So who’s in control exactly?
Comments(3) Not wanting to miss out on the whole discussion about data formats, I was surprised to see people give up their control of their data quite so easily, as this comment and following post seem to suggest that we should. Imagine if we ceded so much control to the other people that sell us products. Software companies are only glorified shopkeepers, in the same way that people who sell us televisions and cars are. However (if we have any sense) we don’t allow car salesmen to dictate where we drive, or television salesmen to dictate what we watch. We have allowed software vendors to lull us into believing that they are allowed to dictate what we do with our data. Sorry, but no. That’s what the open approach is all about- remaining in control of our data. At the risk of seeming overly dramatic, anything else is apathy.
While I in no way suggest that GIS users should cede control of their data to their software vendor (quite the contrary), I must admit that you are not the first person to misconstrue my post to that effect.
My post’s sole intent was to “reveal” (or rather, guess at) the reasons why some software vendors do not like open data formats. Clearly, I failed in that endeavor.
Hi Atanas,
Apologies for misunderstanding what you meant!
Jo
Jo:
No, thanks for pointing out that I need to work on my communication skills. My wife’s been saying this for years, but I have been turning a deaf ear. It looks like she has been right all along.