Garmin just purchased ActiveCaptain

[Dadrock33]

Originally Posted by Cotemar

You and me both.

It could be GOOD, or it could be VERY BAD.
.
.

. . . well said . . . hope there aren't upcoming $$subscriptions around the bend . . . that would be a shame

[Pelagic]

Just wish Google had bought them

[Jdege]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Now I pay $100 a month to watch TV, with more advertising than it had when it was free.

A few months after I cut the cord, and started streaming all my TV through my Roku, I ran across Tablo, which is an over-the-air DVR that streams video over your local network. (Including to my Roku).

That got me plugging in a digital TV antenna for the first time in I don't know how long.

There's a lot more TV over the air than there used to be. 20+ channels where we used to have five.

[a64pilot]

I can't get any over the air TV in Albany Ga. really surprised me

[knockabout]

Garmin bought Inreach / it appears to be a smooth transition and costing about the same / changing from the trusted Spot connect to Inreach for 2 way sat com plus for a little bit more monthly cost we have weather updates when we need them wherever we are / downloadable charts to the Inreach app seem to run google earth / active captain is probably to overlap and seamlessly grid the whole thing / oops! there's that word a thing for the thing / they are good at making money that is why they are in business

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I can't get any over the air TV in Albany Ga. really surprised me

I live next to a FM broadcast antenna... ain't no free TV over the air here

[TimThornton]

On the depth side of things, those worried about AC going into a closed and commercial data silo in Garmin (similar to Navionics and Navico) may be interested in this:

I work with TeamSurv, and over the last couple of years we've been working with the IHO (the umbrella body for NOAA, the UKHO and other national hydrographic offices) on crowd sourced bathymetry (CSB).

Apart from getting interest in naturally conservative hydrographic offices, the following two things are happening:
- The IHO have just produced a draft of a guidebook for logging data for CSB. You can read it and comment here: TeamSurv IHO Crowd Sourced Bathymetry Document
- They are working with NOAA (who already host other things for the IHO) to have a repository of CSB track data that will be open data under a Creative Commons licence

Their model is to have a number of organisations act as "Trusted nodes", getting track data from boats, aggregating it and uploading it to the IHO repository. TeamSurv will be one of the first of these, and the only one with a presence in the leisure marine sector. If you wanted to join in and start contributing data, that would be great.

Tim

[Ted and Relinda]

I think it may not bode well for AC users not owning Garmin products. When the bought out Delorme, we were told everything would be the same. Needless to say, it's not. Road Atlas is no longer supported so it will not update. Of course we've been told we can buy Garmin products to replace it.
Ted..

[thruska]

I've stayed away from Garmin products for various reasons.
One reason being the fact that they use noaa maps, which are free online. The chips are not 'live' are they ? Why pay garmin for free stuff ?
Garmin is heavily invested by the government. I'm not a big fan of that. ( gps is all we have now as loran under obama admin was killed off ?)
Garmin products useful lifespan is lacking. Every time I check out a used Garmin product for purchase consideration, if find that the system is no longer supported. Doh ! I don't need a 500$ depth finder. Software is high priced for noaa info, imho.
However, I needed a gps some years back and picked up a Garmin Oregon used cheap. It served the purpose, but not without headaches. It had features I disliked ,( or lacked features) .
It was powered by battery or 12volt socket with fuse. Will not charge batts when plugged in. The fuse was a rare fuse, tin foil works in emergency yes but not recommended, lol. The fuse was always blown due to an apparent surge in my starting circuit. Why make a neat product and attach an insufficient and improper power source connector?
In spite of my opinions, I hope that fees don't become prohibitive.

[CarlF]

I have a different perspective. Who would have been better than Garmin?

Jeff and Karen have been at this for 10 years - I'd be real tired by now. And it seems unlikely that AC will become much more valuable if they hang on for another five years. So who else to sell to?:

Data miners/marketers (Google, Facebook, Trip Advisor)? They would love to sell information about "yacht" owners to every luxury good company and investment manager. Clicking on an AC anchorage marker would bring up a 15 second video ad for nearby timeshare properties.

Private Equity Rollups like Navionics? (Simrad, B&G) How many people know that Goldman Sachs now owns them? -- at least until they flip it to the next guy after extracting more cash. GS guys play rough - like restricting platforms to boost profits. I'd rather take my chances with Garmin.

Undercapitalized marine companies? (Furuno, Navionics) - Flat or declining sales means little money for the much needed AC Flash rewrite. Long term outlook is worrying.

Garmin primarily makes its money from selling hardware. It "owns" private aviation. Sure it charges for charts but that's not what the CEO wakes up worrying about each morning. And even if it was, there's not near enough money in AC to move the needle at a $2.8 billion dollar company like Garmin. This certainly isn't Garmin's first rodeo. They know it doesn't work to charge people to use a crowd sourced platform.

I expect the changes at AC will be slow because it's easy to destroy the value in a new acquisition. I also bet the changes won't involve charging for AC nor making it only work on Garmin devices. That would be stupid and Garmin doesn't usually do stupid.

So I certainly like AC's chances under Garmin better than with anyone else I can think of.

[jbinbi]

@CarlF, great post. I think you summarized this very well. And while others have written that they don't think Garmin's HW is good, as you said, they own small plane aviation nav market, they own the bike market, etc. As I mentioned I bike lots, and I have found their products work well, and they stand behind. Had a bike computer crap out 3 months past warranty, and they sent me a new one at no cost. Good guys.

[Cotemar]

ActiveCaptain News

So right now, Garmin owns ActiveCaptain

May 17, 2017 From news@activecaptain.com

Starting a business is like raising a child. In the beginning, you do
everything you can to give the best beginnings possible. You sacrifice
your own life to put in more time and shape the results to the best of
your abilities. But eventually, that child, and that business, are going
to have to leave. For in leaving, they become what they were meant to
be.

That is the story of ActiveCaptain. We built her to the best of our
abilities. We instilled integrity and honesty in every part of her. And
we set her on the right track. Over the last few years, there are so
many possibilities and capabilities that needed to be added. But Karen
and I were the ones holding her back - we were too busy and too swamped
with the current level of activity. ActiveCaptain would not become what
it was meant to be without making a major change.

Two changes were possible. We could stop cruising, lease office space,
build a team of 10-20+ people, and continue building the product. The
alternative was to transition the product to a company capable of
professionally managing and growing it.

We're entrepreneurs. We're terrible at managing an office of people. And
truth be told, we wanted to continue the cruising lifestyle. To us, it
was obvious that we needed a major partner. Someone capable of worldwide
reach, exceptional products, and the goal to excel.

Over the last four years, we'd been approached by many companies and
individuals interested in investing in ActiveCaptain or buying it
outright. But the timing wasn't right and in many cases, the partnership
wasn't right so we never engaged in any of those discussions.

Garmin is different.

We've had a close working relationship with Garmin since 2011. They've
been a wonderful partner. They've listened to what the community wanted
and worked with us to create an exceptional product. The results speak
for themselves. BlueChart Mobile is a big success and it is widely used
by the community. It is the only product that allows markers to be
edited, added, and deleted. Today, more people use Garmin's app than use
our own website. The heavens showed us the direction we needed to go.

Garmin has the vision of a hungry competitor. They hit everything we
believe is necessary for marine electronics - best in class technology
with the easiest-to-use products. And after seeing a glimpse of how we
fit into their plans, it made it obvious to us that ActiveCaptain would
have a bright and ongoing future with Garmin.

So right now, Garmin owns ActiveCaptain. The transaction is complete and
the plans are in place. The data is still licensed to other developers
and you'll see little change. Karen and I will build some teams of
people to take over and enhance the capabilities. Together we'll expand
social navigation into fishing and other boating activities. We'll have
an immediate worldwide presence that we previously could only dream
about.

We'll still be cruising. You'll see us at docks and anchorages. Red Head
will pop up on AIS and we'll continue to offer our insights in person
and online.

This has been an incredible ride for us. We've loved getting to know
this community of boaters and businesses. We've spent our lives building
companies and products but nothing will ever compare to the joy this
project, this child, has brought to us. Together we made something
wonderful that changed the way cruising happens.

But seriously, we're at the beginning. Wait until you see what we have
coming...

[Pelagic]

Good post CarlF but if AC was part of a harmonized Google platform, the search functions and Sat Maps would be far more versatile to the myriad of devices already being used

Building on User updates it would take on a Global value far quicker than via Garmin.

There are also ways to remove the advertising.

Just think how useful "Street View" of Marinas and anchorages would be to first time visitors

[CarlF]

Pelagic,

You make a good point. Google could add things to AC that we probably can't imagine. But while Google is a great company with awesome scale, they have not been been particularly successful with crowd sourced applications - the key to AC success (other than Jeff and Karen). They also have a very mixed record with acquisitions - like Nest the thermostat company or all the companies that disappeared into Google+ never to be heard from again.

Think how much better Google Street View would be if you could read comments about what's in the picture.

Or on the flip side, think of a Google AC where you have pictures of anchorages but no comments telling you about the holding or the bugs.

Don't get me wrong. Google can do great things but it's hard to do everything great.

[Capt Gill]

Originally Posted by pete33458

not me.

Nor me !