Lots of people want to do GIS but don't know where to start. I'm going to put together a few columns, using ArcExplorer Java Edition for Education (AEJEE), ESRI's free, downloadable, dual platform (Win/Mac), lightweight GIS tool.

First things first: you need to find, download, and install AEJEE. This is easy. Go to www.esri.com/aejee and look for the download section. Choose Macintosh or Windows. (If you are using Windows Vista, download the Windows installer, then see this blog entry.)

We encourage accepting the default install location, which is "[hard drive]:/ESRI", in order to make things look like they do in the Tutorial. AEJEE takes about 3 minutes to install. It's usually best to re-boot your computer after installing. Mac users can create an alias on the desktop or in the dock, using the "AEJEE" icon found at "[hard drive]:/ESRI/AEJEE". Windows users should find a new program group "AEJEE" in the Start menu.

Next, begin AEJEE, but before you go wandering aimlessly within it, check out the Tutorial, by going to "HELP/Contents"

A nice, easy, 58-page PDF guide awaits you there, with full instructions for how to access everything inside AEJEE. Lesson One gets you working right away with the full power of GIS -- visualization, selection, and querying, about a mythical land called "Gridville". The self-check at the end of the lesson asks you to switch from the mythical to real life. In this one lesson, in 30 minutes from download to self-check, you can experience what is at the heart of all of GIS -- thinking analytically about things that vary between here and there.

Congratulations! You're on your way to discovering the fascinating patterns of our world, large and small, and the many ways in which geography matters!

- Charlie Fitzpatrick, ESRI Education Manager