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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'>I wanted to
comment on some things that <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tyler</st1:place></st1:City>
said:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=3
color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Arial Narrow";color:black'>Tyler</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-family:"Arial Narrow";
color:black'> wrote: “However, professionals who build their skills on
top of open source tools have complete freedom, motivation and encouragement in
their careers without licensing constraints.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'>There is an
important “freedom” that comes with open source software in an
educational or training environment. That is the freedom for the student to
look into the guts of the program to see how a GIS program accomplished a
specific task. For example, if I want to know how OpenJUMP paints a line
segment representing a road on my computer monitor I can look into the code and
<i><span style='font-style:italic'>find out</span></i>. If I am interested in
developing an algorithm to solve a particular problem in geospatial analysis I
can look at other open source code that tackles the same, or similar problems.
I believe open source software is one of the most provides one of the most
powerful tools to teach GIS. There is no better test of a student’s
understanding of a geospatial principle than the test that requires them to
write functioning source code that works on that principle. I really believe
GIS as a profession would be better of if all who practiced it did a little
closet programming. :]<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=3
color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:
"Arial Narrow";color:black'>Tyler</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span style='font-family:"Arial Narrow";
color:black'> wrote: “We know that all too often proposals or contracts
require specific software - often without any rationale except comfort by the
client. Instead, is it not in our collective best interests to encourage
professionals to use the best tool they know to do the job?”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'>We are fighting
the beast called “corporate monopoly” in this case. But I think we
have indirectly identified an important way to fight this monopoly. Promote the
use of open source GIS software in our educational institutions. People use
what they learn, and they learn what they are taught in school. As an example
of this, a certain unnamed surveying equipment vendor supplied my small community
college with as many seats of their software package as we wanted. What was the
end result? All of my graduating class left comfortable with that vendors way
of doing things, right or wrong, good or bad. When we eventually make it into
responsible positions, guess what we do? We buy that same software. Those free
licenses given to the community college was the best money that vendor ever
spent.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'>Maybe we need
to do something similar with community colleges, trade schools, and
universities that teach GIS classes. Perhaps we can set up an online course
materials sponsored and maintained by the OSGeo that these institutions could
use.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:black'>Landon<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=blue face="Arial Narrow"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial Narrow";color:blue'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
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<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'> discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org
[mailto:discuss-bounces@lists.osgeo.org] <b><span style='font-weight:bold'>On
Behalf Of </span></b>Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo)<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Monday, August 13, 2007
11:41 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> OSGeo Discussions<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> [OSGeo-Discuss] Re:
[OSGeo_discuss] Re: FOSS GIS in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region></span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>On 11-Aug-07, at 9:08 PM, RAVI KUMAR wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<blockquote style='margin-top:5.0pt;margin-bottom:5.0pt' type=cite><span
style='border-spacing: 0px 0px;text-align:auto;-khtml-text-decorations-in-effect: none;
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<p class=MsoNormal><span class=apple-style-span><font size=1 color=black
face=Helvetica><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:Helvetica;color:black;
background:white'>Emphasis is to be on GIS tools and principles, and not on GIS
brand labels.</span></span></font></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>This is the important part for me, allow me to take it a step
further. One of my interests is to see professionals develop their skills
for geospatial analysis, mapping, etc. This does not require any
particular brand of software. However, professionals who build their
skills on top of open source tools have complete freedom, motivation and
encouragement in their careers without licensing constraints. As long as
the concepts are well taught, they can likely learn (or re-train) to cover any
particular instance of geospatial applications in any workplace.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>In the bigger picture this is a conflict between corporate
"standards" and recognising professional choice or
capabilities. We know that all too often proposals or contracts require
specific software - often without any rationale except comfort by the
client. Instead, is it not in our collective best interests to encourage
professionals to use the best tool they know to do the job? This takes
faith in professional skill sets instead of faith in a particular software
package.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Whether the package is open source or proprietary is important from a
licensing or philosophical standpoint, but when I look at people who are
training to work in the field I'd much rather see them develop/learn tools that
they can use for the rest of their careers. Unfortunately we aren't
required to bring our tools with us to our jobs to prove our skills - instead
we're given tools within the confines of the workplace and expected to know how
to use them. That seems reasonable but is very limiting. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Fellow staff that I have worked with in the past have appreciated the
option of finding the best tool for the job instead of being forced to use one
that they might never have access to again in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Hope this makes some sense. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Tyler</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
</div>
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