Torgut

Eu usei durante alguns meses um Nokia 5800 (até ter sido roubado de minha casa enquanto dormia, dia 2 deste mês - comecei o ano em grande) e apesar de alguma irritação inicial e aborrecimento constante com algumas falhas concepcionais no software que considero imperdoáveis, estou bastante satisfeito - já encomendei outro, mas como a crise anda ai e toda a gente sabe que em tempos de crise o povo compra teleloveis de 200 Eur a dar com pau para oferecer no Natal, não se encontram em lado nenhum depois da época festiva. Na área de Geocaching estava a usar o browser para visualizar o HTML gerado para off line browsing das caches. Ha software para cachar mas nunca cheguei a usar. O NDrive lá instalado deu-me jeito, por exemplo, em Malta, onde apenas a NDrive oferece mapas. E para tirar dúvidas no mapa em dias que não levava TomTom, até por vezes indo a pé. Tinha uma aplicação joia que usava a luz do flash para fazer de lanterna, o que me desenrascou várias vezes. E a autonomia é espantosa para os dias que correm. Além disso comprei uma bateria extra por tuta e meia que dobrou a autonomia. Ah! E existe uma aplicação para Wherigo. E muitas outras aplicações, claro. P.S. - Nunca trocaria este por um Iphone.

I have that installed but I use other things for paperless Geocaching; what I would like to have for Nokia 5800 was something with a compass to point me the way. Hi I use the nokia 5800 and use the geocaching live software, it works fine and you can change the mode to act like a compass pointing the direction to the swag. I do have unlimited data which helps for downloading the maps etc. Adam Well, we don't need Internet connection to use our GPS units, right? All software I tried so far to Nokia's need an Internet connection (translation: costs money) to fully work.

So... if I am getting it right, the syystem, as Garmin thought it, will upload all cache found as my field notes? Again, as Garmin thought it, in a couple of years I will have 3.000 caches found and everytime I upload field notes, all 3.000 caches found will be uploaded? I see something supposed to limit caches shown. But the date / time it's not editable and anyway, I can't make it work. Is this as bad as it looks?

Oh that happened with me too. Only my fellow was a little more "smart a**": he logged a find, alleging he found the spot and even the plastic bag where the cache used to be. Well... when I went there I also found the plastic bag... and my cache. Meaning this dude not event bothered to do some elementary CITO there.

Accordingly to my experience the main factor for this is just being a rookie. I had such behavior in my early times. It's just lack of experience. People tend to assume that caches as there to be found once they get to the spot. No found, no cache there. Not only I committed the same mistakes as a rookie but I observe such kind of logs in my caches mainly from beginners. Plus, I notice that when I bring friends with me to look for a couple of them, they usually come quiet easily to the conclusion: "the cache is gone".

But isn't it the same with the compass arrow? Still there is one even when moving slower. But yes, I will try to walk faster when I consult the list. Thanks for the answers.

To be honest I already suspected of this. It depends on the speed. Only I don't know why the hell we can only have the arrow above certain speed. What would be the problem to provide the arrow permanently.............

Ok fellows... this is the question: I'm in the fields, I press Geocaching - Find a Geocache. A list shows up. Near the name of each cache there is a number (which I don't know what it means) or the direction, in degrees. Now... from time to time these elements are replaced by a small red arrow... which goes away after a while. And that's what I would like to see all the time. Really, isn't it so much clear to read immediately? Still, for some reason, I don't find a way to have them permanently in the list, close to the cache names. And by now I'm afraid is just not possible. Ideas?

Nota que há uma diferença entre estar muito tempo inactiva e o caso que o nosso colega trouxe. No exemplo específico o user em questão nunca esteve activo. Registou-se, parece que entrou no site durante uns dias, e não fez nada. O profile dele é inexistente. Apenas um binómio username - password. É totalmente diferente de alguém que pouco ou muito jogou, criou um profile (no sentido efectivo do termo) e depois se desinteressou. É normal, quase sem excepções, os gestores de sistemas efectuarem "purges" de tempos a tempos, com critérios definidos consoante a administração. No caso da Groundspeak, não surpreedentemente, o critério é: "purges", zero. Há que proteger as pessoas que apareceram no site há 6 anos, registaram um user, e desde esse minuto nunca mais puseram os cotos no site. Há pois claro, há que os proteger. Tem toda a lógica. Deve ser pela fortissima relação emocional entre essas pessoas, o seu username e os tempos saudosos que passaram a fazer caches e a usar o geocaching.com. O que é isso comparado com o peso que trazem para o sistema, já sem falar dos que estão verdadeiramente interessados em jogar e em assumir aqueles usernames......

O atrofianço do costume. Razões? Népias. Quer dizer, eu avanço as razões: quanto mais users registados, mais a Groundspeak fica bem junto de investidores e parceiros de negócios. Não importa que seja um peixe balão cheio de nada. Dai, não fazerem purge de utilizadores. Claro que retirar a facilidade de ver caches em tempo real do Google Earth porque alegadamente estava a carregar os servidores não custa nada. O mexilhão é que se lixou na altura. Mas limparem a base de dados de users fantasmas, tá quieto ò preto.

Now... a related question is: do you know any other websites providing decent info about Wherigo? Somehow I feel GS fails in offering good info in their official website and I am eager to read and learn more about the game.

Well, quoting an USA federal website regarding what is or what is not allowed in Syria is quite funny. As we know, accordingly to these kind of sources Syria is not very different from hell itself, so..... Also very funny those export restrictions... well, they they are so logical, therefore must be so effective!!! Of course nobody in any other country of the world will think about selling GPSr units to Syria. Of course that's an efective measure. dadgum Syrians, they will never settle their hands in good american GPSr units like those manufactured by Magellan or Garmim. No sir. LOL

Actually Egypt USED to (and Syria still does) drive Nokia and others absolutely beserk with their demands that any phones imported do NOT support GPS. That's not to say that people don't "somehow" wind up with them, but they're on the forbidden technology import list. Hummm I'm planning to visit Syria (and Jordan) in a couple of months. This is worrying me. I will try to contact some fellows, like the owners of the few caches created in Syria and some of those who visited them about customs and GPS units. Probably it will be infinitely easier to enter the country with a small Garmin Dakota, looking like a touch screen mobile phone, than with an old model (looking strange and suspicious).

O facto de não ser costume em Portugal, não invalida a normalidade com que se encontram caches assim criadas noutras "culturas geocachianas". Ide a Viena. Vede como elas vos mordem. Ainda por cima todas mal paridas, cheias de incongruências e erros. Ou à Rep. Checa, estas já de grande qualidade e coerência, por regra. Para os gulosos e gananciosos pode não haver bom senso. Para quem puxe um pouco mais pelo sentido lógico, é outra coisa. Amén. Pois, já supunhamos [porra e não é qu enão sei escrever esta palavra !?] que não... vá-se lá saber porquê :-)

I wonder why didn't they follow Magellan eXplorist model, allowing owners to fully manage their data even without connecting to a computer. That was marvelous, the only thing I miss. Everything in separate files and folders, accordingly to owner's will.

Hey guys... please, tell me if I'm wrong: the Garmin system to manage waypoints... is it unbearable or is just me? I mean... one organizes a nice file .GPX with some waypoints for a trip... but once in a terrain, any added waypoint will go to a new file named with the current date. It means that after three months will be virtually impossible to find a waypoint in the files, blocking any attempt to manage waypoints in a computer. Well, not to mention such management is impossible since moment one in the GPS unit itself. Is it only me who thinks Garmin totally sucks in these matters? Or am I missing something? Any of you have a system to actually manage waypoints?

Wow! Que ganda loja!

I have that installed but I use other things for paperless Geocaching; what I would like to have for Nokia 5800 was something with a compass to point me the way.

Only Nokia 5800 is not a Symbian S60 3rd but 5th :-)

Eh pá pois então não faz mais sentido nem sequer trazer o assunto? Agora essas meias acusações, essas sombras, essas afirmações cobertas por um véu.... bah! Tenho de concordar com o Torgut aqui... Tens? E isso custa-te? Vê lá é se escorregas numa casca de banana hoje, que estou a ver que vou ter que andar mais três meses a cachar todos os dias, ao sol e à chuva, só por tua causa. Pensam que não custa, pensam? http://papacaches.wordpress.com/2008/12/12...ias-que-passam/

Eh pá pois então não faz mais sentido nem sequer trazer o assunto? Agora essas meias acusações, essas sombras, essas afirmações cobertas por um véu.... bah!

Ddude's Team... obrigado pela boa participação. Essa passagem de não haver bons e maus e tal é que é um pouco académica, retórica, teórica. E isso das beatas para o chão... às vezes tem-se surpresas. Sabes qual foi o país da Europa onde eu vi mais beatas no chão, por todo o lado? Na Suécia. Pois é..... Maloko... não insistas... o Papaléguas tem vocação de major Valentim Loureiro. Citar nomes não é com ele.

I know what you mean. I had the same problem. My PDA died when I was lost in Stockholm. In the end it led me to my destination but died due to excessive exposure to rain. So I looked at the market... just to find that there weren't simple PDA for sale anymore. Just Smartphones and other devices with features I didn't need at all. Of course, all expensive. So I bought a netbook for 190 Euros. I can carry it in my small bag. Even in my pocket during the winter. And it provides me all the features of a common Windows PC. Google Earth, GSAK and everything else. But to be honest is not so practical. Now I had to buy a new phone and I got a Nokia 5800... which is basically a PDA, so I think I will start using it more, and leave the netbook at home.

Could you elucidate? I can't quite "get my head around" this statement. Norm I mean 1) I got plenty of erros rotating the unit during the calibration process. Had to restart the process a few times. Had errors in the first step, which never happened before. 2) After finally concluding the calibration process with sucess, the compass behavior improved (comparing with previous / original firmware).

Interesting. I have quite the opposite experience (although it's a short one - just updated firmware today): calibrating returned much more errors but the compass behavior improved.