This is in regards to a question about an archaeological mapping software
program called MapInfo. If people are interested I can send along the rest of
the info as well.
 
Anita Cohen-Williams; Reference Services; Hayden Library
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ  85287-1006
PHONE: (602) 965-4579              FAX: (602) 965-9169
INTERNET: [log in to unmask] Owner: HISTARCH
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Organization: Faculty of Arts, The University of Sydney, AUSTRALIA
To:     [log in to unmask] (Cohen-Williams)
From:   [log in to unmask] (Ian Johnson)
Date:   Fri, 8 Jul 1994 13:59:37 +1000
Subject: Re: >Software Program (1/2)
 
 Reply to:     RE>>Software Program
Anita
 
MapInfo is a vector mapping program for Windows, Mac & I think Unix,
targetted at business and government users e.g. census data, sales, police
etc. It's pretty good at linking a database table or tables (using SQL type
queries) with graphic (map) data, and displaying results as publication
quality maps (_real_ cartographers don't think it's as good as a good
drawing package, but the database linkage and projection capabilities far
outweigh this for me - I can produce better stuff than my imagination
allows).
 
It reads in data quite well, from DBase, 1-2-3 or Ascii files, once you've
worked out how to do it, and allows non-topological digitisation with
automatic projection conversion. Reads DXF for map data, and I've written
conversions for ArcInfo, Idrisi. Also have a program and routines for
getting dfata out of Digitial Chart of the World CD-ROMS (very good source
of cheap - $300 - data for the world at 1:1M scale).
 
I've just written an archaeologist's guide to MapInfo, which I have still to
polish up but user feedback has been quite positive. Between that and the
software I've written, it makes it quite usable. Competent students pick it
up with only an occasional helping hand, although getting the best out of it
requires a bit of lateral thinking and experience.
 
MapInfo is marketed by MapInfo Corp. Troy, Illinois, and seems to be at
least one of the market leaders in the desktop mapping market and expanding
rapidly. MapInfo Australia has gone from half a dozen employees a couple of
years back to 40 or 50, with about 50 VARs around Australia.
 
The latest version just released allows a raster backdrop to a vector map.
Major updates come out about annually.
 
Dean Snow (SUNY Albany) has a paper on it in _Methods in the Mountains_
(UISPP Commission IV conference last year), which has just been printed and
which will be announced through Arch-L as soon as I get around to mailing
the info. I'll attach a copy of the TOC.
 
This should give you a general picture, but let me know if you have more
specific questions.
 
Ian