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| Subject: | RE: GISList: Cartography and Data Viewer |
| Date: |
08/26/2003 11:00:01 AM |
| From: |
Sonny Parafina |
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responses in-line
-----Original Message-----
From: Pat Waggaman [mailto:waggaman@marimsys.com]
Sent: Tuesday, August 26, 2003 8:12 AM
To: Sonny Parafina: dar@manifold.net: gislist@geocomm.com
Subject: RE: GISList: Cartography and Data Viewer
[snip] When the law
>Sonny, the religious wars brought about through the introduction of new
>formats are fun for those of us who have a pretty good view of how GIS,
>databases and the Internet work today. Your argument expressed below
>abandons fact and knowledge: it relies upon the divinely drawn vision of
>the "next reality", unrestrained by "reality checks", which its priests are
>free to elaborate on their own terms.
First, this isn't a religous war, its a different technology. Second, this
isn't the "next reality", its another technology. Third, although I have
been ordained online, I am not a priest. Here are some personal anectdotal
experiences that "reality checks" would have put a wet blanket on.
1. 30 years ago an overseas phone call from relatives was an expensive event
that we waited up for and enjoyed vicariously through my parents. Today, I
make daily conference calls to Europe for 6 cents a minute over a Voice over
IP router, which is much cheaper than calling friends that live 90 miles
away using a landline.
2. 15 years ago I would back up my imagery and analysis to 9-track because
there wasn't enough hard disk space to go around in the university lab. I
also used to get yelled at because I would transfer gigs of data across the
university network. Today, I keep gigs and gigs of imagery on spinning disk
and I don't even do image analysis any more. I keep them around because
they are pretty pictures. I transfer gigs of data across the internet all
the time today.
3. 10 years ago I would telnet into a server from home to check processes
and maybe run a script over my then "oh so speedy" 2800 baud modem. Today,
I can control very large relational databases, several time zones away,
graphically via VNC on a PDA at my local sandwich shop through a free
wireless 5 megabit link. And I get free refills on my ice tea.
I'm sure that we all have similar recollections of "next reality" moments.
>For us feet in the mud GIS types, Dimitri's argument is unshakeable: if
>only because it aligns with the (one and only) Universal Constant -
>Murphy's Law. When you need data over the Internet:
>
>1) 9/11 will have caused it to be removed from the Internet,
>2) Your network admin will tell you, "sorry, port 21 is closed today,
>you know - that new virus"
>3) The data server will be off-line.
I've been told many times in oh so many ways, "Paper doesn't need to
reboot." By this logic we should all be experts in making maps with scribe
coat, extremely handy with our Leroi lettering sets, accurately making
measurements with planimeters, estimating with dot grids, and performing
calculations with slide rules. Also Jack Dangermond would have a lot less
alcolades and frequent flier miles.
No one advocates that all data will be online all the time for free. If
anyone believes that, I have a whole lot of duct tape and plastic sheeting
for sale. If you need to have information or any other service such as
internet, cable, or electricity on a 24/7 basis there are companies that
will provide service level agreements that guarantee that level of service.
Or your money back, but make sure to read the fine print because they
usually have a clause about natural disasters or war.
>We run an advanced information society because we have the data "tools at
>hand". The easiest way to break that society back to the stone age is to
>make those tools hard or impossible to get. Let the competition rely on
>insecure data inputs, for your own use I recommend - download the data when
>you have the chance, and let it sit on some slightly used HDD / DVD /
>Tape. It'll - probably - be there when you need it.
I completely agree with you about making tools hard or impossible to get,
that's why I try to avoid Microsoft products.
The late Sol Katz (a frequent contributer of earlier incarnations of this
list) used to say, "Never let your bit bucket get empty." I have
pathologically taken his advice and have my trove of data, most of it
useless and outdated, but they will have to pry my cold dead fingers of my
CDs. Yeah buddy. Just can't wait to unzip and copy those DRGs to disk one
more time.
>When the day comes that the Internet matures to the point where Murphy gets
>superceded, I'll trash my on-network data: until then, I'll keep planning
>for Murphy to rear his ugly head and store data locally.
Things break down. We deal with it by bracing ourselves and being prepared
just like the Y2K 'event',
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