My pint of petrol for the fire.
I think it needs to be recognized that the EnvStats module was developed by
a third party independent of Mathsoft/Insightful. It was developed in
response to environmental law in the US and offers a a package of
statitistical and graphics functions specific to those regulations. (There
are approximately two pages of USEPA guidance documents in the reference
section of the manual). Althought it was designed specifically for those
of us who deal with enviromental data, it certainly has capabilities others
would find useful.
Yes, I am an unobjective observer. The EnvStats module is why I use
S-PLUS. Given the cost of S-PLUS seminars, the help system alone (an
online textbook of environmental stats) seems worth the cost of admission.
(Disclaimer - I have not attended a S-PLUS seminar and am not commenting on
those). The EnvStats developer, Dr. Steve Millard, certainly deserves
compensation for his efforts. The price of the module for someone (or
corporation) in this industry is a fair one, in my opinion.
I am not clear on the current relationship between Dr. Millard, his
company, and Insightful, but I hope he is still getting a healthy piece of
the EnvStats pie.
Now, about that Spatial Stats Module.....
Rick Ditmars
Sr. Geophysicist
Geomega
2995 Baseline Rd.
Boulder, CO 80303
(303)442-2549 ext. 124
rditmars@geomega.com
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