NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Celestial navigation by Smartphone
From: Peter Hakel
Date: 2010 Aug 13, 18:33 -0700
From: Peter Hakel
Date: 2010 Aug 13, 18:33 -0700
I absolutely second Frank's observation. I observed a similar trend in the 1990s when "toy computers" (PCs) began to outperform "serious" computing platforms (workstations) not just in clock speed but also in price. And today, "toy" hardware designed for graphically-intensive apps (GPUs and videogames) are now used for "serious" number-crunching applications.
Peter Hakel
P.S. Isn't the iPhone a more powerful computer than the one aboard Apollo spacecraft that landed on the Moon?
From: Frank Reed <FrankReed@HistoricalAtlas.com>
To: NavList@fer3.com
Sent: Fri, August 13, 2010 6:03:10 PM
Subject: [NavList] Celestial navigation by Smartphone
I realize that many celestial navigators prefer the computing devices they have had for some years over "kids' toys". Scientific calculators feel "serious" and naturally cell phones seem like kids' toys at first glance. But don't let that feeling keep you from accessing the amazing computing power you can hold in your hand. These are serious computers. And you don't have to buy the latest to get the capability... There are used early-generation iPhones and iPod Touches available for less than a hundred bucks and likewise for the other mobile platforms. As long as they're not physically broken, you can have your amazing 21st century pocket computer without the cell phone contract, and you can still use them as Internet browsing tools if you can find a wireless network (and watch movies, play great games, listen to music, etc., etc.).
[parts deleted by PH]
Peter Hakel
P.S. Isn't the iPhone a more powerful computer than the one aboard Apollo spacecraft that landed on the Moon?
From: Frank Reed <FrankReed@HistoricalAtlas.com>
To: NavList@fer3.com
Sent: Fri, August 13, 2010 6:03:10 PM
Subject: [NavList] Celestial navigation by Smartphone
I realize that many celestial navigators prefer the computing devices they have had for some years over "kids' toys". Scientific calculators feel "serious" and naturally cell phones seem like kids' toys at first glance. But don't let that feeling keep you from accessing the amazing computing power you can hold in your hand. These are serious computers. And you don't have to buy the latest to get the capability... There are used early-generation iPhones and iPod Touches available for less than a hundred bucks and likewise for the other mobile platforms. As long as they're not physically broken, you can have your amazing 21st century pocket computer without the cell phone contract, and you can still use them as Internet browsing tools if you can find a wireless network (and watch movies, play great games, listen to music, etc., etc.).
[parts deleted by PH]
