ArcInfo 8
Perhaps the most dramatic part of the conference was when ArcInfo 8 was introduced (to a thunderous rendition of the theme from 2001 a Space Odyssey). According to ESRI, ArcInfo 8 has been completely redesigned and re-engineered to be fast, easy, and powerful (much emphasis was placed on the ease of use). There are over 400 person years of time invested in its development - more than twice the time that went into the creation of the MS Office suite!

ArcInfo 8 is the first package in ESRI's ArcGIS suite of products.

Key Features:
~ A new user interface accessed by 3 applications - data, maps, tools
~ ArcMap is where users will query, display, and analyze data
~ ArcCatalog - this is the data-centric application that locates, browses, and manages your spatial data.
~ ArcToolbox - over 120 tools, each having a menu driven interface, complete with wizards
~ Geodatabase - this is a new object oriented data model implemented on standard relational databases with the Arc SDE server. The personal version of the SDE runs on Microsoft's Jet Database Engine which is standard with Arc 8. ~ Mulit-user editing - simultaneous access and editing of coverages is enabled (we saw a cool demo of this which was managed very well)
~ ESRI has worked closely with ERDAS to develop tools that reproject on the fly (I know this has been on people's wish list for a long time)
~ New geostatistics incorporated for advanced spatial modeling.

ArcInfo 8 Data Model

This release supports coverages and shapes as well as the new object-oriented model or "geodatabase". This feature enables users to add behavior, properties, and relationships to their data, providing users with a means to model features more closely to the real world.

Metadata

ArcInfo 8 ArcCatalog comes with support for areal metadata standards. Included are editors, a storage schema, and property sheets for viewing metadata.

Other "cool" features of ArcInfo 8

Immediately useable with "out of the box" applications Interoperable - read, use, and output all popular data formats.

~ Relational and open DBM using Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, ~ Informix, MS Access, and Sybase
~ Integrated editing with friendly CAD like editing tools
~ Enhanced spatial modeling and geostatistics
~ Versioning and multi-user management
~ Integrated business and scientific charting
~ Advanced geoprocessing complete with wizards
~ Powerful report writing

These are just some of the new and improved features you will find in ArcInfo 8. In the demos that I saw the ESRI staff termed these the "uncool features" (refering to the techie nature of them), however, I have found much of the new found functionality included with ArcInfo 8 to be very cool. Overall, look for a much more useful and user friendly ArcInfo in the future. ESRI definitely wanted to come up with a cool product to start the new melenium with and I believe they have succeeded - lets just hope we see the final release prior to the new year!