F8 and a GPS -OT

[Beartooth]

On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 13:23:21 -0600, Robin Laing wrote:
	[...]
> Just for some info.  If you are looking at getting a GPS system.
 
> Garmin Nav devices run Gnome Linux
> http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8827997755.html
 
> There are many devices that are supported directly in Linux.

	Well, it's nice that the OS inside the GPS itself should be 
linux; I'll certainly make that a priority if/when I ever buy another. (I 
have four or five already.)

	How about PC/laptop software? I know there's plenty of stuff 
suitable for those who have the savvy to use wardriving, and even some 
that may be useful for ordinary drivers (roadnav, in particular) -- but 
how about topographic??

	Everything I know of requires a far better grasp of linux, or of 
GPS technology, or of cartography, than for instance the suites sold by 
Garmin, DeLorme, Maptech, or Topo.com to run on M$ machines.

	With those, I can connect my handheld garmin to my computer, 
launch the software, and (so long as I can tolerate XP at all), make it 
easy to do things like editing maps. (I keep a dedicated hard drive on 
one PC, and a whole dedicated laptop, that boot to XP at need, just for 
the purpose.)

	What I do with them, and would *much* rather to with linux, is to 
map my hunting grounds. When I go out, I have with me both my actual GPS, 
and a selection of printed paper maps -- much bigger than anything on a 
handheld GPS screen, and in full color, in a waterproof transparent pouch 
-- which feature the locations that interest me.

	What's even more valuable is the ability to study the 
relationship of various stands, trails, den trees, topography, etc., to 
one another at leisure and at home.

	I once found, for instance, that two of my favorite trails ran 
within fifty yards of one another for a stretch of maybe a quarter mile 
-- something I had never suspected in over ten years of walking them.

	I keep thinking such software will appear, because it would be 
equally valuable to hikers, fishermen, timber cruisers, and anyone else 
who spends much time in the woods -- and most of all to those of us who 
don't stay on beaten trails. But if it ever has, I've missed it. Alas!

-- 
Beartooth Staffwright, PhD, Neo-Redneck Linux Convert
Fedora 8 & 9; Alpine 1.10, Pan 0.132; Privoxy 3.0.6;
nine (count 'em -- nine) different browsers
Remember I know precious little of what I am talking about.