Bill Dollins, Paolo Corti, and I have all worked extremely hard molding zigGIS into what it is today. We want to continue to develop and support our product. Therefore we have decided that our next release will require purchased licenses for our corporate users. OK, OK, before you go trashing us, please take a minute to read on and understand our position.
First and foremost, the zigGIS codebase will remain open. Secondly, personal and educational use of zigGIS will remain free. We hope many more become interested in zigGIS not only for its use, but also utilizing it as an example of deep ArcMap customization and use of the ArcObject API. We have gone through hundreds (maybe thousands) of trial-and-error hours wrestling with ArcObjects. By keeping the codebase open, others can learn from our mistakes and avoid the pitfalls to which we have oft found ourselves prey.
As for our corporate users - you will need to purchase licenses per seat. Licenses will fall somewhere below $300 each. We hope this keeps zigGIS affordable to those organizations that require heavy-duty GIS capabilities. (don't forget that the use of PostGIS + zigGIS saves you from all ArcSDE licensing costs) Bill, Paolo, and I are forming a software company around this product. And - though certainly we want to make a profit - this will ultimately best serve our users' interest. Having a financial backing will ensure zigGIS's continued support and development.
Thank you for your interest, patience, and support. Stay tuned for more news and have a safe and happy holiday!
I'm Abe Gillespie, GIS - and anything else - programmer for hire (abe at digital - pulp dot com). I'm a technophile, love life, animals, people, and God. I'm involved with some Open Source projects such as Mono (more of an outside observer) and zigGIS. Check back here for posts on life, consulting, GIS programming, and whatever else might strike my fancy. Check out my company at www.digital-pulp.com. Thanks for reading!
