With GPS fresh in mind, I am in the market for a new GPS that will
best fit my desire to obtain accurate readings, be user friendly, and
have a relatively long battery life. My main objective for a new
device is to be able to take my readings while out and then post them
to online maps to be able to share my trips with friends. If anyone
is in a giving advice mood I would like to know some of your opinions
and suggestions on GPS and compatible software that would make this
possible without a big headache. Also, where could I post my maps
online once I get up and running? I guess that would be a factor in
which device and software to use.

Thanks!

Geoff Schultz" geoff"at wrote:
"Dennis Pogson" wrote in
:

Bill Kearney wrote:
Most of these BSB charts can be obtained in digital form anyway, by
resorting to a file-sharing program such as Emule, therefore saving
the time and cost of scanning.

Right, so you're saying just steal them instead of paying.

I don't use BSB charts, but they are there if anyone wants them.
Also, if my neighbour offers me a copy of some well-known software,
and I offer him a copy of another application in return for his
generosity, I don't regard myself as having "stolen" anything.

Perhaps if you spent some time studying the P&L accounts of the
leading software companies, you would see what I mean.

BTW I don't use E-Mule, but millions do.

DP

So just what do the P&L statements of the leading SW companies show?
And what if these aren't from the *leading* software companies? Does
that still count?

If you traded your software to another person, and both of you
destroyed copies of said software on your respective machines, I
would agree with you. Otherwise you've profited by maintaining both
copies.

Simply because people walk into stores and steal things, doesn't make
it right. The stores mark everything up to cover the shrinkage. All
of us who don't steal the products end up paying for it. There's no
difference other than the one in a store has a physical essence and
the other is just bits streaming over the Internet or on a disk.

-- Geoff (ex-software developer)

Just in case you missed the original post, scanning copyright media is also
stealing, as is hitting the Prt Scr key on your keypad in certain
circumstances. Perhaps we should all sue the hardware manufacturers who
invented and marketed the CD/DVD-copying devices to the consumer public?

How about suing NOAA for releasing all these vector and raster charts of the
US coastline worldwide, surely they must be somebody's intellectual
property? Why should a BSB chart of the Eastern Med be so different? Don't
we all pay taxes?


DP

Hello,

It looks like no utility out there can write BSB/KAP files. Many can read.

You can use RasterChart2BSB utility :
http://www.justmagic.com/RasterChart2BSB.html
This webpage is in French but the software is quite simple to
understand (see the video).
By the way, use the MacOSX version.
The Win and Linux versions are adaptations created by a student and
are a little buggy.
But open source code is available for programmers for these
environments...

Best regards.

--
Peio Elissalde
Magic Instinct Software

"Dennis Pogson" wrote in
:

Geoff Schultz" geoff"at wrote:
"Dennis Pogson" wrote in
:

Bill Kearney wrote:
Most of these BSB charts can be obtained in digital form anyway,
by resorting to a file-sharing program such as Emule, therefore
saving the time and cost of scanning.

Right, so you're saying just steal them instead of paying.

I don't use BSB charts, but they are there if anyone wants them.
Also, if my neighbour offers me a copy of some well-known software,
and I offer him a copy of another application in return for his
generosity, I don't regard myself as having "stolen" anything.

Perhaps if you spent some time studying the P&L accounts of the
leading software companies, you would see what I mean.

BTW I don't use E-Mule, but millions do.

DP

So just what do the P&L statements of the leading SW companies show?
And what if these aren't from the *leading* software companies? Does
that still count?

If you traded your software to another person, and both of you
destroyed copies of said software on your respective machines, I
would agree with you. Otherwise you've profited by maintaining both
copies.

Simply because people walk into stores and steal things, doesn't make
it right. The stores mark everything up to cover the shrinkage. All
of us who don't steal the products end up paying for it. There's no
difference other than the one in a store has a physical essence and
the other is just bits streaming over the Internet or on a disk.

-- Geoff (ex-software developer)

Just in case you missed the original post, scanning copyright media is
also stealing, as is hitting the Prt Scr key on your keypad in certain
circumstances. Perhaps we should all sue the hardware manufacturers
who invented and marketed the CD/DVD-copying devices to the consumer
public?

How about suing NOAA for releasing all these vector and raster charts
of the US coastline worldwide, surely they must be somebody's
intellectual property? Why should a BSB chart of the Eastern Med be so
different? Don't we all pay taxes?


DP



I think that you're trying to redirect what caused my initial comments:

Also, if my neighbour offers me a copy of some well-known software,
and I offer him a copy of another application in return for his
generosity, I don't regard myself as having "stolen" anything.

I, and many other people who make/made a living from writing software,
would disagree with you.

I understand that coping material can be illegal depending upon what you
do with it. I use a simple method to determine if I am steeling by
copying something. (1) If I own something, I feel that I should be able
to make a copy for myself. I don't "share" these copies with anyone
else. (2) If I copy something that someone else owns, to avoid paying
for it, then I am steeling it. I'm depriving the author of the money
that they should have received from it.

The NOAA charts are public domain, so there's no copyright associated
with them. Copy them and do what you want with them to your hearts
content. However, if a chart isn't public domain, then no, it isn't OK.
You need to make the decision on a chart by chart basis, but from what
I've read from your previous posts in this thread, you clearly don't
care.

-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

"Peio" wrote in message
ups.com...
Hello,

It looks like no utility out there can write BSB/KAP files. Many can
read.

You can use RasterChart2BSB utility :
http://www.justmagic.com/RasterChart2BSB.html
This webpage is in French but the software is quite simple to
understand (see the video).

(CUT)

Great Peio!! I had a go with the utility but the "Geodetic Datum" list is
missing my current chart set "Rome 1940"..... what can I do?
Also I don't know what to set in the "Sounding Datum"

Best regards

"Geoff Schultz" schreef in bericht
.. .

I understand that coping material can be illegal depending upon what you
do with it. I use a simple method to determine if I am steeling by
copying something. (1) If I own something, I feel that I should be able
to make a copy for myself. I don't "share" these copies with anyone
else. (2) If I copy something that someone else owns, to avoid paying
for it, then I am steeling it. I'm depriving the author of the money
that they should have received from it.

Ever tried to make a personal copy of the Navionics Gold charts?
I did, to find that the Navionics software had destroyed the original chart
automatically and without warning. Although there is a warning on the
package saying that copying is not allowed, I did not expect it to mean that
it is was also if you make a copy for your self as a back-up. After all,
these charts cost a fortune ($300) and it seems prudent to make a copy in
case you loose the original.
So this is my warning to you: never try to make a copy of a Navionics chart.
I do not understand this policy of Navionics, after all I own the chart by
having payed for it, and I do not understand that they have the right of
destroying a thing that you own. I do not know if they have a legal right to
do this, but to me it feels like a criminal act.

Cole.

"Jack Erbes" schreef in bericht
...
Cole Maze wrote:
snip
Ever tried to make a personal copy of the Navionics Gold charts?
I did, to find that the Navionics software had destroyed the original
chart
automatically and without warning. Although there is a warning on the
package saying that copying is not allowed, I did not expect it to mean
that
it is was also if you make a copy for your self as a back-up. After all,
these charts cost a fortune ($300) and it seems prudent to make a copy
in
case you loose the original.

What kind of media was that on? And what hardware were you using to try
to copy them? Those are available on SD, MMC, NavChart, or Compact
Flash. The NavChart is the Navionics proprietary memory cartridge.
Media SD or MMC, one of those, don't remember, it's on the boat right now.
I was copying it on my Lowrance 7500C plotter that has 2 slots for SD/MMC
cards.


If there was write protect tab on the memory card, I'd think that may
have prevented that from happening.
Probably, but I did not check. Stupid, I know, but I did not expect it to be
destroyed.


Can you normally write anything to the card that was erased? Like
waypoints and routes?
Have not tried that because I still have hope to recover the chart, some way
or the other...


Did you ask Navionics if that was a normal behavior?
Yes I did ask the Navionics dealer where I bought it and he tells me that
there are clear instructions on the cartridge the card comes in. I checked
that and indeed it says: 'Do not insert this card in a PC for copying or it
may get damaged' or similar words.
I remember it explicitely said 'PC' but it did not help in the discussion
with the dealer. He insisted it was my own fault and I should know that it
is illegal to copy the content of the card. Of course I disagreed but that
did not help.I got a discount ($100) however when I bought the same chart to
replace the damaged one. I accepted this because I was in a hurry to get the
tide and I did not want to sail to France without a chart.



Jack

Cole Maze wrote:
snip
Ever tried to make a personal copy of the Navionics Gold charts?
I did, to find that the Navionics software had destroyed the original chart
automatically and without warning. Although there is a warning on the
package saying that copying is not allowed, I did not expect it to mean that
it is was also if you make a copy for your self as a back-up. After all,
these charts cost a fortune ($300) and it seems prudent to make a copy in
case you loose the original.

What kind of media was that on? And what hardware were you using to try
to copy them? Those are available on SD, MMC, NavChart, or Compact
Flash. The NavChart is the Navionics proprietary memory cartridge.

If there was write protect tab on the memory card, I'd think that may
have prevented that from happening.

Can you normally write anything to the card that was erased? Like
waypoints and routes?

Did you ask Navionics if that was a normal behavior?

Jack

Jack Erbes wrote in
:

Cole Maze wrote:
snip
Ever tried to make a personal copy of the Navionics Gold charts?
I did, to find that the Navionics software had destroyed the original
chart automatically and without warning. Although there is a warning
on the package saying that copying is not allowed, I did not expect
it to mean that it is was also if you make a copy for your self as a
back-up. After all, these charts cost a fortune ($300) and it seems
prudent to make a copy in case you loose the original.

What kind of media was that on? And what hardware were you using to
try to copy them? Those are available on SD, MMC, NavChart, or
Compact Flash. The NavChart is the Navionics proprietary memory
cartridge.

If there was write protect tab on the memory card, I'd think that may
have prevented that from happening.

Can you normally write anything to the card that was erased? Like
waypoints and routes?

Did you ask Navionics if that was a normal behavior?

Jack

I unfortunately made the mistake of placing a Navionics CF chart into my
laptop when I was having problems with my chartplotter. The
chartplotter wasn't able to see the chip and I wanted to know if the
chip was bad. The problem ended up being with the chart plotter and the
chip was OK. Unfortunately that rendered the chip unusable and it now
sits on my desk at home instead of being on the boat where it belongs.
It cost me $200 to replace it.

The CF chips aren't anything special. They're SanDisk 64 MB chips that
have a special format applied to them that copy programs can't
duplicate. I tried to figure out how to duplicate my chips but was
unable to figure out how to do it (and I spent a lot of time trying.) I
have dual chartplotters on board for backup, both which use Navionics
chips, and I want to have a backup of the charts too.

What appears to happen is that when you insert the chip into your
computer, it gets "mounted" and that writes a file header. This
indicates to the software in the chart plotter that the chip has been
loaded into a PC and this disables the use of the chip.

Navionics sells a USB device which allows you to utilize the chips on a
PC. From what I can tell, this device simply write locks the chip. You
can do the exact same thing by write locking the device via software. I
have a program that I run on my laptop that write locks the device and I
can use the chips without any problems.

I fail to understand why Navionics implemented this behavior. I
personally feel that they should be forced to abandon this practice.
Implementing an anti-copy system is fine, but disabling chips due to
someone simply putting them into a PC is just wrong.


-- Geoff
www.GeoffSchultz.org

In article ,
"Cole Maze" wrote:

I do not understand this policy of Navionics, after all I own the chart by
having payed for it, and I do not understand that they have the right of
destroying a thing that you own. I do not know if they have a legal right to
do this, but to me it feels like a criminal act.

Best you go back and READ the User License that came with your Navionics
Software.... You did NOT buy the Charts, or the Software to use them.
What you bought is a "License" to use them, and Navionics plainly states
that they still OWN all the Rights, but License you as a User to USE
their Software, as per the User License. Your Violation of the User
License. may constitute a Civil Action that Navionics could bring against
you, if they so choose. It is all there in the Fine Print, that you
obviously never READ.......