Mapping software under Linux

Posted by bronson Mon, 14 Nov 2005 16:00:00 GMT

(notes) A quick rundown of the mapping packages that I’m aware of. None of these quite serve my needs but Roadster looks very promising.

  • gpsdrive: raster-based maps. Downloads maps from Expedia so they look nice but you pretty much require a full-time internet connection. With some effort you can use the Blue Marble satellite data set from Nasa but then you lose the street names. Development appears stalled.
  • roadmap: vector-based maps. Useful but the GUI and the maps it generates are fairly ugly. Development appears stalled.
  • navsys: Has a very useful car-friendly GUI. Excellent bearing and satinfo display on the main page. Development is slow but still appears active.
  • GMap: Looks promising. Requires Mono.
  • Roadster: Produces the most beautiful maps I’ve seen, better than Expedia and Google maps. Might be stalling…? GPS stuff is currently broken.

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In-flight entertainment

Posted by bronson Sat, 12 Nov 2005 21:08:00 GMT

The car computer somewhat works one day before leaving on the long trip. I should start documenting it.

First, I didn’t like any of the existing Epia cases that I could find. They’re too big, too flimsy, or too hard to work on. The case that’s running Trestle would never ever stand up to the vibration in a car. So I figured I could make what I wanted out of $30 of plastic and $10 of brass fasteners.

Here’s a picture from a few weeks ago: the case under construction on the dining room table. Behind it is the cardboard mockup I used to figure out dimensions. So far I’m happy with the result. A solid, compact, open-flat case… I think somebody should manufacture this.

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