-
Thanks Mike.

I tried it out and I was not happy with the way they cripple the demo
version.  It will only allow 10 records and will not let you use the switch
database feature.  This in of itself is almost enough to decide not to use
it.  They should let you see how it operates in the real world.

My biggest concern about it is how it handles hundreds of caches.  You
cannot tell with only 10 caches.  Plucker has a link for each letter so it
is easy to find the cache.  I do not see any index in cachemate and it looks
like you have to search through hundreds of caches to find the right one.
Is that right or is there an easy way to find the right cache page?

I have different queries I run and I have a separate database in plucker for
each one.  I tired creating multiple files for different queries and I
loaded them on my pda.  I suspect the change database feature would let me
switch to a different file but do not know since it will not let you try
that function.

I like the way plucker looks better than cachemate.  I like the icons and
the stars as it is much easier to quickly determine what you have.  I also
do not like all the lines in cachemate's screen.  

Another thing I really like about plucker is how it will list all the nearby
caches on the cache page.  Cachemate seems like it is much more involved to
find the nearby caches.

While there are some nice additional features on cachemate, I do not think I
would ever use them.  The 60CS does an outstanding job of keeping track of
which caches you have found and all you have to do is select found after you
found it.  So I would not use cachemate to keep track of the caches I found.

The note feature for each cache looks nice, but I rarely if ever would use
it.  If I need to write something down, I just bring up memo pad and write
the note.

It appears to have some interesting search features, but I would never use
them as I can figure out what I need by simply looking at my laptop.

Another thing I like about plucker is many times I need to look up a word in
the dictionary to help figure out the cache.  It is much easier to do this
in plucker.  All I have to do is tap the word and hold the stylus and the my
dictionary opens with the word.  It takes several additional steps to do the
same thing in cachemate.

I like how little time it takes to generate the file, it would be nice if
GSAK directly exported to plucker.  

So my initial review is I will stick to plucker.  Do any cachemate users
have some things you can tell me to reconsider?

 

Jim Bensman
"Nature Bats Last" 

  

-----Original Message-----
From: geocaching-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:geocaching-
bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Mike Griffin
Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2005 8:30 AM
To: geocaching@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [GeoStL] Re: Setting up a geocaching laptop.

-
At first, I did not like it as much as plucker. However, after using it
for
a while and understanding some of it's features, it is a smooth program.
There are several fields that you can put input into where with Plucker,
you
cannot. Making field notes is quick and easy with Cachemate. You can
export
directly to cachemate from GSAK so there is no extra steps needed. Also,
the
export to Cachemate takes 2 seconds for 500 waypoints.. There are several
other features I like as well.
I like that I can export log entries from Cachemate for easy importing
(Cut
and Paste) back into GC.COM.

Mike
----- Original Message -----
    

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