[GRASS-user] Re: [OSGeo-Discuss] UN's program..: ESRI and cities mapping

[Arnulf Christl]

On Fri, October 5, 2007 21:12, Benjamin Ducke wrote:
> Jeroen,
>
>
> who do we have to contact at the UN for details on project applications to
> get some funding for GRASS development and deployment around the world?
>
> There are lots of dedicated academics and professional GIS developers
> behind GRASS GIS, based at highly respected public and private institutions
> around the world. Many of them would most happily dedicate additional time
> and effort to coordinating funded GRASS development.
>
> With a substantial monetary investment, GRASS could overtake any
> commercial solution

Hello,
as part of our marketing strategies as OSGeo we try to be careful in our
wording. One trap that we try to avoid is opposing Open Source software to
"commercial software" as this is not the appropriate antipode to what we
are trying to say:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_software

The term "commercial" itself can be perfectly applied to Open Source and
Free Software:
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Commercial_Services
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/%22Commercial_Software%22

The opposite to Free Software licensing is proprietary licensing and the
opposite to Open Source development methodology is closed source. The
distinction here is best formulated as Open Source vs. Closed Source
(development wise) and Free Software vs. proprietary (licensing wise).

There is a category in the Wiki that contains a collection of advocacy
related issues, feel free to extend them (much of it has only been edited
by myself which means that it is not at all a consolidated place for
information but just a small collection of personal whims):
http://wiki.osgeo.org/index.php/Category:Advocacy

> in targeted functionality and usability. It is spatial
> technology that's enabling, free, democratic and unconditional to share
> for the entire world.
>
> -- that's what the UN should be all about, isn't it?
>
>
> Cheers,
>
>
> Benjamin

Apart from that you are right about all that you say. Btw. Jeroen is
already doing a really good job at FAO and related high level
administrations spreading word about FOSSGIS. I think what we can best do
as OSGeo is try to squeeze in more workshops, publications and appearance
at conferences and trade fairs to inform people about what we are doing
and why it is good.

Best regards,
Arnulf.

> Jeroen Ticheler wrote:
>
>> Hi Ravi,
>> As a UN employee I guess I have to react on your statement :-)
>> As UN we are trying to provide and use quite a bit of open source
>> technologies. The OSGeo GeoNetwork opensource that I work on is an
>> example of that and there are a number of other activities existing or
>> starting up. take a look at the UN produced DVD "GeoNetwork opensource"
>>  that contains nothing but geospatial open source software and is
>> distributed for free to many people all over the world. It remains a
>> fact that many applications are (still?) build on proprietary
>> applications and there is not much wrong with that happening also. At
>> present I bet there are more developers that work on proprietary systems
>> and have no interest or knowledge to develop using open source software
>> and sometimes applications are simply not there yet in open source. Mind
>> you, I'm saying this as a profound open source advocate :-) As said,
>> there are multiple initiatives that support open source, but the world
>> does not change in a day while many existing problems need to be
>> addressed immediately. Ciao,
>> Jeroen
>>
>>
>> On Sep 25, 2007, at 3:00 PM, RAVI KUMAR wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Hi all,
>>> It is unfortunate that United Nations nearly advocates Proprietory
>>> GIS.
>>> Time we react to this. The developing world is already throwing
>>> billions into un-sustainable Proprietory GIS for various GIS jobs.
>>>
>>> Fope the FOSS4G will discuss this and send a memorandum to UN..
>>>
>>>
>>> ww2.un <http://ww2.unhabitat.org/guonet/gis.asp>http://
>>> <http://ww2.unhabitat.org/guonet/gis.asp>habitat.org/guonet/gis.asp
>>> <http://ww2.unhabitat.org/guonet/gis.asp>
>>> Cheers
>>> Ravi Kumar
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
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>>>
>>
>>
>> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>>
>>
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>
> --
> Benjamin Ducke, M.A.
> Archäoinformatik
> (Archaeoinformation Science)
> Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte
> (Inst. of Prehistoric and Historic Archaeology)
> Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel
> Johanna-Mestorf-Straße 2-6
> D 24098 Kiel
> Germany
>
>
> Tel.: ++49 (0)431 880-3378 / -3379
> Fax : ++49 (0)431 880-7300
> www.uni-kiel.de/ufg
>
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-- 
Arnulf Christl
http://www.wheregroup.com