[Xastir] Complete set of TIGER 2006 SE shapefiles now available!

[Tom Russo]

On Mon, May 21, 2007 at 10:52:11AM -0600, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <russo at bogodyn.org> flavor, containing:
> On Mon, May 21, 2007 at 12:33:25PM -0400, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <bickley at baybroadband.net> flavor, containing:
[Re: TIGER/Line shapefiles]
> > You guys have been really patient in answering several questions form this
> > rank newcomer to Linux and Xastir.  Am I good for another one?
> > 
> > What are the benefits of these new offerings versus what was already out
> > there?  

I answered the "Why not the online version" question, but not this one.

The 2006 Second Edition maps will have updated (presumably better) data as
the Census adds information.

The previous 2006 shapefile conversions only converted the linear features,
and were missing all of the polygons.  The files were also named by FIPS code,
which made it a little difficult to figure out what file applied to what part
of the state.  The new ones have county names.

The much older 2004 shapefiles had the polygon features, but were based on
older data that the Census doesn't distribute anymore.

The 2006 SE files will be the last data that the Census will be distributing
in TIGER/Line format.  Starting next year they'll be distributing shapefiles
of their own.  From the looks of it, these will be less useful, as their 
current plans show that their files will have a set of attributes that will 
make it difficult to use them in Xastir.  So these 2006 SE shapefiles will 
probably be the last set of useful Census data we can get our hands on, unless 
the Census changes the DBF attributes they plan to attach to their data when 
they start distributing shapefiles themselves.

The TIGER/Line data was never meant to provide navigation-quality maps, but
they're the closest thing we've got to free street-level maps of the whole 
country.  Better data can often be had from local public works departments,
but it's hit-or-miss and not at all standardized.

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY   SAR502   DM64ux          http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236 AHTB#1 http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?DDTNM
"And, isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is
 one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, oooh, oooh,
 oooh, the sky is the limit!"  --- The Tick