Fiona Gregory3d ago
#Canada relies heavily on foreign GNSS systems (primarily U.S. GPS), licenses GIS software from foreign vendors, and outsources significant portions of its spatial data infrastructure. In many cases, critical national geospatial data — used for defense logistics, infrastructure planning, and emergency response — is processed or stored on foreign systems. #geoint https://gogeomatics.ca/geospatial-infrastructure-canadas-defense-strategy-ignores-a-critical-layer/
Andrew Padilla2d ago
Show threadFiona Gregory
"Open-source GIS could be a game-changer — cutting costs, making everything work together better, and giving developers the freedom to create what we actually need." #opensource #opengis
https://gogeomatics.ca/taking-control-of-canadas-digital-sovereignty-with-open-source-gis/
Jun 19 at 2:17amWeb
Show threadKermode1d ago
@fionag11 Back in 2004 when I acquired my forestry client, Grass was stagnating and Qgis was in its infancy. I had no choice but to support ESRI and the 'industry standard' proprietary protocols, even though a couple of open source standard file formats existed. My provincial government produced stereo bitmaps in a proprietary jpeg format (as near as I could tell) and I had no choice, but to go with them. These days Grass is really passe, but Qgis has matured very well. Do you know it? What do you think? I'm not a gis guy like you.
Show threadFiona Gregory1d ago
@gemlog Same for me, I've been with ESRI shops most of my career. The main software I use now is Google Earth Engine which is free to non-profits but not open source, and R for statistical analysis. When I do want to use a desktop GIS I go back to Arc because I'm familiar. From what I understand QGIS is now equal in functionality and may be better in cartographic capability, but I'm not a power user so can't really comment. But if someone were starting in GIS now I'd advise them to go with Q.
Show threadKermode1d ago
@fionag11 Thank you! R makes sense. I keep firefox around just to run goog earth the odd time. Usually to measure distances.
> if someone were starting in GIS now I'd advise them to go with Q
Thank you. That's a good thing for me to know, in case I have to go back into IT.