[Loadstone] Loadstone PointShare/gRoute and databases

[Ketan Kothari]

Dear Monty,

I am in India and was using WFA earlier.  Now I want to use loadstone and I 
find documentation quite cumbersome.  Please do help me by giving me only 10 
minutes on skype to explain basics so that I can use it.  Please help.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <monty at loadstone-gps.com>
To: <loadstone at loadstone-gps.com>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2010 3:09 PM
Subject: [Loadstone] Loadstone PointShare/gRoute and databases


> Hello All,
>
> While I was away it seems like there has been a lot of chatter regarding 
> sources of Loadstone-compatible point resources and I thought I would 
> clarify a few things - clearing up misinformation that I often see on this 
> list.
>
> There is only 1 officially supported points repository for Loadstone and 
> it  is called the Loadstone PointShare.
>
> There are two ways of accessing the Loadstone PointShare:
>
> 1.  Visit: http://www.pse.loadstone-gps.com
>
> 2.  Access via the Loadstone-GPS web site
>
> The Loadstone PointShare contains points of interest from around the 
> world.  It is populated by you the users ((if nobody shares then nobody 
> benefits).  Some users (including members of the Loadstone development 
> team) have supplied large datasets of points.  These include all road 
> intersections in Canada and the USA, all transportation stops in the 
> United Kingdom and thousands of personally created points.  I happen to 
> know that most of you (yes, even some of you that periotically complain 
> have not been good little boys and girls and have not shared your 
> points) - I can include myself in this category at times too!
>
> Is there room for improvement on the Loadstone PointShare?  Yes, there's 
> loads of room for improvement.  A group of volunteers has been setup to 
> deal with this but lacks leadership and direction at the moment so if 
> anyone would like to help then please let me know.
>
> gRoute and Open StreetMap are not officially supported at this time and 
> officially have nothing to do with Loadstone.  This might change in the 
> future but this is the way it is for now.
>
> It very much surprises me that so many people over-look the points 
> available to them  from the Loadstone PointShare.  I realise information 
> is a bit thin on the ground in most areas of the world  (I myself live in 
> a country that isn't well-served by the PointShare) but many Loadstone 
> users live in Canada and the USA and have access to very good information.
>
> Remember that Loadstone does not replace good mobility skills.  The 
> original intended purpose was for you to mark points along a route when 
> going somewhere for the first time and then using Loadstone to help during 
> subsequent trips.
>
> Now, with the Internet users can acquire the coordinates for an intended 
> destination  (on their PC or through Loadstone's newly supported onLine 
> tool  menu) and plan a route prior to going on it.  In fact to prove how 
> well this works, last week I was in London (a city that I don't live in 
> and am not hugely familiar with the streets/areas etc) and I spent the day 
> independantly wandering around - using Loadstone to guide me with the help 
> of some points of interest from GoogleMaps.  It was a pleasant experience 
> and I'm still here to write about it!
>
> We continue to put effort into the Online tools area in Loadstone and I 
> hope to  get time in the near future to continue working on scripts that 
> can be used in the OnLine tool menu.
>
> Thanks, and I hope this clears up some confusio.
>
> Monty
>
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