Commercial vs. Open Source Functionality

[Buscher, Shane]

All right, I'm a little frustrated at this point trying to figure out
the current direction of MapGuide OS and MapGuide Commercial.  I'm
trying to choose between several competing technologies in the web
mapping arena, including ArcIMS, MapGuide OS, MapGuide Commercial, and
MapServer.  

1.  Is the MapGuide Studio product going to become strictly a commercial
product?  I see it expires in October.  If so, what authoring tool is
going to be made available for the OS users, if any?

2. There's a lot of vaporware advertising going on, especially in the
data provider category.  I have SQL Server,  ArcSDE, and WMS consumption
requirements.  These are documented as being supported, but you quickly
realize they are not post-install.  Are these functionalities only going
to be made available in the Commercial product?  This is what it seems. 

What is the general direction for both OS and Commercial?  Are they
going to be one in the same, with only support being the difference
between the two?  Or, will Autodesk just add functionality independently
of the OS project, leaving the open source community to catch up? 

Maybe this is not the right forum to ask these questions, but I don't
know where else to ask.  It's important to know the direction of these
products, as I'm looking for a long term solution.

Thanks in advance.

Shane Buscher
GIS/Compliance Systems
Northern Natural Gas
402.398.7841

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