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Computer, GPS and other Hardware and Software

After many years of research in the PaleoSeti field I gathered some useful Soft- and Hardware you might find handy if you do your own research.

A major part of course is my camera equipment that I described here.
The other big part is my mobile computer and accompaning software. I maintain an electronic database of PaleSeti related Images, texts, books and movies that has grown to over 100GB over the years. Thankfully mobile computers have come a long way and pretty much all sizes are available from handheld to 21 inch screens.

The computer I use at the moment is a Lenovo Thinkpad T420s which is a sturdy and relatively lightweight laptop. What I like about the T420s is the fact that everything is very modular and easliy exchangeable. Even a second battery or hard drive can be fitted. The computer houses a 1TB harddrive which is ample room for my database (see below), image editing and backup on the go. The computer runs Windows 7.

Much more important then computer hardware is the software it runs.

Software

Data archiving and research
For my own research I compiled a database of images, movies and texts that I feel are important for the PaleoSeti Theory. Over the years this database grew well over 100 Gigabytes in size and houses over 40000 items. I'm trying to downsize images to a maximum of 2 megapixels to keep file sizes small. I tried several database programs, but over time I realized that having a simple, very organized file structure is the way to go. This way the database is compatible across all computer plattforms and operating systems. As you can imagine I changed computer systems often since I started the database on a 80286 PC back in 1989.

Free Commander

The database is too complex to show here in detail, but it's basically nothing else but a large structure of files, folders and subfolders that's organized by file category, continents, countries etc.

The program that helps me with this task is "Free Commander", a freeware application that is one of the most flexible pieces of software for file organisation on the market. It is modeled after the old Norton Commander from the old days of MS-DOS. Once you get used to Free Commander (or any other piece of software that emulates the Norton Commander) you will never go back to anything else. It's very efficient and comfortable to use.

Free Commander

Everybody knows Wikipedia nowadays. Many complain that it is not always accurate, but in recent years it has become a pretty good, accurate resource if you want to look up, well, pretty much anything. The trouble with Wikipedia is that you have to be online in order to access it.

What most people don't know is that there is a method to have the complete Wikipedia database on your computer as an off-line readable and searchable resource.
The program that make this possible is called Kiwix.
Every year the complete Wikipedia Database is made available as a so called "dump" and you can download it and read it with the Kiwix reader. The complete text version of Wikipedia in English is currently 26 GB. Since I'm bilingual I also have the German version installed which is another 14GB. For quick research Kiwix is a fantastic tool.


Free Commander

The commercial counterpart to Kiwix is the Encyclopedia Britannica, pretty much the only Encyclopedia left next to Wikipedia these days. The Britannica is updated every year, and has great, indepth texts from very reliable sources. Unfortuntely it can't compete with Wikipedia's enormous volume and number of entries. I find the use of both Encyclopedias useful and one does compliment the other. The Britannica costs around $50 in it's current edition. A tip for budget minded people is last year's version that can be had for $10.


Free Commander

If you are interested in PaleoSeti research you will sooner or later read ancient texts. One of the texts is - of course - the bible. It's riddled with hints of an extraterrestrial contact in the past. A paper copy will do just fine, but much more elegant and convenient for research is good Bible software that lets you compare different bible version and languages with one click. The best Bible software I found is eSword. It's completely free. They have many different bible versions to download free as well.

 

Astronomy
Many ancient sites are astronomically aligned. To check out what the ancient people had in mind you need accurate Astronomy software that is able to calculate the starry skys back thousands of years

Cartes Du Ciel

My favourite Astronomy software by far is the no frills and completely free "Cartes Du Ciel - Sky Charts". The Program is fast and does exactly what it's supposed to: Displaying the stars. You can download it here.
Yes, you can spend a lot of money on other software like "The Sky X" which looks very pretty, but I would rather spend the $300 saved on a telescope like the Meade ETX and look at the real thing.

Skyglobe

During the MS-DOS years (remember those?) there was a famous piece of software called "Skyglobe". For many years it was THE choice for any researcher that wanted to go back thousands of years and see what the skies looked like back then. Robert Bauval and Graham Hancock used it to do their research back in the early 1990s. Unfortunately the old MS-Dos version doesn't run natively anymore ever since Windows 7. You will need a DOS Emulator like DOS Box to run it. The maximum resulotion you can get it to run is 640x480 which isn't very satisfying on today's PCs. For nostalgic reasons I offer it for download here. (Skyglobe 3.6 for DOS)

What most people don't know is that there was a very short lived version of Skyglobe for Windows 95 that still runs perfectly on Windows 7 but not on Windows 8.
This program is basically impossible to find now. I have it on my harddrives ever since it came out. I have a feeling I'm the only one left that has a copy. The program was shareware back then and I don't think the author has a problem if I offer it here for download as well. (Skglobe for Windows)


Archaeology
There are surprisingly few software titles out there that deal with archaeological matters. There are some very specialized tools for archaeologists available that calculate dig sites etc, but most of this software is written for one specific purpose only and is of very little interest for the casual researcher. I think there is a real need for image collections of the museums of the world for example and I'm puzzled that the big museums have not discovered this as a source of income. I would be happy to spend $200 on a complete collection of photographs of all the artifacts of the British museum for example. The museums could archive their collections digitally and make money at the same time. Sometimes attempts are made to do this, but they are almost always research projects for a thesis or the likes. If you do a bit of internet research you will find remnants of those projects on different University websites. Somebody started a project for a thesis but abandoned it after it was done. The "website carcasses" are then forgotten on some University server with links that lead to nowhere. They are basically all renmants of great ideas that went nowhere. Unfortunately this reflects the state of Archaeological research all over the world.

Free Commander

If you are interested in Megalithic sites and stone circles of the British Isles, I highly recommend Tom Bullock's Stone Circle CD-Rom. The CD is pretty unique and features hundreds of photographs of stone circles and megalithic sites all over the British Isles. Maps and locations are included as well as descriptions of the sites. A real gem and very well worth the price of 10 British Pounds!


Free Commander

Not quite as refined as the Stone Circles CD-Rom above, but never the less useful is the Megalithic Irleand CD-Rom. It contains excellent descriptions about many ancient sites in Ireland as well as well over thousand images.


Other Hardware

Free Commander

GPS systems came along way since I bought my first one back in the early 1990s. I currently use the Garmin eTrex 20 a very small handheld unit that can be updated with maps from all over the world. It saved our lives and sanity in Ecuador during our shipwreck experience and it ran for 48 hours straight on a set of regular AAA alkaline batteries while it is only rated for 36 hours. This is an awesome unit!


Free Commander

Did you know that a regular compass doesn't work all over the world? That there are two types of compasses, one for the Northern and one for the southern hemisphere? So if you are in Peru and want to do measurements a compass for the northern hemisphere might not give you accurate readings.
This model from Suunto (The MC-2) works in both hemispheres as it has a specially balanced needle.