Off Topic: Bye Bye Pegasus Mail

The Register reports that the free e-mail program Pegasus has ceased development and distribution due to lack of cash. Those on subscription will receive support until the end of their terms.

That little horse was my first partner in e-mail. When I joined ESRI in 1992 every desk at ESRI Boston had a Mac used for e-mail and other office tasks. (We shared the workstations in a common area and I had one of the first color luggables for my ArcCAD duties.) We used Pegasus as our mail client; it was very friendly and I recall especially liking the little icon of the flying horse.

Quote of the Week

“GIS has been available to Idaho farmers for several years, yet hardly anyone uses it, Lowder said. One reason, he figures, is that farmers are suspicious of fertilizer companies using it because they have a profit motive in wanting to sell more product. And another reason GIS hasn’t caught on in Idaho is most farmers are more interested in farming than in sitting at a computer analyzing data.”

- Julie Pence writing in the Prarie Star, on why GIS for ag didn’t quite catch on. Now, she offers it will because a local company with no agenda offers a solution

Lastest on WV Addressing Work

The Herald-Dispatch (WV)updates the state of the West Virginia addressing board and progress on its attempt to get accurate address for the entire state. There are challenges: contractor MicroDATA was fired after problems were found, the all volunteer Statewide Addressing and Mapping Board’s term ends in April, there are allegations the boards mis-spent funds and broke open meeting laws. (The board denies the last charge.) Still, and this is the important part, this is the first such effort in the nation, one USGS holds up as a model.