Category: Thoughts

So the Esri UC Q&A seemed to show that you could not only direct connect to just about any spatial RDBMS, but edit as well. In that spirit, we started to think tools such as zigGIS were no longer needed. Well Bill Dollins asks Esri for some clarification on the matter because the scuttlebutt is that you may still need SDE for editing of spatial databases.

Look, there are times when organizations need SDE. But there are times when SDE is a middle man that has no purpose other than to drive revenues for a company. Let’s not screw this up Esri, let ArcGIS for Desktop and ArcGIS for Server 10.1 edit spatial RDBMSs directly. The proletariat is restless, you don’t need a revolution on your hands.

Now SEXTANTE is one of those projects that not only has some really useful tools but also has a wonderful name. I love bragging to my friends that I was working with SEXTANTE (said with a Latin accent) all day. Seriously though, if you work outside of ArcGIS for Desktop, you probably already use SEXTANTE for your geoprocessing. But what about the idea of using SEXTANTE in ArcGIS itself?

Here is a first video of SEXTANTE for ArcGIS, so you can see what it is like to access the power of SEXTANTE from the popular ESRI product.

Still, a bit of work to get done before it can be released, but I have to admit, I like the idea of using SEXTANTE in all my GIS apps.

Unlike the other “large” proprietary vector editing program in our space, AutoCAD now has a version in the Mac App Store.

The new AutoCAD LT for Mac software brings powerhouse drafting tools to the Mac. Providing native support for DWG file format, AutoCAD LT for Mac helps you efficiently document and share designs. With the powerhouse tools you expect from AutoCAD LT software along with an intuitive Mac OS X interface it’s now easier than ever to create design documentation on your platform of choice.

In a past life I would have been all over that. Today though I don’t use DWG enough to justify paying $900 for AutoCAD LT. Too bad though, it looks very nice.

I’m the first to admit I’m not a huge Flex supporter, but maybe this is interesting to all those who tell me Flex is where the magic is happening.

WebMapSolutions.com seems to be working with ArcGIS Flex 2.4 and Flex Builder 4.5 and ported them to AIR for mobile devices. For those organizations that are locked into Flex, this might be a simple solution to get their apps on mobile devices.

So the big news out of the Esri UC was direct connect to spatial databases at 10.1. Sounds full of awesome. Oh but wait, what about the 99.999999% of us not on 10.1? How do we direct connect without SDE? Bill Dollins looked at PgMap when ZigGIS was closed. Says Bill:

I think PgMap is an impressive tool that should be able to support the needs of ArcGIS 9.x and 10.0 users going forward. It’s good to know that a tool is out there to continue meeting that demand.

Clearly those wanting to direct connect to spatial databases without SDE using today’s releases of ArcGIS need to use PgMap or QMap. The fact they integrate directly into ArcGIS Desktop workflows means that you can use them and quickly get working on PostGIS or SQL Server Spatial quickly. What are you afraid of?!?!!

One of the minor complaints about the File Geodatabase API was that there was no API wrapper for those who wanted to use it with .NET projects (Where is the Avenue wrapper Esri?). Clearly Esri heard the talk and rolled out a simple wrapper for .NET users. The File Geodatabase API 1.1 has all that and some bug fixes.

I can’t wait to start using the File Geodatabase API.

Look, I’m a realist when it comes to software and philosophy. Use what gets your work done faster, more efficiently, and without killing the penguins down in Antarctica. I can’t even remember if open source software is “free as in beer” or “free as in I’m a cheap bastard”. But what I do know is that if you aren’t familiar with all the tools available to you, there is a chance you maybe be doing things inefficiently and probably incorrectly.

That’s why I think this year, a great opportunity for everyone in North America (I’ve got nothing but love for our brothers and sisters in Canada, Mexico, and Central America) to make time to visit Denver for FOSS4G 2011 next month. Since FOSS4G was last in our neck of the woods in 2007, the geospatial world has changed a ton. So many new projects are available and more mature than ever before. The choice that we all have today is greater than ever before and FOSS4G 2011 will give us all a chance to see what’s new and how we can use these projects in our workflows. 3 days in Denver will give you the information you’ll need to succeed in this space as it rapidly changes. Sitting back and letting the world move forward without you is a recipe for obsolescence.

A quick look at the schedule shows that there are tons of great sessions to be involved with and for those who haven’t been exposed to open source projects before, there is a great Introduction to Geospatial Open Source that will help you get a better handle on your options. I’ll be there all week and so will most of the big geo-personalities in our space. They all realize that this is an opportunity that only comes around once every 5 years (yes it’s been that long since we’ve had one in North America) and you can’t afford to miss out.

FOSS4G 2011 is a “super” choice!

We’ve soft launched the registration for WhereCampPHX but you can still sign up to attend (its free). Right now, registration stands at 71 so we are well on our way to being a sellout. We’ve been lucky enough to be able to have the event at the Arizona State University Cronkite School of Journalism in downtown Phoenix. The space is full of awesome so we should all have a great time. I’d also like to thank our sponsors for stepping up and helping us put on this free event.

This will be the first WhereCamp in Phoenix so it should really be a special time. Make sure you register to attend if you are going to be there. I know I will and so will many others.

I saw this week that the 2011 Amazon AWS Start-Up Challenge is running again. It is hard to believe that it has been 4 years since WeoGeo was a finalist in the 2007 AWS Start-Up Challenge. We finished runner up to Ooyala with Justin.tv.

I blogged about the challenge back then (I wasn’t working for WeoGeo yet) and “we” (GIS Professionals) were worried about things like the Esri Web ADF, not cloud-based computing. As WeoGeo gets ready for a busy fall, I’m glad the decisions that were made by the team back in 2006 are able to support the amazing places we are going to be going in 2011. Click on that link above to see a video of Paul Bissett showcasing WeoGeo to the voters.

The business model evolves, but that the fundamental desire to put people and their place together in a single, accessible, framework is still the driving goal of WeoGeo. Yeah, we up up up through the clouds….

I can’t recall one new feature in ArcGIS 10.1 that I saw at the Esri UC a couple weeks ago, but if you need some niche feature it adds, you can join the beta.