Macbook or Cheap Laptop Onboard ...

[reiner]

I would be using Bootcamp where you can pick on start up if you want to run Mac or Windows. Keeps the two separate. But I think that I'm going to buy a cheaper laptop and keep my Mac clean.
I don't need Windows for anything else but my charts .

[ActiveCaptain]

Originally Posted by hummingway

Can you prove that MacENC is 6 times the cost of PolarView...

After correcting my own posting, I want to re-correct the pricing to keep it current. With the recent special pricing for PolarView of just $29.99, comparing MacENC at $179.95, the price multiple is now:

$179.95 / $29.99 = 6.00

So in fact, today MacENC is 6 times the price of PolarView as I originally stated. This is a most incredible comparison. And especially if you're looking for software for cruising in the US using a Mac, PolarView is the clear winner.

In a fair feature-for-feature comparison, MacENC should probably be priced at around $24.95. I'd expect to see them drop the price.

[canucksailor]

Dell mini's are fanstastic for boat use. They are tiny, so they are easy to pop into your chart table or any little hole, fairly rugged and they are so cheap ($250) they are almost disposable.

And that's all they are, disposable. Bought a Hewlett Packard netbook when my Mac went down, as a cheap replacement - it had a virus within a week, never ran with any speed, was a cheap piece of garbage.
Get an Otterbox or Pelican case for your mac to protect it - less than $100 on ebay, protect your baby and then you don't have to suffer with Windows, virii, and all the other crap that comes along with not owning a mac.
Which I have, since 1985.

[canucksailor]

I don't use my mac for navigation. I have an older demo version of MacENC which, along with the NOAA charts, provides me with a way to plan. I then go to my Garmin 3210 (a sweet machine!), $450 refurb from Garmin, and plot my course there.
Paper backups for everything of course.

[roger.waite]

Troppo's comment on the low power consumption of netbooks is worth noting. Don't know the power generation and storage of your H28, but netbooks dwarf the power consumption of most other portables. Another reason to have both?

Power consumption may not be an issue to you, but see e.g.:
Approximate Desktop, Notebook, & Netbook Power Usage

[Hillbillylad]

If you already own a Mac and the licensed software and want a backup,
Buy a cheapo laptop.
Format the hard drive and install Linux. Ubuntu or mint are good user friendly versions.
Once Linux is installed, install a version of "Virtual box"
Open Virtual box and install your copy of your Mac OS.
Set it up to run fullscreen with access to all your drives etc and kerching.... one cheapo Mac.
You get all the safety of the most secure virus free system around with all the buttons of a Mac you've come to know and love.

[Svsilvergirl]

Somebody briefly mentioned the iPad. I have one loaded with navionics and charts and tides both. Just got back from a boat delivery from Victoria bc to Portland Oregon , and it works great used it only to see how well it worked , holding it up next to the ray marine c80 chart plotter that was on the boat , it worked and looked every bit as well. I love this iPad. And the ray marine with avionics charts doesn't have any access to active captain database. I have active captain data base access on my android phone as well with nutri charts android app. The local knowledge in active captain is priceless.
Not judging , just saying.......

[four winds]

Originally Posted by ActiveCaptain

........ special pricing for PolarView .....$29.99

......if you're looking for software for cruising in the US using a Mac, PolarView is the clear winner.

That's my situation. I intended to activate my demo a while back, but there was a new version. So I used that for a month and just now activated my copy tonight after reading this post.

At this point, for Mac users, PolarView, NOAA charts, 2 gps devices (for me one USB, one bluetooth) would be hard to beat. That's a $100 investment in navigation for dedicated Mac users who already own a computer. How can a fellow beat that.

[careka]

i have mac, and pc, and 3 i-pads, all with plotter and charts. + chartplotter out in cocpit. Backup on backup. "plenty"
No more papercharts onbord.
Sail safe.

[chrismeikle]

Hi all
Not sure how to start a new thread so....
I would like to know if someone out there is using GMN's Sat-phone x-gate / wireless broadband and if it is a good solution for staying connected whilst on the water.
Thanks
Chris

[captain58sailin]

I am using both a refurbished cf-29 tough book with an internal gps, and an old dell inspirion with an external gps antenna, have made one Atlantic crossing with the dell, and work the west coast of Africa using the same. I have had no troubles and I am looking forward to mounting the toughbook on my vessel as a dedicated nav computer. I will also be using a chart plotter.