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Manufacturers
also take pains to persuade boaters of the advantages of PC-based navigational
systems. They tout a clean, consolidated helm with out-of-sight black
box units for radar, depthsounder, and other components interfaced with
a sleek saltwater and shock-resistant laptop that can also display instruments
and gauges for engine, bilge, and tank monitoring. They describe a cornucopia
of chartplotting software from Nobeltec, RayTech, Maptech, and others
that includes easily updated electronic charts, daily weather overlays,
aerial photography, and more. And they remind boaters of more established
uses such as e-mail, fax, and general office applications that can add
to onboard convenience.
Yet
even with all this dangling like a bunch of carrots, most boaters still
don’t get over their PC aversion, and marinized PC makers command
only a tiny fraction of the boating electronics market. What to do?
That’s
the question that best guides our conjecture as to what the Raymarine
Argonaut computer will be like, since at presstime the specifics of the
project were still being kept under wraps.
First
of all, it’s almost certain to look more like a dedicated component
than like a PC. Nothing brings out digital mal de mer faster than a keyboard/monitor/mouse
combination. As Mobley says, “People who have it in their heads
that they’re not computer-literate or who steer clear of computers
because they feel they are not fail-safe are a lot more likely to buy
[one] if it doesn’t appear to be a computer.”
For
the same reason, the Raymarine Argonaut is likely to jump straight to
RayTech Navigator graphics at startup, keeping the Windows desktop at
a discreet distance unless specifically sent for. No need for unpleasant
reminders until they’re absolutely necessary.
Since
touchscreens and digitizer pens are among Xplore’s specialties,
the Argonaut will probably be operated by fingertip. (A keyboard that
you can keep buried in a chart drawer until you decide to respond to your
daughter’s accumulated e-mails will almost certainly be a plug-in
option.) User-friendliness being the other half of the battle, navigating
the system will have to be as easy as pie. Kioutis hints that this computer’s
simplicity will be unprecedented.
We can
also presume that the system will conform to RayTalk protocols, allowing
interfacing with dedicated Raymarine components. This way users will enjoy
centralized control over the helm without entirely giving up the reassuring
presence of stand-alone components.
Of course,
all of this is mere hypothesis until autumn, when the three partners are
scheduled to unveil their new system. In the meantime, we can muse on
how its development may affect the way boaters configure their helms in
the future. Raymarine is an important and experienced marketer of marine
technology. Many skippers equate the company with quality and reliability
in the wheelhouse. Its open endorsement of a computer may be all that’s
necessary to convince squeamish helmsmen to finally get their PC-legs.
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