Hynr
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Posts posted by Hynr
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I would like to suggest that the method of logging TBs be changed (augmented). Currently one must have the etched number on the TB tag in one’s possession so as to log the TB at the website. This is a fundamental flaw in the system, because if one drops the TB before one has a chance to log it, then the TB is lost from the system until someone grabs it.
I would guess that a large number of TBs don’t get logged properly due to this flaw. I dropped one a few days ago that I thought I had logged, but when I tried to drop it at the web site I see that it is not in my inventory. Now I have no way to fix this problem. (Please, don’t instruct me to write down the number - I did that, but have since deleted the data from my PDA).
It would make a lot of sense to allow us to pick up a TB at a web site by creating a log entry and doing the pickup directly (without requiring the TB tag number). This would be the same mechanism by which we can already do the drop. I.e. a drop-down list would be shown of all TBs currently in the cache, allowing us to select one or more.
Please.
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I had originally thought to request a broader status change capability, but I have learned that things happen incrementally and I didn't want to push my luck with things that would be nice but are not as important to me. Being able to change other status characteristics rapidly seems inevitable. Thanks, Clyde, for being so open to suggestions. - Hynr.
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Is it possible to manually set the status of a cache to Unavailable ?
Right-click on the cache, choose Toggle Available/Unavailable status.
A minor point, but in the latest versions of GSAK it's "Toggle Cache Archive/Unavailable Status", because GSAK now has the ability to distinguish between (temporarily) unavailable caches and (permanently) archived caches.
Right clicking on the cache and choosing "Toggle..." will change the cache from Available to Unavailable, repeating the process will change it from Unavailable to Archived.
Edit: "Unavailable" changes the background color of the code field, "archived" puts a strikeout line through the code.
Yes, this is now a 3 way toggle (Available=>Temp unavailable=>archived, see help).
I find the quickest and easiest way to do this is using the F3 key
I am finding a problem with this: most of the time when I use GSAK I am running a filter that shows only the caches that are available. If I want to change the status to "archived", then first toggle removes it from the screen so that I cannot apply the toggle a second time to mark it as archived.
I would suggest a change: off the right-click menu change
"Toggle...status" to an item entitled "Set cache status to:" that expands to another drop-down that explicitly offers all three possibilities:
"unavailable"
"archived"
"active"
I suggest leaving the F3 functionality the way it is (3-way toggle).
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It’s clearly a blurry picture.
Everyone here is hiding behind a userid. I think it is OK to do this as part of the game of geocaching, but not as part of the business. Anyone here can masquerade as someone who has authority (and it happens all the time in virtually every thread). For example, you have no idea for this post whether or not I am a person who has any sort of authority at Groundspring. Where is the list of names (the real names) associated with the userids of those who are in authority. I know that “Jeremy” is Jeremy Irish; I don’t know who “Elias” is; I certainly have no clue who “Policy Editor” is and why s/he would have to put up a completely separate website masquerading as somehow related to geocaching.com. It’s one thing to hide as part of the game; it’s another thing to hide behind a fictitious name as part of the authority structure on which the game is built. -
I would say that an important element to add to the web page is a Help tab on the main frame.
The knowledge base needs to be made accessible off the front page and expanded to cover more topics.
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I was trying to introduce some friends to geocaching yesterday and showed them the web site on their home computer. I logged in under my id and showed them various cache descriptions. But something on thier computer was not working right: the GC maps and cache-type icons were not showing up on any of the cache pages. The small useless map always showed up fine. On any list of caches, the cache-type icon for every cache was missing. Also the advertisement graphic on the left frame was not showing on the screen. Curiously the browser did not show the broken-graphic glyph; the missing graphic was simply not there.
This occurred with Internet Explorer on a Windows platform. I also tried it with Firefox and the exact same thing was happening.
Has anyone seen this to direct me to where I can find a solution.
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I got it to work without modification with GSAK and Netscape 7.2
Looks cool, Nice work. But I would prefer a much smaller bubble (perhaps with some transparency) and no shadow. But it's pretty nice as is. I know... let's let Google mature this baby. The Google maps look very nice.
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I wonder how many folks have upgraded to premium status only to be disappointed by the PQ system. Has there ever been a week where this did not come up? I have been following this for a while and here is what I have learned over time:
Q. Is it about someone stealing the data base?
A. If someone wanted the database for own purposes that would clearly be OK. If someone wanted to steal the database for remarketing and profit, they would simply create enough premium accounts and get what they want. That would be the least expensive part of that business. If we were able to get 1000 in one PQ, it would have no impact in this area. The only reason that anyone might want to create an alternate database is to circumvent the clumsy PQ restrictions at GC.com.
Q. Larger PQs would take up too much bandwidth.
A. The zipped file size of a PQ of around 500 caches is around 500k. Go to one cache page with two pictures and save that to your hard drive. Look at the properties of that folder and you will find that it is about 200k of info. I would say in a typical brief session of looking around the web site I will transfer way more than that. For instance, logging one such cache by looking at the page, then clicking “Log find”, and then checking out the log afterwards, transfers around 500k from GC.com to me. If it’s about bandwidth, then someone has strange illusions about the storage size of gif, jpg, and icons. The only argument that holds water here is that mail software chokes on large files. That used to be an issue in the olden days (a few short years ago) but we now get plenty of attachments that are much larger files. Also, if it were about file-size, then making PQs more efficient would save a lot of room. So it’s clearly not about that.
Q. You can’t possibly want that many cache descriptions.
A. I plan to have 1000 more cache finds by this time next year. Trust me, I value being able to get PQs and wish I could get the information with greater ease and more efficiently. I am managing to cludge together what I need, but I would very much like to do it more efficiently. Clearly the sport has evolved to where many folks are now actually using an automobile to drive around the country to find caches. Some folks can manage to do 50 to 75 in one day. But we still have to work with PQs designed for hikers and bikers who find a mere 10 or fewer per day. Aside from all that, the point is that the customer is not satisfied with the PQ and arguing that s/he should be satisfied is not going to result in customer satisfaction.
Q. Why would you want to do this with GC.com when you can use a fine tool like GSAK to eliminate the stuff you don’t need?
A. Jeremy’s attitude about GSAK is somewhat unfortunate (he recently called it “crippleware” and felt that acknowledging the exsistance of GSAK at GC.com needed to be “re-evaluated”). Don’t even go there - the less said, the better. We can’t have Jeremy Irish getting angry at Clyde England. That would really spoil the fun.
It seems that the only conclusion is that the valiant programmers are simply not up to the challenge. Clearly it is simply too difficult. So don't expect any major changes in PQ request or policy anytime soon.
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A few folks here are in denial. We feed our cache addition as much money as it needs. If the price of gas jumps up 20% tomorrow you might hesitate a bit as you plan your cache run, but you'll be doing it just as planned. Granted you'll be mumbling stuff about shortcuts, routing efficinecy, skipping lunch, etc, but you will feed the cachemobile whatever it needs.
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If Garmin were listening, I would tell them to ditch their unlocking policy on maps. I am in the market for a 3rd GPS and it probably won't be a Garmin because I already used two of the unlock codes on the maps I have. I cannot get myself to pay again for something I already own (City Select). If I could use my existing maps, then this would be a no-brainer and I would probably even spring for topo maps or upgrade my existing map set. As it is, I am investigating other manufacturers.
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Even if you load the cachemate files to an SD card, the Palm PDA still need some of the internal memory to hold the parts of the database that you are likely to modify (the I, D, and L panes; stuff on the P pane always stays on the card). So if you Palm's memory is too full to hold this, then you will run into trouble. You can check to see if this is likely to be the problem by clicking on the "home" icon (e.g. the house in the bottom left corner). Click on the tab at top left that shows the time; click "info". (different versions of Palm OS might vary slightly). Here you can check the free space in the handheld and on the card. if you have much less than a half meg free on the handheld, and your cachemate database is large, then this might be your problem. You can also spot the culprits (memory hogs) in the file list.
My wife ran into this problem on her PDA because she foolishly had the PALM install routine load in all the "extra goodies" (phone dialers, etc). This installed a ton of crap that she will never use and promptly used up nearly all the free memory. It was hard to figure out what could be deleted.
In your case, if you have other software (e.g. maps? Plucker?) then you may need to move some of that to the SD card to create some breathing room.
One bit of confusion that you can run into is that the PC that you use to sync with the PDA holds a complete image of the files on the PDA. If a file disappears from the SD card (ie you use your PC to delete a file) then hotsync has the capacity to simply put it back, thinking that it needs to be restored. I have not had it do this to me, but I don't think I have "provoked" it in this way. By the same token, you can install a file to the PDA by simply putting it in the proper folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Palm\yourPalmName\Install) and hitting the hotsync button.
Also, be sure you have read the Cachemate FAQ to discern the difference between using a database off the SD card and using it out of the handheld's memory.
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I've tried to use my GPSr units in flight twice, but found it impossible to get a lock on a signal. Both times that I tried it I was in a window seat. I let the GPS search for a signal for 5 to 10 minutes but both times it could only find 2 satellites with any signal strength, and that's not enough. I figured I just did not have enough access to the sky. Being in a plane is too much like being indoors.
Has anyone found a trick to getting a decent GPS signal while in flight? I figure it's kind of fun to see where you are and how fast your going.
I've never had any issues with loosing GPSrs or batteries in airport security. My dignity, on the other hand, has been compromized on a number of occaisions.
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Grouping waypoints in any Etrex can be done by forcing the first letter of the waypoint code into various parts of the alphabet by the grouping you want. So all you need to do is force the first letter of the waypoint to be a different letter for a different group. For example, if you are using the GCxxxx code, then replace the G with an A and you now have ACxxxx codes that are all together on the Waypoint listing (under A).
The best way to manage this, as well as to accompolish much more extensive waypoint code manipulations, is with GSAK.
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Clyde, Another suggestion for the next build (since you are already fiddling with the status bar): could you include somewhere on the status bar the count of the number of user checked records?
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Since we are talking about macros... and since looping is probably on the horizon: here is a macro that I want to be able to run on my cummulative data so as to fix any archive/unavailable flags that are out of date:
Select database... Select filter... Activate split screen (initialize browser inside GSAK display) Loop through active filter - for each record do the following: Display on-line version of current record Extract off the html code <span id=ErrorText>...</span> to buffer Set current record status to "available" If the word “unavailable” shows up in this buffer then change record status to “unavailable” If the word “archived” shows up in this buffer then change record status to "archived" Pause a few seconds (to prevent throttling at GC.com) Clear buffer Advance pointer to next record in filter End of loop Exit macro
I could see a lot of use in having the ability to pull stuff from various other <span ID=...> items off the on-line page.
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But the rating system that I proposed (did you read the whole thread?) ...
I'll just say based on your top post on page 4 of the thread, I probably read as much as you did, Markwell, before posting. With the length of the thread and the repetition from the previous times this general idea has been mentioned, I probalby just scanned it.
Anyway, the post by TrailGators (who started this thread) proposes a rating a cache from 1-10. I assume it meant one extreme is good the other is bad. I object to this type of system.
I would be OK with a system that accentuates the positive. Of the caches I have done in San Francisco, one in particular is on my best-of-all-time list; I can see that communicating that would be very beneficial.
Maybe an alternative to a grading system would be the use of bookmarks. The post by the second person that replied hints at a system that could be implemented now that we have a way of creating such list: If the system automatically gave you a list called "Best Caches Found" (or something like that), then one could manage one's own list of 10 to 100 best caches. Once a day the system could go through and compile and rank a list of those that are included most often by all the users. Such compilations are probably best tabulated on a regional basis to achieve the effect you (and many others) seek. This would be very useful indeed.
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The above suggestions is the best one in general. There are other ways to do it, giving you even more flexibility, based on the following information: If you look at the URL that you get when you click on print-friendly it ends with:
&log=n&decrypt=
if you replace that with
&log=y&numlogs=10&decrypt=y
then you get the logs, 10 of them (you can replace the 10 with your favorite number), and automatic decryption. You can experiment with that and get pretty much exactly what you want.
I doubt you will want to manually type that in each time. But if you copy the replacement characters above to your clipboard, then pasting it after blocking the former can be faster than clicking twice on the various links and waiting for two or three page-loads (depending on your manual dexterity).
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I think the page at the web site describing software is a disservice to the users if it is not complete and factual. Nowhere does the page suggest that it is only showing software that you can use for free. It would be easy to include in parentheses the cost/donation associated with a product.
And if "crippleware" means that you only get the full package if you pay full price, then GC itself (especially as it relates to this page) is crippleware because the only way you can get PQs is if you pay. So what's with the double-standard?
Jeremy, you need to realize that these products support you and the whole geocaching endeavor. They are very good to you. You would do well to return the favor.
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I find that it can be very useful to know what the cache owner wrote in the notes in conjunction with servicing a cache, especially if I have hunted that cache unsuccessfully in the past. For instance, if such an entry points out that the coordinates have been adjusted, then that is very useful. There are other reasons than the ones being discussed for needing more logs.
I too would like to see the ability to control the number of logs in each record in a PQ. If it cannot be made a variable controlled by the user, then locking it in at 10 would be a great improvement.
I would also like to suggest that for event caches, all log entries be transmitted. When I am out geocaching on the day of an event I sometimes check my PDA to see if a certain cache owner will be at the event.
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The feedback system we have now (comments in the cache log) is perfectly adequate. We don't need a grading system. As cache owner I would find such a grading system to be degrading, regardless of the actual grades. I give grades for a living and I know that a "B" ("2", "good", ...) to some is great and a tragedy to others. At the same time some folks are ready to slap a grade of "A" (or "1"...) on anything that seems acceptable while others are much more descerning. So the end result would be meaningless anyway and the only outcome would be to hurt the feelings of many cache owners and to discourage new geocachers from placing caches. We simply don't need that.
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I think the problem is due to the fact that the non-printfriendly pages use frames.
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It sounds as if I have nearly the same equipment. I do agree with your assessment. I like my iQue 3600 and use it pretty much as mentioned above. I also use GSAK to create an html file which I spin into a file that I can view in the iQue with Plucker, so that I will have graphics information on caches where this is vital. I generally load everything to the SD card in the iQue. I also bought a power-inverter for my car for $30 (which gives me 200Watts of 110V AC current so I can plug in the iQue while I am in the car; I can also plug in other stuff). The iQue is indeed sweet, BUT it is somewhat inadequate for geocaching for two reasons:
1. It is very fragile. Drop that baby and you are out $150-$200 for a repair. Even slight bumps can cause it to have problems. I generally leave it in the car and use my Etrex to hunt the cache once I am close. If I am on my bike, then the iQue generally stays in my backpack wrapped in extra padding. I am on my 4th one; so I know what I am talking about. Obviously I love it for what it does, otherwise I would not be willing to keep getting it fixed.
2. The battery capacity between charges is only about an hour if you use the GPS portion of the iQue (a bit longer if you use just the PDA functions). It is simply not enough to do any serious geocaching unless you are spending a lot of time in a car where you can recharge it.
You will note one other inconvenience that I have noted. The waypoints on the map are acutally in the address book database and the only way you can delete them with some ease is to synchornize with Outlook or Palm Desktop and delete them on the PC. And you do need to do that: If you keep adding points without deleting them, then you will run into trouble. I have found that if more than 400 waypoints are added to the map, then the unit hangs up occasionally when starting the maps or redrawing the maps.
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I have a suggestion for a change to the background colors in the display gird in GSAK. Maybe some won't like this, so I offer it here for discussion.
I would suggest that the color indicators (background color) for Found and Owned be moved off the Code column to different columns, leaving the Code column background color for active/inactive information only.
The reason: when a previously found cache becomes inactive, the Found color (yellow by default) is obscured by the inactive color. Changing the priority in the Options just shifts the problem. I would suggest moving the "Found" indicator (yellow background) to the Waypoint name column and the "Owned" color (green) to the "Placed by" column. Alternatively, maybe the Priority drop-down list box on the Options General dialog, could be replaced with a column name drop-down list.
Now that the gpx data differentiates between disabled and archived, I would also like to have the Inactive indicator show up as two different colors or perhaps shades of the selected color (red by default).
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The more I use the web page, the more I like the new color choices. The contrast is excellent.
I keep wondering what the empty space about the cache title is about.
Everyone here is hiding behind a userid. I think it is OK to do this as part of the game of geocaching, but not as part of the business. Anyone here can masquerade as someone who has authority (and it happens all the time in virtually every thread). For example, you have no idea for this post whether or not I am a person who has any sort of authority at Groundspring. Where is the list of names (the real names) associated with the userids of those who are in authority. I know that “Jeremy” is Jeremy Irish; I don’t know who “Elias” is; I certainly have no clue who “Policy Editor” is and why s/he would have to put up a completely separate website masquerading as somehow related to geocaching.com. It’s one thing to hide as part of the game; it’s another thing to hide behind a fictitious name as part of the authority structure on which the game is built.
Rar Format
in Website
Posted
The fundamental difference between food and zip files is that the food is the end-product with which you may or may not be satisfied, while the zip file is not an end product, but rather a vehicle to get you to an end-product. The characteristics that determine how good a vehicle is include speed, efficiency, universality, etc. For a web site doing public dissemination, universality is more important than degree of compression. It sounds like rar is a superior, but it still has to climb the ladder to gain wide acceptance before it makes sense to implement it at the GC web site. This could happen quickly (e.g. if MicroSoft implements it the way they implemented zip in WinXP) or, more likely, very slowly.