My name is Mike, and I am a Mac user…
Back when Macintosh computers looked like fish bowls, people really looked at us sideways when we told them we didn’t use a PC to run our business. Today, now that Apple has shed some light on the bleakness of the PC world, people are often either already Mac users, or wish they were.
OK, that is enough of my Apple vs. PC babble. 🙂 We do however exclusively use Macs, both personally and for our recently-sold business. I just read a good thread on cruising with a Mac on the Seven Seas Cruising Association members forum (yes, we are members). There are obviously many people who are in a similar situation, and for charting on their computers, it seems the program I previously mentioned, GPSNavX, is a common choice.
I was playing around this morning downloading some charts off the net. You can view and download NOAA charts here, and someone went to the trouble of converting them all into .png files here. I am not sure if any of those will work on GPSNavX, but they sell a CD with all of NOAA’s charts for only 39 bucks. Not too bad, considering one paper chart is 20 bucks!
Of course, planning routes is only one use of a boat computer. Rebecca and I each have our own laptop that we use for communication, research, planning, entertainment and most importantly, updating this Blog! I was reading another thread on the net where people were recommending, instead of a laptop, Apple’s Mac Mini as a boat computer, due to its small footprint and low power consumption. Maybe when our laptops give up the ghost we will consider that. I have long since moved away from upgrading stuff just to have the latest and greatest. We’ll be using our current computers until they die!
Hey Mike
I’ve been lurking and reading your blog for some time, following with interest your preparation for your cruising time.
Just had to post this link for you to get a chuckle:
http://www.theage.com.au/digital-life/computers/better-the-broken-windows-than-life-with-the-mac-monks-20091103-huew.html
I just converted to a MacBook Pro after running with PC laptops for most of my computer life. I haven’t gone the whole hog – still on Windows 7 as my OS! It’s a great combination.
Looking forward to reading about your sailing exploits for the next few years, and if you’re ever in Barcelona and we’re still here, we’ll show you around!
cheers
Michele
That is an awesome link, Michele. I love it. Thanks for posting!
I’ll keep the Barcelona invite in mind. You never know:)
Dude, Mac’s RULE!! (^_^)
I’ve been a Mac-head for years and years since the Mac Plus. Yeah, that is old school!
Nice blog, I’ll be following. I was close to joining SSCA but choose to hold off until we are closer to casting off. It will be interesting to hear what you have to say about being a member…
oh some feedback on GPSNavX would be nice.
Fair Winds
Z
Thanks for the comment(s). Aside from gaining access to the SSCA members forum, which does have some decent info, we have yet to take advantage of any of the other members benefits. They do offer some online course through sevenseasu.com, which members get a discount. We may check out some of those, and will of course post about them when we do. As for the GPSNavX software, I have yet to step up and purchase the full package. I think I will though as it is pretty cheap as far as software packages go. One more thing to learn 🙂