Geocaching Software Introduction

[+M-T-P]

I just finished posting a quick introduction to various Geocaching related software programs along with my own opinion on their usefulness to geocachers.

 

Check it out: Geocaching Software

[+Les Nomades]

Very nice work indeed

[+eisenkatze]

Wicked fun. There is so much out there, it'll be tough to have them all, much less evaluate them. Good job!

 

I was surprised you had Google Earth, but not the Geocaching kml overlay... I use that bit to find any caches close by any "non-home-coordinates".

 

Find it here.

 

-Ed-

[+M-T-P]

Wicked fun.  There is so much out there, it'll be tough to have them all, much less evaluate them.  Good job!

 

I was surprised you had Google Earth, but not the Geocaching kml overlay...  I use that bit to find any caches close by any "non-home-coordinates".

 

Find it here.

 

-Ed-

I decided at this go-around to talk only about the programs themselves and not really go into much detail about the various overlays. However, one of my upcoming posts is going to be about useful GE overlays and the GC.com one will definately be mentioned.

 

But for what its worth, if you use GSAK, I think the two Google Earth macros that are available for it are MUCH better. The one I use actually categorizes caches by their type and displays the GC icon for each type (regulars = ammo can, multi = two yellow ammo cans, mystery = question mark, etc). In addition using your own KML generated from GSAK, you aren't limited to 200 views.

 

If you are just casually browsing around for caches, the GC.com overlay is probably not a bad choice.

[+Jamie Z]

A donation-ware alternative to GSAK is Watcher, which I think should be mentioned.

 

Many of the initial features from GSAK were first introduced on Watcher.

 

Jamie

[+M-T-P]

A donation-ware alternative to GSAK is Watcher, which I think should be mentioned.

You make a good point and this is something that I debated greatly before I began. Watcher and many other programs are out there and great to use for many cachers, but my overall intention was to just show what I felt are the best of the best from my experiences and not try to create a complete list of all available programs or even list a Top 10 in each category. For example, I didn't include any Pocket PC software - just one Palm application because I personally feel that CacheMate for Palm is superior for my needs to GPXSonar or any of the other PPC programs. Personally, I use a Toshiba PPC for all other PDA functionality and use my Handspring Visor for the sole purpose of running CacheMate in the field while Geocaching.

 

One anonymous comment to the blog mentioned that 3 of the 5 programs I mention all run GPSBabel under the hood and that it should be mentioned. Even though GPSBabel helps these programs run, it alone would get poorly rated and therefor I left it off the list. When a graphical program like GSAK can handle most of these tasks without ever having to bring up a command line, I'll brag about GSAK any day. However, I did give one quick mention of GPSBabel and a link to its site when talking about downloading tracks to display with the GPX to Google Map Creator program.

 

Thanks for the suggestion and feedback. I welcome you to mention Watcher in the blog comments as well so it will be visible for other readers.

[+habot]

Nice work, you can see other tools

 

for PPC : GPX View, GPX Sonar

for PC : GPX Spinner (http://www.gpxspinner.com down actualy)

[Clan Riffster]

thanx for putting this all together. I just got a Garmin Ique 3600 and was going to ask about software.

[+naviguesser74]

I would find it even more interesting and helpful if a review would mention whether the software works for Mac users or not, and if not, what a alternative might be. not all geocachers are Windows people.

[+M-T-P]

I would find it even more interesting and helpful if a review would mention whether the software works for Mac users or not, and if not, what a alternative might be. not all geocachers are Windows people.

While I appreciate the suggestions, I'm afraid I'm just a Windows user and not familiar with Mac software. My intention for the list was to talk about software that I personally use and find helpful. Mac software wouldn't be on my list for this reason. But thanks for the comments. Maybe I'll do an expanded list with an all software available list (including software for Macs).