Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
I've seen it, but not looked at it. As a VAR, I do have some strong opinions... 1.There is a cost to MapInfo just to stay current. Every time Windows comes out with a new version, there's work for MapInfo just to make it work correctly. So they need to come out with maintenance releases. 2.Maybe the features are ground shaking events. However, some of the seemingly minor ones have huge impacts on daily users. For example, in 5.5, the better editing algorithms are very significant, if you do drawing (we do). In 6.0, cutting off the ends of lines to create polygons is an exception feature(we just did a big project, and it would have saved us much more than $600 in time). 3.Extending the product line to have OCX Products (MapX), and web-based versions is HUGE. It actually has caused some pain for people who just use MapInfo Pro(like newer versions seem buggier - older ones were bullet proof when released). But it does open up many more ways to use mapping, and makes it potentially available to many more people. If you are the key user for your company, I bet lots of people ask you to make maps, and you tell them you can't - you don't have the time - you'd be overwhelmed if you made maps for everyone who wanted them What if they could make their own maps? 4.Enterprise-wide solutions - The web-based products and OCX give you the potential to make things simpler. Also, the web server based models make it possible to update the information in 1 place and give access to many. This reduces maintenance costs drastically. Plus, since MapInfo charges per seat for desktop licenses, the Web-based server stuff actually makes it CHEAPER if you have lots of people. Small companies don't, but small companies can have lots of customers! You can open up your maps to customers, sales execs, etc. with web mapping. Think outside the box! Best Wishes! Dan Munson CDS Business Mapping - Original Message - From: Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 1:14 PM Subject: Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? It's not shipping yet. June 1st is the scheduled date for North America. I think the only thing out now is the beta version, which no one is supposed to talk about in public. I think that most people actively using MapInfo now will upgrade. Casual users will probably think harder about it, but I really think most people will get it. A certain percentage will almost certainly try one of the cheap competitors, but will be back here in a year or so saying that their alternative makes a nice supplement to MapInfo. A smaller percentage will leave forever, and probably throw out all commercial software and switch to Linux and GRASS. At least that's what will happen if history is any guide to the present. - Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just curious, does anyone have any experiences with MI 6.0 yet along with any comments on new features or views on if many users will flock to the recent upgrade. any comments would be appreciated -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet again?
Chris, Your contribution to the debate on the future direction of Mapinfo is certainly an interesting view of the macro-environment in which all computer software resides. I can only agree that the desktop software of today will be superceded by the internet-aware products of the future. Wherever the software resides, it should still do what the users need, as quickly and efficiently as possible. High-level discussions of company policy are all very well, but the guys (like me) drafting maps from dawn 'til dusk are the ones who are faced with the time-consuming work-arounds, and the won't-work-at-alls. If drafting presentation-quality maps is a slow, cumbersome process, if it's difficult to output them in the format required (how many users can generate a fully-functioning EPS file - I can't), if WYSI - not-WYG, if what is considered to be core-functionality in other mapping/drafting packages is posted missing, then all that will happen in the internet age is that cartographers will use other forms of software that will. Focus not just on making products internet-compatible, but making sure that in the more competitive situation that will develop over the next few years, Mapinfo remains the software users will chose to work with. In this day and age, people expect improved functionality with each upgrade. In this regard, Mapinfo just isn't delivering. Regards, Brian Forrester edinburgh [EMAIL PROTECTED] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Personal rant follows: Does Mapinfo v.6 allow the status-bar to report deg.min'sec" rather than decimal degrees? Can I input/read-off locations using deg.min'sec" when double-clicking on an object? - How much programming time would be involved in that simple change which would make a significant difference to the amount of time it takes me to do my job - almost all coordinate information that I get comes in deg.min'sec" format - I live with a scientific calculator by my tablet for just this purpose. -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
Ladies Gentlemen, My company has a large installed base of users, both full installations and distributed run-time versions. We still use Mapinfo 4.1, although we have purchased a copy of each upgrade for evaluation. Each time, I have investigated whether it is worth our while upgrading the whole company to the new version. Are any of you surprised that we have not done so? There has been nothing in v4.5, v5 or now, it seems, v6 to justify the expense. Looking back at the WishList from a few years back, so few of these questions have been properly addressed. All text-objects are anchored top-left, why can't I fix each text-object at a different location (bottom,right for example)?; Lat/longs in d.m's" has yet to be fully implemented (even Encarta WorldAtlas does this); why can't I take a selection of text objects and itaicise them/rotate them/ in bulk?; why can't I copy/move objects but retain horizontal/vertical alignment?; why can't I seamlessly move from editing an object on one layer to an object on another layer? Curving text aling a polyline? Continuous line-styles (that don't stop/start with each line vertex) etc.etc. etc. MBX's have answered some specific questions, but the product itself seems stuck in a rut. A simple analogy from Autocad days might help to illustrate this point. Autodesk used to buy-up utilities produced by third-party vendors, fully implementing the code, seamlessly, into the next upgrade. I presume they paid the third-party vendors who could then move on to the next gap in Autocad functionality. With each upgrade, there was a real boost in functionality; the best of the third-party stuff, and Autodesk's own work; a real commitment to working through the User Group wishlist. If Mapinfo is ever to really challenge AV, or even keep clear of the clutches of smaller, faster-moving companies, it will have to be more responsive to it's user-base. It has been interesting reading the views of so many who use a number of mapping products. How many of you would ditch the others, concentrating on Mapinfo alone - if only Mapinfo v7 was a real and significant improvement that would genuinely justify the change in version number, produce better maps and be faster to use and easier to learn. But even if the improvement was less significant, how many of you would still buy Mapinfo; you wouldn't use it as much as you might, but Mapinfo would still register a sale. The best thing that's happenned to Mapinfo in this office since v4.1? Adobe's PDF writer. Connection to Mapinfo Corp. - None. I can only agree that a new version number for v5 and v6 seems like complete overkill. I despair of any step-change from Mapinfo. Regards, Brian Forrester Edinburgh [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
(Please delete this long-winded diatribe if you are not into spirited debate) My two dollars As an old-time MapInfo Pro desktop application user, I understand some of the frustration with MapInfo spending more and more energy on their MapX line, seemingly to the detriment MI Pro users. But I must admit I've heard many of these same complaints before- when MapInfo decided to move development efforts away from their bread and butter DOS product and devote more resources to developing on "that silly Windows platform". In order for MapInfo to thrive, it must be ahead of the curve when it comes to new technologies and platforms. The reason MapInfo is as strong as it is today is because 10 years ago they "bet the farm" on the idea that computing would be ruled by graphical user interfaces. Their main competitor at the time (ArcView didn't come out until a few years later) was Strategic Mapping (Atlas GIS), who didn't embrace the new GUI paradigm until it was too late...and we all know what happened to them. In addition, it could be argued that the only reason MapInfo made a dent in ESRI's market share at all was that MI was the only GUI mapping application in existence for several years. The Internet and rapidly expanding broadband access represent another major paradigm shift that is changing the way people use computers, similar to how Windows (and of course the Mac) opened up the power of computing to a whole new class of non-technical users 10 years ago. In order for any software to be successful over the long term, it must be in the business of predicting how people will interact with computers several years into the future. It seems the MapX product line represents MapInfo's response to what it believes is the next generation of information technology. While obviously the move towards internet-based mapping now and the move to the Windows platform 10 years ago are not strictly analogous, I believe the concepts still apply. MapInfo must devote much of it's time into making sure it is in position for the next wave of "distributed" applications. This means more developers working on MapX/MapXtreme type technology, leaving less developers for the maturing MapInfo Professional technology. (And in a micro sense, within MapInfo Pro itself more attention will be given to newer technologies, such as 3D mapping, internet connectivity, etc., and less towards tweaking the interface) Now I don't think anyone believes MapInfo Pro is being abandoned anytime in the near future, but if you look ahead 5 years from now most experts envision that many if not most computer applications will be internet/service based. Imagine if you will a MapInfo Pro level "service" that you sign up for and use over the Internet through your browser, without installing or downloading anything on to your local hard drive except your own data. In regards to pricing of MI Pro and its upgrades, that is a business decision that can be argued over until every one is blue in the face. The more money MapInfo brings in, the more developers and support people (i.e. MapWorld magazine editors) can be hired, which is better for all of MapInfo's product line. However the higher the prices, the more certain users will be "priced out" of buying MI products and upgrades; Which leaves a market niche open for lower priced alternatives (such as Manifold, Maptitude, etc.) to enter the picture. Each individual user has to decide for his/herself whether the extra money needed to purchase a MapInfo product or upgrade is worth it given the alternatives. But one must keep in mind that just as successful software companies must keep an eye toward the future, we users must be sure that the technology we invest in today will still be relevant down the road. (Anyone thinking of buying a copy of Atlas GIS? It only costs $295...) In theory it is possible that a company like Caliper is so efficient that it can make money building and maintaining a MapInfo Pro quality desktop product for a sub $500 price tag while still getting itself ready for the next generation of information technology. If it can achieve this feat consistently and over the long term then the marketplace will reward it, and we might all be chatting on Maptitude-L in five years. However until this business model is proven, I believe the bulk of desktop mapping users will "dance with the one who brung 'em." Feel free to argue, Chris Chris DuBuc Sage Software VP Florida Operations Authorized MapInfo Reseller [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Dick Hoskins [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 3:06 PM Subject: Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? I might augment your predictions a little: I suspect that the average MI user is getting tired of cosmetic upgrades that cost $500. Much less, many of us are not real nuts about
Re: MI Christopher DuBuc's Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? message
etc.) to enter the picture. Each individual user has to decide for his/herself whether the extra money needed to purchase a MapInfo product or upgrade is worth it given the alternatives. But one must keep in mind that just as successful software companies must keep an eye toward the future, we users must be sure that the technology we invest in today will still be relevant down the road. (Anyone thinking of buying a copy of Atlas GIS? It only costs $295...) In theory it is possible that a company like Caliper is so efficient that it can make money building and maintaining a MapInfo Pro quality desktop product for a sub $500 price tag while still getting itself ready for the next generation of information technology. If it can achieve this feat consistently and over the long term then the marketplace will reward it, and we might all be chatting on Maptitude-L in five years. However until this business model is proven, I believe the bulk of desktop mapping users will "dance with the one who brung 'em." Feel free to argue, Chris Chris DuBuc Sage Software VP Florida Operations Authorized MapInfo Reseller [EMAIL PROTECTED] - Original Message - From: Dick Hoskins [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 3:06 PM Subject: Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? I might augment your predictions a little: I suspect that the average MI user is getting tired of cosmetic upgrades that cost $500. Much less, many of us are not real nuts about MapExtreme, the big price tag and the profound lack of ease in implementation. (The lack of Internet capable mapping from the major vendors is overwhelming) There is no way that the wool-dyed MI user can support any notion that MI Corp is listening to the ... user, that is, their customers who have the greatest capacity to really use the product. I would take issue with your comments, or the tone concerning "cheap" Low price doesn't mean necessarily cheap. it might mean that a competitor is attempting an end-run and trying to break through the current dominance in the market by AV and MI. I would say the same for AV. MI has a lot of nice features, AV has a few, but there are other products that have long since passed by and catching up ... and they are cheaper. Taking on the metaphor of "Rule Makers and Rule Breakers" - www.motleyfool.com the popular investment site, MI is neither. ESRI remains the "Rule Maker" - it is the dominant force in GIS and ... makes the rules. MI and everyone else must at best be the occasional mosquito as far as a threat to their dominance goes. It was once a "Rule Breaker" ... it did new innovative things and to some extent still does. (Compare ESRI magazine with MapWorld - no comparison. MapWorld is by any measure an almost pathetic competitor.) In my view MI does neither - it doesn't make the rules and it sure doesn't break them. But "Rule Breakers" are appearing, and one of these days whether its Manifold, or Caliper, or GeoMedia, or who knows who ... there will appear a substantive competitor unless ESRI or MI can get make some changes. I predict ESRI will make some, and MI will miss the boat. (the American Way and all that) One of these days there is going to be a GIS vendor who responds to customers, doesn't always have its hand out, provides credible tech support that ordinary people can afford, training that non-high-end business types can put in their budget (read government and education), etc. WHEN that happens, AV and MI users are going to leave the sinking ship like the proverbial rats. Dick Hoskins [EMAIL PROTECTED] GIS uses in public health summer course: http://healthlinks.washington.edu/inpho/gis/course.html - Original Message - From: "Bill Thoen" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 10:14 AM Subject: Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? It's not shipping yet. June 1st is the scheduled date for North America. I think the only thing out now is the beta version, which no one is supposed to talk about in public. I think that most people actively using MapInfo now will upgrade. Casual users will probably think harder about it, but I really think most people will get it. A certain percentage will almost certainly try one of the cheap competitors, but will be back here in a year or so saying that their alternative makes a nice supplement to MapInfo. A smaller percentage will leave forever, and probably throw out all commercial software and switch to Linux and GRASS. At least that's what will happen if history is any guide to the present. - Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just curious, does anyone have any experiences with MI 6.0 yet
Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
Just curious, does anyone have any experiences with MI 6.0 yet along with any comments on new features or views on if many users will flock to the recent upgrade. any comments would be appreciated Regards Glenn -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
It's not shipping yet. June 1st is the scheduled date for North America. I think the only thing out now is the beta version, which no one is supposed to talk about in public. I think that most people actively using MapInfo now will upgrade. Casual users will probably think harder about it, but I really think most people will get it. A certain percentage will almost certainly try one of the cheap competitors, but will be back here in a year or so saying that their alternative makes a nice supplement to MapInfo. A smaller percentage will leave forever, and probably throw out all commercial software and switch to Linux and GRASS. At least that's what will happen if history is any guide to the present. - Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just curious, does anyone have any experiences with MI 6.0 yet along with any comments on new features or views on if many users will flock to the recent upgrade. any comments would be appreciated -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet?
I might augment your predictions a little: I suspect that the average MI user is getting tired of cosmetic upgrades that cost $500. Much less, many of us are not real nuts about MapExtreme, the big price tag and the profound lack of ease in implementation. (The lack of Internet capable mapping from the major vendors is overwhelming) There is no way that the wool-dyed MI user can support any notion that MI Corp is listening to the ... user, that is, their customers who have the greatest capacity to really use the product. I would take issue with your comments, or the tone concerning "cheap" Low price doesn't mean necessarily cheap. it might mean that a competitor is attempting an end-run and trying to break through the current dominance in the market by AV and MI. I would say the same for AV. MI has a lot of nice features, AV has a few, but there are other products that have long since passed by and catching up ... and they are cheaper. Taking on the metaphor of "Rule Makers and Rule Breakers" - www.motleyfool.com the popular investment site, MI is neither. ESRI remains the "Rule Maker" - it is the dominant force in GIS and ... makes the rules. MI and everyone else must at best be the occasional mosquito as far as a threat to their dominance goes. It was once a "Rule Breaker" ... it did new innovative things and to some extent still does. (Compare ESRI magazine with MapWorld - no comparison. MapWorld is by any measure an almost pathetic competitor.) In my view MI does neither - it doesn't make the rules and it sure doesn't break them. But "Rule Breakers" are appearing, and one of these days whether its Manifold, or Caliper, or GeoMedia, or who knows who ... there will appear a substantive competitor unless ESRI or MI can get make some changes. I predict ESRI will make some, and MI will miss the boat. (the American Way and all that) One of these days there is going to be a GIS vendor who responds to customers, doesn't always have its hand out, provides credible tech support that ordinary people can afford, training that non-high-end business types can put in their budget (read government and education), etc. WHEN that happens, AV and MI users are going to leave the sinking ship like the proverbial rats. Dick Hoskins [EMAIL PROTECTED] GIS uses in public health summer course: http://healthlinks.washington.edu/inpho/gis/course.html - Original Message - From: "Bill Thoen" [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, May 05, 2000 10:14 AM Subject: Re: Anyone used MI 6.0 yet? It's not shipping yet. June 1st is the scheduled date for North America. I think the only thing out now is the beta version, which no one is supposed to talk about in public. I think that most people actively using MapInfo now will upgrade. Casual users will probably think harder about it, but I really think most people will get it. A certain percentage will almost certainly try one of the cheap competitors, but will be back here in a year or so saying that their alternative makes a nice supplement to MapInfo. A smaller percentage will leave forever, and probably throw out all commercial software and switch to Linux and GRASS. At least that's what will happen if history is any guide to the present. - Bill Thoen [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Just curious, does anyone have any experiences with MI 6.0 yet along with any comments on new features or views on if many users will flock to the recent upgrade. any comments would be appreciated -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
