Garmin/Linux

Hello. A spot of advice please.

I've been considering buying a satnav device because I have four fairly
long journeys in the near future. I know the way in each case but was
hoping that a decent device might help me avoid traffic congestion and
'safety cameras'. Discussions have led me to believe that a Garmin might
be the one to choose, but I have found a snag.

Despite the specification proclaiming that the 860T that I was looking at
uses a Linux based operating system, it seems that the Webupdater is a
Windows only affair.

Am I reading this right, and if so, has anyone had any success updating
on Linux, possibly throught Wine.

--
Mick F.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:10:04 +0100, Michael Fanner wrote:


The OS on the device has no real bearing on the OS for the interface
software and vice versa. All the external software needs is to know what
the signals and protocols are that the device sends and receives, and it
can be programmed do everything (one hopes!). Consider, for instance, that
the iPod works on both Mac and Windows OSes (except that it uses different
file systems on the two, but that's really a side issue). Of course, there
must be someone willing to create the software in question on the desired
OS.

I haven't seen any remarks about whether the Garmin PC software works OK
under Wine. It's worth a try, but I don't have a Linux system or any
current Garmin SW, so I can't help. Maybe someone else here can try that &
let you know.

Well, there is one thing: if you are programming the device under Linux,
you'd have an advantage if you were programming the host software under
Linux also. Note: this is meant as humor, even though it probably didn't
quite get there :-)

--
Gene E. Bloch letters0x40blochg0x2Ecom

On Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:05:50 -0700, Gene E. Bloch wrote:


thanks for your answer Gene. I realise that having Linux in the Satnav
doesn't mean it *should* connect to a Linux box. To a certain extent it's
the irony of that situation that I was commenting on as, I assume is your
final paragraph.

My research on the web leads me to believe that I'm not going to have much
luck in my quest, and my own attempts with Wine were less than successful,
so I may be into finding a Windows using friend to lean on when it comes
to updating maps and such.

Or simply travel the old fashioned way. With the wife navigating. ;-)

--
Mick.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:54:31 +0100, Michael Fanner wrote:


It depends on what you need to update and exactly what your satnav can
use.

The main POI file is a proprietary format but the favourites file is a
plain text XML file (at least on streetpilot and nuvi that I know of).
If all you want to do is add in a small number of destinations for
specific trips, then you could probably copy the file over after mounting
your USB satnav.

Something like:

mount -t msdosfs /dev/da0s1 /mnt

Alternatively, there are Windows based POI programmes out there which
claim to transfer waypoints/POIs/etc between different formats and may
run under wine. One of those may write out in the Garmin proprietary
format, in which case, again, just copy the file over once it's created.

Of course, since you did mention "updates", maybe you meant firmware/
software/map updates, in which case, yes you need windows.

None of the GPS based s/w I've found for FreeBSD (or Linux) seem to be
able to "see" my Nuvi200W but I can mount it and manipulate/copy files to
from the device and its SD card. I do have a Windows PC too so use that
for creating/updating custom POI files and other updates

You might want to have a look at TangoGPS. Even if it's of no help, it's
interesting anyway.

--
You cannot simply assume someone is honest
just because they are not an MP.

On Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:26:41 +0000, DaveG wrote:


I'm new to the idea of satnav and was doing some research into what to buy
when I came up against the Linux problem. The Garmin website gives the
impression that the maps will need to be updated every three months
although it's likely that this is a ploy to sell new maps. Obviously one
would need to update maps but perhaps not *that* frequently.

Likewise firm/software, surly these updates would be infrequent as well
and my plan to 'find a friend' could be the answer.

Thanks for the info about the favourites file. I shall save that for
future reference

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