Best google map alternative on F-Droid

Apps
21

Considering that the server must provide the required data every time the app requests that data, I had already installed CoMap ⋯immediately after posting my observation as I processed the implications of those sentences in the Anti-Feature notification. Organic Map is heavier, file size-wise.
But for added safety I have posted the question to the creators of Organic Maps and CoMaps.

Support?! A little elaboration please? Where does this word Support arrive from? The F-Droid Repo and the apps are mostly free to use, unless stated otherwise.

In the end, there are two versions of CoMaps in F-Droid smartphone based package installer. Both are named the same. Screenshots for both are attached herewith, and an explanation is solicited.

IMG_20251015_111226
IMG_20251015_111226720×524 42 KB

I have installed only one of the two. The other one when I press Install really begins to install the apk. This is strange!

2 Likes
22

Open each and read FROM which repo they come. F-Droid? Izzy? Other?

Read Open Letter to Organic Maps Shareholders

It’s basically the same app, it has the same size.

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23

Two repos activated in my system: F-Droid and IzzySoft.
The one that is uninstalled is from IzzySoft.
The other, already installed, can’t be determined. Guess it would be from F-Droid. But how to confirm this?

But this isn’t the case for other apks. Anyway, understood the POV.

Yes, apologies.
Organic Maps: Hike, Bike, Drive Offline
Download APK 57 MiB
CoMaps - Hike, Bike, Drive Offline with Privacy
Download APK 57 MiB
OsmAnd~
Download APK 167 MiB
The data on OsmAnd~ seems to have affected the contiguous memory bytes.

The immediate query would be: why the same app in two different versions?
I then perused the relevant pages. I find:
While the F-Droid page for CoMaps mentions a “commitment to transparency, privacy and being not-for-profit,” the F-Droid page for Organic Maps does not explicitly state it is run by a for-profit company. External sources from CoMaps developers indicate Organic Maps is backed by the Estonian for-profit company Organic Maps OÜ, while CoMaps was established as a community-led, non-profit response.

When we were children, we were taught by our teachers and elders to use a “please” in friendly conversations.

Anyway, I perused the relevant page. I find relevant portions (specific substrings for search) about “how Free Open Source could be misused to generate money for shareholders”:

“duped into working for free to increase the company valuation”

“generating profit for shareholders”

“while this remains a possibility… monetizing the project”

“use project’s donations as their own money”

“being a commercial company with an open source project”

“there are no guarantees or legal measures … to avoid this”

“financial transparency, accountability, fairness”

Other allegations of misdeeds than those stated above:

“appointment and re-appointment of Board members has never happened”

“an agreement with Kayak.com was made … developed behind the closed doors”

“first full-time developer was hired in Jan 2024 … kept secret … even the contributors only found out by chance ~9 months later”

“project’s discussions and decisions were made behind closed doors with even veteran contributors … not even being notified about them”

“parts of it were closed and it was intentionally kept secret … de-facto closed parts of the maps generator code”

“revoked Github owner permissions … granted such permissions to the community contributor … this triggered Github’s automatic ‘sanctions’ check”

So, understood the perspective: how gradually our rights are taken away by vested interests one tiny step at a time.

24

Yes, when that exact appid is available only from F-Droid there’s no repo selector.

Different app and features, yes

Read the link again, some people were upset about how OrganicMaps is managed, waited, then made a fork.

As long as it’s FOSS … we might not care… in has antifeatures. Also… Devs need food, power, housing…

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Screenshot_2024-12-05-08-28-25-70_320a9a695de7cdce83ed5281148d6f19
Screenshot_2024-12-05-08-28-25-70_320a9a695de7cdce83ed5281148d6f191031×810 117 KB

Organic Maps.

27

Think it can use Google location for a while now, just look in Settings

28

You’ve edited and added 4 more pages of text to your post that I already answered to? why?

what are you talking about?

don’t stand there, do something…

2 Likes
29

I was already taking notes and editing, and posted seconds before the page refreshed to display yours.
As I had already edited, I decided to polish it further to make it complete.
As a moderator, you have the rights to check the time-stamps of the edits to clarify the issue.

My doing something has far-ranging repercussions, like collectively correcting the wrongs against Bharat, against the deep ploy of breaking her apart and making two vassal states out of her, and the continuing games, including the Tariff games, and the gradual reversal of the wrongs. It is political, therefore, beyond the domain of this forum.

30

Both of you, cool down. You both are getting emotional, and making me too. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Let us stick to the discussion and post here. Now enjoy…

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31

I assure you, Mr. vdbhb59, that I am perfectly okay. I wasn’t offended in any way. So I didn’t wish to offend the moderator. I was just carrying on the conversation with a calm demeanour. The environment is perfect for a healthy discussion so far as I am concerned.

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32

same :slight_smile:

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33

A little more illustration and elaboration on the screenshot please, Mr. Rafnov. The moderator apparently understood the deeper complexities associated. We the general users aren’t so learned or experienced.
Yes, it could be understood that you talked about the current issue, Organic Maps and CoMaps, and some limitation of one of these (which, wasn’t immediately apparent. Haven’t used the installed F-Droid CoMaps yet).
So please elaborate for us users.

1 Like
34

Appears to be a Dead End.
No issues.
I was contacted by Mr. Alexander Borsuk, Software Engineer & Co-Founder @ Organic Maps, who appeared to be irked that F-Droid has used the tag, Anti-Feature, for Organic Maps. He said:

because Organic Maps app requires maps created on Organic Maps server. E.g. it can’t use some other maps from some other server.

Mr. Kter also holds the same view:

The rest suppressed to remove attention to stray issues, but retained as a record.

In that case, should F-Droid team reconsider on the Tag, Anti-Feature, for apps across the board? Especially, when the application is a declared FOSS application, and its source code is accessible, there should be a common ground of reconciliation between the F-Droid Repository Team and the App development Team to unnecessarily avoid confusing novices such as me with these de-facto threatening tags like *Anti-Feature*.

Yes, there would be some gifted individuals of the App programming and application Universe who might suggest that we put in more effort to get rid of the Novice status, but this status is because of the initial biases of the human mind towards some other aspects of the human cognitive domain and the random distribution of Human Cognitive Abilities across a social system, which can’t be helped. So apologies in advance. However much we might try to get rid of our ignorance, some lags can’t be helped.
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Can you also ask them back it the tools to make the maps were FOSS last year?

Don’t go looking up why Comaps appeared… just don’t…

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Suppressed to remove attention to stray issues, but retained as a record.

I am sure, as I have already informed Mr. Borsuk about this thread, he would be following this page.

Neither am I competent to study the confrontational history of OrganicMap, CoMaps, etc., not is it my intention to proceed to do so. I am just looking forward to reducing the confusion arising because of the tag, Anti-Feature.

As an independent, autonomous individual I should be allowed my autonomy and independence, and my action/decision shouldn’t be anticipated, :slightly_smiling_face:, Mr. Kter.

Did my above post come across as being biased towards any one of the two organisations involved? I have only expressed my observation that:

and other related matters.

It could well be that your comment is just rhetorical. To me, your post appears to assume my role on this post as confrontational, whereas my sole objective is about reconciliation and removal of confusion, rest assured, Mr. Kter. I hope you would appreciate that, as an ordinary member of the forum, while it is my responsibility to consider your sensibilities, it would be natural for me to expect a similar complementary sensibility from a senior and experienced member and a moderator.

I assure you that this issue isn’t about our confrontation, but about our collectively trying to remove a confusing situation caused by Anti-Feature.
37

we had Organic Maps: clarify NonFreeNet AF (!14521) · Merge requests · F-Droid / Data · GitLab and many more

38

Thank you for posting the clue, Mr. Kter. But I didn’t have to be convinced. I myself had summarised the whole article, based on the link

that you had given me, the issue of Organic Maps Vs CoMaps, as expressed by the following sections, which was a fairly detailed summarisation.

and

In my mind, I had no reservation against the published article, Open Letter to Organic Maps Shareholders

But I already had done so, summarising the article Open Letter to Organic Maps Shareholders, based on the link that you had given me.

So the moot is that while I had the whole picture before me and had already installed CoMaps in my smartphone, I needed no convincing.

I just reported the email that I had received, noting if there could be a reconciliation, if there was a scope. To maintain transparency on the matter: even may be, if the Team Organic Maps could be convinced to revert back to the FOSS guidelines strictly.

I apologise if I have misled you, Mr. Kter. I just reported, and sought reconciliation, so that FOSS could be strengthened.

If you prefer, I could edit to suppress some portions of my earlier post and suppress another wholly to avoid further confusion, and keep the focus on the principal issues that demand our collective attention, not waste energy on stray issues.

P.S.: Already done so.

39

Topic: Best google map alternative on F-Droid
Suggestion: GMaps WV | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Reason: Read the mentioned app description

PS: Please don’t reply why not this or that. I find it useful so shared in relevant thread.

40

I don’t quite think this counts as a “Google Maps alternative” considering it literally is Google Maps.

1 Like
41

Alternative as an android app.
As service? then there are no foss alternative besides https://www.openstreetmap.org/

2 Likes