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JamesA60

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Posts posted by JamesA60

  1. When caching, I switch between Windows Phone 10, Android Marshmallow, and my Garmin GPS. I almost always go caching offline (i.e. Windows Phone app and Garmin), but use the free app on my Android when I have some spare time and didn't expect to go caching. If it had better offline functionality, I might use the Android app more. I haven't yet got the paid version of the app. I think £7.99 is a bit too much to pay for an app.

    General Offline Functionality:

     

    What information is critical for you to access while caching offline?

    • basic content (description, hint) - Would not be possible to find some caches without them.
    • map tiles - Very useful. When I had my Etrex 10 (no maps), I often found myself on private land or taking the wrong path. Maps are almost essential.
    • logs - Almost as critical as the hint. If downloading, it would be nice to have the option to download a selected amount of logs.
    • cache photos - Have never used these. Over 1000 finds and have only ever looked at these on a desktop PC.
    • log photos - Have never used these. Over 1000 finds and have only ever looked at these on a desktop PC.
    • waypoints - Critical information. That's how I find out where to park.

    It might be a nice touch to have the option for what information to download.

     

    Of all the current information available offline, what do you never use?

    Using my Windows Phone app, I use everything but the photos.

     

    What information do you wish you had access to, but don’t currently, while caching offline?

    Maps (either OpenStreetMap or Ordnance Survey)

     

    How would you do things differently than the current offline functionality on the Paid Geocaching App?

    I don't use the paid Android app, only the free ones on Android and Windows Phone.

    Map Tiles:

     

    How large of an area do you usually save for offline caching? (10 miles/km, 100 miles/km)

    On my GPS, the entire country (UK). On the free apps, not possible.

     

    Do you favor high resolution map tiles that take more space to store and longer to download OR lower resolution map tiles that take less space to store and are quicker to download?

    I use vector maps when possible. They can be zoomed in and out without any changes in resolution.

     

    Logs:

     

    Do you read logs while caching offline?

    Yes, It's a good way of finding extra clues.

     

    How many logs do you read?

    On my GPS, I usually only download the five most recent.

     

    Would an ability to customize the amount of logs you have access to help? (Ex: 5 or 10 most recent logs, the first and last few logs on the cache, only Found or DNF logs)

    Definately. I usually choose to download five logs using a Google Chrome extension to get a GPX file for my GPS.

     

    Images:

     

    Do you save images when you cache offline? How important are images while caching offline?

    Nope. I connect to the internet if I need something.

     

    How many images do you usually save?

    Erm... zero.

     

    Which images are more important? Cache owner images or cache log images?

    For some caches that I've found online, the images on the cache page are requires to find the cache (I haven't found one of these ones yet). These may be essential for some caches.

  2. I seem to be one of the ones who has been sent to the search page on my desktop. I think it looks much more modern. I usually use the map to search for caches so I don't expect to use it much, but I would like it to stay for the better design (and mobile friendliness).

     

    But my Android phone still displays the normal homepage. Same account, same browser (chrome), refreshed at same time. I've also tried clearing the cache (data cache, not geocache).

    Any ideas what's happened?

  3. I'd quite like the option to choose how often I get the emails, just like in the forums. With a 30 minute gap, some messages could be missed for some cachers when they get quick replies within that time gap.

     

    It might also be nice to be able to reply to an email and the reply goes straight to the message center. I'm not sure how that would work, but it would make people who prefer to email much happier.

     

    But it is quickly developing into a great product! Thanks for the hard work!

  4. It's really up to you. You know what caches are like and what is popular in your area. Even with 40 finds you should have some knowledge about local caches.

     

    My suggestions would be:

    • Attached to a tree
    • Attached to a fence
    • Up a tree (High terrain rating)

     

  5. Where I am (South East England) Caches the size of film containers are usually considered micro. From what I've seen, different parts of the country would have different ratings for D/T and size for exactly the same cache.

    If that cache was near me, I would change it to a micro.

    In your situation it appears to be the same, but you may want to check the size of other similar caches nearby too.

     

    I've also found this image on the web which may help:

    CacheSizeborder2.0.jpg

     

  6. I visited the geocache map using Internet Explorer on Windows Phone (running Lumia Denim) and discovered a slight problem with the site. When the left arrow is tapped to view the map, some of the navigation bar seems to disappear. This only seems to happen when the webpage is refreshed with the search panel open. This doesn't affect the functionality of the map, but it just doesn't look quite right so will probably be low priority.

     

    Screenshot of bug:

    wp_ss_20150412_0002.jpg

     

    Edit - This bug doesn't seem to occur on iOS or Android

  7. I personally think it depends what the owner wants. If the owner of the trackable uploads a photo and says something along the lines of 'Feel free to discover' on a social network, then I believe that this is acceptable. But if it doesn't say this anywhere, I agree with you, it shouldn't be logged. I wouldn't be happy with random people logging a trackable which I didn't want lots of people to log.

  8. I like the new messaging system.

    Now that images can be sent, it will make it much easier to communicate with others about geocaches and trackables.

    It also seems to have a better design. It seems more modern, so is likely to attract younger geocachers.

    I don't see what people mean when it is slow and not user friendly (although the whole site was slow earlier), I think it is much better than the email system.

     

    There are only a few things I would change: Remove the character limit as 1000 is way too low, and allow more images to be uploaded.

     

    I don't see what everyone else is moaning about. Groundspeak seems to be adapting the website to keep in line with modern trends and fashions, which they need to do to keep the sport of Geocaching alive.

     

    Edit - I'd also like to point out to other cachers that this in in BETA stages of the development of the website. This means it is being TESTED and they are asking for your CONSTRUCTIVE feedback, not just saying to take it down because you don't like it. Tell Groundspeak how to improve the messaging system.

  9. Firstly, I would like to point out to the less observant of us that the recently visited and older pages can still be accessed by clicking on the username.

     

     

    I would also like to thank Groundspeak for making the design look more modern. It is much better with the smooth stylings and design than the old HTML-heavy design which looked very clunky. It is also great to see more of the site being mobile enabled, as more people are beginning to use their phone to browse the internet and find geocaches.

     

     

  10. While browsing through the site a while I found the 'Find a Benchmark' link on the bottom of the webpage. I was disappointed to find that I would not be able to log any benchmarks because the UK database had not been uploaded. I think it might be a nice idea to try to import the UK trigpoints into the Groundspeak database so that a wider range of people can use the system.

     

    I have managed to find some databases and spreadsheets which contain trigpoint information:

    http://www.trigpointinguk.com/

    http://www.lonewalker.walkingplaces.co.uk/files/Lonewalkers%20UK%20Trig%20Point%20Database%20v1.0%20(Feb%202014).xlsx

    http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/benchmarks/

    http://www.bench-marks.org.uk/

     

    I understand that whoever is importing the databases will need to get permission to use it, but I'm sure one of the databases will be usable.

     

    After looking at the benchmarks in Seattle, it looks like all the information that is needed can be gathered from the databases that I found.

     

    If Groundspeak don't have the money or time to re-code the system, I have some experience with PHP which can do almost the same things as ASP, so I would be happy to help if needed.

     

     

    I also think it would be a good idea to include a map so that users can find out exactly where the benchmarks are. I think this wouldn't take too long to make because most of the code would already be in the normal geocaching map.

  11. it_18.png Italiano: Hi ilTozzo! Scusate se questo è difficile da capire, ma ho dovuto usare Google translate per cambiare questo da Inglese a Italiano viceversa.

     

    Per risolvere il problema, avviare l'applicazione quindi scegliere i tre puntini in basso a destra dello schermo. Successivamente, è necessario fare clic sulla scheda Impostazioni e deselezionare la casella che dice 'Solo Caches tradizionali'.

     

    Spero che questo aiuta! :)

     

     

    uk_18.png English: Hi ilTozzo! Sorry if this is hard to understand, but I have had to use Google translate to change this from English to Italian vise versa.

     

    To solve the problem, start the app then click the three dots in the bottom right corner of the screen. Next, you need to click the settings tab and untick the box that says 'Traditional Caches Only'.

     

    I hope this helps! :)

     

  12. I've just deployed the app on my phone (Nokia Lumia 710) and almost straight away I have run into a problem. When I try to connect the app to skydrive, I manage to log in and allow the app to access my data but afterwards when it is trying to connect I get an error message saying 'Plop'. After this happens, when I start the app I get the splash screen but the app freezes and closes almost straight away. I have tried re-starting my phone and re-installing the app but this won't fix it. It seems to do the same in the 512 mb emulator.

     

    I like Mangatome's sense of humour with the error message, but it would be nice if all the error messages had a bit of humour (like plop) but also had an error number. I find this very useful when programming with PHP because it allows me to quickly find where the code has gone wrong.

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