Post date: Jan 09, 2011 4:6:10 PM
We are pleased to announce that we have released a new version of our public mapping software. This new version incorporates feedback we have received over the past few months for better file management features and plan import/export features. Perhaps most importantly, the software can now be configured to redistrict any state or locality within the United States - although we continue to demonstrate with 2000 census data from Ohio. Other changes are designed to enhance the performance of the software, one of which is tying the geography that a user can select to edit (census blocks, tracts, and counties) to the zoom level.
With this update, we have now moved from an "alpha" to a "beta" release, meaning that this software is functional for redistricting purposes, but we are still working out some kinks. We will continue to improve the software's current features and add more in the near future. Some of these features include a community mapping interface, providing contextual information such as streets and city boundaries, and adding more ways of evaluating districts.
For those who currently have accounts to the demo version, this update changed some behind-the-scenes database management which necessitated cleaning out all test plans that people had created. For those who wish to get their own copy of the software, you can follow the procedures described here.