On 09 Jan 2007, at 14:47, Chuck Hards wrote:
The announcement of the iPhone today made me think that it is now possible to load the entire Millenium Star Atlas on it or a similar teeny device. Perhaps even a telescope controller via the headphone jack. Camera interface, image file acquisition and storage, even manipulation.
The laptop is probably obsolete as far as amateur astronomy is concerned (assuming you can actually see the postage-stamp sized screen!).
I've been checking the Apple web site and, so far at least (2:30 a.m.), still nothing about the iPhone. However, I did come across this site: http://www.iphone101.com With Safari one could get on the web. While I don't think one can get the Millennium Star Atlas on the web (yet) there are a number of atlases available on line, including the entire POSS. The thing that appeals to me is that it appears to run OS X (I've held off buying a PDA or Blackberry since they don't run OS X). But, pertinent to Chuck's comment, OS X opens the door to telescope and camera control in the field (Bluetooth means no cables). Although being something of a dinosaur when it comes to technology, I still like my mice... While the screen is smaller than any PowerBook or lap top it's still pretty big for a cell phone and can be zoomed in to read small text. pw