Why does this matter all of a sudden?
1964 (and earlier)
- Maps drawn by hand
- Features painstakingly surveyed
- Print distribution is costly
1984
- Digital cartography (on very expensive computers with very expensive software)
- Features digitized from expensive satellite imagery
- Print distribution is still costly
2004
- Anyone can buy a computer that can do GIS analysis and cartography
- Anyone can buy a GPS receiver
- Anyone can distribute their maps on the WWW
- Guess what... the software is now free, too!
- ... or, at least, cheap...