Star Pilot v3.75 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ General Information ------------------- Star Pilot is a program designed to run on the Palm Computing Platform(r) that gives users the ability to view real time star charts for any location in the world. Requirments ----------- * A PalmOS device running OS v2.0 or later * 170k of free memory on your Palm for the program files/databases * About 20k of memory free on your Palm during runtime of the application. Installation ------------ ***NOTE*** You MUST install Location Manager http://www.star-pilot.com/locmgr/ in order to use Star Pilot v3.xx The following is a list of files related to Star Pilot v2.xx and information about the necessity of each: sp3.prc - Star Pilot main program (required) spdb3.pdb - Star Pilot main database (required) MathLib.prc - Math Library (required) messier.pdb - Messier object datbase (required) spregdb3.pdb - Star Pilot registered DB (purchased version only) Upgrading from version 3.61 --------------------------- You must install: sp3.prc (or sp3-reg.prc if you have the purchased version) We encourage you to use the executable installer which will do this for you. Changes in version 3.75 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Hi-res OS/5 devices now have better precision * Inverse button no longer disappears on OS/5 * Date/Time is no longer cutoff on newer Clie devices * J-Moons! now launches correctly Changes in version 3.60 ----------------------- Bug fixes * OS/5 hi-res find fix Changes in version 3.60 ----------------------- Features * Now supports Hi-Res mode on Palm Tungsten-T devices * Slightly better Hi-Res display on Clie devices Changes in version 3.51 ----------------------- Bug fixes * OS/5 official support Changes in version 3.50 ----------------------- Features * Now supports Hi-Res mode on Sony Clie devices Changes in version 3.40 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Fixed Palm i705 incompatibility * Improved OS/5.0 compliance Changes in version 3.33 ----------------------- Changes * Can now launch NGC! Bug fixes * Planet name bug fix Changes in version 3.32 ----------------------- Changes * New database format improves efficiency/performance Bug fixes * Accuracy fixes for extreme latitudes Changes in version 3.31 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Small extreme calculation fix Changes in version 3.30 ----------------------- Changes * Screen replot is now twice as fast Bug fixes * Another grayscale menu bug (on Visors) was fixed Changes in version 3.22 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Fixed a bug that would report wrong alt/az positions for some plantes in the "ID" screen * Fixed grayscale menu problem that primarily effected Visor users * No longer replots the screen based on timeout when not using current time * Fixed a bug that'd update the date/time display on the main screen even when a new replot wasn't done. Changes in version 3.21 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Fixed a moon position bug Changes in version 3.20 ----------------------- Changes * Now fully supports full Palm date range * Inverse mode now inverses whole screen * New date/time selectors * Night mode available on color devices Bug fixes * Sol System launch bug fixed Changes in version 3.11 ----------------------- Changes * The date & time fields on the main display can now be tapped to bring up the change date/time dialog Bug fixes * The West/East orientations were swapped * Alt x az display on the main screen now respects orientation * Messier object bug color bug fix on Palm IIIc devices * Fixed bug where you couldn't ID stars in the top 10 pixels of the screen * A few memory leaks fixed Changes in version 3.10 ----------------------- Changes * Constellation lines on the main screen draw 2x faster * Grayscale on Palm IIIc devices now utilizes entire pallete range instead of just 4 shades * Time/date format on the main screen now matches Palm's preferences * Can now have any direction be the top of the Palm. This means that through the Options->General menu, you can specify what direction you wish to point the top of the Palm. The default is still north. You can actually click on the direction on the compass on the main screen to change it as well. The reverse orientation checkbox still refers to how you wish to hold your Palm. By default, Star Pilot assumes that you wish to hold it such that it's above your head (as most starmaps are drawn). Checking "reverse orientation" makes it such that you wish to have the Palm faceup in front of you. * Replot icon on the main screen is now color on Palm IIIc devices Changes in version 3.01 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Fixed bug where Star Pilot would crash on OS versions less than 3.0 * Fixed bug where Star Pilot would crash if parts of Location Manager werene't installed Changes in version 3.00 ----------------------- Changes * Added color mode (Palm IIIc only) * Changed databases such that the unregistered version now has 750 stars and the registered version has a total of 1480 stars. This is approximately a 2 fold increase over previous databases. * Improved the UI so that you can see what date/time the current star map is for on the main screen * All stars now have spectral type information * Improved redraw/replot usage so as to replot the whole starmap less frequently Bug fixes * Find constellation "bad data" removal * Minor bug fixes in constellation lines Changes in version 2.30 ----------------------- Changes * Added 4-shade grayscale support for object plotting as well as constellation lines for Palm OS v3.x devices. Use the Option->Magnitude menu selection to enable it. Although you can turn it on via this option on Palm OS v2.x devices, it will not do anything. * Added help dialogs for every menu form. * Removed "Erase" option from Objects form. This feature was unused and buggy. Bug fixes * Remove the "Erase" option above fixed the bug where inverse mode would not display any stars. Changes in version 2.23 ----------------------- Bug fixes * Fixes a bug that made disabling auto-off never turn auto-off back on. Please note, if you used the auto-off disable function of version 2.22, you MUST reset your auto-off preferences in the Palm's Prefs program. This is a pretty serious bug as it could lead to sever battery drain, that's why we released this incremental update. * Made the "inverse display" check box in General Options not replot the screen, but redraw instead like the "Inv" button does Changes in version 2.22 ----------------------- Changes * Invert mode now draws much faster Bug fixes * Erase vs. non-erase now works again * Bug in "Find Star" that was causing incorrect finds should now be fixed * Two errors in registered DB fixed (registered version only) Changes in version 2.21 ----------------------- Changes * Added a crosshair when you are in ID mode for ease of ID'ing * Added ability to launch Moon Info! * Added ability to launch Messier! Bug Fixes * Fixed the "Cannot Launch Application" bug when launching Sol! II * Messier DB spelling and accuracy errors * Fixed the problem where stars would disappear after finding them when running in inverted screen mode * No longer unset backup bits everytime on the static DBs (main DB registered DB, Messier DB) unless they're set. This means they should only unset the first time you run Star Pilot. In theory this means you should have less problems with apps like Backup Buddy backing these up everytime (which was time consuming). Changes in version 2.20 ----------------------- Changes * Added telescoping zoom support. If enabled in "zoom" preferences, all objects will be calculated (regardless of magnitude), although not displayed on the main screen. However in zoom mode the magnitude limit will be removed and all objects will appear. This makes replot time on the main screen take the "full" amount of time of calculating all objects, so do be aware of this slowdown if using this feature. * Registration has changed. A username/registration code combo is no longer needed. There are now separate .prc executables for registered vs. non-registered versions. * The last star name you searched for is now saved. * The last constellation you searched for is now saved. * Removed the ability to launch Moon! since Sol! II now provides all equivilent functionality. * All updates in v2.13 are now also in this non-OEM (normal version) Changes in version 2.13 (this was only released to OEMs) -------------------------------------------------------- Changes * When you find a star via the Find Star menu, a crosshair appears in in addition to the blinking star. This makes the star easier to find. Bug Fixes * Messier objects were still having declination ID problems. This version fixes the problem. Changes in version 2.12 ----------------------- Bug Fixes * Southern declination objects were incorrectly identified as north. This version fixes the problem. Changes in version 2.11 ----------------------- Changes * Changed find star a little. It still works as shown below, but if you enter a full starname, such as "Polaris" it will not prompt you for partial matches and will just flash the star you mean. * A sure fire way to stop replotting is now using the up or down hardware buttons (whether or not you have enabled hardware button support). So if you're impatient, just hit the "up" or "down" arrow in mid-plot. * Provided most of the hooks necessary for localization (expect French, German, Italian, etc versions soon) * Added a small icon for Palm OS 3.0+ (ok, we know it looks a little odd, but it's supposed to be a miniature comet like seen in the normal icon) Bug Fixes * There was a major bug if you were not using the current date and time causing plots that could have been as inaccurate as 2 hours. This has been fixed. * There may have been a few DST problems if you were in a DST that supports DST, but you choose not to observe it. This has been fixed. Changes in version 2.10 ----------------------- New Features * Find has been changed to allow partial matches. For instance, if you enter "Pol" in the Find Star area, it will prompt you for matches such as Pollux, Polaris, etc. On this dialogue, if you choose "Yes" then the object you picked is flashed. If you choose "No" then it proceeds to the next possible match. If you choose "Cancel" you will be returned to the find dialogue to enter a new choice * Find star now also supports Messier Objects (they flash like stars) * Find constellations also supports Messier Objects (as applicable) * Added new inverse mode that displays white stars on a black background which is quite useful with backlighting. You can choose it from the general preferences options, or you can invert your current settings by pressing the new "Inv" button in the top right. Bug Fixes * Canis Minor constellation now "finds" correctly * Fixed a bug in which ID would tell you there were no objects on the screen if you only had planets displayed * Launch Sol! now reports if Sol! is not installed correctly (the error used to say Sun!) * Constellation find should be slightly faster * Fixed the bug where registered stars db would sometimes not correctly draw constellation lines * Eliminated accidentally left-in debug code in constellation lines that led to errant characters being displayed on screen * Removed about 3k of uneeded resources that made the code smaller until new functions (listed above) were added * Fixed a few Palm V compatibility issues Changes in version 2.00 ----------------------- New Features * Compatible with Location Manager for more flexibility over location - This is particularly useful if you travel between multiple locations frequently * Messier objects are now available * Constellation lines available on the main screen (via the General Options) * RA/Dec of objects is now displayed in the ID form for reference. * Magnitude of stars/Messier objects is displayed in the ID form for reference * Now launches Sol! II instead of Sun! * When Star Pilot first comes up, if it displays the screen displayed last time the program was exitted without automatically replotting. This is important to note because it means you *MUST* hit the "Replot" icon to get the latest sky upon re-entering the application. - This was done because frequently users exit Star Pilot for only a minute or two and it was annoying to have to wait for the whole replot Improvements * Speed of plotting stars on the main screen is about 75% faster - Because of this, we have changed the default magnitude from "City" to "Rural" since the time it takes to draw a "Rural" map is much smaller * Speed of drawing constellation lines in zoom window is about 50% faster * Speed of erasing objects on screen is about 50% faster Things to Note * If you do not select a location in Location Manager before running Star Pilot for the first time, it will default to 0 degrees latitude and longitude, which is most likely incorrect. Go to the location menu and pick a location before plotting stars for the first time. Registration Info ----------------- Star Pilot is distributed under the shareware "try before you buy" license. Benefits of registration include: * Ability to search for stars by name * Ability to search for constellations by name * Ability to change date/time * Ability to launch other Star Pilot applications * Free upgrades to all future versions To register, please refer to http://www.star-pilot.com/purchase.html Tech Support/Info ----------------- We make no guarantees to provide technical support, but the latest technical support information is always available at: http://www.star-pilot.com/techsupport/ Liability --------- The author of Star Pilot is not affiliated with Palm Computing, and is not liable for any damages caused to the user or the user's computer equipment (including both their home PC and their Pilot).