Coastal Explorer for the Mac?

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Pat Anderson

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I emailed Rose Point inquiring whether there would ever be a Coastal Explorer for the Mac. Here is the reply.

Hello Pat,

We do not yet know whether there will or will not be a Mac version of Coastal Explorer. Porting Coastal Explorer as a native Mac application would be a huge job and doing so would take a lot of time away from improving the core product. What we are doing, over successive updates, is removing and isolating Windows specific functionality to make the job of porting to different platforms easier. The idea here is that it will one day be so easy to do the port that it won't take much time away from improving the core product.

Right now you can run Coastal Explorer on a Mac if you use Boot Camp or virtualization software, such as VMWare Fusion, but it still will not work in WINE. This is not by choice, but due to limitations in WINE.

I hope this clarifies things.

Regards,
--
Steven Hodgen
Rose Point Navigation Systems
425-605-0985
steven@rosepointnav.com
 
While a native Mac app would be preferable, I find that Windoze apps run pretty well under Parallels. Obviously the UI is different, but the performance is pretty good -- certainly far better on Intel than Power PC.

The bigger question in my mind is how Coastal Explorer under Parallels compares to MacENC. I am sure that Mark Doyle has the answer; I just haven't looked for it.

Warren
 
Could it be that CE was developed by a former Microsoft employee is a factor? along with market share? :wink:
The tipoff was using "core" in the reply. Microsoft uses this term a lot along with Intel
 
Buying MacENC for a Mac is cheaper than using Coastal Explorer on a Mac. CE requires the Windoze OS which must be a newly purchased program which has not already been activated. Add to that the price of CE at $400 and you are looking at between $500 to $600. Of course, if you already have the Windoze OS on a Mac, that reduces the cost. MacENC is under $200.

I think that CE is a better nav program, with better waypoint management and faster zoom/reload speeds.

Both programs are available as trial downloads, so they can be compared at no cost if you have both a Mac and a PC computer or Windoze already installed on the Mac.

Both programs have a user support web site.

http://coastalexplorer.net/

http://www.macsailing.net/fbb/index.php?
 
Brent,

My W7 computer is an HP laptop, running W7 Home Premium with an Intel Celeron 64 bit 2.2Gh processor with 2 Gb ram.

The computer I used to run the trial version was an older Dell laptop running XP pro with an Intel Pentium M 1.60Gh processor with 512Mb of ram.

The MacMini used to trial the MacENC has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GH with 4GB of ram.

The CE ran fine on both PC computers and the MacENC running on the Mac Mini (a fast computer!) was slower to zoom and reload charts than the CE.

My non-expert opinion is that CE does not need a superfast processor or tons of ram. (note highly technical terms!) LOL

Downloading the trial version, installing charts, and trying out the nav programs can teach one a lot. The trial versions won't retain waypoints or routes, but both can be created to see how the nav programs work.
 
Larry

I have them on DVD and the Echart book from the Doyle's along with an USB GPS puck
I appreciate your feedback
 
Brent,

Have you tried any of the nav programs?

Do you have a preference for a computer?
 
Hi Larry

I am PC neutral or sitting on the fence between XP, MAC and Linux
All have strengths and I after a few minutes using either, I dont notice it and absorbed in an app. At work, it is IE only but for personal use, it is all Firefox and Google docs. The FF add-ons are incredible. I can easily see an entire OS built on Firefox. Back to echarting,I have tried several before buying Doyle's book so now exploring them again as time permits but I enjoy planning trips on Garmin Homeport which is not covered in the book
I like Linux b/c you can use a CD/dvd or thumbdrives and try them live without installing on a hard drive. Again, thousands of free apps and free tech support Ubuntu 10 is out today. I thought ti would get a splash here but none so far
 
Has everyone purchased Maptech"s Chart Navigator Pro which uses CE and adds more charts and libraries?
 
Larry
Chart Navigator Pro features:

* New Software - Maptech's NEW GPS Planning and Navigation software
* The Best Cartography - ALL Raster, Vector, Contour 3D, Photo, Topo, and more
* The Most Complete Coverage - ALL U.S. coastal areas and major river systems on 13 DVDs
* Excellent Services - Weather forecasts and free chart updates via the Internet
http://www.maptechnavigation.com/water/ ... /index.cfm

uses CE under license and adds additional content
 
Brent,

I'll take you word for it, although I didn't see any reference to CE on that site. I did see that they have more features that CE and the price is $100 more.

I personally don't need 3-D charting. I have been using and looking at conventional charts for a long time, and have yet to see any benefit TO ME in the 3-D products.

I understand that younger navigators who are used to video and video games might find benefit in 3-D charting. Also people of any age who are not schooled in and used to conventional charts might find the 3-D and satellite presentations useful.

I do enjoy the Google earth presentation, although I would never navigate using Google earth.

Thanks for the info.

Larry H
 
Larry

You are right it is not posted on Maptech page
It is stated in Doyle's e-chat book and in Panbo's archives
sorry for saying stating it sooner. I can go to Panbo and search on Maptech for addtl info. The review is brief compared to the book
 
Larry

That is the article and there is an earlier one.

In regards to a computer, it is all about the human factor and usefulness to complete a task. If it is a MAC, stay with it
If it costs a few bucks more and you use it, then it is money well spent

also like Steve Jobs needling Adobe about Flash during interviews
 
I went thru the process of evaluating all the nav programs, and the chartplotters. I decided that I do not like or want vector charts so that eliminated chart plotters and left only computer nav programs. I have a MacMini and really like it so much better than Windoze. If I had already owned a Mac laptop, I probably would have gone with MacENC. Since I did not have a Mac laptop, buying a Mac computer and the nav program gets kinda spendy!

So that leaves the PC nav programs that will run raster charts.
I tried the various trial programs in the E Charting book and decided that Coastal Explorer was the best compromise for me as to price and features. One thing they have going is that you get free upgrades for one year. Coastal Explorer 2010 is now in Beta and should be released soon. Since I bought CE 09 I will get CE 2010 at no extra cost.

What started as a simple idea to go to computer chart navigation turned into quite a journey! As they say, be careful what you wish for!
 
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