More here.

Still using Manifold 8 every day for the heavy lifting and wonderous SQL.

Manifold 9: Ah impending upgrade I can almost taste you (yes I know, I’ve been saying that for the last six months); those encouraging signs I talked about last time are getting a bit stale, but they are still there. Like the party line now on Georeference, more on that later, I’m not going to speculate on when it’s released, other than it is likely arriving at some point in 2011.

Georeference (Official Manifold Forum): There’s been an overhaul over at Georeference, not a cosmetic one, but an ideological one – a continuing shift by Manifold to keep the threads on topic, concentrating on questions specific to Manifold the software and not the company’s practices or potentially flaming topics, although I’d consider a ‘where is Manifold 9′ topic both relevant and incendiary. Many of the old threads that got out of hand or went way off topic have been deleted, taking some good posts with them, Manifold has said they will try and restore some of the deleted threads if there’s been some good stuff removed.

The forum has certainly lost a bit of the community feel, but it still is and will continue to be a fantastic resource for all users. There are plenty of other avenues we can choose to vent our frustrations (a blog anyone?) although after a cease and desist order from Manifold there’s one less place to go – apparently due to the misuse of their logo resulted in the ending of MPUG Facebook group by the originator of the group.

There are a few alternatives for discussions that aren’t moderated so strictly:
The unofficial Manifold LinkedIn group
The Stack Overflow tag: Manifold

More ArcGIS 10 Thoughts: Been using it for a month and can’t say I’m blown away, sure the new GUI bells and whistles are nice, but why introduce new features that don’t work properly, here’s a quick overview:

Likes:
Data Driven Pages – great replacement for mapbooks and relatively painless updating old mapbook MXDs to use this feature.
Autohide menus – finally catching up with AutoCAD and Manifold with this feature
Dynamic Text – another feature that’s been available in other packages and ESRI has finally caught up
Built-in ArcCatalog – I’ve heard others don’t like it, but I haven’t had any issues and being able to create a new feature class without opening ArcCatalog as a separate program is neat

Dislikes:
Snapping – the new snapping tool is borked, failing to snap to objects for no apparent good reason. At least you can revert back to the old method
Editing features – for brand new layers/features the new Feature Templates are a big improvement, but for existing Layers it is hit or miss that you will actually be able to select them for editing
WYSIWG Drafting – not sure the actual term for it, but when I draw a line that has a wide line symbology it sure is pretty to see what it will look like as I draw it, but not very practical when I’m tracing features.

There’s a whole bunch of existing issues with ArcGIS that means I’m not ditching Manifold anytime soon, I’ll save that for another day, perhaps when I finally have Manifold 9 side by side with ArcGIS 10, I’ll do an extensive comparison of those issues.

Finally on a personal note it was nice to see a map of mine making it into a publication, Influents – Official Publication of the Water Environment Association of Ontario, Winter 2010 on page 35. The map was prepared as part of the report we prepared on the Assimilative Capacity Study for the Kitchener WWTP, it’s nothing fancy, but looks good to me. I didn’t know the map was going into this publication and didn’t have any input on how it was presented, which is a bit frustrating as there are several issues that would make it a candidate for Cartastrophe, which are mainly due to adapting a 11×17 report figure to a 5×4 map insert. It was completely prepared in Manifold, no stinking graphics packages were used.

That’s all for now, I hope to be posting a lot more once Manifold 9 makes an appearance, lets hope that’s soon!

After taking the best part of an afternoon to uninstall 9.3 and install 10, it seemed to hang a long time on removing 9.3, the next day I notice that all my settings set in 9.3 aren’t carried over to 10, which led to the following issue:

I open up an MXD, with a rotated data frame, all my symbols are rotated, ah! I thought, I’ve been through this before I just need to go into AdvancedArcMapSettings.exe and uncheck that box, rotate symbols with dataframe something or other, well I do that and reopen my MXD and those darned labels are still rotated. I go back into AdvancedArcMapSettings.exe and see that the box has magically checked itself and after repeated attempts I realize that it’s not sticking when I turn off that setting. This has me perplexed as I have full Admin rights on Windows XP, I install and uninstall programs all the time. After further digging I realize that I need to edit the registry setting and find out the cause of the issue, the Registry entry for this setting – RotateWithTransform – isn’t even there, I add the entry back in and bingo all my symbols align correctly.

Today I go into an MXD and need to create a new label and the client wants that label to appear in the legend, unlike Manifold, ArcGIS does not have the capability to create a legend entry for labels, no problem I thought I can just convert the labels to annotation in the map and copy a label from the dataframe and paste it into the Legend area and boom my first ArcCrash with 10, right now I’m trying to shut down Arc10, but even using end process the bleeding program won’t shutdown, thanks ArcGIS 10 for wasting the best part of an hour.

Bah humbug 10 indeed.

There are plenty of signs that the engineering team are out of the 9 development bunker and are breathing the same air as the rest of us, the return to GeoReference of senior engineer AdamW, biggest contributor to the forum, being a big hint. They’ve also gone and released a new version of the Manifold Toolbar, yes I’d forgotten about the Toolbar too! The Toolbar also showcases the new image servers and geocoding servers, also available for use with Manifold 8.

When 9 does come out, it won’t be shipped shrink wrapped, due to Manifold’s new green policy.

No official announcement, as yet, on a release date, but an early Christmas present would be nice!

I can’t guarantee that the article’s spelling is any better than mine.

The idea that jumped out at me was the request to have CUDA support implemented in ArcGIS. One of the commentators added a link to an essay from a user entitled ‘Computations on vector data using a GPU’, in which the writer goes through building his own CUDA tools and, as all of us Manifolders know, show how processes can be speeded up 20 to 30 times using CUDA.

Manifold has discussed at the NVIDIA conference that it is fairly easy to apply CUDA to processes and see speed increases, but after you have mastered CUDA you still have bottlenecks due to how the original GIS code passes data into CUDA – the result is that you need to rewrite a lot of code to allow hundreds of functions to become CUDA enabled. This is the main reason that we haven’t seen a release from Manifold for three years.

I can certainly see ESRI introducing a few CUDA enabled functions, just as Manifold achieved with 8.0. Does ESRI have the resources to undertake such a massive task to fully implement CUDA? I have my doubts, they’ve still not released a 64-bit of their desktop GIS, is that a sign of how tough it is for them to rewrite all that legacy code to take advantage of modern technologies?

Unlike the originator of the CUDA ArcGIS idea I’m quite happy to spend a few hundred dollars on Manifold to get CUDA enabled features right now – his short sighted view can only benefit me and others who will use the best tool for the job – we will welcome with open arms all of his clients who will no longer tolerate consultants using outdated and inefficient software.

This post has really made me much more optimistic that we are going to get something special when Manifold 9 comes out, according to Manifold’s timeline (two years) they should be in the home stretch of rewriting those millions of lines of code and in doing that they will have not only worked on implementing CUDA, but also other areas that needed improvement.

Below is my request and their response:

I was hoping that you would be willing to supply me with some details of your plans for Manifold 9; I have sensed a building frustration from users on the GeoReference forum at the lack of any news from Manifold.net on the next release of Manifold GIS. I expect the forum only represents a fraction of Manifold users, but it at least gives a general barometer of users views on the length of time between releases and their keenness to get their hands on some new and improved features. Given that it is close to three years since version 8 came out, is it not in your best interests to give your users an indication of your future plans?

I know your current policy is to not announce vaporware, but is it possible to announce some details even if it is put in the the most general of terms? The following questions would go some way to reassure Manifold users of status of version 9 and Manifold.net’s longer term goals:

How is the next release coming along and is there is a release date penciled in for this year?

It was mentioned in Manifold’s presentation at a recent NVIDIA conference, that the Manifold team are working on features to allow the software to take advantage of GPGPU, such as NVIDIA’s CUDA, and other parallel processing technologies, that may mean (my interpretation) rebuilding Manifold from the ground up; is that the cause of lengthier development time for this release?

There have been many user suggestions submitted to Manifold.net, are we likely to see some of these suggestions implemented in 9, if so can you give an indication where we will see improvements?

Finally, could you comment on how you see Manifold’s standing in the current GIS industry and what your ambitions are moving forward?

I hope you do not take this request the wrong way – it is from someone who has benefited greatly from learning to use Manifold and feels an attachment to the software and would wish to see its use continue to grow until it does become ubiquitous GIS software.

Response from Manifold.net:

Hello,

Thanks for writing.

It is always flattering to get questions on new products that may be in the pipeline. We appreciate your inquiry.

Manifold.net provides public comments on new features or new products only after they have shipped in a production release to customers. Advance technical information is available under non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in settings which assure confidentiality and quality information exchange.

The best way to get confidential information depends upon your relationship with manifold.net.

Technology Partners or Large Volume Customers

Manifold provides advance information to technology partners and large volume customers through designated contacts. If you work for a Manifold technology partner or for a large volume Manifold customer, please arrange for technology information through the person your organization has assigned as a liaison to Manifold. This will assure that any such disclosure follows the confidentiality policies and procedures your organization has established.

Manifold Users

If you are a Manifold user other than a technology partner or large volume customer there are several ways to get confidential information on new features or new products:

1. Attend a meeting at which Manifold personnel give “roadmap” presentations under NDA. NDA presentations are very detailed, typically lasting for hours and including hundreds of slides presented by Manifold technical and marketing personnel with extensive question and answer sessions. NDA presentations happen several times a year and for travel convenience are typically scheduled at industry conferences or user meetings of interest to Manifold users. If your organization wishes to host a conference or meeting at which an NDA presentation may be appropriate, please contact manifold.net three months in advance to allow scheduling.

2. In addition to NDA meetings at public conferences or user meetings, manifold.net also hosts confidential meetings and workshops to provide detailed technology information for selected attendees. Such meetings provide maximum disclosure for technical experts and are smaller, day-long, intensive sessions held in locations worldwide. Although such meetings are normally aimed at technology partners and large volume customers, invitations are often sent out to users who have established a close relationship with the manifold.net team by sending in expert suggestions. If you have received an invitation, please make sure to RSVP promptly to reserve your place at the meeting.

NDA meetings, either at public conferences or by invitation, are the best way to get advance information. During the last six months NDA meetings have been held in Santa Clara, San Francisco, Portland, Austin, Washington, London, Frankfurt and Moscow. Attendees are welcome to attend more than one meeting to keep up with the latest developments.

NDA meetings in 2010 with available slots include NVIDIA GTC 2010 in San Jose, Oracle OpenWorld 2010 in San Francisco and (preliminary) SC10 in New Orleans. We regret to inform you that all available slots have been filled for invitational events in London in April and in Milan in May. If you are on the wait list for those events you will be automatically notified if a slot becomes available.

3. Apply to be a beta tester if a public call goes out for beta testers for a new release. Although beta testers are usually recruited via private invitations, sometimes a call will go out for new beta testers. Not all applicants will be selected, but those who are will get a preview of where the company is going and will also have exceptional influence on the process. New beta testers are drawn from the ranks of highly experienced Manifold users who have shown exceptional technical skill, often displayed by sending in expert suggestions or by assisting other users in public settings.

4. Study the Suggestions page and submit carefully-honed, razor-sharp suggestions to influence the evolution of the product. Although responses to a suggestion should not be expected, it does happen that manifold.net technical personnel may follow up on a suggestion and may provide information from the roadmap. Good suggestions also lead to a close relationship with manifold.net and often lead to invitations to confidential meetings or for participation in beta test programs. See http://www.manifold.net/info/suggestions.shtml for tips on the suggestions process.

We understand that attending NDA meetings in person is not possible for all users. However, the density and sophistication of the material presented is something that requires a significant commitment by the user as much as it does by the company. If someone cannot attend a detailed briefing to receive highly confidential and important information, we do not have other methods for disclosure which also protect the confidentiality of such extremely valuable information.

In closing, it is important to emphasize that manifold.net authorizes no third party to disclose confidential information. The above NDA information channels are the only way to obtain accurate confidential information regarding new Manifold products or plans.

We very much appreciate your interest in Manifold and hope the above guide to obtaining confidential information is useful to you.

Sincerely,

Manifold Online Sales Team

It’s pretty much the response I expected, but I still found it reassuring all the same, in particular they revealed the number of NDA meetings that they have had over the last six months – it is encouraging that there have been so many and more to come this year – they must have something concrete to discuss at these meetings. You have got to give them credit for steadfastly keeping to their policy of not publicly announcing details until the product is about to ship, however annoying it is to us users.

I would love to attend one of those NDA meetings, the first and last one I attended was the user conference in Maryland, May 2008, but I doubt my overlords would sanction a trip unless it was specifically for Manifold and GIS. It’s very likely there are many others who cannot attend for this and other reasons.

So until then us loyal users have to suck it up and show a bit more patience – it’d better be worth the wait.

Update: Dimitri Rotow has revealed a lot of new details on the progress of 9 in a response to a query regarding activation management. The unofficial date of release is sometime before September 2010.