Bambography

Spoke with both Blacks and Millets in Winchester today... Blacks: have 4 coins left (only Stonehenge and AOTN) Millets: have 8-10 coins left (got all designs bar Big Ben) The bloke in Millets said they had had little to no response with the promotion and that I was the only person that had asked about it since they had run out of Big Bens a month ago (obviously not true going by previous post) whilst the people in Blacks had been apparently really busy with requests. Strange considering the stores are only about 200m apart! It may well have been true at the time, as I visited at closing time (literally, he had the key in the lock as I left...)

Yeah read about this change today. Only a slight oversight and good to see that even the people that wrote it couldn't be bothered to go through it either!

Winchester Update: Blacks 1 maybe 2 Stonehenge left only Millets: New load AOTN, Stonehenge & Clifton all available.

EEK, Like Banking passwords/details, Paypal logins, update account information anywhere...??? Glad theres no Mac version yet!

It does have a contacts section yes. In terms of vcf import, i'm not sure. In general you have to add the address either directly to the contacts page or via Address Book (Mac) or Outlook etc (PC) then sync it. The iPodTouch manual states that the Mail App can handle vcf files so I assume you could load them into the contacts on the fly, but i'm not sure how you intend to use it. If possible, email one to bambography@gmail.com and i'll try and import in into my contacts and see what happens. If you also let me know how you intend to open/import/use the vcf i'll try it out.

Room for two??

I put my two round the event at the weekend and they saw about 10 people. More than I expect them to see during the next 30days if I put them in the wild. Many people I spoke to had the same view that since I now 'own' the coin it is up to me what I do. Sadly I had hoped to make it to an event tonight to show it round even more people however time has meant I can't get there. I see both points of view on this. My main fear is that they will go missing. Ok it didn't cost me anything but they are nice coins - the reason why I don't want to drill them. I don't feel obliged to release them or that ive any kind of 'contract' between Garmin and myself. I know that some people have not managed to get them in some areas of the UK, but here in Basingstoke there is still a bag of them behind the counter (I asked today to update the other thread). If people in the Basingstoke area are that desperate to get one they just have to pop in. If we're going to start telling cachers to 'play the game' then do we have to start hunting down the muggles that read the sign in Blacks and asked for one which now sits on the side at home until they can be bothered to find out what all this geocaching is about....? If there are people still without one, i'm happy to go into Blacks and ask for another to post on. I can't guarantee they'll give me one, but I could ask...!

So peeps know, Basingstoke Blacks and both Leicester Blacks still have coins in stock. Leicester retail park only the Big Ben coins and the town centre mainly Angel but also the London eye. Also I heard that although most Millets hadn't heard anything, the Basingstoke one received the Point of Sale bits in the post today and so are expecting coins any day, i'm sure its not a unique situation.

Thanks for the suggestion. It is my first visit to Sweden so thank you for the pointer. If anyone has suggestions of 'Must-Do' caches in Stockholm/Norrkoing then please let me know. (Mods: Please feel free to remove the SWE from the topic title, I misunderstood the use of it, sorry about that!)

Hi folks. I'm going to be attending a conference in Norrkoping on the 1-3rd of October and will then spend the weekend in Stockholm before I head home. I was wondering if anyone fancied meeting up on the friday night in Norrkoping or the Saturday night in Stockholm. If someone local wanted to make it an event it is a good excuse for a get together. Anyway, let me know. Chris.

I've only got the iPod touch so am limited to just a database server but I thought you'd also be interested to hear of this on the way Geode Application. Currently in development but sounds like a beta version might get released soon. There is also iGeoCacher already available however there is currently a small debate over its compliance with the Terms Of Use re: PQs. Its also £8.99 which is'nt too bad but Geode looks neater so I'll be waiting to see what they are like when both out.

I didn't get a chance to even think about it today so thanks for calling/emailling. The 29th is going to be a busy day for Blacks!

Will have to take your word for it until they get a Mac version running....

I did try to call Garmin at their Southampton HQ on Friday to get some clarification. The receptionist had not herd of the contest, but put me through to their marketing department. Unfortunately I just got a voice mail service, so I will try again tomorrow and pass on any news. Regards Tarot You beat me to it...!

Not great news folks.... I popped to Blacks, Basingstoke this afternoon and was told the following: They were expecting to receive the coins in 4 batches. The first one they only received a fraction of the number they expected and only on the one design. He had expected the next three to arrive at regular intervals however nothing more had appeared. They have now been told that there has been a 'cockup' over the whole thing and that they won't receive any further coins and that as far as they (Blacks) were concerned they were no longer part of the promotion. So, as has previously been discussed, it seems Garmin may have not been fully prepared for this. That or the coins are very late being minted and they have had to delay the promotion until they receive the rest. Either way, its not great.

If you make it an event, Yes!

I'll second that question. That would be much better then syncing from a desktop. This way you could update in the field (with iPhone) and whilst out and about with either, ie on Holiday etc. With the desktop syncing you have to be home.

I do not believe that having 2 Mega events per year would reduce attendance, however, they would need to be far enough apart to attract different sections of 'locals'. It there was a Scotland & a Manchester events one year I think the balance would be too north and you'd lose southern attendees (expect for the core players who'd go anywhere). It would need to be Scotland & London (for example). A well planned & executed event will go mega given the right location, notice period & advertising to the community.

Email received & awaiting the further details you mentioned. Thanks. Me too!! Go for it folks!

So do I take it that a coin has to be MOVED to count in the promotion? Does a discovery not count? Surely taking it to an event would reach more people and would be more beneficial to Garmin than just popping it in the nearest cache because I'll get to it within a week? Edit to add: The staff I have spoken to know very little it anything about the promotion. 1st they knew in Basingstoke was when they arrived. No supporting leaflet or info was given to them. But signs on windows, counter and freestanding ads were very evident and clearly visible to all.

Looking great so far. However I have a couple of pretty major questions. How will the cache list be synchronised? Will there be multiple databases? (as in CacheMate) Can you add notes to a cache page for review later? Could these notes be viewed en-masse to enable quick logging later at home or via a different computer? Can you mark a cache as found, DNF etc for quick view later? Everything so far is talking iPhone & GPS compatibility. I want to ask about iPod Touch features. Will this app work on the Touch? The database features and viewing are much better than that of Cachemate and i'd prefer use it however if it requires GPS or the 3G connection then it'd be useless to iPod users. Otherwise, i'm quite excited by this!

Seems a shame to stop caching over things going on in the Forums. Many people feel strongly about what has been going on but i'd not suggest anyone stops going out caching. As has been said the forum and the game are two different entities that only cross when people let them. If it really gets to you, ignore the forums and carry on caching. If however you do want to stop altogether then I could adopt your caches (exc. DD as that appears to be being archived) I live very close to them and have no problems taking them on. Let me know if you want me to. Chris.

(Burp)

Peterborough and Basingstoke also out. The Peterborough store told Mum that different areas were getting the different designs, however this appears to be wrong as we all have Big Ben. They also said that they were expecting just 2 more deliveries during the promotional period. Blacks in Basingstoke, who I rang at lunchtime, said they didn't know about it until they fell through the letterbox and have no idea about other designs, deliveries etc. Sounds like we should just keep trying throughout the period. And not wishing to open a can of worms (but no doubt doing so): Why shouldn't the individual that collects a coin decide whether to release it or not? I understand that this is a competition and that keeping a coin limits other peoples potential entries. However, They have offered these coins free and for you to take ownership. Therefore once you have the coin why not do what you want? In fact, with the events that I plan (and hope) to get to before the end of September the coin would reach more people in my hands than in a cache. Following the 30th sept the coin is just another coin and therefore the owner would be in full rights to collect it in again anyway. So why put them out ready for others to poach into their collections?

Another 'the event goes where people are willing to organise it' vote. As an aside Bristol suits us nicely. We'd probably camp even though its just over an hour away, depends on the date really but most likely be there. I'd like to help out but don't know that Basingstoke is really 'striking distance' from Bristol. Maybe put my name down and get in touch when things lift off and i'll see what I can do.