating it would be near impossible.
- StreetComplete It makes editing OSM addictive and competitive!
I love it though someone can easily make out where I live and work 🤦🏼
Yes, maybe use it with a pseudonym account, with several accounts or only when on holidays (on hikes for example, its like geocaching!).
Apple claimed Apple Maps was created because Apple wanted to protect its users from Google Maps' data hoarding. We assume Apple is already hoarding data but now to be able to compete with other advertisement platforms Apple, would have to share that data with advertisers.
One step forward, two steps back.
Apple actually integrates several “anti tracking” technologies into their maps, so it IS an improvement in theory.
Looks like we are both skeptical about those technologies. "All you have to do is turn off locations... on a maps app... that's privacy!"
Well apparently they ask for directions to your destination and 5 random others so that it’s not trackable server side.
I haven’t investigated myself and that’s not entirely fool proof, but it’s leagues better than Google for privacy.
It is. That's actually really cool.
But if they do start including ads, why would advertisers use a less effective and accurate platform than Google Maps?
Either they change or their ad placements are cheaper.
If they aren't maximizing profits then why put ads at all? It's not like they are losing profits.
Why put ads on a new venue that may reach users that don’t use Google maps?
Even if that ad is less effective, it’s still going to have some effectiveness
They still collect data albeit less from Google Maps. But Organic Maps doesn’t collect any data.
I’m an avid user of OSM and OsmAnd, I’m with you there
I'm not happy about ads, but ads aren't inherently anti-privacy. If they are not targeted at you based on tracking data then I don't see any conflict with privacy. for example, mentioned in the article:
For example, it reportedly considered charging for prioritization of search results in the app. It's also plausible that it could sell the ability to make specific locations on the map more prominent to viewers.
that would suck but it's not a privacy issue.
apple is really shitting themselves. wtf.
Just trying to rake some of thst Google cash
they must see the writing on the wall for reduced hardware sales.
Well, this thing isn’t going to just enshitify itself, now is it.
There was a time when Apple was able to infuse some level of class into its products relative to competitors. I suppose they were able to do that because their growth was driven by exciting products. With their now listless and moribund product strategy, they have to cash in the equity they built up in customer experience to fund shareholder value.
Moribund (adjective)
Meaning: Dying or declining.
TIL a new word.
Apple... Monetisation... Aren't they already making like a billion per day?
Greedy fuckers.
This article is from April 2024. So, where are the ads?
I will post a new link, I did not notice the date of the article.
Edit: I changed the link.
So I don’t actually mind this.
And odds are good you won’t notice them.
They’ll just be carefully highlighted locations when you’re looking at a larger map, so the random buildings that get labeled in the more zoomed out views are chosen carefully.
It gets better, when you search for “restaurants near me” the order won’t be organic but “pay to win”
So “restaurant chain #5” will be at the top even if you hate their food.
Not really awful as far as advertising goes.
You understand why advertising when it isn't clearly labeled as such is worse, right?
Yes, that’s not great, so ideally there’s an asterisk showing this…
But if you look at the playing field as out exists today in advertising….
It’s not really useable to change political beliefs or support authoritarianism.
It’s not tracking you explicitly.
It’s not profiling you.
It’s relevant to what you’re already looking for
There aren’t many scams you can run with it (except the locksmith scam)
Soooooo, if I have to accept advertising, this feels on the tamer end.
But I agree, it should be upfront.
Apple do have a history of putting “Ad” next to anything that is an advertisement so hopefully they continue with that design pattern.
and it's common practice on other services like Yelp with sponsored results.
When has a company ever shown itself to show restraint once it heads down the monetization train? And isn't Apple's premium price point that it isn't ad infested like Android or Microsoft?
You’re not wrong, but I’d really like to pretend that you are.
I might have more faith in them if they weren't a publicly traded company always having the expectation of exponential growth.
That is EXACTLY the issue.
Yeah they won at capitalism. But it's so crazy that because of stock price expectations even they won't ever come to the finish line. It's never good enough no matter how much they make. The ceiling just keeps going up and up and up.
It will be annoying when you search for “Wings” and a restaurant shows up which is 30 miles away because it’s being promoted and is probably just a bar which sells wings and not a wings only place like Wingstop. This is how the App Store search works and that’s why I refuse to go to the app to search anything. I don’t know how you can say these types of search results are good for anyone. The top app/ search result is completely irrelevant and takes up space. It’s only beneficial for Apple.
Yep, I can agree with that. Not ideal
Downvoted for having an opinion. Rip in peace
Yeah people like to downvote things that they don’t agree with even if it’s a decent point.
Oh well, at least I don’t base my self-worth on internet points. 😝
I’m not sure you’re being downvoted for people not agreeing, per se.
I think you’re being downvoted for coming across as a little misguided on your theory.
And odds are good you won’t notice them
Doesn’t this defeat the purpose of advertisers advertising if people ain’t going to notice them.
Disclaimer: I use an iPhone and Apple Maps.
It’s time for Tim Apple to retire.
Any replacement is subject to the priorities of Apple's major shareholders and its board. Those push for further monetization of Apple products and services.
Not in my experience. Apple products and services are driven by the yay or nay of the CEO. The employees often push back on things as well if they have enough clout.
If we look at other companies that have been in Apple's position, this seems to be a temporary state of affairs even if it lasts for a while. If the expectation is for profit to grow year over year (it is), as growth of market share stalls because you've already expanded as much as you could, you'd get pressed to find profits by exploiting existing revenue streams. That's the point when employee opposition stops working. Think of the recent events when the Google Search VP opposed the Ad VP's requests to make search worse in order to improve ads revenue. The Ad VP got appointed to lead search and the previous search VP got moved to a dark corner somewhere. Once you run out of profit growth in the existing revenue streams, they'd ask you to find profit growth by reducing labor cost. We also saw that happening in various companies over the last little while.
If Apple was a private corporation owned by some people who aren't looking for ever increasing profits, I'd believe they might not follow this pattern. But they aren't.
That's just my guess and the reasons behind it. Could turn out that you're right and Apple is an exception to the rule. I mean, I hope it does but I'm not optimistic.