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GIS relate specifically to the physical mapping of data within a visual representation. For example, when a hurricane map (which shows location and time) is overlaid with another layer showing potential areas for lightning strikes, you’re seeing GIS in action.
What is GIS? | Geographic Information System Mapping Technology
QGIS (formerly known as Quantum GIS) is freely available for download for Mac, Windows and Linux OS. It is usually a good idea to use the LTR (Long term release) version, but feel free to download the latest to try out the latest features.
It also comes with a number of plugins that help you do some extra stuff.
- QGIS Python Plugins Repository
You can use QGIS with out-of-the-box default settings. If you need to configure things like, setting default fonts, projections for new projects and so on, check out the docs on configurations.