hmueller@wfsc4.tamu.edu (Hal Mueller) (07/24/90)
In article <1990Jul23.151301.20723@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> klefstad@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Sue Klefstad) writes: >Does anyone know of a PC-based (Mac or IBM) Geographic Information >System that would allow inputting maps and assigning a database >of information to various points on the map? > >Thanks. >--- Sue >Sue Klefstad >s-klefstad@uiuc.edu Here's what I know: PC/ARC-INFO, a version (with reduced capabilities) of workstation ARC-INFO, runs on IBM machines. I don't have their address, but you can probably find an ad from them in a current issue of GIS World, PO Box 8090, Ft Collins, CO 80526. GRASS was developed by the US Army Construction Engineering Research Lab, and is Unix based, but has been ported to the Mac. GRASS distribution sites: Concurrent, Mac, and AT&T: ITD SRSC Bldg 1103, Suite 118 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 Phone: 601/688-2509, Scott Howard Fax: 601/688-2861 SUN, Tektronix, and PC 386: DBA Systems Redwood One Building, 10560 Arrowhead Roa Fairfax, VA 22033 Phone: 703/934-6769, Dave Johnson Fax: 703/385-5870 Concurrent, SUN, and PC 386 European GRASS Center, Buro Nieuwland P.B. 522 6700 AM Wageningen, Netherlands Phone: (011) 31-8370-21711, Jan Wim Ploeg Fax: 31-8370-25046 SCO UNIX 486 Satellite Technologies Group (STG) 9901 E. Valley Ranch Pkwy, Suite 2020 Irving, TX 75063 Phone: 214/506-9980, H. Eric Douthit II Fax: 214/556-2330 From: UN020240@WVNVMS.BITNET Newsgroups: bit.listserv.gis-l Subject: RE: GIS FOR MAC Date: 16 Apr 90 17:43:00 GMT There is a high end GIS package called "MapGrafix" that runs on the MAC. It costs about $6000.00 (educational price). It was meant to compete with ARC-INFO but it doesn't seem to be as full featured. One good feature is the fact that you can use any database (unlike ARC-INFO) with it. The program takes some getting used to because it deviates from the standard MAC-USER interface. They will sell you an almost fully functional demo version for about $50.00. It can be obtained from: ComGrafix, INC. 620 E St. Clearwater, FL 34616 ph: 813-443-6807 A GRASS port called MacGrass is available for $900.00 from ITD, Space Remote Sensing Center Building 1103, Suite 118 Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 ph: 601-688-2509 You need a macII with AUX and a big hard disk 200-300meg to run MacGrass. Also need a video terminal attached to the mac. MacGrass is commanded from a video terminal because it takes over the color display for display only. The program is only distributed via apple streaming tape, so you'll need one of those too. If Grass is public domain why the $900.00 fee? You are basically paying for the video driver and customer support. From: MARBLE@MAPVXA.CFM.OHIO-STATE.EDU (Duane Marble) Subject: RE: GIS FOR MAC Date: 13 Apr 90 18:06:00 GMT There was a fairly comprehensive listing of these programs in the Newsletter of the Canadian Cartographic Association about nine months or a year ago. If you have the firepower (memory, etc.), MAP II which can be obtained from John Wiley for about $125 is quite nice. For smaller systems (e.g., SE) there are other, monochrome, programs available from academic sources. Duane Marble -------------------------- By all means, spend $125 for MAP II. It offers a full suite of grid-based GIS functions, color support, nice data import/export capabilities, and you can get support from both John Wiley (the software publisher) or Machine Computng Lab., Dept. of Geography, U. of Manitoba (the developer). A monochrome product recently on the market, hinted at by D. Marble, is called macGIS. It is also about $100, will run on all Macs (including on a 400K external drive!), and comes with an interesting 3-D wire-frame modeling program (if your data set has z-coords.). It may be found by contacting David Hulse, Dept. of Landscape Architecture, Univ. of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403. These Mac products each have interesting user-interfaces (somewhat Mac- standard) which _should_ allow for easier access and perhaps better spatial problem-solving by students. I would be very interested to see results of similar GIS-related studies executed using these Mac products versus more traditional PC-MAP, PC Arc/Info products. I expect that the Mac can easily accommodate more sophisticated metaphor-based interfaces in the future, making Mac-based GISs more intuitively like hands-on geographical/spatial analysis, but only time will tell... Mike Gould State University of New York at Buffalo -- Hal Mueller hmueller@cssun.tamu.edu n270ca@tamunix (Bitnet) Graduate Student, Department of Computer Science Research Assistant, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843