Neil Havermale wrote:
> I/we need information in this debate. Is MIF/MID better than
> SHP? Is
> TAB better than SHP. Could MIF/MID become the an "industry"
> standard?
> Should it? Will MapInfo ever allow the posting of it's MIF/MID
> format on
> the NET? Why or whine not?
Don't worry about the ESRI dreadnought. Since Shape files are not
strictly Y2K-compliant (they're partly based on the paleolithic
dBase format), by this time next year ArcView and all its users will
have gone down leaving nothing but a few bubbles at the center of
some expanding circular ripples. Either that or it will explode in a
fireball to rival the Sun. Depends which Y2K pundit you listen too.
It's too bad that some government agencies are tacitly supporting
one proprietary commercial vendor when they have so many other
equally ridiculous, but public-domain, formats to choose from. Maybe
they are forced by politics to do so, but it seems wrong to me to
say to the public that the only way we can use our data is to buy an
inferior software product.
But the problem is not going to be solved by whining. There are many
govt agencies who use Our Favorite Software, but I think we need to
start to work with the USGS and help them get comfy with MapInfo
formats. After all, if the Census Bureau can support all the major
brands (as well as their own... and you'll note that they were not
fooled by SDTS, that sheep in wolf's clothing), then maybe the USGS
can manage to do better. Not to put too fine a point on it, but the
USGS bias has a definite effect on all the state and local agencies
that use USGS data as a starting point, and since these all have
limited budgets and GIS expertise, it's a Hobson's choice they have
to make when choosing mapping software. They really are afraid of
being left out because they are not compatible with the others.
Also, I still think we need a free MapInfo data viewer out there to
serve as a platform to help get this ball rolling. Something to meet
ArcExplorer head-on. Think of it as a marketing tool... a loss
leader to provide a lever to wedge open this market. As it stands
now, ArcExplorer becomes most people's first exposure to desktop
mapping. And first impressions count. It must tickle Jack pink to
see that every data CD that comes out of some govt agency data
warehouses comes with a copy.
But we users who have to deal with this can make a start. The
MIF/MID format CAN be posted on web pages, I've been told by a
MapInfo representative. We CAN provide better translation tools
(there are six listed on the FTP site... the first job for someone
would be to evaluate them and provide some useful commentary on
their various merits and warts). Identify what still needs doing,
and perhaps if each task is small enough, we might be able to
persuade a few developers to contribute a few hours each to build
the Ultimate Translator and the Free Viewer, which could then be
distributed to all the government agencies for free. Those who can't
develop might be able to be sponsors to pay for some development or
promotional work (and thus get their advertising on the band wagon).
People could return the favor by producing p/d data in MIF/MID
format and buying products from these developers, and paying
something small but reasonable for corporate and multi-user
licenses. I bet we have enough talent here to do this. Do we have
the will?
It's just an idea. And a lit match is just a spark.
- Bill Thoen
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