Setting up a server just for this is clearly overkill, but if you already have a homeserver it would be great to be able to deploy the backend. Sadly there is no such thing currently
I totally agree. Running a server on a home machine that’s already running 24/7 is trivial. I don’t know why this guy is acting like it’s a big deal.
I’ve got a $100 mini-PC running multiple servers already. What’s one more?
Not necessarily. Most people in the US are locked into some kind of ridiculous contract that makes swapping/upgrading their phone a pain in the ass and a financial burden. To be fair, these same types of people probably lack the ability to run a home server so maybe my point is moot 😅
What is the cost of hosting a server like this? I’d imagine someone could cloud host it at a cost of $10/mo and sell the online service at $1-$2/mo, which would take very few users to turn a profit. If the code is FOSS, some people would be willing to pay for the service.
You’re right. There is (are?) an open source web interface to OSM. Technically, someone could host that themselves, and the app is just the web browser.
The real reason that it’s not common is because there’s no demand; or, at least, not enough for anyone to take the effort to package it up in an easy-to-deploy, well documented release. And demand is low because having offline, local tiles is almost always preferrable to nav or maps that require relatively heavy, constant internet access.
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OSMand~ has an online mode…
I can’t think of any reason the backend can’t be open-source too.
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Could be self hosted
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Setting up a server just for this is clearly overkill, but if you already have a homeserver it would be great to be able to deploy the backend. Sadly there is no such thing currently
I totally agree. Running a server on a home machine that’s already running 24/7 is trivial. I don’t know why this guy is acting like it’s a big deal. I’ve got a $100 mini-PC running multiple servers already. What’s one more?
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This is true for literally every selfhosted app
Not necessarily. Most people in the US are locked into some kind of ridiculous contract that makes swapping/upgrading their phone a pain in the ass and a financial burden. To be fair, these same types of people probably lack the ability to run a home server so maybe my point is moot 😅
That doesn’t have anything to do with whether it’s open-source or not.
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What is the cost of hosting a server like this? I’d imagine someone could cloud host it at a cost of $10/mo and sell the online service at $1-$2/mo, which would take very few users to turn a profit. If the code is FOSS, some people would be willing to pay for the service.
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You’re right. There is (are?) an open source web interface to OSM. Technically, someone could host that themselves, and the app is just the web browser.
The real reason that it’s not common is because there’s no demand; or, at least, not enough for anyone to take the effort to package it up in an easy-to-deploy, well documented release. And demand is low because having offline, local tiles is almost always preferrable to nav or maps that require relatively heavy, constant internet access.