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| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
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| Mailing List Archives |
| Subject: | [gislist] ArcINFO |
| Date: |
01/13/2004 06:10:01 AM |
| From: |
GIS (IPS) |
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Hi All,
Let's rock the apple cart a bit. Before I do this, I need to ask the people
responding to this mail to keep objective in terms of software, specifically
in not trying to promote certain GIS software.
We work with corporate, mid-sized and small companies as well as
individuals. We've been using ArcINFO for years when we were still part of
a larger company (who could easily afford the software), but now we have to
look after ourselves and rely on the bigger companies to support the
privilege for them to have access to ArcINFO. We all know what they charge
for the software and maintenance, but in the end is it worth it? Is the
ability to be able to edit and create Geodatabases really worth that much?
Currently I see more editing abilities with extensions (on ArcScripts) for
shapefiles than Geodatabases. Without going overboard with advertising the
software, what other alternatives have we got? Something reliable and yet
something we can use for our bigger clients (specifically something we can
connect to Oracle and run the spatial data off it, as in the case of the
Geodatabase).
Just a comment: Something which really annoyed us is the fact that we had
to pay maintanance for ArcGIS 8.x while they sorted out the bugs and now
only it seems that version 9 will be the "official" release. We had to work
with coverages from our old database and couldn't edit it without having to
go to the workstation module. What's the new interface for then...just an
appetiser until you get 8.3 or 9 where you can edit the Geodatabase and give
it topology? For a country like South Africa it's not easy to pay the
amount of money which ESRI's always asking for software (have you seen what
the extensions cost?).
I'd really like your honest opinions, 'cause it really feels as if ESRI is
becoming a second MicroSoft.
ciao
Dean Carstens
AfriGIS Environmental Solutions
George
South Africa
Tel: +27-44-8015017
Fax: +27-44-8015031
Mail: <mailto:ipsgis@mto.co.za> ipsgis@mto.co.za or
<mailto:dean@envirogis.co.za> dean@envirogis.co.za
Web: <http://www.envirogis.co.za/> www.envirogis.co.za
"This message and any attachments are confidential and intended solely for
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