Important NOBELTEC Notice

[GordMay]

Nobeltec: Important Alert and Safety Notice

Certain Passport chart features (including but not limited to buoys, markers, contours, underwater obstructions, etc.) may not display correctly, or at all, when used in conjunction with certain Nobeltec navigation software packages and OEM plotter solutions.
Goto:
http://www.nobeltec.com/support/bulletin.htm
And:
http://www.nobeltec.com/support/bulletin.htm#FullText

To obtain your product corrections: Fill out this form in its entirety. You can then download the patch of affected product and you'll be notified as soon as updated Passport World Folio(WF37)data are available. All additional information is provided on the Nobeltec Navigation website.

[colemj]

Before updating your Nobeltec software you should be aware that the update will disable the use of S-57 vector charts and will, in fact, wipe them off your hard disk without notifying you. The S-57 version charts are those that the NOAA distributes for free and are updated regularly. It is clear that the availability of free government charts for the US is depressing sales of Nobeltec's highly priced versions of the exact same charts (only updated less frequently than the government ones).

Nobeltec claims that they can't allow the use of these government charts due to liability issues if they have erroneous data. However, these data are the same ones Nobeltec builds their charts from, so the argument is specious. Can I sue if Nobeltec charts have bad data (rhetorical-the answer according to my user license is "no")? Further undermining their position is the asymmetry of not (yet) disabling raster chart support.

I talked with Nobeltec technical support and they told me the phone is ringing off the hook about this issue and not a single caller is happy. I was encouraged to write them with my concerns and complaints because they were forwarding them straight to the person who implemented this policy (it sounded like very few at Nobeltec were happy with the policy).

I urge everyone concerned about this to write Nobeltec at nobeltecsupport@jeppesen.com

Mark

[Valhalla 46]

GordMay,
Happy New Year! I just joined here and think its great! I had been using Nolbeltec almost since its inception untill Admiral 8 (if I remember correctly). Then I got fed up with their monkey business( propriotory charts, Dongles, AIS slowing and sometimes freezing my puter etc...) So I started using Coastal Explorer by Rosepoint Navigation and as a Professional Captain I recommend Coastal Explorer.

[Microship]

Astounding how many companies don't understand that in the Internet age, we live in a reputation-based economy.

-Steve