[Freegis-list] (no subject)

[Jan-Oliver Wagner]

On Mon, Sep 17, 2001 at 04:22:30PM +0100, Victor Vanni wrote:
> I am currently working on evaluation of the open source GIS software; GRASS.
> I am comparing this software to the industry leaders; Erdas Imagine and
> Arc/Info. I have all these software at my disposal and also a couple of
> datasets which I intend to use to test the software's.
> I have used Arc/Info and Erdas Imagine to carry out some tasks like data
> import and converting data from vector to raster format, in addition to
> other data manipulation techniques. Now, I intend to put the same datastes
> through the same process using GRASS and assessing the results - doing image
> to image matches. However, this is not robust enough to give acceptable
> results. I have also decided to use criteria like user support, version
> control, bug fixes, etc. to answer the question -  Is GRASS as good as
> Arc/Info or Erdas Imagine?
> I would therefore like advice me on identifying benchmarks for software
> evaluation.

you can buy GRASS support by contracting a service company such as GaF.
The support will be as intensive and comprehensive as you wish to pay for.
In the end you might have the same costs as for bying a license
of a proprietary product. Still you remain vendor independent since you can
change your service provider if you are not happy with the service.

Your software selection should consider the total costs of ownership.
The costs usually increase for proprietary products at the end of
the life cycle.

For technical stuff we have some very experience guys on the list :-)
However, there is surely not the one answer. Some aspects
are best served with GRASS, some others are best served by other
products (not necessarily being prorpietary ones).

Jan

-- 
Jan-Oliver Wagner               http://intevation.de/~jan/

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