NOORDERSOFT-NEWS
4th of November 2008 - We have registered the 7.400th user of PC-Navigo ! This respectable number of users of NoorderSoft's software is the reason for a series of attractive discounts and offers during the rest of November::
As tradition requires, the 7.500th customer will get the TOTAL sum of his purchase refunded. With all this, PC-Navigo is now heading for its 10.000th user!
3rd of October 2008 - This month even the 7.350th copy of PC-Navigo has been sold ! And this implies that CERTAINLY the software will pass the 7.500 copies limit this very year !
1st of August 2008 - The first OWN series of ENC charts of Belgium has been finished ! The chart series of the whole of Belgium will contain 15 chart zones and it will cost 95 Euros in total.
The ENC charts of Belgium have been digitised and produced by NoorderSoft. The long wait for official S-57 coverage - it is still not clear WHEN the Belgian authorities will meet with their obligation to produce cartography - has led NoorderSoft to start production now. The other problem with the official coverage, the fact that ONLY the major waterways will be covered, is thus solved in the same process: the NoorderSoft series will not only contain the class IV and V waterways, but ALL waterways.
After Belgium NoorderSoft will produce a similar series for those parts of the Netherlands that have not - or not sufficiently - been covered by the formal Rijkswaterstaat charts. Then the french waterways will be digitised, and finally the canals in north-west Germany will be charted.
All cartography is produced int the so called S-57 Inland ECDIS format. The charts can be used with any PC-Navigo-ENC version and also with the NoorderSoft Inland ECDIS Viewer that will be available soon.
10th of July 2008 - There are SO many stoppages for the fireworks of the 13th and 14 of July in France, that we couldn't incorprate them all in the stoppages files. We simply advise you NOT to navigate on the evenings of the 13th and 14th of July.
11th of June 2008 - A lighting bolt has put all our phone lines and internet connections out of order. Fortunately we were able to restore all systems before midnight and we're back on line. The phones work as before.
2nd of June 2008 - The sales of PC-Navigo have reached number 7.000: today, Mr. Friedrich Meissen in Bergheim (Germany) bought the 7.000th copy! Seven thousand skippers, professionals and leisure boaters alike, are using this voyage planner for their journeys through the inland waterways network of Europe. PC-Navigo is still the ONLY computer program in this field : last year, the program has been extended with an Inland ECDIS viewer (to give access to the official electronic charts) and some more "R.I.S" functions (River Information Services). See also our page about PC-Navigo.
26th of May 2008 - The first patch of PC-Navigo 2008 has been released. See the help desk pages for more about this patch.
21st of May 2008 - The 6.950th copy of PC-Navigo has been sold today! NoorderSoft has decided to pay back the TOTAL purchase price of the buyer of number 7.000. It will be known in the days to come who the lucky winner is.
13 th of May 2008 - NoorderSoft has invested much time and effort in an optimal coordination of nautical software producers and their products. A once formulated "skippers-suite" would have had to ensure that users of nautical software would be best served by mutually cooperating software tools and practically used expertise. In spite of these efforts we had to conclude that other producers do not provide enough quality support to meet our standards. We therefore had to decide to take some of the products (more specific: the private chart coverage of Tresco) off our "digital shelves". NoorderSoft will prepare the production of it's OWN line of private ENC cells as soon as possible, in order to complete the still rather dispersed coverage of waterway authorities.
4th of May 2008 - This month even the 6.850th copy of PC-Navigo has been sold ! And this implies that CERTAINLY the software will pass the 7.000 copies limit this very year ! Today the counter is at 6.851.....
20th of March 2008 - This month the 6.400th copy of PC-Navigo has been sold ! And this implies that MOST LIKELY the software will pass the 7.000 copies limit this very year ! Today the counter is at 6.425.....
27th of february 2008 - The new PC-Navigo version for 2008 is ready and we have begun forwarding the first copies on the 11th of february! Updates for those who possess an older version are available. Beware that delivery will take slightly longer during the first period of the new version. If you want to know more about the new features and data, please have a look at our Updates page.
ATTENTION : The free updates that were sent to recent buyers of a 2007 version were all posted between february 20th and february 29th ! They were forwarded by email with a link to the update files on our servers; if you think you're entitled to a free-of-charge update, but you haven't received this email, we kindly ask you to contact us by email so that we can check and send it again.
27th of february 2008 - A serious email malfunction has caused problems in the outgoing email messages since february 25th; as a consequence, the forwarding of downloadable updates has been slightly delayed. We now think we will be able to send all updates to recent buyers before March the 5th. We apologize for any inconveniences.
21st of january 2008 - Help desk temporarily understaffed. The help desk of NoorderSoft will be only partially manned from january 21st until february 3rd. During those weeks we're busy preparing the 2008 update, and the necessity of a sick leave for one of us during the same period may lead to the impossibility to reach us by phone. If you have any trouble getting trhough, please send an email to info@noordersoft.com and we'll get in touch with you as soon as we can. We apologize for possible unconveniences; as of february the 4th we'll be as available as always.
15th of january 2008 - The internet site of NoorderSoft s.a.r.l. is launched: one can access our web sites with the URL www.noordersoft.com but also with the URL www.noordersoft.fr.
3rd of january 2008 - The sales of PC-Navigo have reached number 6.100 right on the eve of 2008. With the 2008 update due to appear february the 1st, it becomes likely that we'll reach the 7.000 copies some time in this very year! See also our Updates page.
14th of december 2007 - The new PC-Navigo version for 2008 has gotten into the "bêta version" phase: the first copies have been handed over to a test panel, and if the results are positive we hope to complete this very extended version of the software before february 1, 2008. The database of PC-Navigo has grown from far less than 30.000 records in 2006 to almost 60.000 in 2008! If you want to know more about the new features and data, please have a look at our Updates page.
23th of october 2007 - The sales of PC-Navigo have reached number 6.000: today, Anne Kleiberg of the firm Gebr. de Koning in Papendrecht (The Netherlands) bought the 6.000th copy! Six thousand skippers, professionals and leisure boaters alike, are using this voyage planner for their journeys through the inland waterways network of Europe. PC-Navigo is still the ONLY computer program in this field : this year, the program has been extended with an Inland ECDIS viewer (to give access to the official electronic charts) and some more "R.I.S" functions (River Information Services). See also our page about PC-Navigo.
25th of September 2007 - After a lot of unexpected delays our broadband internet connection was installed today. A 2 Mb direct line links our servers in Ray-sur-Saône to those in Amsterdam. This brings the communications infrastructure back in order, so that we can serve our software customers as before.
2nd of September 2007 - The management of NoorderSoft has moved to France ! Because of the removal, the offices will be totally closed from August 27th till September 9th. We're NOT able to answer the phone lines during these weeks. After the 10th of september, we'll be available from 09.15 a.m. till noon and from 2.00 p.m. till 4.45 p.m.
Your orders can be handled normally during the removal. The direct sales - and the presentations on the HISWA Boat Show - will be taken care of by Stentec : 0515 - 44 35 15.
As of the 10th of September we will be available on the new french phone number 0(033)3-84 78 17 92. The new address is: NoorderSoft, Rue du Bac, 70130 Ray-sur-Saône, France.
9th of July 2007 - NoorderSoft will be available for your questions and orders during the whole summer. But the hours will be slightly restricted: from 09.15 am until noon and from 2.00 pm until 4.45 pm. In rare cases these hours will be reduced to 10.00-12.00 and 14.00-1600. If you can ask your questions by email, please do: we will answer your mails at the shortest possible notice.
The last week of August and the first week of September we will move part of our activities to France. During this action we cannot fully guarantee the availability of our phone services. As off the 10th of September we hope to be of service through our new help desk number. We'll keep you informed!
23rd of June 2007 - NoorderSoft will relocate some of it's activities to France, in cooperation with a French company. Although not many things will change for the customers in Holland, Flanders and Germany, part of the development, some of the server data uploads and the maintenance of the obstruction (stoppage) server data will be carried out from the France-Comté province in France. The current office in the Netherlands will remain where it is. The new office will improve the access for many English, French and Swiss customers.
In the premises in France a support desk will be installed, that will support skippers while they're cruising the French inland waterways: a RIS centre will be in touch with the skippers, and if they want they can be traced and informed in all inland waterways anywhere in Europe. Thus NoorderSoft will be able to provide them with the most accurate and up to date information.
25th of May 2007 - NoorderSoft and Tresco Engineering in Antwerp have agreed to make the Tresco chart coverage available for use in PC-Navigo ENC. The chart zones will be preformatted to the PC-Navigo ENC format.
25th of May 2007 - This month the 5.500th copy of PC-Navigo has been sold ! And this implies that MOST LIKELY the software will pass the 6.000 copies limit this very year ! Today the counter is at 5.550.....
3rd of May 2007 - The official Ecdis Charts (ENC) of Germany are now available to users of PC-Navigo 2007 ENC Greater Europe, Western Europe or Germany ! The german waterways authority, WSV, has decided to allow NoorderSoft to distribute its official charts of the important german rivers. The charts will cost € 1,50 per chart zone. There are 189 zones in total: 54 zones covering the Rhine, 22 zones covering the Danube, 39 zones covering the Main, 18 zones covering the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, 25 zones covering the Moselle, 21 zones covering the Neckar and 10 zones covering theSaar.
These Inland-ECDIS charts can be ordered by owners of one of the PC-Navigo 2007 ENC versions that covers Germany. The chart files are protected by means of the same dongle (USB key) that protects the PC-Navigo software itself. If you want to know more, send an email at info@noordersoft.com
30th of April 2007 - The "official" version of PC-Navigo 2007 has caused a wave of orders, which have led to delays in the forwarding of software. Normally software is sent out on the very day we receive payment, but during the past weeks this took between 5 and seven days. We worked seven days a week - and even our queen's birthday - to overcome the problems. From the first of May all will be back to normal.
19th of April 2007 - The very first "official" version of PC-Navigo 2007 will be baptised on board of the barge "La Nauve", moored in Helmond (The Netherlands) on April the 19th. After not less than FIVE trial versions, the first official release benefitted of the experiences of many hundreds of users, so that lots of minor bugs and errors could be corrected. Updates that bring older versions up to the level and possibilities of PC-Navigo 2007 will be available as of the 23rd of April.
26th of March 2007 - The stoppages in France have been added to the obstructions servers. If you had already planned voyages in 2007, it must be recommended that you download the stoppages again and recalculate these voyages to make sure that nothing will be in the way!.
13th of March 2007 - NoorderSoft will participate in a "fact finding mission" of the dutch waterway authority, Rijkswaterstaat, to China, meant to investigate possibilities and problems of a future implementation of River Information Services on the chinese inland waterways. Rijkswaterstaat has invited Hans Kouwenberg to contribute his expertise to this mission, which resulted from a conference called the Yangtze Shipping Forum, earlier this year. The journey will take place between March 17 and March 25.
27th of february 2007 - The sales of PC-Navigo have passed the 5.000 limit! Five thousand skippers, professionals and leisure boaters alike, are using this voyage planner for their journeys through the inland waterways network of Europe. PC-Navigo is still the ONLY computer program in this field : this year, the program has been extended with an Inland ECDIS viewer (to give access to the official electronic charts) and some more "R.I.S" functions (River Information Services). See also our page about PC-Navigo.
22nd of January 2007 - The first series of beta versions of PC-Navigo 2007 has been received exceptionally well! The forwarded beta versions resulted in many comments and much feedback, most of it very positive and enthusiastic. The large amount of orders cause more delays than usual in the deliveries: you should count on several days for the time being.
3rd of January 2007 - PC-Navigo 2007 will be available as of the third week of January. The large number of orders makes the delivery delays longer than usual: delivery will take several weeks until at least the end of February.
18th of December 2006 - PC-Navigo 2007 will be able to export the calculated route to the Google Earth format, allowing the user to present his route on the Google Globe, complete with the time of passage, the name of each waypoint and the waterway axes of the route.
17th of December 2006 - PC-Navigo 2007 ENC is finished and the test ranges have begun! This newest product contains a so called ENC module (a viewer for Electronic Nautical Charts) with which the voyage planner will give access to all details needed for safe navigation (including buoys, beacons, very exact geometry of the fairway, depth information and much, much more). With PC-Navigo 2007 ENC the navigator will be able to "see his/her vessel move through the waterways", with an extremely high level of detail. More on this newest development will follow soon!
27th of October 2006 - Problems in the service provider's facilities have caused errors when users of PC-Navigo tried to download stoppages and obstructions. These problems were tackled and NoorderSoft has taken steps to avoid similar problems in the future.
6th of September 2006 - NoorderSoft has produced the very first bêta version of PC-Navigo United Kingdom! All the english, scottish and welsh navigable inland waterways have been newly digitized. PC-Navigo UK will be made available to the public as a (discounted) bêta version, with a right to exchange it for a proper 2007 version after the test series. Read more about PC-Navigo UK here. You can apply for regular news on the tests of PC-Navigo UK and the status of the new version by means of an email to uk-news@noordersoft.com.
11th of July 2006 - NoorderSoft has started the insertion of the english, scottish, welsh and irish waterways into the data model of PC-Navigo. If all goes well, these countries should be covered as off version 2007 of PC-Navigo!
11th of June 2006 - Tomorrow, the 4500th copy of PC-Navigo was sold ! Wo will be the buyer of number 5.000?
9th of May 2006 - From the 1st till the 9th of May part of NoorderSoft's staff has carried out data checks in the French waterways. These checks prooved very reassuring: with the exception of a few minor changes, the data appeared quite reliable. More of these checks will be undertaken in various parts of the waterways network in the months to come.
9th of April 2006 - This month the 4000th copy of PC-Navigo will be sold ! And this implies that MOST LIKELY the software will pass the 5.000 copies limit this very year !
6th of April 2006 - PC-Navigo 2006, the new version of the voyage planner for the inland waterways, is ready! After more than 800 working hours per developer since the beginning of Februari, the newest version of PC-Navigo is now available. It is described in detail on the PC-Navigo page of this site.
March 19th, 2006 - The new french "chômages" planning (the yearly closures) has been published a few days ago. The complete list has been coded for use with PC-Navigo already. If you plan to navigate in France, please download the most recent obstruction file first!
February 9th, 2006 - NoorderSoft, Periskal, Autena Marine and Technofysica have agreed to co-produce a version of the fuel optimation software Tempomate: this program - which existed already for very large push tows - will be adapted for the use on smaller craft. The software compares fuel consumption with speed and hydrodynamic parameters of the waterway. It advises where extra power is efficient and where it is unefficient. The software has proven to allow savings of up to 15 % of the fuel! Please check back for further news in the weeks to follow.....
February the 2nd, 2006 - Mekong-initiative: NoorderSoft launched an initiative to make the voyage planning and River Information Services expertise available to specific development countries: expertise which is developed with funding of the European Union might be beneficial to countries like the Mekong riparian states, Laos and Cambodia. These countries depend on waterway transport even more than we do. For the Mekong-Initiative two of NoorderSoft's experts travelled through Laos and Cambodia. Your can read all about this voyage on a special internet page, where you will be informed about adventures and findings.
December 7th, 2005 - The 2006 version of PC-Navigo will get a different serial number than the range between 2000 and 2005 (4.0 till 4.5). Because the 2006 version will be a totally new release of the software instead of a slightly improved and amended update, we're still hesitating if it should be called PC-Navigo version 5.0, version 6.0 or version 2006 ....
November 3rd, 2005 - Market share: NoorderSoft sold over 3670 copies of its voyage planner for the European Inland Waterways , PC-Navigo, since 2000. On the 2nd of August number 3.500 was delivered.
October 25th, 2005 - Final meeting of the COMPRIS Project: NoorderSoft was one of the 44 Participants in the E.U. funded COMPRIS Project. In this project administrations, private companies and other involved parties have developed a coherent, harmonized system of information services, called River Information Services, that enables concerned parties to exchange all kinds of information in a standardised way. NoorderSoft's voyage planning played a pivot role in this project.
