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| GeoCommunity Mailing List |
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| Subject: | RE: [gislist] ArcINFO |
| Date: |
01/15/2004 09:15:01 AM |
| From: |
Landon Blake |
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Paul Wrote: "The dilemma, I do not have the time and resources to look =
for, let alone evaluate other products. And anyway, are there any =
alternatives?"
Esri is not the only company that operates like this. In the early days =
of survey-grade GPS, Trimble was one of the better, if not the best, =
company serving the GPS needs of the Land Surveying Proffession. They =
soon became the leader in GPS technology for Land Surveyors. As their =
market share grew, so did their corporate mentality. It did not take =
long for prices to rise, customer service to deteriorate, and the =
quality of equipment and software suffered. We were forced to pay =
exhorbirant prices for new software and hardware support contracts. =
Another industry leader, AutoCAD, also extracts a fine price for their =
product. Why does this happen? Because we continue to allow it. There =
are not a lot of other choices for GPS and CAD in the Land Surveying =
community, but when my company can pursue other options, it does. The =
only way we change companies like Trimble and ESRI is with some stiff =
competition. Fortunately there are a lot more options for software =
alternatives in the GIS world. Instead of resigning yourself to the =
heavy yoke of companies that seem out of touch with their customer's =
reality, (and pocket books), why not earnestly pursue and support other =
options? Notice I say "support". The GIS community has a very healthy =
open-source community. Although still in its infancy, these open-source =
projects could become more viable options with our SUPPORT!! Without our =
support, they will never be able to challenge a company like ESRI. Why =
not invest some time and energy into an open source project? Get =
involved with developers, tell them what your needs are, learn a little =
programming, (if you don't know some already) and CONTRIBUTE! From the =
comments on this message board, it seems there is a general =
dissatisfaction with the current situation with GIS software. I say the =
ability to change this situation, lies not in the hands of a company =
like ESRI, but in the hands of the GIS users themselves. Please, take =
advantage of the open source projects available, they are a luxury some =
other professions thay rely on high-price computer technology, like my =
own, do not have.
I invite you to check out a simple open-source GIS project with a lot of =
promise: JUMP GIS
http://jump-project.org/
http://ca.groups.yahoo.com/group/jump_discuss/
Landon Blake
KSN Inc.- Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors
Office #: (209) 946-0268
Mobile #: (209) 992-0258
E-Mail: lblake@ksninc.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul F. Stampfl [mailto:paulstampfl@eircom.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2004 3:05 AM
To: gislist@lists.geocomm.com
Subject: Re: [gislist] ArcINFO
Dear list members,
=20
Suppose, many of us grew up (in a technological sense!) with ArcView =
(ESRI) and got hooked/lured (sounds somehow familiar!). No problem with =
that because ArcView in connection with all the scripts available was =
and is a great product. Familiar with ArcView or better with ESRI it =
seemed logical (!) to move on from the good old working horse to the =
promised "Roles Royse" when ESRI brought ArcGIS onto the market.=20
Now, working with ArcGIS I have to say that it is a constant annoyance. =
First the price (extensions), second the disappointed with performance =
(speed!), third and probably worst - the bugs - hence the feeling to be =
misused as beta tester.=20
=20
- Obvious discrepancy between expectations and reality. Did we expect to =
much? =20
=20
Due to reliability and input of wider GIS community (scripts) I still =
use ArcView if there is a nut to crack and for my teaching courses. =
Therefore, if I am asked for my opinion I suggest using (buying) =
ArcView.
=20
The dilemma, I do not have the time and resources to look for, let alone =
evaluate other products. And anyway, are there any alternatives?
=20
Cheers,=20
=20
Paul
Paul F. Stampfl
Department of Geography / TCD Centre for the Environment
Museum Building
Trinity College
University of Dublin
Dublin 2
Ireland
Phone: +353-87-2499564
Mail: paulstampfl@eircom.net
paulstampfl@hotmail.com
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