Η Wikipedia εγκατέλειψε τους Google maps για το OpenStreet map

Μετά τις Apple και Foursquare η Wikipedia ανακοίνωσε σε blog post πως εγκατέλειψε τους Google maps για το OpenStreetMap project, μια ελεύθερη και ανοικτή πλατφόρμα χαρτών.
Το OpenStreetMap μπορεί να τρέξει σε όλες τις Android και iOS συσκευές χωρίς την ανάγκη χρήσης του proprietary API της Google και κυρίως χωρίς την ανάγκη χρήσης της εφαρμογής Google maps.Όπως αναφέρθηκε στο blog post ... Previous versions of our application used Google Maps for the nearby view. This has now been replaced with OpenStreetMap - an open and free source of Map Data that has been referred to as ‘Wikipedia for Maps.’ This closely aligns with our goal of making knowledge available in a free and open manner to everyone. This also means we no longer have to use proprietary Google APIs in our code, which helps it run on the millions of cheap Android handsets that are purely open source and do not have the proprietary Google applications.

OpenStreetMap is used in both iOS and Android, thanks to the amazing Leaflet.js library. We are currently using Mapquest’s map tiles for our application, but plan on switching to our own tile servers in the near future.

Η κίνηση της Wikipedia ίσως έχει σχέση με την απόφαση της Google να χρεώνει την χρήση του API των χαρτών της σε όσα sites εμφανίζουν χρήση του maps API πάνω από 25.000 ημερησίως, με το κόστος να είναι από 4$ έως 10$ ανά 1000 εμφανίσεις.

Αρχικό μήνυμα από Google Maps API FAQ

What usage limits apply to the Maps API?

Web sites and applications using each of the Maps API may at no cost generate:

up to 25,000 map loads per day for each API
up to 2,500 map loads per day that have been modified using the Styled Maps feature

If your application exceeds these usage limits you must respond in one of the following ways in order to continue using the Maps API in your application:

Modify your Maps API application such that the number of map loads generated per day is below the usage limit for each API that your application uses;
Enroll for automated billing of excess map loads; or
Purchase a Maps API for Business license

In order to accommodate sites that experience short term spikes in usage, the usage limits will only take effect for a given site once that site has exceeded the limits for more than 90 consecutive days.

Non-profits and applications deemed in the public interest (as determined by Google at its discretion) are not subject to these usage limits. For example, a disaster relief map is not subject to the usage limits even if it has been developed and/or is hosted by a commercial entity. In addition we recommend that eligible Non-profits apply for a Maps API for Business license through the Google Earth Outreach program. This provides a number of benefits, including the right to opt-out of advertising, higher quotas for Maps API web services, and technical support.

A precise definition of what constitutes a 'map load' is provided here. Details on pricing can be found here.

Πηγή : wikipedia blog

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