Back in the early -mid 90s when all this Internet/WWW melarky started to take off I penned what was then the Unofficial British Waterways Pages. One of my goals was to bring OS mapping to those pages. Somewhere I still have the letter which outlined the terms, conditions and some example prices. Needless to say as a private individual it was a non starter. So like some of the comments here I didn't think much about the OS. In any case other mapping was becoming more popular and less restrictive, furthermore you could do more with it as the OS were sometime off from allowing us access to their SDK.
When OS Openspace was launched I must have been in the first rush of sign ups. All of a sudden the whole nation had access to dynamic mapping should they be so inclined. Openspace has now come along way from those early days. We now have OpenData to compliment it.
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/gps/transformation Or if you want to create iOS/Android Apps there's the SDK and if your'e feeling mathematical full data on how to convert grid ref to GPS
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/business-and-government/help-and-support/navigation-technology/os-net/coordinate-spreadsheet.html http://www.biglow.co.uk/weather/php/more_about.html As for aerial photography, well to the best of my knowledge the OS have been mapping the UK digitally since 2000 and the data is only in the public domain on payment of fees as I understand it.
We have a history in this country of knocking public services if they do not keep up with the times and knocking them again when they take the initiative if they do.
The rights and wrongs of who charges who and whether or not the OS should be privatised are another matter altogether. But should that event be near then what ---- Google OS ? Perhaps the current protagonists should think about the connotations of that.
So I think Morlock may well be right, most of the UK has:(
Peter.