(CA-OPENOSX-COM) OpenOSX Ships Grass GIS 5.0.2 CD
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
CROWLEY LAKE, Calif.--(OPENOSX-COM)--May
7th, 2003--OpenOSX, a leading provider of easy-to-use, world-class
open-source software, today began shipping a new 5.0.2 version of
their Grass GIS CD and has published the official Grass 5.0.2 Mac
OS X binaries for free and immediate access. The new version brings
updated software, a much improved all native (Cocoa-based) graphical
user interface, along with additional enhancements and improved
stability.
Grass (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System) is a complete
state-of-the-art multi-platform Geographical Information System
(GIS). Grass is one of, if not the most, complete and sophisticated
open-source GIS’ in existence. Grass has now been in development
for more then twenty years and by the size of it’s code base,
Grass is one the ten largest open-source projects in history (which
was ported to Mac OS X Public Beta by Jeshua Lacock, the owner of
OpenOSX).
The OpenOSX product greatly simplifies installation, offering a
single-click, customizable installation of Grass (backed with installation
support) which is otherwise complicated and tedious to properly
install on Mac OS X because it requires an extensive software library
collection that are common on most modern UNIX and or LINUX type
operating systems but are not standard on Mac OS X. The OpenOSX
package will install a long list of all the required and optional
libraries and programs for full functionality.
The new version fixes several potential issues discovered with previous
versions of the product and includes Tcl/Tk 8.4.2 to support the
native Mac OS X Aqua interface along with improvements developed
by OpenOSX. Grass and all of the required and optional libraries
have been compiled utilizing gcc 3.1 for impressive native Jaguar
(Mac OS X 10.2.x) performance. The product is completely compatible
with Apple's X11 application and includes an optional XFree 4.3.0
installation in the event the user may prefer XFree over Apple's
X11.
The OpenOSX Grass GIS 5.0.2 CD will transform a Macintosh running
Mac OS 10.2.x into a full-fledged GIS workstation in minutes with
no UNIX or other technical knowledge.
With over 350 geo-spatial modules, Grass is the only real alternative
to ESRI ArcInfo GIS, which when similarly-configured will cost more
than 400 times the cost per seat and currently is not being developed
on the Macintosh platform.
Grass GIS offers state of the art three-dimensional dynamic spatial
analysis and visualization. Satisfied users of OpenOSX Grass include
NASA (National Aeronautical Space Administration), USGS (U.S. Geological
Survey) and NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
Grass used in combination with the included Geospatial Data Abstraction
Library, (GDAL) can import more then forty popular GIS file formats
including: GeoTiff, Tiff, DXF, SDTS, DEM, Shape, ELAS, PNG, ARC,
MIF, Tiger, Garmin, ASCII.
Some of Grass’ popular features include: ortho-rectification,
Digital Elevation Model creation and editing, projection and re-projection
capabilities, raster & vector data support in more then 120
projections, shaded relief with 16-bit precision, geostatistics
and spatial data analysis, statistical analysis, 3D visualization
and simulation modeling capabilities.
The owner of OpenOSX, Jeshua Lacock, who is the maintainer of the
Mac OS X port of Grass, has published the Grass 5.0.2 binaries and
the OpenOSX developed patches (changes) for free and immediate downloading.
The binaries do not include support or the required or optional
libraries that are installed and configured by OpenOSX’s CD.
The binaries may be downloaded from Grass' home Baylor University
or from its development headquarters (Istituto Trentino di Cultura)
at: <http://grass.itc.it/grass5/binary/mac_os_x/>
The OpenOSX Grass CD is US$50 and 6-month CD subscriptions are available
for US$120. More information about the OpenOSX Grass CD is available
at <http://OpenOSX.com/grass/>.
Previous OpenOSX Grass customers may upgrade for US$20.
OpenOSX is a company dedicated to serving, and expanding, the Macintosh
community. Founded on the premise that many computer users are intimidated
by the UNIX command-line, OpenOSX committed itself to one mission-
bringing popular Unix software to both the "Unix-challenged"
and the seasoned, Mac inclined system administrator in a friendly,
Macintosh environment.
Note to Editors: OpenOSX is a trademark owned by OpenOSX(TM), all
other trademarks are owned by their respective owner.
--30--ts/sd*
CONTACT: OpenOSX
Jeshua Lacock, 760/935-4736
jeshua@OpenOSX.com
http://OpenOSX.com
KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA
INDUSTRY KEYWORD: SOFTWARE PRODUCT
SOURCE: OpenOSX
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