Larry wrote:
A webpage-based location system so family and friends can find a
cruiser's location with either a simple manual entry from the cruiser,
or an automated GPS system such as APRS we hams use to find out buddies
and their conditions.
....

Thanks for the feedback.

Interfacing with external GPS or RF devices is probably outside the scope of
the project, but the rest of what you describe is similar to what I was
thinking of as a 'real-time' cruising log. Functionally, it could be
implemented as a special-purpose web log, optimized for low-bandwidth,
low-resolution access. The mariner could enter text and upload pictures and
GPS track files from a browser. Visitors could then browse the log entries. I
assume some mariners would want to be able to control who can browse their log.

Do you think something like this would be useful without directly interfacing
with external devices? I believe most modern GPS units can upload their track
data to a file using off-the-shelf cables and software, so I could just deal
with uploading and parsing those files. Do you think anyone would need to
update a log without a browser, e.g. via email or touch-tone? Do many mariners
have mobile phone browsers?

Implementing yet another blog probably won't get me an A, but implementing one
with a good GPS track browser could be a decent project. It could be done by
creating a graphical representation of the track and overlaying it on chart and
weather graphics.

--
Chuck Cox
SynchroSystems - embedded computer design - http://synchro.com

my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK