----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Hello all,
  I have been monitoring the discussion about GIS, but not
contributing because it is the end of a busy semester.  From what I
have seen, there are no patron friendly GIS systems out there.  The
"public" atlas systems, such as PC USA, PC Globe, etc. are a far cry
from full-fledged GIS systems that will allow users to overlay data
from say a DOQ and DLG CD-ROM and then print to a full-sized plotter.
 Maybe this is where we come in.  If can't find a system that is user
friendly enough, then maybe we should design our own.  (Arc Info's
Arc Macro Language is NOT that complicated).  Our first step is to
define what we want.  Any suggestions?  Linda Zellmer