Maptitude - http://research.umbc.edu/~roswell/maptitude.html
I use all three and Manifold, and raster Idrisi, Vertical Mapper, Surfer and
ESRI Spatial analyst, and I can use GISDK, MapBasic, Avenue - for my own
uses, not as an app builder. I have taught two day classes in all of them,
and a Maptitude course in Public health GIS for several years. I am not a
GIS propeller head (and I say that affectionately - I do not have the
capacity to be scientist and GIS expert, brain is too small) that is, I am a
user. I ask my maps questions and I want answers.
My choice:
Maptitude > Manifold > MapInfo >>> ArcView.
Based on ease of use, capability, and cost. Maptitude has things I must have
for public health (aerial overlay for example -NOT there in the other vector
products). AV has a lot of friends and so there is a lot of code out there
to do things, but you have to be careful - get what you pay for etc.
Manifold is not easy to use, but is has some spatial analytical capacity I
like. MapInfo is a good product, its raster companion Vertical Mapper is top
class, far and away a better product that ESRI spatial analyst. But not
MapInfo is interested in customers like me. If fact, I am sure they are not.
In the old days I could crash Maptitude easily, not anymore. I can kill AV -
"let me count the ways ...." Caliper listens to problems, ESRI does not,
neither does MapInfo, Manifold certainly does. AV keeps coming out the with
the same bugs and then starts calling them features year after year. I have
seen the "new" ESRI suite - don't get too excited. Expensive and likely full
of bugs. I do like the attachment of Splus to ArcView. Hopefully Caliper
will do something similar, this could really put them over the top on the
analysis side of GIS. ESRI is not particularly interested - its something
Splus has put together. As for quantative capacity in GIS I think the
current GIS developers are not mathematical types (Manifold excluded) and do
not see the value - but they have missed the revolution in spatial
statistical techniques in the last 5 years) The market is there, but they
are not convinced. There is a like in GIS beyond market segmentation maps
and locating cell phone towers. Caliper's focus on transportation is good
for Maptitude users - you can't be too stupid to develop networking GIS, it
may be the toughest type of GIS to do.
Strengths: ease of use, cost, I have not been able to find a feature in any
other package (except topology editing) that Maptitude can't do as well.
Although I certainly can find things that I can do in Mapt and not do in the
others. Actually there is likely more capacity than I know about -
especially if I learned more about GISDK
weaknesses: topology editing is not all that strong, AV is better but the
capacity that is there was not done by ESRI. But for what I need, its good
enough. GISDK needs modernization, but its as good as MapBasic, better in
that there are more geographi-type functions available out of the box.
Avenue is soon to be replaced by VB. Also AV WILL disappear. ESRI has
completely re-written their product line, likely they cannot wait to dump
the current AV. Customers seem to be just taking it in stride- they will
have a big surprise when they start getting the bills for those "enterprise"
GIS systems that will soon all need to be replaced.
Richard Hoskins
[EMAIL PROTECTED] <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
GMT -8
-----Original Message-----
From: Marjorie Roswell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 6:26 AM
To: Maptitude
Subject: Re: [Maptitude] Community 2020 and ArcView
Maptitude - http://research.umbc.edu/~roswell/maptitude.html
> Methinks its time for a three-way comparison:
> MapInfo 5.0 vs ArcView 3.2a vs Maptitude 4.1.
We would welcome your thoughts on this!
By the way, I'm still immersed in text-only documentation. Seeing a light
at the end of the tunnel though....
Welcome to all the folks who've joined the list in recent months. Tell us
about your interest in Maptitude, and ask all those questions that nag
you....pose the problems that beckon a solution.
Best Regards,
Margie
_________________________________________________________
Marjorie Roswell, Spatial Analyst
UMBC Center for Health Program Development and Management
1000 Hilltop Circle Fx: (410)455-6850
Baltimore, MD 21250 E: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Ph: (410)455-6802 http://umbc.edu/~roswell/mipage.html
_________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
