Continuing the push into geographic information systems it started last month, Autodesk Inc has acquired the assets of Canadian software house Argus Technologies Inc from Calgary, Alberta, whose main product is MapGuide, a Web-based vector mapping package. No financial details were revealed. The company will be incorporated into Autodesk’s GIS Market Group. MapGuide, launched in […]
Continuing the push into geographic information systems it started last month, Autodesk Inc has acquired the assets of Canadian software house Argus Technologies Inc from Calgary, Alberta, whose main product is MapGuide, a Web-based vector mapping package. No financial details were revealed. The company will be incorporated into Autodesk’s GIS Market Group. MapGuide, launched in July, has its own authoring tool, and works through the Netscape Communications Corp Navigator browser, allowing for the display of dynamic views that regularly update both the data and the map. The vector-based maps have multiple layers of information that change based on the user’s interaction, scaling up with more detailed information when a user zooms in, for instance. Embedded links can connect the maps to other maps, documents, images or Web sites. Server software organizes, updates and distributes the data, and, unusually, can use standard relational databases technology from the likes of Oracle Corp and Sybase Inc. The software runs on Windows 3.1, Windows95 and Windows NT, with a Macintosh version planned and Internet Explorer support also in the works. Beta versions are available now at www.mapguide.com. Autodesk began shipping its first dedicated mapping and geographic information system product, AutoCAD Map, last month, but with no Internet or intranet capbility.
