Petition for Garmin to port to Linux

[bull8042]

I don't know how many already know about this, but I kind of stumbled on it by mistake. It is a petition to encourage Garmin to port their software to Linux.
Personally, their Mapsource and nRoute products are the only programs that create the need to dual-boot with ******* on my laptop. I travel constantly on business and have found my gps to be indispensable, to say the least.
It is worth a look, if for no other reason but to help others in the community like myself.

http://www.petitiononline.com/Garmin/petition.html

[prizrak]

I was 100% sure they had Linux ports, alot of people who do GIS use it. Weird... Signed anyways

[bull8042]

I think there is good kernel support for Garmin hardware, but not really any mapping software publicly available. My understanding is that this is to encourage Garmin to make their software available to Linux users.
Thanks for your support.

[rogerdean]

Hi folks
Even in the bad old days of windows, i was very happily using Google Earth to do my mapping - free, sharable and very easy. If you don't want all the terrain pics just make a white image overlay and voila.
Petition signed anyway, can't be a bad thing!
Allbest
Roger

[bull8042]

I agree, Google Earth is pretty nice, but doesn't work too well in your car on the interstate unless you can find a way to stay connected to a wireless network.
The idea here is for the mapping software to be available to linux users without having to rely on ******* for their GPS routing.
GPSDrive works quite well for this, but you have to download the maps for the area you are interested in from Expedia in two or three zoom levels to be really usable. If you stay in one basic area, then this is adequate, but when your travels take you from Canada to Mexico, then downloading this quantity of maps becomes very impractical and time consuming!
With Garmin, all of the North American maps are on your hard drive and you can zoom to any level of detail. This is what I am looking for within Linux.
I understand the licensing issues and costs associated from acquiring the maps, but personally I would be willing to pay a fair price for this capability just to get away from ******* COMPLETELY. I would imagine other would be willing to do the same, but that is just my opinion.

[stmiller]

Yeah Google Earth/Maps requires a live internet connection.

[la3875]

I've been using EasyGPS <http://www.easygps.com/default.asp> to get points and routes into my eTrex. Its free but only available for Windows. I've tried to get it running in Wine but no luck yet. Maybe someone with more skills than me can get the code from the creator and start porting for Linux?

[mordak13]

I signed it too. I've got a GPSMAP 60CSX and I'm currently trying to get it going with GPSMan etc. Still working on it. Too bad Google Earth wouldn't somehow sync with various GPS devices. How hard could it be for an entity like Google or Garmin?

[lizardmenke]

I 'd love to be able to use my e-trex with Ubuntu

[fsamuels]

I recently got an older version of EasyGPS working with wine. I wrote up an EasyGPS in Linux Tutorial (http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-easygps-137-working-in-linux.html). Also, check the wine application db for EasyGPS (http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=3546) from time to time as I am also working on getting a newer version working in Wine too.

[Chilli Bob]

I recently got an older version of EasyGPS working with wine. I wrote up an EasyGPS in Linux Tutorial (http://adventuresinswitching.blogspot.com/2008/01/getting-easygps-137-working-in-linux.html).

Dude! Looks awesome. Will check it out when I get home. That could make life a lot easier.

[macogw]

My mom just got a Garmin GPS. I don't get the point of the petition though. Why would you need computer software to make the GPS work? All she does is plug it in inside her car, use the touch-screen and it works fine.

[GSF1200S]

Signed ;)

[CCNA_student]

I have also signed it.

[jsast21]

Great idea! I signed.

[bruce89]

*cough* mkgmap (http://www.parabola.me.uk/mkgmap/) and OpenStreetMap (http://www.openstreetmap.org/) *cough*

[bull8042]

My mom just got a Garmin GPS. I don't get the point of the petition though. Why would you need computer software to make the GPS work? All she does is plug it in inside her car, use the touch-screen and it works fine.

Maybe this was not very clear. We are talking about a GPS such as the Garmin GPS18, which is nothing more than a USB or RS232 receiver. It utilizes a laptop to display the position, tracking, location, etc information. The maps are on the laptop. This has nothing to do with a stand-alone GPS unit. Some of the suggestions made here, while nice, are useless without internet connectivity, which you won't have cruising down the interstate looking for your next turn.
This is why I would like to see Garmin port their mapping software to Linux. That way I could use nRoute without having to boot into the dreaded ******* environment.

[Phat Phreddy]

My mom just got a Garmin GPS. I don't get the point of the petition though. Why would you need computer software to make the GPS work? All she does is plug it in inside her car, use the touch-screen and it works fine.

Some people need a little more..

Here in asia I need my garmin to have Thai / Malay / Cambo / Laos / Singapore / Vietname etc maps, theres are rapdily evolving and theres a rare month or so when I dont find a map upgrade to install.

Then I also have huge waypoint collections.. And the Golden Triangle adventure rider forums have great off road trails and jungle tracked.. there POI collections for odd countries (aint easy finding a capable mechanic in Cambodia !!) and other things.

Sure for a buy and leave in car user its different.. But mapsource is the key to all these maps and garmin keeps those keys tightly would into its own (pretty nasty) app.

[Phat Phreddy]

*cough* mkgmap (http://www.parabola.me.uk/mkgmap/) and OpenStreetMap (http://www.openstreetmap.org/) *cough*

Nice idea but map data terrible.

Maybe it works in western countries ?? But non routable and only major roads listed for my area.

[zakany]

For the less adventurous among us, being able to load a POI file of all the nation's rest stops - especially when there are small children in the car - is a really nice thing to be able to do.