December 5, 2009 06:48
Hold on a second - are you sure you're really talking about MaxSea's new TimeZero program? It's very, very new - like a couple of weeks old since release. I just got my copy last week. It includes all vector and raster charts for the US from NOAA along with satellite imagery, 3D data, tide, current, and a pretty slick interface to weather. There aren't any modules for the software and it has a street price of $350 (check out Defender).
I installed it on a low end Toshiba laptop - a $399 computer. All I can say is that I'm blown away by it. I've been using nautical navigation applications since 1995 and have even written a few applications (Maptech, ActiveCaptain, Raymarine prototype). I've tried every application that exists and there is just nothing else like this one anywhere. You've got to see how it pans and zooms and puts things into 3D. I'm not a big fan of the 3D display in real use although it makes a cool demo. Even just for 2D use, this software is incredible.
I'm trying to figure out how to make it run on my MacBook Pro. TZ has a variety of hardware requirements and only supports certain video adapters. I'm trying to find someone who has actually tried it on a Mac.
TZ is unlike anything you have ever seen. It's like the first time I saw Nobeltec's quilting of charts. Once you see that, you can't go back to chart-by-chart display. TZ does that same thing for the very basic display, zooming, and panning of nautical charts. You honestly won't believe the performance. It changes the way you'll do navigation. It's that big.
I installed it on a low end Toshiba laptop - a $399 computer. All I can say is that I'm blown away by it. I've been using nautical navigation applications since 1995 and have even written a few applications (Maptech, ActiveCaptain, Raymarine prototype). I've tried every application that exists and there is just nothing else like this one anywhere. You've got to see how it pans and zooms and puts things into 3D. I'm not a big fan of the 3D display in real use although it makes a cool demo. Even just for 2D use, this software is incredible.
I'm trying to figure out how to make it run on my MacBook Pro. TZ has a variety of hardware requirements and only supports certain video adapters. I'm trying to find someone who has actually tried it on a Mac.
TZ is unlike anything you have ever seen. It's like the first time I saw Nobeltec's quilting of charts. Once you see that, you can't go back to chart-by-chart display. TZ does that same thing for the very basic display, zooming, and panning of nautical charts. You honestly won't believe the performance. It changes the way you'll do navigation. It's that big.