You’ve seen those Microsoft ads that say “Windows 7 was my idea,” yes?

Well, this is sort of like that. Rose Point’s Coastal Explorer 2010 beta is ready to go, thanks to me.

See, I asked the folks at Rose Point about the beta yesterday, and was told I could download it, but they weren’t ready to release it generally because of an intermittent and unpredictable bug that caused the program to crash.

The big problem was that Brad Christian and his crew at Rose Point were unable to reproduce the bug—which is a lot like when you take your car into the shop but it won’t do the bad thing while the mechanic’s looking at it. When the problem doesn’t occur, it’s extremely difficult to diagnose it!

So I downloaded the beta, and guess what? It crashed. I offered to bring the laptop into Rose Point’s office so they could see the crash, and Brad accepted my offer with obvious enthusiasm.

Here he is, running his debugger on my laptop while the beta crashes.

Witness the arcane mystery that is software development! Look at the concentration! Observe the dedication to quality!

Anyway, he found the bug, and as anticipated, fixing it required a change to one single line of code…ain’t that always the way?

So the Rose Point Coastal Explorer 2010 beta is now ready to go, and we should expect an official announcement anytime now. You’re welcome.

Mark and Diana Doyle contacted me recently about their newest release, and a limited-time, special offer that Navagear readers may be interested in:

Anyway, as celebration and as a way of thanking everyone, we’re running a one-month freebie from our site. We’re just cutting the 5th edition (2010) of our 2-DVD set, Managing the Waterway: Complete Electronic Chart and Nautical Reference Library. So the "thank you" part is … if people buy the DVDs, they get a free copy of Get Onboard With E-Charting ($34.95) to go with it … kind of the ultimate companion or "user’s guide."

Sounds like a good deal! It expires February 28, though, so as they say on the late-night TV infomercials, “Act Now!”

Here’s the official press release on the new release:

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (January 26, 2010) — Managing the Waterway cruising guide authors Mark and Diana Doyle have released their fifth annual update of Managing the Waterway: Complete Electronic Chart and Nautical Reference Library (2-DVD Set).

“I’ll be honest,” states Doyle, “When we started downloading NOAA charts as a convenience for our cruising guide customers we never thought the product would evolve like this or that we’d be doing updates five years later.”

DVD 1 contains the entire NOAA raster chart library in standard BSB format. The charts are organized into nine popular cruising geographies and cataloged for easy loading and unloading into all of the popular e-charting applications including Coastal Explorer, Fugawi, The Capn, Nobeltec VNS and Admiral, MacENC, and others.

DVD 2 contains vector charts, nautical publications, and free & trial e-charting applications.

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I wrote about Krill Systems last week. Just thought I’d include some pictures taken at the show. Krill is upstairs in Concourse 2130.

Here’s a view of the monitor, along with the “black box”, although even a cursory glance will reveal that it is, in fact, silver.

And here is a selection of sensors , all connected through Krill’s Sensor Pod:

My friends at Krill Systems will be on hand at the upcoming Seattle Boat Show to demonstrate their new software product. I’ll let the press release do the talking, but suffice to say I had a chance to test this software recently, and I think it’s going to be “just the ticket” for N2K-equipped boats.

Krill’s 2010 Seattle Boat Show booth will be at Concourse 2130.

Seattle, WA – Krill Systems, a leading manufacturer of digital marine instrument solutions, announced the release of the new SoftDisplay Gen 3, the third generation Vessel Monitoring Software written to take advantage of the latest graphical display technology. The SoftDisplay Gen3 displays critical vessel information in a concise and intuitive manner with all new powerful features designed for commercial fishing vessels, tugboats, barges, and recreational yachts.

Krill’s revolutionary SoftDisplay Gen3 provides user access to information including support for storing all collected sensor data of existing NMEA 2000, NMEA 0183 and Krill Sensor Pods. SoftDisplay Gen3 displays real-time streaming data, records and stores any electrical, tank and switching sensors throughout the vessel. Utilizing an industry standard SQL database server, up to 6 months of sensor data can be stored and displayed in an intuitive graphical user interface. The interface consists of an overview window that shows the overall trend of up to any 6 sensors at a time. By adjusting a sliding shaded selection window over the overview display, a detailed graph is shown above for in depth analysis of the sensor of interest. Up to the second, real time streaming sensor data can also be displayed.

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Nathan Menefee has this item over at The Maritime Blog. It’s directed at professional mariners. Still, some useful items for recreational boaters, too:

The iPhone has become the perfect mobile tool for many of us, myself included.  Having just concluded a trip abroad, I was amazed at the access I had while traveling, even if limiting myself to using only free wifi hotspots to avoid roaming charges.   With over 150,000 apps, the iPhone still has an advantage over even its newest competitors and with a number like that, there are sure to be a few apps that can benefit those in the merchant marine.  Here are 10 apps that I think might just be worth a download.

Read more [Thanks to gCaptain for the tip]

Our friend Captain Richard Rodriguez has some screenshots on a new AIS app for the iPhone called Ship Finder.  Of course, please note the predictable caveat:

Can I use Ship Finder for navigational purposes?

Definitely NOT. Like all AIS internet feeds Ship Finder must not be used for navigational purposes.

Captain Richard Rodriguez of the BitterEnd blog has this review of the app, and he’s also sponsoring a contest to give away several copies of the app.

Here’s an excerpt of his review:
——————————-

First off, I’m impressed. It is an exact representation of the 72 ColRegs, Inland Rules and Annexes.

In addition to searching and booklinks there are also HOTLINKS to other rules and definitions.

Now if the CG would allow this reference for onboard it would be amazing.

Spend a few bucks and get a copy or win one of the five we’re giving away here.

Trust gCaptain to be on the cutting edge when it comes to technogeekery for the commercial mariner!

Coracle Online was one of (if not the first) company in the maritime and shipping industry to get into iPhone and iPod Touch application development.  Their first application, The Maritime Glossary, provides instant access to over 9,000 nautical terms and abbreviations for anyone with an interest in international trade and the maritime world.  The Maritime Glossary is currently available in the iTunes App Store for $4.99 (link to download).

But Coracle is not stopping with just one.  Available next week in the iTunes App Store is Ship It!, a fun game that lets players load cargo and, well, ship it, before time runs out. In the video above, you can see a sneak preview that Coracle recently posted on YouTube.

Also in development from Coracle Online is a third application called Ports Information.  While details on this app have yet to be released, according to their website, the app provides “comprehensive Port Information on your iPhone and iPod Touch”.

And finally for those of you wondering, YES, gCaptain is in the process of developing its own iPhone and iPod Touch application.  While I can’t release the details just yet, stay tuned as we will be doing an official unveiling in coming weeks!

Redmond, WA, – Rose Point Navigation Systems has released a new line of digital radar products that can be used with the company’s Coastal Explorer and Rose Point ECS navigation systems. The new radar units range in size from a small footprint 4 KW dome to a 25 KW open array.

PC based radar has many benefits over traditional radar. Many users install the software at a primary navigation station and then clone the screen on a separate, sometimes exterior, screen at a second helm station. “There’s nothing quite as nice as having a large sunlight readable screen at the helm” said Jeff Hummel, Director of Sales and Marketing at Rose Point. “The low cost of large waterproof screens has made this possible at a fraction of the expense of dedicated systems. Boaters like to have all of their information on a single screen to save space. Since they have chosen PC based navigation over a plotter, it is only natural that they would desire radar overlay as a key part of their system.”

Radar Overlay

Radar overlay combines the two most powerful navigation techniques available; a GPS based chart plotter and Radar Navigation. Users quickly and easily gain better situational awareness and increased navigational confidence by correlating radar images representing buoys, AIS targets, aids to navigation, and land features with their real world position on a chart.

Users can easily identify position and/or heading errors by comparing the radar overlaid image with the chart. Users can choose from a variety of radar display options to suit their needs. The radar image can be displayed semi-transparently on top of the chart, or it can be displayed in a split window with or without a chart background. Radar controls for typical settings like gain, range and sea state (STC) are accessed through buttons available in Cruise Mode. The software includes traditional radar features like Variable Range Markers (VRM), Electronic Bearing Lines (EBL), and Guard Zones, which are optionally displayed on the screen.

Coastal Explorer and Rose Point ECS also support radar in a stand alone window. “Boaters often ask if they can view a traditional, old style, radar screen using a separate display connected to the computer.” Said Hummel. “This feature is supported, provided that the computer has a dual screen output.”

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Ben Ellison over at Panbo pointed us to an incredible deal on high-quality charts for the iPhone.

I don’t usually write about rebates and sales, but 90% off!?!  Navionics not only launched version 2.0 of its Mobile app yesterday, it’s slashing prices. Here’s the press release.

I haven’t had a chance to use the Navionics iPhone charts, but I’m about to fix that: My friend Tom Forsythe (local folks know him as the go-to guy for top-quality brightwork refinishing in Seattle) has an iPhone, and we’re getting him set up with the new Navionics Mobile Charts 2.0.

The British Columbia map (which includes virtually all the coastal water most Puget Sound cruisers use) is only $9.99.

But only “For a limited time”, so if you’ve got an iPhone, I would encourage you to take advantage of this deal and let Navagear readers know what you think of the application.

Stay tuned for more on our impressions. In the meantime, check out Ben’s reporting at Panbo.