[Rhodes22-list] NAV software on Mac / was Ols Mac &PCs

[Bill Effros]

Lou,

I've been using Nav software for the PC and I've been underwhelmed.

I'm going to work on it again this winter, but, to date, I am most 
impressed with the deLorme Street Atlas program, although I think that 
is only available for the PC.

There must be a good street atlas for the Mac.

All these programs work off converted GPS information.  The deLorme will 
plot lat/long if asked to do so.  It will track.  It will show speed.  
It will show time.  It will do all of this over water.

Depths are not particularly significant to us at 3 meter accuracy.  That 
means we can be 18 feet away from where we think we are--and on our 
boats thats much too close to a big rock--we better know that some other 
way. -- Like watching the water and not computer screens.

Looking at charts on a computer screen is less helpful than having a 
paper chart in front of you.  We don't travel fast enough to need more 
than a few charts on any given day.

When you start to use this stuff you understand better why big boats 
keep hitting things.

Did you read about the woman who got killed this summer on LIS when the 
92 foot sailboat she was on collided with a barge or a tug or something 
a lot bigger than the boat she was on?  She was just crew.  It wasn't 
her fault.  But that won't help her now. 

There is no excuse for this type of accident.

Bill Effros

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> On Oct 28, 2006, at 1:44 PM, Joseph Hadzima wrote:
>
>> Hi
>>
>> Speaking of early computers, did anyone read "Byte"
>> magazine in the 80's?
>>
>> I found it interesting that the big add on devices were
>> made for the Apple computers.
>>
>> First came a Z80 card - which replaced the 6502 processor
>> so people could run a non-apple OS called CPM. Why you ask?
>> Because more softeware was available for CPM based
>> machines.
>>
>> Later, came something called the MacCharlie - which was
>> another silly device to convert a Mac so it would run M/S
>> DOS, and also all the available programs.
>>
>> This year Apple announced that they were converting from
>> the PowerPC processor to Intel (the same used in the PC).
>>
>>
>> What a long strange trip it's been!
>>
>> joe/hadz
>>
>>
>> --- Bill Effros <bill at effros.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Philip,
>>>
>>> We went through this while you were off list.  My partner
>>> bought Apple
>>> II serial number 1935.  Floppy drives were $500 extra.
>>> You loaded the
>>> machine operating system and programs with cassette
>>> tapes, from cassette
>>> players with audio outputs (cassette players not
>>> provided.)  I believe
>>> they came with 8K of memory, and there was jubilation
>>> around the office
>>> when we upgraded (at great expense) to 16K.
>>>
>>> The original PCs also were available without floppy
>>> drives.  I still
>>> have an original PC-DOS on a cassette tape.  We bought
>>> IBMs stripped
>>> down, and added memory, drives, etc. and sold them for
>>> 1/2 what IBM was
>>> selling them for--and double what all the parts cost us.
>>> This was
>>> illegal, and IBM sent the Feds after everyone doing this.
>>>  (By Federal
>>> Law PCs had to be licensed by the FCC to ensure their
>>> radiation was
>>> within proscribed limits.)
>>>
>>> Most of us just tried to keep our heads down, but many
>>> were driven out
>>> of business.
>>>
>>> Michael Dell was doing this in Texas at the same time we
>>> were doing it
>>> in NY and California.  He hired lawyers, stalled, and
>>> repeatedly broke
>>> the law.  It turned out well for him.
>>>
>>> Bill Effros
>>>
>>
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