OpenStreetMap Launches a New Easy To Use HTML5 Editor 53
SWroclawski writes "On the heels of the news that OpenStreetMap is allowing anonymous contributions with its 'note system,' the project has launched a new in-browser editor called iD, which is not only easier to use, but written completely in JavaScript, using the D3 library for rendering.
With all these improvements, OpenStreetMap is gaining popularity and has started a new donation campaign for additional hardware to support all the new contributors."
This replaces a flash based editor (really great news!). The code is, naturally, available (under the WTFPL).
lowering the bar (Score:5, Interesting)
It was not hard to edit before (I mostly used josm), but lowering the bar is probably a good thing.
What I would like to see is better history viewing. on wikipedia it is quick to see if a page has been edited recently and by who. obviously this is a harder problem for a map. clicking history on openstreet map does not show much of use (right in the middle of an inland city i am seeing edits like "Update harbour tags ").
HTML5 (Score:3, Interesting)
Interesting how everything is called HTML5 these days.
This HTML5 Editor, it's using JavaScript and a JavaScript library (D3.js).
I think SVG has been an open standard for years, so, the CSS3 transitions make this an HTML5 Editor then?
Is this at least using a canvas?
Re:lowering the bar (Score:4, Interesting)
My problem and the main reason that I stopped editing OSM is related to this - I used to spend 4-8 hours a week on it.
A lot of my changes would get reversed for some reason, and I had no idea why. A lot of my changes simply vanished.
I suspect some of this is due to people clumsily committing changes they did in JOSM and other off-line editors. Or it's database problems.
A lot of my changes would be reverted to people with different ideas on how to tag things, without comments or corrections.
In the end, seeing a majority of my work vanishing after a few months, I just gave up. (I have the feeling wikipedia is suffering from the same; lot of people rather correcting mistakes than creating content.)
OSM isn't the only one suffering from demotivating "fixes" to the map - Waze is suffering even more, since you get points from poking around everywhere.
((If you feel like commenting that I shouldn't add stuff to the map that suck that much, you're doing the same thing again, demotivating me from commenting on Slashdot. Maybe that's what you want...))
Great! Now for OpenStreetView, please (Score:4, Interesting)
C'mon guys; give us a reference platform, or maybe even kickstart it, and I'll drive around with a device stuck to my car dashboard or bike windscreen.
Hell, I'll even pay you - say - $100 bucks for the device. OK, twist my arm and I'll go to $150. Should pay for a cheapo camera, GPS, a battery and some memory.
But, pretty please, no fucking around with obscure stuff. I'll tell it where it starts, where it stops, and plug it into the 'net once a day, or week.
Maybe if I have time, I'll name the streets, if I know them.
But again please, could you make it EASY.
All the commercial orgs piggybacking off this project should be able to kick in a few bucks for the servers and technology to stitch the raw material together, blur faces & plates, eh? Am I alone?