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| Subject: | Re: [gislist] What is happening to GIS? |
| Date: |
10/01/2005 03:50:02 PM |
| From: |
The Reeds |
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Perhaps the impact of NASA's World Wind project, Google Earth, MSN Virtual Earth and Yahoo Maps and all the really neat and useful applications being deployed using these technologies shows us part of the next evolution in our industry: Really intuitive, easy to use, rapidly developed location based applications that can be used by non-geo people.
However, remember that content - good, quality content - needs to come from somewhere. There are costs and considerable expertise associated with collecting and maintaining this content. Further, there is strong technology and science behind each of these technologies, like using spherical coordinate systems, sophisticated indexing, and 3d visualization. The key is in the packaging - how the user interacts with the system. Each of the technologies mentioned above presents a user experience that is fun, easy to learn and use, and does not require any knowledge of GIS - or any other geospatial technology for that matter. But don't forget that each of these applications was designed and built by individuals with strong database, computer science, geo, and visualization backgrounds. Someone has to build these things. As a matter of fact, simple, easy to use, intuitive applications - such as E-Government applications - have been designed and deployed using "traditional" GIS technology. End user runs application, not knowing or caring that there is a sophisticated GIS engine, some form of spatial database, and content supporting that application.
Anyway, if you can combine the fun/intuitive aspects of GE and VE with relevant content from other domains collected and managed using traditional GIS, such as forestry or wildlife biology, what a great combination. Pipedream? Nope. Check out Global Coordinate (www.global.coordinate.com) or Open Earth (http://www.openearth.com.au/home.html) and go to the demo slides. In both these examples, integration was enabled by using standards - in these cases the OGC WMS and WFS interface specifications. These are two of numerous applications in which GE is combined with "traditional" GIS to create a powerful end user experience - and scientific tool.
Cheers
Carl
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fiona Gregory" <fgregory@sasktel.net>
To: <gislist@lists.geocomm.com>
Sent: Friday, September 30, 2005 8:53 PM
Subject: [gislist] What is happening to GIS?
> Internet map servers...
>
> ..spatial database engines..
>
> ..object oriented programming..
>
> and all most end users really want to do is map our data. And maybe do a little spatial analysis. Like we learned that GIS was supposed to be for, way back in our first Intro to GIS class, except we never did get to analysis part, because we spend the whole course trying to figure out why the program kept hanging. Then when we got menus instead of command lines, we thought the age of "GIS for everyone" was dawning. And now...
>
> Am I crazy, or is the GIS world getting way too complex? Deeper and deeper into the rarefied domain of the information technologist, and further from the grasp of the forester, wildlife biologist, land use planner, who are the ones who should be - and want to be- in command of the powers of spatial analysis and mapping in support of better environmental management strategies.
>
> Are the huge expenditures of time, money, and professional expertise on "enterprise GIS" these days really reaching and helping these people, or more importantly, are they really the best use of the scarce resources in the strained budgets of government agencies, non-profit groups, natural resource companies?
>
> I believe in the value of GIS, but I'm not sure I believe in most instances of how I see GIS being used, and where the GIS resources are going, in organizations that I have observed in my 10 years in the GIS/natural resources field.
>
> Have I struck a chord with anyone? Do you agree, or am I wrong, and can you explain why?
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