Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] LAS library
Putting LAS lib into the "sandbox" portion of GDAL/OGR sounds like the best idea yet. I'm glad we talked about this. I say we definitely talk with Howard next week. I'll look forward to it. Thanks! -Zack Frank Warmerdam wrote: > Zachary L. Stauber wrote: >> Hi All, >> I've got a question for the OSGeo board, whoever might like to >> answer this. I've organized the New Mexico, USA chapter of OSGeo, and >> we have our own server which we have yet to put up any code or >> projects on yet (www.nmosgeo.org), because that was meant for things >> that we would develop in the future (after the chapter had been >> created), feeling like we wouldn't get anything we'd already done >> under the umbrella of an employer released outright. >> However my employer has just finally given their blessing to >> release the internal LAS file reader/writer library that we've been >> using to open source, most likely as LGPL. The library was written by >> John Nipper, who also wrote the LAS v1.0/1.1 standard and it's written >> in Visual C++ 6.0, but it is rather vanilla (e.g., structs rather than >> objects whenever possible) and I'm sure it'll have python and C# hooks >> in there pretty quick once it's OS. >> My question is: rather than putting it straight on an SVN source >> server on our local site, I wanted to know if the OSGeo folks thought >> it would get more mileage if they hosted it on osgeo.org on their own >> source tree? If not we'll do it. But if OSGeo does, it they would >> control who has access to the SVN or CVS. John isn't really >> interested in parenting it anymore. Otherwise we'll host it on >> www.nmosgeo.org and I'll be parenting the SVN with the help of our >> webmaster, Karl Benedict. > > Zack, > > One possibility is hosting it with the sandbox area of the GDAL subversion > repository if there is interest in integrating it with GDAL/OGR. I know > that > Howard Butler (on vacation this week) was looking at a LAS library and how > to integrate it with OGR. > > Perhaps we could discuss this with Howard next week? > > Generally speaking it seems like a pity to be setting up duplicate > services for stuff like subversion if we can just do it once. On the > other hand, there is a bit of overhead in launch newing projects within > OSGeo. > > One thing we have done is provide services (like subversion and trac) > for projects like MOSS4G that aren't formally OSGeo projects but that > are compatible with our goals. This isn't meant as an endorsement of > the projects in the way that a project that goes through incubation > is endorsed - but it does help out with services. > > Best regards, ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[OSGeo-Discuss] LAS library
Hi All, I've got a question for the OSGeo board, whoever might like to answer this. I've organized the New Mexico, USA chapter of OSGeo, and we have our own server which we have yet to put up any code or projects on yet (www.nmosgeo.org), because that was meant for things that we would develop in the future (after the chapter had been created), feeling like we wouldn't get anything we'd already done under the umbrella of an employer released outright. However my employer has just finally given their blessing to release the internal LAS file reader/writer library that we've been using to open source, most likely as LGPL. The library was written by John Nipper, who also wrote the LAS v1.0/1.1 standard and it's written in Visual C++ 6.0, but it is rather vanilla (e.g., structs rather than objects whenever possible) and I'm sure it'll have python and C# hooks in there pretty quick once it's OS. My question is: rather than putting it straight on an SVN source server on our local site, I wanted to know if the OSGeo folks thought it would get more mileage if they hosted it on osgeo.org on their own source tree? If not we'll do it. But if OSGeo does, it they would control who has access to the SVN or CVS. John isn't really interested in parenting it anymore. Otherwise we'll host it on www.nmosgeo.org and I'll be parenting the SVN with the help of our webmaster, Karl Benedict. -Zack ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] Windows verse Linux
I've found actually that PostGIS runs as stable under Windows as it does under Linux, and it's easier to install, plus it's more up to date. The RPM's for Fedora are always six months behind what is available in tgz form. I couldn't find the information to get PostGIS RPM working under Linux, but under Windows it was a 1 minute install and it was all done for me. Also it was easier to set security under Windows. Under Linux I had to change it in several places to be able to connect LOCALLY, even though I could connect from other machines. -Zack Landon Blake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > > What do I gain by going to Linux? > To mention a few items, stability, security, actual server-oriented OS, > flexibility, easy scalability, open and flexible license, independence > (free as in freedom), knowledge > > > What do I gain by staying in a Windows Environment? > Maybe a nice and easy to use GUI > > That was a good summary! I don't think you can say it better. > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Leonardo Mateo > Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 1:31 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; OSGeo Discussions > Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Windows verse Linux > > On 6/19/07, Gary Watry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi everyone > > > > I need advice from the experts > > > > I am running Windows Server 2003 with Apache and Mapserver. > > I currently have 9 sites running Mapserver > > > > The Center wants to move to Linux from SGI > > > > I want to run > > > > Mapserver with dbox (Steve, dbox run on Linux?) > > Mapserver as WMS feed to MapBuilder. > > > > On the database side is it > > 1. PostGIS or PostgreSQL > > 2. PostGIS and PostgreSQL (think I have to run PostGIS as front to > > PostgreSQL). > PostGIS is a PostgreSQL extension, is not a front and is not an engine > itself. > You will have PostgreSQL databases which you can turn into GIS > databases by PostGIS extension. > > > > > Question: > > What do I gain by going to Linux? > To mention a few items, stability, security, actual server-oriented > OS, flexibility, easy scalability, open and flexible license, > independence (free as in freedom), knowledge > > > What do I gain by staying in a Windows Environment? > Maybe a nice and easy to use GUI > > -- > Leonardo Mateo. > There's no place like ~ > ___ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > > Warning: > Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. > ___ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > -- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
RE: [OSGeo-Discuss] Windows verse Linux
I've found actually that PostGIS runs as stable under Windows as it does under Linux, and it's easier to install, plus it's more up to date. The RPM's for Fedora are always six months behind what is available in tgz form. I couldn't find the information to get PostGIS RPM working under Linux, but under Windows it was a 1 minute install and it was all done for me. Also it was easier to set security under Windows. Under Linux I had to change it in several places to be able to connect LOCALLY, even though I could connect from other machines. -Zack Landon Blake <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > > What do I gain by going to Linux? > To mention a few items, stability, security, actual server-oriented OS, > flexibility, easy scalability, open and flexible license, independence > (free as in freedom), knowledge > > > What do I gain by staying in a Windows Environment? > Maybe a nice and easy to use GUI > > That was a good summary! I don't think you can say it better. > > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Leonardo Mateo > Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 1:31 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; OSGeo Discussions > Subject: Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] Windows verse Linux > > On 6/19/07, Gary Watry <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi everyone > > > > I need advice from the experts > > > > I am running Windows Server 2003 with Apache and Mapserver. > > I currently have 9 sites running Mapserver > > > > The Center wants to move to Linux from SGI > > > > I want to run > > > > Mapserver with dbox (Steve, dbox run on Linux?) > > Mapserver as WMS feed to MapBuilder. > > > > On the database side is it > > 1. PostGIS or PostgreSQL > > 2. PostGIS and PostgreSQL (think I have to run PostGIS as front to > > PostgreSQL). > PostGIS is a PostgreSQL extension, is not a front and is not an engine > itself. > You will have PostgreSQL databases which you can turn into GIS > databases by PostGIS extension. > > > > > Question: > > What do I gain by going to Linux? > To mention a few items, stability, security, actual server-oriented > OS, flexibility, easy scalability, open and flexible license, > independence (free as in freedom), knowledge > > > What do I gain by staying in a Windows Environment? > Maybe a nice and easy to use GUI > > -- > Leonardo Mateo. > There's no place like ~ > ___ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > > Warning: > Information provided via electronic media is not guaranteed against defects including translation and transmission errors. If the reader is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this information in error, please notify the sender immediately. > ___ > Discuss mailing list > Discuss@lists.osgeo.org > http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > -- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] "Free"
Tim Bowden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said: > Open source doesn't mean closed mind at all. If you are referring to > the habit of FOSS purists being pedantic about what is FOSS and what is > not, then I think that's a good thing. It's not uncommon for people > outside the FOSS development world to think that free as in beer is the > same as free as in speach. For those of us who have experienced first > hand what the difference is, I think it's important to keep hammering > away at the perception they are the same. `The problem of course, is the > dual meaning of the word free, as has often been pointed out in the > past. > > Don't get me wrong, I'm not proposing a "Stallman" approach here. If > someone wants to use proprietary software, fine. If someone wants to > offer proprietary software (free as in beer or otherwise), again no > problem. You just won't get me jumping for joy about it. It's not > about the quality of the software. There is plenty of great software > and junk software in both the FOSS and proprietary development > ecosystems. What I don't like, is handing the keys to my business to > the vendor of my mission critical software, which is what so often > happens when proprietary software is at the heart of a business. If > being in that position makes me an "open source purist" then so be it, > but I don't see how my insistence that *I* use only open source can be > the heart of the problem for *someone else*. > Well I think you're giving yourself too much credit. This thread isn't about whether or not *you* can limit yourself to open source, the open source purists don't want to allow any prorprietary software at FOSS4G, and that could be the heart of the problem for me. > Yes, we do want open source commercialised. I make my living of selling > open source solutions. If that's not commercial open source, then I > don't know what is. I'm referring to the practice of commercializing an already existing piece of open source software and making it proprietary, such as Khoros, or what used to be Khoros. Shame about that one, and it's incidents like that that have me almost in the camp of open source purist myself, but it turns out to be very rare. These days people are open sourcing commercial things more often than the reverse. Congratulations on building a commercial solution with open source though, I think it's a model that should be promoted because folks like you prove it works. > It is often necessary to integrate with *proprietary* software in many > different ways; Platforms, data formats, server apps, client apps etc. > The question is often asked, should open source support windows. The > answers are as varied as the developers who write open source. > > At one end, we have the ESR type approach- "No, we don't support Windows > â get a better operating system" [1] which does have merit. If I'm > developing software to scratch a personal itch [2], why should *I* worry > about *your* operating system. You've got the source code. If you > really want it, go for it, so long as you respect the licence I choose. > Well a lot of developers did start on Windows. Most commercial GIS software is Windows-only or at least the full functionality of it exists only on Windows, and we may want to integrate with it in order to increase the functionality of both it and its partnered open source. But it's not just Windows. Apple hardware and MacOS X is even more proprietary than Microsoft has EVER been, and there are developers who use that as their primary platform, like OSSIM. > At the other end, we have the mozilla approach. Firefox is targeted > first and foremost at windows, because it's the dominant platform. The > problems it causes linux distributions are well known and only recently > addressed [3]. Which is the correct approach? Probably no single > approach. It all depends on the motivations of the developers, and > that's a wide open field. I don't think you can say any one project > should or shouldn't support windows or any other relevant application. > > In the end the decision by business to use open source or proprietary is > a value decision. How well do the different options solve the business > problem at hand. That's not a clear cut issue either. If a business is > windows centric, then the value proposition of using open source for one > application may be very different for another business that is used to > open source. The cost will be higher if there are no open source skills > in house; think about installation (./configure, make, make install is a > shock for windows admins), legal issues (licensing is a big one and > takes a while to get your head around if you haven't seen an OSI license > before), bug reporting, support etc. It's all a bit different from what > many are used to. If you want to push open source in a proprietary > centric environment, you have to show the value proposition in respect > to the busi
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] "Free"
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 ross s wrote: > Just to add a bit more spice to the discussion. I think the root > problem here is a definition amoung open source purists. Jeff Thurston > has added some interesting points to his blog (below). > I think the root of the problem is that there is such a thing as an "open source purist" at all. Why does "open source" have to mean "closed mind?" On the other end, there is an equally troublesome "Microsoft Evangelist" (this is a real title on a business card, by the way), but they aren't the problem at hand. Limiting oneself out of team spirit is senseless. Obviously we don't want something that WAS free or open source to be commercialized, but that is an extremely uncommon, and we don't want any commercial software taking up room at a FOSS4G conference if it isn't (or couldn't be) related to open source in some demonstrable way, but I trust nobody is going to allow that to happen. Outside of a university setting, one HAS to integrate with commercial software. Most businesses in the US are Windows-only. My employer used to mandate IIS, SQL Server, and Oracle Spatial exclusively. To even try to change it (and there are plenty of us on the inside that wanted to), the open source community had to meet us halfway and make things like MS4W and windows installs of PostgreSQL/PostGIS. Now a couple years later, parts of it have switched from Oracle Spatial to PostgreSQL/PostGIS. Why? Because PostgreSQL/PostGIS actually has better Windows support (Oracle 10.1.0 wouldn't even install under Windows without massive errors and security issues). More important, you can write plugins for PostgrSQL/PostGIS with MS Visual Studio, whereas Oracle has intentionally decided to stay away from Microsoft programming languages, leaving it with just Java (which isn't even an open standard, unlike C#). We can't change from IIS to Apache, so if MS4W didn't exist, we'd be using ArcIMS instead of MapServer. If the PostGIS people and Jeff McKenna had written off Windows users because we happened to not think Microsoft and ESRI were the devil, we'd have to write off open source, but luckily they are an open-minded bunch, and I think that kind of open mentality deserves to be rewarded and further promoted. -Zack -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFF7Ru8bb3W6CZJLjURAqmOAKCkX930AN8LlKrXSoowiAR1DnedwwCfd3M2 CJ9kbvWau1IR4p7d4xWEong= =nyER -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] "Free"
If I'm not mistaken at the last FOSS4G conference OracleXE already did have a demonstration and it wasn't nearly as integrated with open source software as the requirements we're now talking about to be part of FOSS4G. I didn't attend it, but I did talk to some of the presenters afterwards for some technical help. The alternative to OracleXE is Oracle 10g Enterprise which is something like US$40,000 per processor. So just because of that huge step up I don't think Oracle can use OracleXE as a foothold in order to sell a commercial version. I think it's safe to say if they're offering OracleXE to the open source community, their reasons are benign, and if they're not, too bad for them because they won't be getting any sales off it. Believe me, I'm a PostGIS user to the core, myself, but I think that the slope from commercial to open source is a slippery one from which there is rarely a return. If Oracle is encouraged to get into open source, I think it will only be good for OSS. Obviously FOSS4G doesn't have the capacity to have a booth or a seminar on every piece of free/lite/demo GIS software, but OracleXE is unique in that it's the only example of commercial relational database that has a spatial component with a free version. I don't think IBM's Spatial Blade has a free version nor SQL Server have a spatial component, so I think Oracle could be in. It is fully functional, I've tried it, and people have gotten it to work with MS4W, but I haven't, and I'd like to see someone do it in a demo. It works on both Windows and Linux, so the regular MapServer users, rather than just us Windows-only types, may get some use out of it, too. On a general philosophical level, I agree with the wiki mentality. The more inclusive, the better. The fact that millions of people are using GoogleEarth to do their own maps and it wasn't formally included in the last FOSS4G should really have been a wakeup call. It's not technically open source nor free for commercial use, but we can't ignore it if it has that many users, and it uses GDAL itself which is an OSGeo product. Besides, they have tens of millions in data acquisition budget every year. If they use GDAL, why not use them? Convince them to kick in some money to GDAL's home agency by including them. -Zack Pericles S. Nacionales wrote: > I just to clarify: > A workshop about OracleXE alone doesn't belong to a Free and Open Source > Software for Geoinformatics conference. A workshop about how OracleXE > uses or integrates open source geospatial software would be acceptable > to me. > > -Perry > > Zachary L. Stauber wrote: > I agree with Perry. There are a lot of free/lite/express versions of GIS > software that are perfectly usable for small businesses or the non-profit > "neo-cartographer" such as Tatuk Viewer, ArcExplorer, OracleXE, and > GoogleEarth. > Because they are useful, they're going to be part of the tools of a > lot of > people whether FOSS4G takes them into the fold or not, so we might as > well. > > Personally I'd like to see, exactly, how to connect up OracleXE with > MS4W in a > demo at FOSS4G, so I say if they integrate with everything else well, > let 'em > show it. It may get some support out of folks like ESRI, too. After > all, > they've released many of the formats that became open standards, like > SHP files, > BIL images, and I think they were instrumental in coming up with the > WKT for > coordinate systems. > > -Zack ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] "Free"
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 I agree with Perry. There are a lot of free/lite/express versions of GIS software that are perfectly usable for small businesses or the non-profit "neo-cartographer" such as Tatuk Viewer, ArcExplorer, OracleXE, and GoogleEarth. Because they are useful, they're going to be part of the tools of a lot of people whether FOSS4G takes them into the fold or not, so we might as well. Personally I'd like to see, exactly, how to connect up OracleXE with MS4W in a demo at FOSS4G, so I say if they integrate with everything else well, let 'em show it. It may get some support out of folks like ESRI, too. After all, they've released many of the formats that became open standards, like SHP files, BIL images, and I think they were instrumental in coming up with the WKT for coordinate systems. -Zack Pericles S. Nacionales wrote: > I agree that it is an OSGeo conference and OSGeo promotes "free and open > source" software. If Oracle can demonstrate how their product > works/integrates with open source geospatial software then I don't have > a problem with that. > > -Perry > > Jason Birch wrote: >> You know, I'd actually be in favour of this workshop if it showed how >> Oracle can be integrated with open source geospatial applications (web >> mapping, etc). This is the kind of thing that many organisations need >> to gradually integrate open source into their stacks. >> >> As it stands, it shows how to integrate a free beer proprietary >> application with an expensive-beer application, and I am personally not >> in favour of it. This is a "Free and Open Source" conference not a >> "Free or Open Source" conference. >> >> Jason -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFF6kxxbb3W6CZJLjURAm7gAKCn+5s7On9V20dszc1s4k1Vt6odKwCgro8p NCOsviLxMu/iFO80ZcILa3Y= =C0lx -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[OSGeo-Discuss] New Mexico local chapter?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Perry, Gary, Tim, Mark, Richard, thank you all for your support. I'm looking forward to a local chapter (it would be the first in the US, hard as it is to believe). As for the education suggestions, thank you once again. I'll get Amy Ballard in touch with the education project at OSGeo since she is the GIT chair at our community college. Karl and I are thinking of tag teaming a class, and he has some curriculum built up, but it would be best if it was built around what OSGeo had in mind. I spoke with Tyler today about the chapter and I have attempted to address an apparently unique issue. The NM chapter wants to begin some software projects that don't yet exist, OS or otherwise, and it's unclear what I meant by starting something up under the banner of OSGeo. MapServer is managed by UMN, GRASS by ITC, OSSIM by RadiantBlue, but we folks don't have an organization that would create software, manage it, release it as open source, so our organization would be...the New Mexico chapter of OSGeo. It's a New Mexico OSGeo project, so they direct it, and they release it, technically OSGeo releases it. That's all. It's a new concept for OSGeo, but I think it helps, and I think it will be common as time goes on. The more formal membership in OSGeo becomes, the more solid that link becomes. We do all have organizations already, but nothing that would allow us to work on something under their employ and release it as open source, and I can tell you, if it isn't open source, it isn't going to happen at all, at least not from me. Few of us are professional programmers (e.g., I'm not) and can't devote much, if any, time to these projects during work hours, and people tend not to write software on their own time either if it's just for work. In short, it's open source or no source. So who owns it? Nowhere in the discussion of open source have I ever seen that addressed because nobody owns it. Anyone can take it and develop on their own branch however they like, although that rarely happens. Any source I write I intend to release as GPL, free, and anyone can do what they want with it, and I think most of New Mexican developers have something identical in mind. Essentially, think of it like any other open source project, MapServer, etc., the copyright is held by whoever wrote it but as you know GPL allows for all kinds of things that your traditional copyright disallows. Most things are on SourceForge, we want to host our own source because we're geeks and we thinking setting up Subversion would be fun. Thank you for your consideration. Please email me or this list if you have any other questions, and otherwise thanks again for all the encouragement. -Zack -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFyC38bb3W6CZJLjURAkZuAJ0VuIf5/lz7n480EzxPJAL/AKuBCQCfZ3vX GtksMu1zFoZ+TO+Jei3F/aM= =gsog -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[OSGeo-Discuss] New Mexico local chapter?
-BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE- Hash: SHA1 Hi All, Some of us down here in New Mexico (or up depending on your orientation) want to start a local chapter. I've started a wiki here listing some info on us. http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/New_Mexico Anyone think it's a great idea? A bad idea? Too small of an area? Too big? Just right? Before you answer let me go into a little bit of why we need a chapter. I work for a private engineering firm that does photogrammetry that does a high volume of orthophotos plus I teach photogrammetry part time at the local tech-voc institute where we can't afford the usual software. I'd like to see the software cheaper (specifically, free) and developers pay more attention to bug fixes and so on, which open source usually does. So I need a vehicle for starting up photogrammetry in open source, and rather that duplicating efforts, we figured we'd join OSGeo. My co-worker John Nipper is a programmer with experience in programming for aerial cameras and LiDAR sensors and wants to help. But we also need to be able to solicit help from experts in the field, professors of photogrammetry and surveying, mathematics, etc., and open source is the only neutral ground on which we can easily work together. My colleague and chair of the GIT program at the tech-voc school Amy Ballard wants to offer a class just on open source software. She believes it's taking off and will is useful in real jobs around New Mexico, and she wants to encourage its further use. R. Cliff Wilkie, geodetic surveyor for the City of Albuquerque, wants to offer users some shifting and reprojection software for surveyors to manipulate their points that operates transparently and has a good manual or explanation of the mechanics internally so people know what's happening to their data, for people like him to whom 1mm is a significant error. Karl Benedict is hosting the server. He's the senior research analyst and IT manager for the University of New Mexico's Earth Data Analysis Center. He's been 100% open source for years now, big user of the usual suspects (MapServer, Linux, SOAP, and so on), and is all for encouraging their use in the GIS community in New Mexico. I think we have a unique setup here, not only having people from all three communities (private, government, and academic) but most important working in some fields that are somewhat esoteric. GoogleEarth has millions of users, and with it things like MapServer. Desktop GIS has tens of thousands around the world, but photogrammetry and high accuracy geodesy, probably only several hundred. So there are a lot of things being developed in the high volume areas of open source that get a lot of attention, and the esoteric ones don't so much, which is too bad because the commercial software available suffers in quality from the same dynamic. There are only a dozen photogrammetry packages out there compared to scores of desktop GIS, and most of them are flirting with a price around US$20,000 per component, per license. The US National Geodetic Survey provides some tools for datum shifts and reprojecdtions like CorpsCon, but they are US-centric, and the development is controlled by a body which is not funded as well as it should be considering it's the foundation on which all geographic data is collected. Some software is still DOS-only. We need to be part of OSGeo so development can make sure the intellectual property rests in the public domain and the development is still controlled by a long-lived body devoted to the task like OSGeo rather than the US federal government or any private business. They can donate money and their peoples' time to us, grants, etc., but development that goes into a private box is notoriously cumbersome to update, doesn't have a wide range of users to test it, and has a habit of dying off. -Zack Stauber -BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE- Version: GnuPG v1.4.3 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFxnYobb3W6CZJLjURAjYzAKCQynd6k2tKDNeNFmwffbFQ+vIbSQCgzWKu JLrHodF+U83EWlB2MraThAU= =0GF3 -END PGP SIGNATURE- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@lists.osgeo.org http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
