You know, soon there will be a battery-powered gadget that will look through the eyepiece for you and say "oooh, cool", so you won't even have to open your eyes or get off the couch! I prefer a "hard-copy" in the form of a book or atlas to a CRT or alpha-numeric display, and consider the hunt part of the fun. I suppose that's the reason I still buy the books instead of the CD's and gadgets! Instant gratification isn't a selling point for me, I suppose that too keeps me in the anachronism category. To each his own.
From: diveboss@xmission.com
Unfortunately all I have is a computer controller with an on board library containing some 147,000 objects and a few extra buttons that say besides "slew speed" and "power focus", things like NGC, I.C., Messier etc. There is even one that say's "Caldwell".
I suppose as part of the paper work reduction act, to cut down on paper waste, there is another button that gives the objects coordinates, and another button that gives a full description of the object including the time it rises and sets, it's size, distance and magnitude. Of course, the power pack could die and then I would have to be forced to go here:
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