Linux Foundation Announces an Open Map Project and 'Open Metaverse Foundation' (linuxfoundation.org) 32
The Linux Foundation "sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and lead maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman," according to its page on Wikipedia. And now the Linux Foundation "is pleased to announce the launch of the Overture Maps Foundation," according to their December newsletter.
It's a collaborative effort "to enable current and next-generation map products by creating reliable, easy-to-use, and interoperable open map data as a shared asset that can strengthen mapping services worldwide." The initiative was founded by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom and is open to all communities with a common interest in building open map data. To get involved, please visit overturemaps.org.
And they're also announcing plans to form the Open Metaverse Foundation: In October, we brought top experts from diverse sectors together with leaders from many of the projects across the Linux Foundation to discuss what it will take to transform the emerging concept of the Metaverse from promise to reality.... As the next step in this amazing journey, we welcome the Open Metaverse Foundation (OMF) into the Linux Foundation as another piece of the puzzle. With your help, we can realize the promise of the open Metaverse. Learn more about what's next, join us, and get involved at openmv.org.
The Foundation has also published three new research papers:
It's a collaborative effort "to enable current and next-generation map products by creating reliable, easy-to-use, and interoperable open map data as a shared asset that can strengthen mapping services worldwide." The initiative was founded by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Meta, Microsoft, and TomTom and is open to all communities with a common interest in building open map data. To get involved, please visit overturemaps.org.
And they're also announcing plans to form the Open Metaverse Foundation: In October, we brought top experts from diverse sectors together with leaders from many of the projects across the Linux Foundation to discuss what it will take to transform the emerging concept of the Metaverse from promise to reality.... As the next step in this amazing journey, we welcome the Open Metaverse Foundation (OMF) into the Linux Foundation as another piece of the puzzle. With your help, we can realize the promise of the open Metaverse. Learn more about what's next, join us, and get involved at openmv.org.
The Foundation has also published three new research papers:
The newsletter also points out that through Tuesday the foundation is offering 35% off any of their training courses, certifications, bundles or bootcamps.
Re: (Score:3)
yeah it looks a waste of public and community funds. OSM is a mature project, works very well, got plenty of contributors. Why the need to create something else?
Re:What a load of PHBspeak (Score:4, Informative)
yeah it looks a waste of public and community funds. OSM is a mature project, works very well, got plenty of contributors. Why the need to create something else?
From what I can tell from their very sparse website, this doesn't replace the existing OSM or OSM data. This merely adds stuff on top of it. It provides a set of data formats for storing data that's already in OSM, but in an easier-to-use format for certain uses. (For example, just street data as a single data set.) They also intend to provide code libraries to use the data sets they create from the base OSM data.
So it's not trying to replace OSM or the work already done on OSM, it's trying to complement it with a set of tools and libraries to provide an easier way of using the existing OSM data.
Now the obvious question is "in what way is the existing data hard to use and why do they need an entire project to create new data formats from it?" and I can't answer that. Their website doesn't provide anywhere near enough detail to explain why new data formats and libraries are necessary.
But at the very least this isn't an OSM replacement, it's something being built on top of OSM.
Re: (Score:2)
The reason that Google Maps is so far ahead of everyone else is that they get data from photos using machine vision. That's how they know things like where the front door of a building is, where the pedestrian crossings are etc.
That's the hard part. First you need to capture that data somehow, then you need to use machine vision to process it.
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"Overture is to be complementary to the crowdsourced OpenStreetMap (OSM) project and the foundation encourages members to contribute data directly to OSM.[101]"
looking for the next Big Thing (Score:2)
Over decades it gets tiring, everyone is always looking for the next Big Thing and also everyone has this FOMO effect, if Zuckerberg decided to jump from a wall, would Linux Foundation announce Open Wall Jumping Foundation? Oh, wait, they just did...
OpenMetaverse gives me hope (Score:3)
One of the most frustrating things with Meta and their development of a closed ecosystem with regards to a meta-verse is that they were going to control all points of access. An open standard is best for moving forward and allowing for some many to interchange. The more public the standards are, the much more likely we are to see development on a meta-verse.
My hopes are for the open standard to become the dominant mechanism for the meta-verse and such is kept out of control of any single corporation.
Re:OpenMetaverse gives me hope (Score:4, Insightful)
One of the most frustrating things with Meta and their development of a closed ecosystem with regards to a meta-verse is that they were going to control all points of access. An open standard is best for moving forward and allowing for some many to interchange. The more public the standards are, the much more likely we are to see development on a meta-verse.
My hopes are for the open standard to become the dominant mechanism for the meta-verse and such is kept out of control of any single corporation.
1. We already have OpenStreetMaps, so this is just bullshit by someone indulging in a bit of attention-seeking "I want to be paid to work on this ..." empire-building by the usual suspects at the foundation to try to justify their "jerbs".
2. Is anyone really asking for this outside of games? The metaverse is a flop. So again, yet more attention-grabbing hand-wavy bs by people looking for an excuse to play around with headsets.
Re: (Score:2)
I think people who are all up in arms about "the metaverse" should share some of whatever it is they're smoking. Other than a cadre of entitled tech folks in the valley, does anyone really give a fuck about creating and then monetizing an imaginary universe? How about spending that money and energy on something that actually matters to society? You know....dealing with curing diseases like cancer, dealing with world hunger, etc.
What a joke.
Re: (Score:2)
people have been playing WoW and Eve for 20 years dude...
Re: (Score:2)
So you mean OpenSim? [opensimulator.org]
Re: (Score:2)
openstreetmap (Score:3)
What's wrong with openstreetmap and why can't they fix it instead of starting a new project? NIH?
Re: (Score:2)
It's not part of the metaverse. Duh. ;)
Re: (Score:3)
What's wrong with openstreetmap and why can't they fix it instead of starting a new project? NIH?
Based on the very little information their website provides, this is their way of fixing it. It's taking the existing OSM data and doing something with it to create new datasets.
As for the rest of your question, what's wrong with using OSM directly, I don't know. They don't explain.
But this doesn't replace OSM - in fact, their FAQ says map data should be submitted to OSM directly. Instead it's doing something with that map data and providing new libraries to work with whatever that something is.
Re: (Score:2)
this doesn't replace OSM - in fact, their FAQ says map data should be submitted to OSM directly
So why bother with them? Does their FAQ explain why we should care?
Re: (Score:2)
Nope! Their website implies that OpenStreetMap is missing something, never says what it is, and then says they'll be creating new data formats and libraries to cover that gap. From what the summary says I can only assume it's something that Google Maps has that OSM doesn't, but I have no idea what, because I don't know enough about either from the perspective of an app developer, and they never make it clear what they're doing, other than creating new schemas for OSM data, new data sets based on OSM, and ne
Re: (Score:2)
"In the metaverse" is the new "On the internet".
It's dot.com all over again. Milk the suckers for all the money you can get from them, then laugh all the way to the bank while the crap crashes and burns behind you.
That's basically what we did back then and I'm sure it can work again now.
I just suggested the Open Metaverse ! (Score:1)
Now they have to pay me for the rights, amahright ?
Using the metaverse word at this point... (Score:2)
Is like using Zune, or NFT. people ran the term to the ground with bad publicity.
Just using VR, or VR world is a lot wiser, marketing wise.
Re: (Score:3)
Metaverse smacks more and more of dot.com. It's something people use who don't have the first clue what they're talking about, anyone who does have a clue looks at them with disgust while wondering whether it's ethical to milk the suckers for all the money they have or whether it's better to just walk away.
I had the metaverse back in the 90s (Score:3)
Re: (Score:1)
Back when VRML was made. It's open source, but now we need to throw out everything and make it rewritten in zoomer programming languages.
Beep! Beep! -places ACME sign-
Re: (Score:2)
I don't recall VRML being multi user.
Second Life was.
Could we at least try to ignore the Metastasis (Score:2)
At least with open source?
I mean, we are supposed to be the intelligent ones that don't fall for the hype bullshit, ya know...
Re: (Score:1)
Turns out it's a slashvertisement (Score:3)
This is what I found when I decided to check out the last so-called "research paper" (Data and Storage Trends 2022) in the list.
This report was produced with support from the following organizations:
China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI)
China Open Source Cloud League (COSCL)
Chinese Software Developer Network (CSDN)
Cloud Computing Innovation Council of India (CCICI)
Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF)
Electronics For You (EFY)
IEEE Bangalore Section
Japan Data Storage Forum (JDSF)
Mulan Project
Open Infra Foundation (OIF)
Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA)
Authors Linux Foundation Research
With a foreword by Rakesh Jain, TOC Co-Chair, SODA Foundation, and Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM Research
A real research paper names its authors. This is like the ghost-written "research papers" that drug companies submit in researcher's names, with a note saying "editorial assistance provided by $DRUGCO."
Now throw in some advertising at the bottom for courses, bootcamps, certifications ... the whole purpose is advertising.
"The Right Thing" (Score:1)