[GRASS-user] GIS software popularity ranking: http://gisgeography.com/mapping-out-gis-software-landscape

[Rich Shepard]

On Tue, 27 Sep 2016, Thomas Adams wrote:

> The only problem (not for us per se) is wider acceptance of GRASS GIS
> based on inherent biases derived from a lack of familiarity with GRASS and
> blind disregard for it. At worst, GRASS' capabilities are misrepresented.
> GRASS, QGIS, SAGA GIS, etc. represent threats to ESRI -- they are not
> above spreading falsehoods... A larger user base enriches open source
> projects -- R serves as a great example...

Tom,

   I concur completely. Think back to 1981-1989 when no one was fired for
specifying IBM for PC hardware despite Epson, Compaq, Leading Edge, etc.
being technically better and _much_ less expensive.

   Because ESRI, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, etc. see F/OSS as a threat they do
throw around their weight to maintain market share. Part of the way they do
this is by purchasing advertising space in general market publications as
well as specialty publications for their particular software. Therefore,
those publications will not promote F/OSS software since there's no revenue
from this source and they are, after all, in business to make money.

   Perhaps the best way of advocating for GRASS, R, etc. is a two-pronged
approach. The prong of least resistance is to demonstrate the capabilities
of F/OSS software to provide necessary business solutions by using this
software rather than proprietary versions. I've run my environmental
consultancy since 1997 using only linux and F/OSS applications (most
frequently LaTeX, R, GRASS, and PostgreSQL/SQLite.

   The second prong is more difficult: get users who regularly use GRASS, R,
LibreOffice, and other F/OSS applications to defenestrate and move to linux.
Given the plethora of various Ubuntu flavors most who make the move find it
painless and learn the joy of free and better quality software at the OS
level, too.

Rich