...making Linux just a little more fun!
Benjamin A. Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:53:08 -0400
Hi, Steve -
On Thu, Sep 14, 2006 at 11:04:27AM -0700, srankin wrote:
> Hi Ben > I've started using Ubuntu which is so great compared to Windoze and if I > can manage to run some navigational software I could eliminate Windoze > altogether. (It would be like getting rid of an abcessed tooth). Any > ideas? Will Wine run Nobeltec? Or do you know of any Nav software > available in open source?
I've actually posted about this on the 'origamiboats' list a while back, but I'll repeat it and expand on it a bit. If you don't mind, I'm also going to CC this exchange to The Answer Gang at the Linux Gazette; this is actually a question that I get asked on a regular basis by other sailors who use Linux, and I believe a number of people could benefit from the answer.
I've checked out a number of programs intended for navigational use under Linux; all of these have been useful to some degree, and some, like SeeMyDEnc (http://www.sevencs.com/index.php?page=123) are becoming more and more useful day by day, as NOAA and other chart-producing agencies convert more and more of their charts to the S-57 and other modern charting formats; in fact, S-57 charts and viewers have become so good that they are now treated as a legal equivalent of paper charts in commercial shipping regulations (!). These converted charts, incidentally, are available free of charge at http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.gov/ - a service that's worth thousands of dollars to cruisers, given the average cost of paper charts.
Anyway, the two programs that I use most of all in my navigation are 'xtide' and Mayko's 'mxmap'; the former shows a list of currents and tides for any location in the world, while the latter is a very featureful chart viewer. 'mxmap' reads BSB charts, does GPS tracking, allows you to construct/follow routes, set markers, "scribble" on the charts, and do lots of other goodies. It also allows you to use, e.g., a scan of a map or a chart - you just set the lat/long of diagonally opposing corners, and away you go.
The only problem with 'mxmap' is that it is unmaintained; the developers
(Mayko), as far as anyone seems able to tell, have disappeared off the
face of the earth leaving us with this really nice piece of software.
Maybe they went cruising. 
Since Ubuntu is Debian-based, you should be able to install 'xtide' via the standard installation mechanism ('apt-get install xtide' as root); "xmap" can be found at http://fresh.t-systems-sfr.com/linux/src/ (look for three files with 'xmap' in the name - one of them is a bunch of sample maps, the other two are static and dynamic versions of the program.)
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
srankin [srankin at shaw.ca]
Thu, 14 Sep 2006 20:53:31 -0700
Thanks Ben..I'll go to work on that. Steve
Thomas Adam [thomas.adam22 at gmail.com]
Fri, 15 Sep 2006 08:50:13 +0100
On Thu, 14 Sep 2006 14:53:08 -0400 "Benjamin A. Okopnik" <ben at linuxgazette.net> wrote:
> > Anyway, the two programs that I use most of all in my navigation are > 'xtide' and Mayko's 'mxmap'; the former shows a list of currents and
Hehe. I love xtide. It's such a simple program and colourful. It
was invaluable for me back home to know when to fish, etc. It even
piqued my my stepdad's interest in Linux.
He's at the KDE junction at the moment. Alas for me, FVWM isn't
anywhere on the radar, but I live in hope.
-- Thomas Adam
Benjamin A. Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
Fri, 15 Sep 2006 14:21:11 -0400
On Thu, Sep 14, 2006 at 08:53:31PM -0700, srankin wrote:
> Thanks Ben..I'll go to work on that.
A pleasure, Steve. It's possible that someone here in TAG, or one of our readers, might have even more info; I like to experiment with new software, but when I find something really solid to cover a given need, I go on to other areas. I'm sure that there's much more navigation-related Linux software, but I just haven't looked beyond what I've mentioned...
Good luck, and let us know if you discover anything interesting.
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
Benjamin A. Okopnik [ben at linuxgazette.net]
Mon, 25 Sep 2006 09:01:19 -0400
Hi, Steve -
On Sat, Sep 23, 2006 at 12:42:02PM -0700, srankin wrote:
> Hi Ben > I thought I'd let you know I am able to Kiss Windoze goodby! I have VM > installed under Ubuntu and all nav software runs in a virtual win2000 > window. Works better, and faster than with windows OS.
Congratulations! Don't forget that TAG (tag at lists.linuxgazette.net) is
here to answer Linux-related questions if you run into any problems.
And do feel free to let me know if you discover any interesting new
navigational software.
* Ben Okopnik * Editor-in-Chief, Linux Gazette * http://LinuxGazette.NET *
John Karns [johnkarns at gmail.com]
Tue, 26 Sep 2006 19:41:03 -0500 (COT)
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006, Benjamin A. Okopnik wrote:
> Hi, Steve - > > On Sat, Sep 23, 2006 at 12:42:02PM -0700, srankin wrote: >> Hi Ben >> I thought I'd let you know I am able to Kiss Windoze goodby! I have VM >> installed under Ubuntu and all nav software runs in a virtual win2000 >> window. Works better, and faster than with windows OS.
Although the assertion that W2k runs faster does surprise me a bit, I will easily go along with the "works better" part. My experience has been that the monopoly's family of OSes does seem to fare better in terms of improved stability when run in a VM environment as opposed more typical installation where they interact directly with the machine hardware, for whatever reason. My WAG is that in the latter case the abomination known as the registry doesn't isn't manipulated as much since all the hardware seen by the OS is virtual, and tends to stay relatively constant between sessions, so is less likely to become corrupted.
-- John Karns