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We are considering a 17" Mac Book Pro for the boat. When I read the reviews on Amazon there were raves, and there were some pretty harsh comments.

Anybody here have that machine? How do you like it?

We are currently running a PowerBook G4 with GPS NavX. Both are solid as a rock. I would not budge from that combination except I'm tempted by a satellite weather hookup that needs to run on the dreaded Windows.

http://www.argonautcomputer.com/tflex-G6...onitor.php

Looks like a VGA connector and 1024 x 768 resolution

Hey,
I just got GPSNavX and MacGPS pro. I am cruising from Olympia Washington to Victoria British Columbia very soon. Will Purchase Appropriate charts but require them immediately. I'm not sure how to get them here soon enough; I'm Canadian with a Canadian address. Any one know how I can make it happen?

The latest German YACHT magazine (#23 31.10.2006) has published a very short review of GPSNavX which they tested for several weeks on sailing trips.
They write that it is the only solution for Mac computers and don't even mention MacENC.
Though basic functions are good to very good, they find that selecting charts is unnecessarly complicated.
OTOH they weren't able to connect SIMRAD IS-12 instruments to our favorite navigation software and the mag had problems connecting a BT GPS under OS X10.3.9 but it worked under 10.4.
The biggest issue they found was that GPSNavX only shows coordinates instead of course and distance from the boat position to the cursor position.

Also no mention of GPSNavX homepage but only the German distributor who sells the prog for 130 Euro, that over 2 times the regular price when bought online.
OK to be fair one has to say that in Germany applications must be in German and have to be sold with a German manual.
But having the program localized for free as can be seen by our member Francis Fustier http://www.francis-fustier.fr/navigation.html


Here my comments to this review:

* it looks like they didn't really test the application or are Windows spoiled users
* course and distance is clearly shown selecting the right icon
* I never had problems running BT GPS with 10.3.8
* selecting charts is no problem because the charts are numerated as the paper counterparts, also selecting the red square icon, shows connected and related neigbour charts
* IMHO a sailor should be able to use an English application, as the international charts, VHF/DSC communication codes etc. are all done in English.
* saying the application has basic function isn't true. All Windows progs I used are less intuitiv and do lack many functions GPSNavX has. I'm even saying GPSNavX equals MaxSea (Beginner version) and has more functions. OK MaxSea can be upgraded with special moduls, like GRIB waether data, route precalculation etc. but each modul costs 250 Euro and more.

I already wrote somewhere in this forum, that GPSNavX gives the best value/performance/features for the price it is sold.

At the moment I'm writing a review of GPSNavX for a French mag and will send a German version to the above mentioned mag.

Regards,

Manou

I am pleased to announce that PassagePlus v1.4, released today, adds support for Land Information New Zealand's NZMariner charts, the official raster charts of New Zealand waters.

NZMariner uses the same underlying chart format and security systems as ARCS and the two look the same and function identically once opened. There are currently 159 charts in the NZMariner collection. They fit on a single CD, and when you purchase the CD (which is very reasonably priced) you automatically get permits to open all 159 charts.

NOTE: For existing users who are using ARCS charts only, there are no new features in v1.4 compared to v1.3.4, so there is no need to download this version unless you want to try NZMariner charts.

IMPORTANT: because NZMariner chart permits are stored on the CD, PassagePlus cannot open NZMariner charts unless either the Update CD or the Charts CD was issued after October 2006. Confirm with your retailer when purchasing that the Update CD is October 2006 or later.

Regards
Jon

If you are a Shipmodul Miniplex 41 or 42 user on OS X please contact gpsnavx@mac.com for a new version 1.20 of the Miniplex configuration tool.

Shipmodul also says they can update the 41 and 42 to support AIS receivers. Please contact Shipmodul for this update.

http://www.shipmodul.com/en/index.html

http://www.lismoresystems.com/en/ shows Guest PC 1.9.7

Any thoughts on the relative merits of Guest PC 1.9.7 vs Microsoft's Virtual PC 7.0.2 ?

I was wondering if being able to split screen a chart on GPXNavX would be possible? One side, say at 100% and the other side 50% or less. I find when using GPSNavX, instead of using the instant last zoom feature having split screen would be useful. That way I could keep a close eye on my position at 100-200% but still see the general overall area. Just a thought! What does everyone else feel?

Take care and safe winter boating.

Patrick
MV Eboness

We are planning an extended cruise and will need to pay bills online at our bank's site. Is it dangeous to do this using Wi-Fi with my MacBook? Are there precautions I can take to do this safely? Any other suggestions?

http://homepage.mac.com/holtmann/eidac/index.html