Thanks for the input Frank. You make some valid points. I may try to find a company that is willing to provide my own company with programming and other technical support for OpenJUMP. I could do this myself, but I just don't have the time. I really believe OpenJUMP can do everything this particular client will need, with only a couple of minor exceptions. The beautiful aspect of using OpenJUMP is that it would be very easy to tailor the software to meet the special needs of the client. (For example: The State of California has specific regulations that require an inventory of the district's pipe network and of sanitary sewer overflows into the storm drain system.)
However, there is no way my boss will use OpenJUMP if I don't have an actual business backing me up on the support side. Unfortunately for this surveyor OpenJUMP will always be a hobby, and not a business. I need to find someone for which it can be a business. I'll post on the OpenJUMP mailing list to see if there are any organizations there that would be interested in responding to a simple RFP for OpenJUMP support. I'd prefer to use an organization that is already contributing to the community, but if there is a company here that might be interested in this type of work they can e-mail me off-list. My work e-mail address is lblake at ksninc dot com. I'd be looking for a company with experience in Java, open source development, and with GIS. I'm thinking it will only be a couple thousand dollars of work up front, and maybe an additional couple thousand over the course of the next two years. However, if we're successful there could be opportunities for work with more of my clients. Landon -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Frank Warmerdam Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 9:29 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Geowanking] Request For Opinions On MapInfo Landon Blake wrote: > I've got a small sanitary district that has asked my company for > assistance with implementing a GIS. Unfortunately I won't be able to > utilize open source GIS programs that I work with on this project, or at > least not as extensively as I would like to. So I am currently > considering alternatives. I know most people use ESRI software, but if I > can't use open source I'd like to give the little guy a chance. > > Do any wankers have experience with MapInfo? How does it measure up > against the "light" version of ESRI's ArcView? How would it compare to a > program like QGIS or OpenJUMP? Landon, I don't think many people would consider MapInfo a "little guy" in the GIS market, though they aren't in the dominant position of ESRI. I'm not sure what is driving your selection criteria for software. If it isn't price, then "use what you know" even if it is ESRI might be wise. If price is an issue, then you might contemplate something like Manifold. But if you can't use QGIS, etc, then there must presumably be some particular feature set driving things (I'd hope!) so not expressing that makes it hard to evaluate. I will say that MapInfo is a major desktop GIS package and in recent years has addressed use of spatial databases as the backend fairly seriously. Best regards, -- ---------------------------------------+-------------------------------- ------ I set the clouds in motion - turn up | Frank Warmerdam, [EMAIL PROTECTED] light and sound - activate the windows | http://pobox.com/~warmerdam and watch the world go round - Rush | Geospatial Programmer for Rent _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking 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. _______________________________________________ Geowanking mailing list [email protected] http://lists.burri.to/mailman/listinfo/geowanking
