#OSGEO IRC Log - 2008-12-03

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07:26:32 threna1: are there osgeo meetings in berlin?
08:18:13 steko: what combination of GFOSS apps could be considered as equivalent of ESRI ARCGIS Server Advanced Enterprise?
08:19:17 crschmidt: ncd You might need to describe a list of things that you're loking at, since most of us probably have no idea what that is
08:19:23 crschmidt: or point to a feature list on the web, perhaps
08:20:24 steko: crschmidt: I have no idea myself of what ESRI super-tastic GIS does ... that's why I was asking! : )
08:21:35 crschmidt: Er, you're asking a bunch of Open Source developers what features a piece of proprietary software has?
08:23:44 steko: no, I'm asking if someone roughly knows what a piece of PS does, to understand if I can work to promote GFOSS software instead of it
08:25:14 steko: just think of it as a more difficult version of "What is the GFOSS version of Google Maps API?" ... you know the answer for sure
08:25:45 crschmidt: "There isn't one"
08:34:02 springmeyer: steko: you can grab the 'arcgis server functionality matrix' of the web in pdf form
08:34:50 springmeyer: that is the document that actually says what esri stuff does in a somewhat rational form, and they produce it for their desktop stuff and server stuff for each release
08:35:33 steko: springmeyer: so I could just replace each slot with the corresponding OSGeo stuff...
08:35:58 springmeyer: I mention that because even he you cornered someone who was super familiar with both the ArcGIS server stack and the OSGEO stack
08:36:24 springmeyer: depending on the license level of the esri stuff you'd not be able to even begin to talk apples to oranges
08:36:59 steko: sure, you're right.. it's so difficult to understand the proprietary universe for me
08:37:33 : * springmeyer ducks
08:37:52 springmeyer: ( psst.... that is somewhat intentional )
08:38:39 springmeyer: http://os.umbrellaconsulting.com/wiki/ArcGisDesktopComparison
08:38:40 sigq: Title: ArcGisDesktopComparison - trac_os - Trac ( at os.umbrellaconsulting.com )
08:39:23 springmeyer: that was my one-of quick attempt to take 'that PDF' for the desktop stuff and __try__ to start making a bit of sense of it
08:40:25 springmeyer: but I quickly gave up because it was not going to be a quick thing to do well
08:40:33 steko: yes, I would need basically the very same thing for the server world
08:40:59 steko: but I'm not alone and I guess something similar could be made
08:41:29 steko: all this stuff is needed because we're lobbying against our government statistical office
08:42:34 steko: they've decided to buy 3 licenses of that Server Enterprise Proprietary Stuff ( 180k € ) without even bothering to make a comparison with other solutions
08:44:38 springmeyer: so they did not factor in staff well being? : )
08:45:27 steko: not at all I would say!
09:39:54 TylerM: mpg: cascadia chapter wasn't approved yet, was it?
09:40:19 mpg: Umm, you tell me?
09:40:19 TylerM: I missed a board meeting, but I don't think there was one since the application came in.
09:40:25 TylerM: ok : )
09:40:35 mpg: racicot: ping!
09:40:44 TylerM: i'm pretty sure not..
09:40:49 mpg: he'd know, I think he's tracking this
09:40:49 TylerM: adding to next agenda regardless : )
09:40:54 mpg: thanx
09:41:14 racicot: TylerM: yes, it needs to be reviewed at the next board meeting
09:41:47 TylerM: great.. it's officially on the agenda now http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/Board_Meeting_2008-12-05
09:41:48 sigq: Title: Board Meeting 2008-12-05 - OSGeo Wiki ( at wiki.osgeo.org )
09:41:49 TylerM: thx
09:42:15 racicot: fyi.. the official request: http://n2.nabble.com/%22Cascadia%22-chapter-formation-td1518147.html#a1518147
09:42:16 sigq: Title: Nabble - OSGeo Board - "Cascadia" chapter formation ( at n2.nabble.com )
09:42:28 TylerM: yes, just adding that too : )
09:43:48 racicot: mpg: btw, sorry I have been so silent on the mini conference stuff... I have been way distracted. I think I agree that at this point we back off and shoot for something smaller... maybe a sprint/unconference type thing with smaller target audience.
09:45:59 mpg: understood, agreed
09:52:33 : * mpg hums Happy Birthday and buys his own present: http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/coder
09:52:34 sigq: Title: Timbuk2 Bags - Timbuk2 ( at www.timbuk2.com )
09:53:32 racicot: well, happy b-day!
10:46:47 : * nhv continues to resist getting drawn into the 'very interesting' "Double Ellipsoid" aka thread on the proj list
10:47:02 nhv: http://lists.maptools.org/pipermail/proj/2008-December/subject.html
10:47:03 sigq: Title: The Proj December 2008 Archive by subject ( at lists.maptools.org )
12:38:19 sigq: osgeofeed: Ticket #309 ( task closed ): Transfer DNS for geotools.org to OSGeo control <http://trac.osgeo.org/osgeo/ticket/309#comment:21>
12:58:34 TylerM: mpg: I was just at a meeting and .sid question came up. it's been a while since I used it, but how easy is it to add .sid to gdal as a plugin these days? and on linux in particular.
12:59:08 mpg: very easy -- I don't have the deailts off hand, but it's just a configure switch
13:01:50 TylerM: i assume there are binaries of gdal already supporting it, but are they shipping with all needed libs or do you have to go grab them still from lizardtech site?
13:02:10 TylerM: i'm thinking of those who won't be compiling : )
13:03:58 mpg: legally Frank can redistrib them, for precisely that reason, but I don't know if the fwtools build includes them
13:04:23 : * mpg looks around and doesn't see FrankW
13:04:38 crschmidt: FWTools has always included MrSID support when I use it
13:04:48 crschmidt: of course, I'm pretty sure I violate the MrSID license by using it, but.
13:05:20 mpg: no, no crschmidt is perfectly legal, no worries
13:05:59 mpg: I've tried hard over the past couple years to loosen up our decoder licensing so anyone can do it w/ no restrictions
13:06:18 mpg: everything but open sourcing the decoder itself :-(
13:24:24 TylerM: mpg: cool thanks for the update
13:24:43 TylerM: fwiw, that's the scenario I told these users
13:54:40 TylerM: mpg: happen to know if ecw support is just as easy?
13:55:01 mpg: sorry, no idea
13:55:15 TylerM: k thx : )
13:55:25 mpg: they're the competition!
13:55:27 TylerM: i have faint memories of it being that easy : )
13:55:38 TylerM: oh, i'm very clear on that part ;- )
13:55:54 mpg: licensing issues for the ECW code might still be tricky