While we won't go too far down this road, occasional gamers looking for basic fun can find it at Shockwave, which offers everything from classic arcade games to puzzes and racing.
CHARTS AND NAVIGATION
CARISCaris Easy View is a free downloadable chart reader. It will not navigate, but can help plan trips.
Serious chart work and navigation may be best placed in the hands of a commercial package, such as Rose Point's Coastal Explorer, Maptech's Chart Navigator Pro or MaxSea's Explorer. Mad Mariner has devoted substantial resources to providing an extensive library of stories on how to make sense of electronic charting, download free NOAA charts and buy a software applications – including reviews of more than a dozen of the most popular charting applications. The site's entire Hard Facts on Software series, including the reviews and recommendations, is available on the site's Software Resource Page.
But what if you just want to get your feet wet, so to speak?
There are applications for Windows that are available for free and allow you to test the waters. If you own a PC, Sping's SeaClear II is available at no charge. It lacks many of the nice-to-have features of commercial software, and the company cannot go as far as larger firms to provide technical support. But SeaClear II represents a full-featured navigation program that leverages the free charts available from NOAA to create a no-charge option for boaters running a Windows computer. (See links for a review of Seaclear II and instructions on how to download and use free charts). Those running a Mac do have software options, but they are not free.
Another option is a "chart reader" or "planner." These give boaters the ability to read free NOAA charts and plan trips, but they lack the capabilities of full-featured programs, such as ability to track a boat in real time or lay down tracks and waypoints. There are several free readers on the market, again all for boaters running Windows. One good one is CARIS Easy View, which supports a wide variety of chart formats and is easy to use for a beginner.
OPERATING SYSTEMS
For those who are more advanced, Linux is an open source (and free) operating system that can take the place of Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X. Linux is far more stable than its commercial cousins and it is considered "lightweight," a software developer's term meaning that it takes up considerably fewer resources (processor and memory) on your computer.
Installation can be a bit intimidating, but its ease of use and popularity has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. Several large corporations are now running their entire system on Linux.
Many organizations and groups offer Linux in different flavors, called "distributions." They are similar but differ in installation, configuration and update methods. Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com) is probably the most popular at the moment and is fairly easy to install.
If you have older hardware that can't keep up with the demands of more modern operating systems, Linux can be a great choice. Simply download the operating system, burn it to CD-ROM and load it. Often you can ask around and find a neighbor or IT-savvy friend who is willing to help you get started (computer types love Linux and are often willing to help a friend convert). WalMart, Dell and other vendors are also offering Linux pre-installed on PC hardware, which may be an even easier way to jump in and learn.
Linux will give you a graphic environment that has its roots in the familiar Windows or Mac interface. There are menus and you use a mouse. Most software is free and open source. In fact, much of the software we discussed above started in Linux and then moved out to other platforms.
However, there are some big limitations. For example, many large commercial software packages are not available for Linux, and special navigation packages and other boating-specific programs do not yet exist.
PORTABLE APPLICATIONS
PORTABLEAPPS.COMPortableApps offers just that: portable applications, for use on a USB drive.
While most boaters gravitate toward laptop computers, there are ways to make things even more portable. Boaters can have their entire computing environment on a pocket-sized device for use anywhere Рthe marina office, an Internet caf̩, public library or a friend's vessel Рby simply loading applications and personal configurations on a USB "thumb drive" or small, portable hard drive such as an iPod.
Many people use these devices to store data, such as documents. But what we are talking about here is to use them to store applications – the software that creates the documents. You can plug in your thumb drive, use your normal setup, configured the way you like, and take it with you when you're done. If you have one machine on your boat and another at home, moving between them is easy. An added advantage is that this leaves no trace of your identity or actions on the host machine, which is nice when using public facilities or a friend's box."¨"¨
The most popular set of these applications can be found at PortableApps.com. Options include downloading individual applications or a comprehensive suite, so it is all pre-installed and ready to go. Performance can lag on a USB stick, but it is usually still acceptable. By loading the same suite on your main machine, you can have a similar computing environment wherever you are working, though this eliminates the advantage of taking your computer world with you when you switch machines."¨"¨
Bruce Dillahunty, an IT professional, is a first-time boat builder working on a V28 designed by Mark Van Abbema. You can read about his project on The Boat Builder's Blog.
