Google maps and RunningAHEAD (Read 447 times)

stadjak


Interval Junkie --Nobby

    Took a quick pass at my workout.  The tiles do indeed map more slowly (some failed to map until I zoomed in and out).  However, with a bit of patience, everything looked fine to me.  Thanks, Eric Smile!

     

    I have no idea what the API looks like, but as most of us run the same general routes every day, I'd think you could benefit from caching those tiles.  Possibly even on a per-user basis.  Not sure if this would save you any money, but it's something to consider.

    2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

    LedLincoln


    not bad for mile 25

      Hi all,

      I decided to roll out the migration to OpenStreetMaps in stages to reduce the amount of money I have to pay to Google ASAP. I rolled out the first set of changes tonight. I replaced most of the non-editable maps since most of the Google maps access are to view the maps, as opposed to editing them. The OSM viewer sports a new graphing package so the elevation map should be "prettier" and renders faster. It doesn't have all the features of the original map yet, but I also can't wait for everything to be completed.

       

      The next stage is to replace the map editor. It is almost completed, just need to put back the niceties such as undo, reverse route, etc.

       

      I was thinking... I don't have to get rid of Google maps completely. Its map tiles load much faster than OSM. I modularized the map renderer so in theory, I can plug in Google maps without too much trouble. I might allow users with an ad-free subscription to switch to use Google maps if they so choose. I'll explore that option after I get the map editor switched over.

       

      eric Smile

       

      Congrats Eric Smile, it's looking good!  I like the idea of giving paid users the option of turning on Google for its imagery. Sometimes, that's helpful to me.  Perhaps the user shouldn't be able to turn on Google globally, but provide the option to switch a map temporarily from the OSM default.

      LedLincoln


      not bad for mile 25

        Part of the reason it took so long to switch over to OSM is that I went with OpenLayers originally. It turned out that its API was completely inadequate for my use case. I struggled with it for 2 weeks, and finally switched over to Leaflet. It took me less than 2 days to get to the same point as OpenLayers. I never struggled with Leaflet.

         

        Development was slowed by the failure of my home server. It experienced multiple hard drive failures in a short span of time such that all the data were inaccessible. RA's data was not affected since both the primary and back up servers are housed in data centers. I had to send the drives out to a data recovery service, which was shockingly expensive and nebulous. They were able to recover most of my data, but was not able to recover the VM I use to deploy updates to RA so I had to rebuild it. I hope this will be the end of large expenditures and unwanted distractions.

         

        Sorry about your troubles.

        MadisonMandy


        Refurbished Hip

          I came to this thread after noticing the maps were different...

           

          I do miss the terrain feature of Google maps already.  I'm not sure if that's possible to get with the these new maps?  It's probably my most used feature after I upload a route.  (Admittedly, this is for hiking/backpacking and not for running, but...)

           

          I subscribe every year and am happy to pay more money.  You are awesome, Eric!

          Running is dumb.

          eric :)


            Hi all,

            The migration is not completed yet. Most if not all of the features will be restored soon. I had to roll it out before it's feature complete because Google is billing me thousands of dollars a month, much more than what the ads, subscriptions and donations provide. If I waited another month or two, I won't have the money to keep the servers running in the data centers. I hope you understand.

             

            I don't think I'm allowed to cache the tiles by either Google or OSM. Even if I can, the tiles will require probably terabytes of disk space, not to mention now my bandwidth usage will go up so the data centers will charge for the additional bandwidth.

            stadjak


            Interval Junkie --Nobby

              I hope you understand.

               

              Completely.  Keep fighting the good fight, Eric Smile.  Thank you for all your efforts. We can be patient.

              2021 Goals: 50mpw 'cause there's nothing else to do

              zoom-zoom


              rectumdamnnearkilledem

                 

                Completely.  Keep fighting the good fight, Eric Smile.  Thank you for all your efforts. We can be patient.

                 

                +1.

                Getting the wind knocked out of you is the only way to

                remind your lungs how much they like the taste of air.    

                     ~ Sarah Kay

                kcam


                  I do understand.  Keep up the good work and don't pay google any more money, even if it means no more imagery.

                  xhristopher


                    FWIW Strava uses OSM and did a gradual roll out too.

                    Julia1971


                      Wow, Eric!  The new maps look great!

                      LedLincoln


                      not bad for mile 25

                        Wow, Eric!  The new maps look great!

                         

                        I agree. In some respects, they are better than Google's.

                        Magmason


                          Hi, I tried to look through the thread to find the answer to my question with no success, so apologies if this has been addressed already:

                           

                          Is the interactive feature of the maps, where you can put your cursor on the elevation chart and drag it along to see your exact mileage at any given point, going to be restored?  I use that feature a lot, it turns out, and I already miss it.

                           

                          Thanks for all your work on a fantastic running log, Eric.

                           

                          --Maggie

                            Hi, I tried to look through the thread to find the answer to my question with no success, so apologies if this has been addressed already:

                             

                            Is the interactive feature of the maps, where you can put your cursor on the elevation chart and drag it along to see your exact mileage at any given point, going to be restored?  I use that feature a lot, it turns out, and I already miss it.

                             

                            Thanks for all your work on a fantastic running log, Eric.

                             

                            --Maggie

                             

                            By selecting course and clicking the edit button, you can use those features there, or when creating a new route.

                            Ricky

                            —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka

                            Magmason


                              Hi Ricky, thanks for your answer.  I don't understand your directions.  For example, today I ran an out and back course, but forgot to start my Garmin when I stopped for water at the halfway point, only discovering this after a few miles on the way back.  So I'd like to go back over the course and measure the distance I had already run between the points where I stopped it and then turned it back on.  Since I ran it on the way out, I could measure it almost exactly using the old feature, which was interactive with the map.  Now, I get mileage if I run the cursor over the elevation map, but no corresponding indicator shows on the map itself.

                               

                              Could you be more specific about your directions?  Do I have to turn my map into a course in order to use the feature you're talking about?

                               

                              Also, Eric, will you be restoring the feature I'm discussing?

                               

                              Thanks!

                                 

                                Could you be more specific about your directions?  Do I have to turn my map into a course in order to use the feature you're talking about?

                                 

                                 

                                Thanks!

                                 

                                Yes, the uploaded map needs to be saved to courses.

                                On your workout page in question, select map tab, click the 3 bars to the right of course to "save map as".

                                Give the map a name and save (far right corner you can mark map as private).

                                Now go to your course page, and select the magnifying glass to right of course name.

                                When map comes up, click edit button to the right of map.

                                You should now see all the features (old map style), as also seen when still creating a new course manually.

                                Here you can edit the course you ran as well. Hope this helps

                                Ricky

                                —our ability to perform up to our physiological potential in a race is determined by whether or not we truly psychologically believe that what we are attempting is realistic. Anton Krupicka