Google Maps is awesome but it’s not always the most detailed source and it’s not always possible to fix errors. That’s why I sometimes turn to Open Street Map. It can be described as the Wikipedia of Maps: it’s not guaranteed to give you what you need but is totally open to being fixed. Last time I tried it I found it horribly clunky. Since then, a few things have improved:
- The editing interface has improved.
- Bing Maps now supports it with aerial overlays.
- Google’s My Tracks app can generate GPS traces just by walking around.
Google Mapmaker would like users to fill in the blanks on their maps but they don’t cover the UK and — to be honest — I’m not going to get that warm, wiki, fizzy feeling spending time improving proprietorial data.
That’s why I headed out today with the geeky intention of fixing OSM’s woeful representation of the village I grew up in. I anticipated getting a leg stretch whilst I attempted to not look like I was casing the entire village. Very quickly, to my surprise, my Hamiltonian wander was dosing me on novelty and nostalgia instead. I ambled up lanes I’d never had a reason to see before for some reason. Other corners recalled fun times when exploration was the name of the game and we would adopt the spaces where adults hardly ventured.
Tragically, hiding in the trees down the brook with my swiss army knife and walkman, doesn’t seem appropriate anymore. I should probably get into video games.
sixball 