Monthly Archives: May 2010

Icons for data browser pages

Dan Karran http://twitter.com/dankarran notes an improvement in OSM.

I posted a while back about some tinkering I’d been doing
with the OpenStreetMap data browser pages, adding icons to nodes and
ways when they’re shown in a list. I’m happy to see that TomH has now
pushed those changes live.

Nice one, Dan!

See more of what Dan had to say in his post
http://www.openstreetmap.org/user/dankarran/diary/10695

OpenStreetBugs

There are bugs everywhere. There are even some errors in OpenStreetMap
data. OpenStreetBugs is a site that allow folks to quickly report a
problem with or question about specific OSM data.
http://openstreetbugs.schokokeks.org/ Have a look at OpenStreetBugs
near you and help clear some of the existing bugs by helping the
reporter with a tagging problem, or visiting the site for a quick
survey and re-tagging.

Geo tshirts – where are they now?

I’m clearing out the geo tshirts, and took a goodbye photo:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stevecoast/4608208984/

I’ve tagged the best I can. A lot of water under the bridge.

this week in maps episode 2

It’s up

http://thisweekinmaps.com/episode-2-peters-birthday

including some OSM license discussion!

State of the Map 2010 – Concert contest

The upcoming State of the Map conference, 2010 edition is going to be
loaded with great presentations, awesome workshops and more Mappy
Goodness than you can shake a stick at. But it will also be a lot of
fun. Some of the fun will be the ad-hoc enjoyment of a thoughtful
cartography conversation among peers. Some of the fun will be
learning about and enjoying the culture and hospitality of our hosts
in Girona, Spain. And some of the fun will be singing songs about
maps at the top of our lungs.

The SotM 2010 organizing committee sends us the following contest challenge:

Do you remember the 2008 Limerick Limerick contest?

And the 2009 Amsterdam Haikus?

Then you should be asking yourself “What kind of poetry will we have
to master this SotM10?”. Unfortunately for you, this year there won’t
be a poetry contest.

This time we’ll be doing something different. As the State of the Map
2010 venue is actually a concert hall, we’ll host the first official
OpenStreetMap Concert Contest.

The rules are simple:

* Make a song, or change the lyrics of an existing song. The song
must be about OSM, maps, GPS, GIS software, or cartography.
* You may assemble a band to play the song together (or play solo).
* You may use the concert hall A/V facilities (amplifiers, audio
inputs, video playback, etc). Please do talk with the SotM10
organising committee if you plan to.
* You will be required to play the song during SotM10.

Get the full details and sign up for a spot on stage:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/State_Of_The_Map_2010/Concert_Contest

Concert photo by Foxtongue http://www.flickr.com/photos/foxtongue/ is
licensed CCBY http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

New users have to sign up to the ODbL

After several thousand man years of effort by the License Working Group and a bit of help by TomH, the new contributor terms and license are up and to be agreed to by new users.

Signing up here in OSM:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/new

will take you here:

https://www.openstreetmap.org/user/terms

where essentially you are signing up to the existing CCBYSA plus the ODbL (Open Database License).

This is one step along the long path to moving to the ODbL. For all your fun ODbL needs, check out the wiki page:

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/ODbL

Why is this step being taken? Basically, it bounds the problem of moving to a license which actually protects and clarifies the uses of OSMs data. Otherwise, the number of people who have to move grows every day. From now on, it is a bounded problem of only the users before today. Several further steps will need to be taken to actually move to the ODbL.

I’d like to thank all those involved in the ODbL and the LWG for all their hard work over the last two or so years in making this small step happen.

And, remember, if you have any concerns or objections then they’ve likely already to have been discussed at the above wiki page(s), or you’re welcome to be involved with the change process by joining the legal mailing list and/or joining the LWG calls.

Image of the Week: Rebooting European Air Travel

A frame from itoWorld’s visualisation of flights after the volcano video.

See the entire video:
[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/11205494 w=500&h=283]

This is a Featured image, which means that it has been identified as
one of the best examples of OpenStreetMap mapping, or that it provides
a useful illustration of the OpenStreetMap project.

If you know another image of similar quality, you can nominate it on
Featured image proposals.
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Featured_image_proposals

Project of the week, 09 May 2010 – “So far away from me”

Sometimes mapping is a matter of pride. We map our hometown because we
want to share our pride in our home. We want to help our neighbors
with the best map possible.

Sometimes mapping is a matter of history. We map the places we lived,
or went to school, because mapping those places makes them real.

Sometimes mapping is a matter of courtesy. We map the nice local
restaurant or family business because they deserve to be on the map
and people running small businesses don’t always have time for
mapping.

This Project of the Week is about mapping as adventure. We’re going to
learn about, and map, Karachi, Pakistan.
Karachi, Pakistan

Project of the Week, 09 May 2010

Mapping Karachi seems like an adventure to those who live so far away.
The aerial imagery from Yahoo! is good, and the existing map of
Karachi has some empty spots. So it is possible to make great
improvements even when what we can map from the air is limited.

Find out more about mapping Karachi, here
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Project_of_the_week/2010/May_09

Binocular photo by eflon
http://www.flickr.com/photos/eflon/
licensed ccby http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en_CA

New and returning sponsors for State of the Map

The State of the Map team have been busy this year. They face the
task of meeting or exceeding the expectations set by the event in
Amsterdam last year, armed only with their undying enthusiasm and
large pots of coffee. We’ll be able to thank those volunteer
organizers in person in Girona, as long as you have your ticket.

Get your State of the Map 2010 ticket now.
http://stateofthemap.org/register-now/

It is wonderful to see the growing list of sponsors who show their
enthusiasm for OpenStreetMap by making a financial contribution to
State of the Map. You’ll see that this list already includes some of
our familiar friends from previous years. And you’ll see that there
are some new sponsors too. welcome back, returning sponsors! Be sure
to thank all of the sponsors when you see them in Girona, and consider
their goods and services as well.