• Carlos Solís
      1•2 years ago

      Not even joking, the fact that Magic Earth is still proprietary and comes bundled with /e/ is the main reason why I’m still not confident enough to use it as my ROM

      • z3rOR0ne
        1•2 years ago

        I have GrapheneOS and recently tested Magic Earth and Organic Maps, in my rural area around town. For me, MagicEarth audio worked fine, but Organic Maps was mute…

        Magic Earth found specific street addresses better than Organic Maps/OSM, but couldn’t list street names, just like OSM.

        AFAIK, this is because Graphene prevents the downloading of the Google voice modules that have access to local street names. I could be wrong on this.

        TLDR; You can’t. GrapheneOS prevents it because Google owns the voice modules including the specific street names and most privacy invading maps software tracks your location in order to vocalize the basic naviation and street names.

  • @nostalgicgamerz@lemmy.world
    1•2 years ago

    This might be Europe only. Blocked in US App Store

    Edit: this is likely the case…at least for now. Screenshots on website are European

  • wia
    1•2 years ago

    Does it work with Android auto?

    Project seems dubious based on other comments but I’ve yet to find anything that’s good and respects privacy while also being on Android auto.

  • @massacre@lemmy.world
    1•2 years ago

    Some perspective from a user who’s been on Magic Earth for well over a year:

    • It works very well. With a few quirks, it’s like 90-95% as useful as Google Maps for a majority of personas
    • It’s a mature app, finds most addresses (with possible exception of recent changes like a business moving)
    • Does surprisingly well with being current on traffic conditions
    • While not FOSS, they seem to be open about what they sell of your information and it’s in aggregate, so I’m much less worried about location data being tied to other online dossiers I’ve left in my digital paper trail.

    I found that Organic Maps and OsmAnd+ just couldn’t cut it at all for finding addresses, routing wasn’t super great (or intuitive), and otherwise rated very low on family acceptance as a replacement for Google Maps. I used Acastus Photon for addresses and frankly it’s not that much better and the workflow was janky and pretty useless when you want to plot route waypoints. Magic Earth was the bridge between fully de-googling and having a livable acceptance factor. So far I haven’t seen them doing anything they don’t claim (not getting in trouble privacy-wise), so I’m good.

    I would say “privacy friendly” is accurate in the title - but this is not FOSS. Even so for those looking to de-google without losing utility, I recommend it and am glad it exists.

    Edit: I wish some apps (looking at you Starbucks!) would use a default mapping engine like Magic Earth instead of expecing Google Maps on Android phones (Graphene, Lineage, Calyx)

    • FOSS Is Fun
      1•2 years ago

      Maybe I’m misunderstanding it, but as far as I see it, OsmAnd’s non-free assets include the entire UI (layout + icons).

      Since the UI of an Android app is an essential part, I don’t consider OsmAnd to be opensource.

      • @infeeeee@lemm.ee
        1•2 years ago

        Some icons of the undergrounds have different license. Read your first link carefully. And you link the source of the ui, or you don’t consider png files as “source”?

        If it wouldn’t be foss, it couldn’t be built by the f-droid build system, it can only build foss projects

        Edit: i was wrong

        • FOSS Is Fun
          1•2 years ago

          The license contains the following clause:

          • UI Design and UX work, such as layout and icons, are covered by CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0

          That’s why I linked the folder Osmand/tree/master/OsmAnd/res. It contains icons and XML files, which are used to describe the UI.

          CC-BY-NC-ND is a non-free license. It forbids commercial redistribution and it doesn’t allow any modification of the files. OsmAnd further restricts what you can do, as it does not allow redistribution in the most popular app stores without permission.

          If it wouldn’t be foss, it couldn’t be built by the f-droid build system, it can only build foss projects

          The source files are publicly available, so F-Droid can use them to build the app, but the license restricts what you can do with these files.

          F-Droid does not sell the app (non-commercial clause), is not modifying it (non-derivative clause) and is not listed as one of the restricted app stores, so it can distribute the app. But this does not make the app free and open-source software.

          • @infeeeee@lemm.ee
            1•2 years ago

            Aha, I see, you can consider it whatever you want, maybe the “not fully free software” would be a better term, but “not open source” is too harsh, because source is open, as you can see it, but doesn’t fit the definition of Free Software as defined by FSF. If you use requirements by FSF, please use their terminology as well, it’s confusing.

            Also please contact FSF, because they recommend this non-free app on their website: https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/Collection:Replicant-expanded#Navigation

    • @SoManyChoices@lemmy.sdf.org
      1•2 years ago

      I agree completely with your review of Magic Earth. I will say that I keep some maps on my phone in Organic Maps as well. They are easier for me to follow when hiking on forest trails. When we went trailblazing on snowshoes, it made finding our way back to the main route simple.

  • @clgoh@lemmy.world
    1•2 years ago

    FYI, from the FAQ:

    Why is Magic Earth free? What is the business model?

    Magic Earth is free for all our end-users but we also have a paid Magic Earth SDK for business partners. For instance Selectric.de (a supplier for navigation solutions for ambulances and fire trucks), Smarter AI (developing ADAS systems) or Absolute Cycling (using the platform on bicycles). For more info on the SDK, you can check magiclane.com.

  • @gdbjr@lemmy.ml
    1•2 years ago

    Crowd sourced is the worst. When ease was new and was crowd sourced it would always have me make a right onto a side street, take an immediate left and then another right to continue on the same street I was already on.

    I really hope that isn’t what they mean my crowd sourced.

    • @FrederikNJS@lemm.ee
      1•2 years ago

      I’ve seen that happen in both Google Maps and OpenStreetMaps…

      But the nice thing about something crowdsourced like OpenStreetMaps, is that I can just hop on their editor and fix the street that is broken.

        • @FrederikNJS@lemm.ee
          1•2 years ago

          When a piece of road is properly connected, there’s very little reason for others to go and disconnect it again.

          There’s also an approval system, so changes made has to be reviewed by others, and you have comments to explain why and what you did.

          Disconnected roads like the one OP mentions happens by accident, not by intention.

          All the fixes I have put into OpenStreetMaps has stayed there.

  • wilberfan
    1•2 years ago

    Wow. Major fail-and-uninstall for me: There’s a repertory movie theatre across town I visit once a month and always use Google maps for traffic and routing advice. Magic Earth couldn’t find it.

      • wilberfan
        1•2 years ago

        I’ve discovered that it IS on OSM–but I had to search for the exact string (“aero american cinematheque”).

    • wilberfan
      1•2 years ago

      Follow-up after using Magic Earth to navigate to an intersection up in the local hills: It worked, but I didn’t like that it wasn’t indicating street names in the read-aloud directions–just “turn left, turn right”. That might be a must-have feature for me.

  • @codenul@lemmy.ml
    1•2 years ago

    Currently using Magic Earth as its the default map application for /e/OS (mobile OS). Been liking it for the most part, but sometimes searches for a place comes up with results that are way far away.