Volume 27 • No 03 • 2004
ISSN 0742-468X • Since 1978
On-line Since 2000
Free GIS?
Recently, I was asked my opinion about the future of GIS. In particular, the client wanted to know where the price of GIS software was headed. The first part of the answer was simple: It is declining. Of course as the price drops, the market expands. If supply and demand stay in balance things should work out nicely for buyer and seller. On the other hand …
There’s that other hand again
When you charge for advice, it is useful to have that other hand opinion. It can make you look smarter, or if nothing else, can help reduce the risks of looking wrong. Just listen to most political pundits. They say clever things such as “John Kerry can win this election. On the other hand, should Bush get more votes, he will be the winner.” So, I opted for the look smarter option.
It struck me that everywhere you look on the internet someone is offering darn good software free of charge. Even in the GIS world we have GRASS GIS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System). It was developed by the U. S. Army and now is an open software product used around the world. While a good product, it doesn’t quite have the following of some of the commercial products that you probably use.
Then I thought “Dangermond could retire and put all that lovely Arc stuff in the public domain.” ESRI, the company, would continue to strive just supporting the existing base. Once in the public domain it could grow even more and then finally come full circle with Linux–like releases of Blue Hat GIS or Red Magician Map. Now that would really put an interesting twist into the market.
But there are those nerdy college kids
Next, I wondered why GIS would simply not follow the current mainstream software market. That is to say, I suspect that somewhere out there is a graduate student who will write a nifty GIS software package for her thesis and release it into the wild.
My client and I chuckled over this. Then yesterday, I stumbled over a piece of free GIS software from Germany that runs on Macs and PCs. I may have to stop chuckling.
It is called Kartoplan and is a database-based application, which allows users to create personal maps and populate them with map points. Kartoplan is geared towards mobile users, who need to keep track of hotspots, hotels, restaurants etc. It comes from a Danish company called applications.dk (http://www.application.dk)
Don’t panic
Don’t panic yet – it is not a full GIS, but its light version is free and is still in Beta. Moreover, it is not a full GIS in the sense of what is offered by ESRI or Intergraph. However, if you want to put a restaurant or other feature on a map image, it is a snap with Kartoplan. Just click on the point into which you want to insert information and a dialog box appears. A few clicks and you are done. For even more about open source GIS visit the Mapserver site and the Open Source Initiative. Don’t forget one of the first open source GIS, GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System).
I wouldn’t put off buying a GIS buying decision to await the free software. The point is that there are downward pressures on all software prices, and GIS is no exception. As you probably read, Microsoft dramatically dropped its price on its operating system because the French kept crying about how much cheaper Linux is. That will start happening in GIS.
As a GIS user, make this an advantage in your negotiations. Keep track of the open source and shareware activities. Then show your supplier just how much you can get for very little money. Sit back while s/he tells you all about the great support you are getting.
Just listen to your account rep. Then put on your Beret, have a glass of wine and start crying in French. Not only will you get a better price, but you could wind up with a case of wine and cheese.
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