Login at MacSailing.net

Is there a way to draw a shaded region between 4 waypoints in GPSNavX? I know you can draw a line with the Annotation tool, but this does not produce a very straight line. Something like this:

I have been able to download and install a few ENC's in MacENC. However, when i go to install new ENC's, the folder and catalog # are the same?? Is there a sytem to rename these so you don't have 5+ different catalogs in your Chart Manger that all seem to look the same...?

Many Thanks,

G

I have just started playing around with MacENC and have been able to download the ENC and Raster charts from NOAA. However, I saw that GPSNavX had a general "world" base chart. Why is it not included in MacENC and how can i install without ordering a CD. (I live in China so prefer to find a downloadable resource).

Many thanks,

G

When I request a GRIB from within GPSNavX, the email I get in response is this:

Grib extraction failed (zero-length file, data files could not be downloaded)
request code: grib:33N,33N,118W,117W|1,1|0,12,24,36,48,60,72|WIND,PRMSL

Why am I getting this error?

Thanks.

Curious as to what monitors people have on board? Please feel free to reply with details as well as answering the poll.

I need a USB hub that can run from the same 12v battery bank that will be powering the computer, etc. I did some Googling and reading on this subject, and most hits come from car related websites. Among the suggestions that I read, what seems the simplest to me is to locate a USB hub that already runs on a 12vdc input. While most powered USB hubs seem to take a 5vdc input, I have one at home that takes 10vdc, and according to some other discussion forums there are USB hubs that use less commong voltages, like 6, 9 or 12vdc.

One thing I gathered from other forums is that simple Walmart style voltage converters would give me the correct voltage to run a hub requiring 5vdc, but those converters typically deliver only 500 milli amps.

Does anyone out there have some experience with adding USB hubs to 12vdc powered systems? Though I've heard that 12vdc hubs are out there, I do not know what brands or models use that voltage. I did see a commercially available USB hub that is advertised as a 12v powered hub, but that one is also $130. It seems pretty silly to spend $130 if some $20 hub is already built to run on 12vdc.

Raymarine has a PC monitor, the M1500 Marine Monitor. I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not it works with Macs. Landfall Navigation has it for about $1700; it is a 15' monitor. Do any of Raymarine's competitors have competing products?
http://www.raymarine.com/raymarine/Produ...ct_id=1514

Thanks,Jason

There's some excellent Java software called GPSActionReplay http://users.info.unicaen.fr/~mathet/gpsar/ that allows you to load previous GPS tracks you have recorded, together with instrument data and replay your previous sailing exploits. This is particularly useful if you're racing as you can generate polars of your yacht and work out how efficiently (or in my case in-efficiently) you're sailing.

My problem is that GPSActionReplay expects GPX files (XML format), and MacENC outputs tracks in CSV format. So my questions are:

1. Would it be possible to add GPX support for exporting tracks, waypoints and routes from MacENC?

2. In the short term, is anyone aware of a fairly straightforward method of coverting the tracks between CSV and XML GPX format. I've tried GPSBabel, but the UI doesn't appear to support import of track data in CSV format. I'm going to have a dig around the command line reference and see if I have any more luck.

My goal is to upload tracks from a days sailing to my new blog (in progress), and allow friends and crew to replay the sailing using the GPSActionReplay Java client embedded in a web page.

Then, when we're competing in the round the island race, I may even investigate hooking up a near real-time webcast!

Reeferjon

There's a new universal version of LoadMyTracks available for Mac OS X.
This little application can transform tracks and waypoints from many GPS into GPX or KML files. KML files can be used with Google Earth!


Get it here

http://www.cluetrust.com/LoadMyTracks.html

Both BootCamp and Parallels are in pre-release test versions, so more progress is to be expected.

And yes, I known they only run on the newest Intel chip based kit. And yes, the multiple core chip based Macs coming out later this year, and the next major version of the OS will speed up the process.

Exciting times now, and to come for those of us in the Mac persuasion.

John

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/06/04/1...oot001.cfm

Published: Sunday, April 16, 2006

Apple's Boot Camp wins out over Parallels Workstation

By Robert Weston
Associated Press

NEW YORK - For years, my desk has been cluttered by two computers - one Macintosh and one PC. It's been an arrangement of necessity, as I prefer the Mac but sometimes need a Windows machine for work.

So it was with great interest that I read about Apple Computer Inc.'s launch last week of a program allowing newer Intel-based Macs to boot Microsoft Corp.'s Windows operating system. A day later, another company unveiled software that runs Windows in Mac OS X at nearly full speed.

In both cases, software emulation isn't required because the new Macs share the same hardware brains as Windows PCs. Unlike Microsoft's Virtual PC program, which lets some Windows programs run on my old PowerPC-based Mac, there's no significant performance hit.

The major difference between Apple's Boot Camp and Parallels Software International Inc.'s Parallels Workstation is that the latter allows the user to seamlessly switch back and forth between the systems without restarting. Boot Camp requires a decision at startup - if you want to run the other OS after that, you need to reboot.

It took each about 45 minutes to install the operating system, which must be purchased separately (Windows XP starts at $199). The process was simple for both programs - even though they're both labeled as test software.

Parallels Workstation's most obvious advantage is its ability to run both operating systems simultaneously. The Windows OS runs inside a Mac window and users can easily and quickly switch back and forth between operating systems.

The system also automatically recognized the Mac's wireless Internet connection as well as the computer's wireless Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.

But Parallels Workstation does have significant flaws.

The program doesn't yet provide the native graphics drivers needed to make the display hardware run at full speed.

After installation, I launched the program. But I quickly discovered that it wouldn't allow me to use the iMac's CD/DVD player to install Windows XP. After several attempts to work around this, I found a solution: You need to insert the Windows XP CD into the computer before launching the Parallels Workstation program.

Within the Parallels Workstation environment, DVDs are not yet supported. The company plans to fix that in the next test release.

Still, Parallels Workstation - a free download while it is in testing but available for $49.99 in "a few weeks" when the company says it will be officially released - was a usable solution for occasionally running Windows applications. It should only get better with improved hardware support.

Apple's Boot Camp, which is available as a free download, feels much more like a finished product, despite its test label.

Apple includes most of the hardware drivers needed to make the computer work. During the installation of Boot Camp, it walks you through the process of installing the drivers to a CD, which you'll use after the Windows installation is complete.

Performance is what you would expect running Windows XP on a similarly configured PC.

Even hardware that the company claims wouldn't work within the environment, such as the Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse, ran perfectly in the Windows OS. (The initial setup, however, required a wired keyboard and mouse.)

The only hardware that I found didn't work was the iMac's built-in video camera.

No Windows software tripped up Windows XP via Boot Camp. I installed my company's Virtual Private Networking client and the PC-only software used to write this story, and both worked - just as they would on a "normal" PC.

Windows games installed and played at top speed without a hitch.

Aside from the annoyance of having to reboot the computer to switch operating systems, the only complaint I had about Boot Camp is the Mac operating system's inability to take full advantage of the hard drive partition formatted to XP's default file system.

For hardcore gamers, there really is no option. Boot Camp is the best way to run Windows games on a Mac.