List of Mapping Software

[johnvanvliet]

huanhuan
IF you are a real human

you posted the first sentence form post #20 on THIS thread

and the others are about the same
http://www.cartographersguild.com/member.php?u=92137

[ravells]

Thank you johnvanvliet for reporting the bot - it has been exterminated

[markem]

I realize this is a bit late but...

Two pieces of software whicih seems to have been overlooked are:

1. Visio
2. Fireworks

I have used CC3 and am testing out the new CC3+. I really do like CC3 (and +) but when I use them I have to think in reverse. It is like some of my early programs I used to write at NASA. You basically have to set everything up AND THEN do the operation. The thing is, several years earlier I had had to learn Visio 2003. Unlike the current version of Visio, the 2003 version is a 2D CAD system with graphics capabilities. The later versions are an art program with CAD capabilities which have been slowly hidden or removed from the program. The 2003 version has some very nice things that it can do. Primarily among those "things" is to include what are called the INK capabilities. These capabilities allow you to draw freehand any line you want to draw. You can then convert that line to a geometric shape which then allows you to insert new points, remove points, and do everything else you can do to a 2D CAD shape. A great way to make a coastline is to use the INK drawing tools, convert it to geometry, and then insert a rectangle large enough to cover the INK drawing from one side to the other. Then you select the line and rectangle and tell Visio to Fragment them. This will split the rectangle into two parts. You take one part and color it green and the other part blue and you have the ocean next to the land. One of the other great things about Visio is that it does handle vector shapes so just like with CC3 - you can increase or decrease the size of the images. The thing about Visio is - you can just drag and drop how large you want to make the image OR you can set it manually. Visio does it either way. Which is one of the reasons I use CC3 to do most of the layout and then I import it in to Visio to work on it more.

Fireworks is Visio on steroids (or CC3 on steroids). Fireworks (I have the CS3 version) allows you to have any size surface to work on. Like CC3 and Visio, Fireworks handles both Vector as well as Raster images. But it doesn't stop there. Unlike Illustrator where you have to have to work in a certain way, Fireworks allows you to create images in several ways and not only does the entire workarea have layers BUT the individual objects have layers. So you can have a house and put various items onto just the thatched roof or just the doors. Further, unlike Visio 2003 - Fireworks CS3 has never crashed on me. No matter HOW large of an image I am working with. (Like a 763 MB map that I had scanned in at 1200dpi and was 4ft x 3ft. Visio croaks but Photoshop and Fireworks just keep chugging away. And yes, sadly, CC3 croaked trying to load it in.) I bought the Master Suite of Adobe's CS3 products but mainly just used Photoshop until someone showed me Firewworks. I like it better than Visio but I am very used to using Visio. So I still use it the most. But Fireworks is a close second.

Don't think though - that I don't like or don't use CC3. CC3 has some amazing things that it can do and I use it a lot when I am ref'ing a game. In some instances it is a lot faster to use than Visio. So it really just depends upon what I am doing.

Anyway - Visio and Fireworks were left off of the list and they really should be on it. :-)

[johnvanvliet]

just to clarify
For visio you are refering th the Microsoft Office program
http://products.office.com/en-us/vis...chart-software
that runs $254.99 USD

and for Fireworks
you are referring to Adobe -Fireworks
https://creative.adobe.com/products/fireworks
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adobe_Fireworks

[markem]

Yes. Except Visio 2003 can be had for as little as $50.00. You have to keep an eye out for it. I bought Visio 2003 for $50.00 a while back and then bought a business suite of updates from Microsoft for $20.00. What is weird about Visio 2003 is that sometimes people post wanting up to three times the original value of the software. Other times you can get it for next to nothing. Over the past ten years I have bought Visio 2003 three times for $50.00 or less. I bought so many because I had my development computer, a graphics computer (I am digitizing all of my manuals), and then a computer I carry around with me to various companies when I'm doing contract programming.

Fireworks CS3 I got off of eBay for $250.00. This was the entire Master Suite including Photoshop, Illustrator, Fireworks, and at least ten more programs. If you divided up the cost it would be $250.00 / 13 ~ $20.00 per piece of software. Of course no one sells the separate programs that way but that is the approximate price per piece of software.

Currently on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...Bvisio+%2B2003

Visio 2003 is beteen $97.00 and $150.00

Visio 2003 on eBay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...B2003&_sacat=0

Visio 2003 is $55.00 (Buy it now)

Fireworks CS3 on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...reworks+%2Bcs3

Fireworks CS3 on Amazon.com : Grossly expensive

Fireworks CS3 on eBay.com : http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw...2Bcs3&_sacat=0

Adobe Master Suite CS3 which contains Fireworks CS3 : $195.00
(So less than I paid for it.)

[Midgardsormr]

Just look out that you don't buy an upgrade version, since those require a valid license for a previous version in order to install.

[Chick]

There are some of us who get timeouts on 25-30% of the page loads we do over this entire forum, and so far no one seems able to do much about it, and those who don't get them, don't believe it's really happening. If it continues to be a problem for you, post in the Support thread.

[johnvanvliet]

dose viso 2003 require MS office 2003 ( AKA : MS Office XP ) ?

if so
xp is dead and unsupported

and both MS and adobe really dislike breaking the End user agreement and reselling the LEASED not bought software
at least in the USA that is a violation of the DMCA

[markem]

Ok - this is my sixth try to respond. It is taking me so long to write my reply that the forum keeps timing out and then it deletes my message. :-(

First, let me say that your last message (johnvanvliet) is a bit incendiary.

1. No. Visio 2003 is a stand alone program that can be used with Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and even 2013 as well as Open Office.

2. XP is not dead. It is unsupported - but it is not dead. To prove this, all you have to do is to go to any major retail outlet (such as Walmart) and look at a terminal that has crashed. It is running Windows XP. Or you can go online and find out that approximately 30% of everyone online is still using Windows XP. Or you can go to your favorite ATM machine and, when it crashes, see that it is running Windows XP. If XP was dead - then no one would be using it still.

3. To answer your LEASED statement - Ask yourself why does Microsoft et al allow Amazon.com and eBay.com (and other locations scattered around the internet) to sell used versions of their software?

The answer to that question you would have to go back something like twenty years to the landmark lawsuits/cases which, once and for all, put a stop to Microsoft et al trying to prohibit people from selling software they no longer used or wanted. A group of about 100 companies filed suit and the Electronic Frontier Foundation defended. In all of the courts the trial was held (all the way up to the Supreme Court of the United States of America) the courts upheld the right of second sale. That is why they don't sue. Because people have the right to sell that which they no longer want.

Remember that we are talking about older software and not the current stuff that is happening. Note that Microsoft, Adobe, and other companies are going to a format where they do NOT give you any kind of physical object. You are also told up front that you will be paying from now on. With Microsoft and Office 365 you usually pay on a yearly basis. With Adobe's Master Suite Collection you pay every month. In both cases - if you don't pay - you don't play. That is true leasing. Before, you bought a piece of software, you installed it, put in the key, and you could use it forever. That difference is the difference between leasing and buying. The courts also recognized this and put it in their decisions.

That is why older software that is not truly being leased - can be bought and sold multiple times between people.

Now! Before you go off half cocked - here are the DMCA rules regarding ANYTHING: You may buy something, use it, and the resell it. You may NOT buy something, make copies of it and sell the copies but keep the original. You may NOT buy something, make copies of it, and sell the original but keep the copies. You MUST get rid of not only the original but any/all copies you may have made. The DMCA FURTHER allows you to let anyone in your immediate family use the item without regards to any legal repercussions. The DMCA FURTHER allows you to let your BEST FRIEND (a really grey area thing) also make use of the item. BUT IN BOTH CASES no one else may use the item at the same time.

The above is easiest understood when talking about books (which is what copyright was originally written for). You can buy a book, read the book, and then sell the book. You can not buy a book, read it, make copies of it, and sell or give the copies away but keep the book. You may not buy a book, read it, make copies, sell the original but keep the original. You MAY give the book to anyone in your immediate family to read. You may give the book to your best friend to read. As far as I know - aunts, uncles, cousins, and such can not be given the book although I am sure people do it all the time.

I hope this helps to clear up your misconception about both what leasing in, how it applies to computer software, and the DMCA.

[Mark Oliva]

Ok - this is my sixth try to respond. It is taking me so long to write my reply that the forum keeps timing out and then it deletes my message.

When this happens:

1) Write your message with a text program. i.e. Word, OpenOffice.org Writer, Windows Notepad, etc.
2) Copy it into the clipboard.
3) Open the guild forum window.
4) Insert the text from the clipboard.

Say Amen and send your message.