Richer background/relief

[su_liam]

Very nice. I'm kind of torn whether to use the hell out of ArcGIS while I got it(till june, since I graduate winter term, woohoo), or try to avoid getting attached since there's no way I'm paying $6,000 a year to RENT the MINIMAL version of the program. I really need to friend up with a professor at the university that uses GRASS on the Mac.

[hubbardmapworks]

hey su, you can get trial (student) versions that come with several different GIS textbooks available out there. the versions last anywhere from 180 days up to one year. they are fully functional arcview editions, some now with 9.3.1. check out amazon or places like that for the GIS books. and to buy a license version of arcView isnt near how much you said. you're thinking of an arcInfo license. i think arcview licenses are running around $1500 now. arcInfo is a pro upgrade for more spatial analyst and server tools.
peace,