Why are GIS applications lacking for the Mac?
There seems to be a paucity of GIS applications for the Mac platform relative to other applications.
With Apple's in-roads in research and education, why isn't there a Mac version of ESRI's ArcMap for example - perhaps one that is multi-processor aware and take's advantage of the Mac's "core image" technology?
With 3-D mapping in such applications, simulated movement through the virtual, 3-D landscape, redrawing of images, etc. its seems like a Mac with multiple, 64-bit processors and lots of addressable memory would be powerful, GIS-appropriate workstations.
I suppose the market just isn't big enough? I would love to see Apple support development of a robust GIS application for the Mac with an elegant interface.
With Apple's in-roads in research and education, why isn't there a Mac version of ESRI's ArcMap for example - perhaps one that is multi-processor aware and take's advantage of the Mac's "core image" technology?
With 3-D mapping in such applications, simulated movement through the virtual, 3-D landscape, redrawing of images, etc. its seems like a Mac with multiple, 64-bit processors and lots of addressable memory would be powerful, GIS-appropriate workstations.
I suppose the market just isn't big enough? I would love to see Apple support development of a robust GIS application for the Mac with an elegant interface.
Comments
I know that there is a open source GIS called Grass, I haven't tried it, but it might be worth a shot.
Tons of G.I.S.'ers that I kow have macs
That said, GRASS isn't an alternative. It wouldn't even start. Most open source apps are a waste of time. If it's not Aqua it's a waste of time. Can GRASS open shape files and ArcMap coverages, do everything else? Rubbersheet, project on the fly, does it have the wealth of projections, guided metadata editing, etc? And all through GUI?
BRussell do you do GIS? Reading a bit about it, seeing how it was used for MODFLOW and by US agencies etc is impressive. But its interface on OS X...is certainly not. And I think I tried 6 or 6.1. The underlying tech sounds great but it just...doesn't work. GIS needs to be in Cocoa or Carbon, OS X native. Well designed. GIS shouldn't be so hard. People people like the developers from ArcMap and GRASS have needlessly complicated it.
Originally posted by Aquatic
BRussell do you do GIS? Reading a bit about it, seeing how it was used for MODFLOW and by US agencies etc is impressive. But its interface on OS X...is certainly not. And I think I tried 6 or 6.1. The underlying tech sounds great but it just...doesn't work. GIS needs to be in Cocoa or Carbon, OS X native. Well designed. GIS shouldn't be so hard. People people like the developers from ArcMap and GRASS have needlessly complicated it.
Not really. I took an afternoon seminar on it once, and we used an ESRI product. I thought there was a Mac version of it at the time (about 5 years ago).
Originally posted by Aquatic
ArcMap is symbolic of a Windows application. WAY too hard to use. I took 10 credits just to learn how to use it. It's a piece of garbage, and I'm sure a company making a Mac GIS app would do better.
Assuming you have/had a 16 week semester, 10HRS/week is 160 Hrs. That many hours to learn a really powerfull app inside and out, backwards and forwards isnt bad.
Not everything is streight forward and easy, I have about 150 hours of Vagas (DV NLE) use under my belt at work, but I still learn new things every time that I sit down and use it.
Think about this, I have taken 16 cr hrs (256 real world hands on hours not including open lab time) of Cisco academy, and just scratched the surface of what Cisco IOS can do.
The more powerfull the tool, the more complex, complexity isnt a bad thing, so long as you know how to do with it what you need to.
Originally posted by a_greer
Assuming you have/had a 16 week semester, 10HRS/week is 160 Hrs. That many hours to learn a really powerfull app inside and out, backwards and forwards isnt bad.
Not everything is streight forward and easy, I have about 150 hours of Vagas (DV NLE) use under my belt at work, but I still learn new things every time that I sit down and use it.
Think about this, I have taken 16 cr hrs (256 real world hands on hours not including open lab time) of Cisco academy, and just scratched the surface of what Cisco IOS can do.
The more powerfull the tool, the more complex, complexity isnt a bad thing, so long as you know how to do with it what you need to.
I think you and Aquatic bring up good points, and I think the limitation of the ESRI product is that the balance between complexity and simplicity-of-use is missing. I have not found their products to be intuitive either. I use it because its powerful, but its organization and inteface have always been initially discouraging, which increases learning time. Part of that may be related to the fact that most people are not trained to think and analyze spatially, part of the it is the consequent challenge of dealing with spatial complexities in software and UI desgign.
Apple in general seems to strive for simplicity and power, and their support of a GIS program would probably result in a powerful and much more intuitive product. With OS X, its core technologies, the benefits of 64-bit processors (addressable memory) and Apple's presence in Universities and research, I think the platform should be ripe for it. If Apple can develop Aperture for pro photographers, why not GIS for universities, counties, municipalities, natural resource agencies, etc?
I tried Grass and it...does not work. At all? Can anyone even open a coverage with this pile of garbage? The same goes for QGIS. I guess Macs just can't do GIS.
NOOOOO I don't wanna use ArcMap for work when I graduate! NOOOO!!!!!!!
Only people who have USED ArcMap feel my pain.