h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thank you for this informative article. My daughter is doing a GIS course at this very moment at Southampton University and I only had a very hazy idea of what it entailed. Now I have a much clearer understanding of the GIS programme and the type of data it can handle.

elico

At last so do I and I work in it (GIS is in my job title)

But answer me this one thing, why are all GIS software packages (especially those by ESRI) so flaky and unstable , these make Microsoft products look like Volvos? Why do we stand for it and why is there no better way?

Elico, I hope your daughter is being taught on packages that are used in the real world (however flaky and unstable), we recently got a whole stack of application forms for a job and a large number of them had studied on a package hardly used at all, we think it must be cheap. But good luck to her, there are rewards in the job and I am not talking financial (it is resonably well paid) but the satisfaction on seeing a printout that in passed (past?) generations would have taken weeks, if not months, is very rewarding.

Also, it has been stated, that if GIS had been used in the location of the ex-Dr Shipman's practice, his mortality rate of old ladies would have rang bells earlier, saving lives. It is not just pretty colours on maps.

Chris

Ohoy thar!

C Hawke, I am a student of GIS at the Univarsity of Copenhagen. What are these obsolete programs you're talking about? We are using ArcView (or will be, when I start my proper education. Imagine - 1½ years of general geography before starting GIS after Xmas!) at the institute.

Oh, and by the way, I've sent the link to your Christaller Beach Theory to all on our institute mailing list...he he

Cool, I wondered why two dead forums have revived. ArcView is one of the leaders, the other one that seemed to be common in students was IRISI (or something like that). ArcView will be the death of me but at least it is being used out in the real world.


CH