"Michael O'Dell" wrote in message ...
One thing I personally like about the Transas software is that
the User Interface has been designed for operating the software
under operational conditions. Driving the MS Windoze UI requires
a lot of fine motor skills which can be more than tricky "in vivo".

Agreed. This makes a big difference. I can't understand why all
manufacturers don't hide the Windows UI.

the good news is that we are finally starting to see some very
healthy competition on all the fronts, both software and cartography.
with the NOAA S-57 charts coming along for download, the prospects
for real Open Source navigation software improve dramatically,
as well as for integrated bridge and vessel management. (and the
fact that geeks have bought boats helps, too!)

You appear to be a "geek" who is very knowlegable and has done
a lot of research. Thanks for the interesting info on radar interface
boards. I noticed with interest your reference above to "integrated
bridge" systems; I'm hoping that you might be equally informed about
those. If you are, I would be very interested in a similar summary
of your impressions of the various offerings out there right now.
Personally I haven't seen one that I could live with, at least judging
by screenshots on web sites or demo downloads.

- Julian