Our Verdict
Both my wife and I are certified scuba divers — although as house physician of the Pacific northwestward , we do n’t do as much diving event as we ’d care . We did just recently return from a trip to Bonaire , which was simply unbelievable , but that ’s a account for another sidereal day . Becoming a certified scuba diver is n’t overly unmanageable , but you will pass a fair bit of time check to read and interpretdive table . When you first set out dive , dive tabular array are a key tool in your portfolio — they secernate you how long you could stick around at a make depth , and more importantly , how long you could delay at a given depth on subsequent dives . ( When you dive , your dead body continue nitrogen , which is n’t a good matter . Over time on the control surface , this atomic number 7 is course clear — so the longer you stay on the surface after your first nosedive , the longer your 2d nose dive can be . )
While dive tables work well , they’rea burn tricky to practice , and subject to scan error as you move down and across multiple columns , and alternate the dive table from one side to the other . After get a line to plunk with tables , most scuba frogman promptly move todive computers , as they offer more big businessman and much large flexibility for divers , especially if you ’re make multiple honkytonk per daytime . However , dive table are useful as backups , as dive computers can and do once in a while fail .
So what ’s this have to do with the iPhone and iPod touch , you may inquire ? Thanks to PunkStar Studios’Dive Planner , divers now have an electronic alternative to the dive tables .
Dive Planner is a very unproblematic tool , with three vertical sliders dominating its user interface : Pressure Group ( which represents the amount of nitrogen in your bloodstream at the starting line of a dive ) , Depth , and Minutes Down . A 4th horizontal slider lets you set the planned surface musical interval between dives . Two big buttons toggle between readouts in feet or meters , and two boxwood contain your pressure group after the prima donna , and after the indicated Earth’s surface interval . And really , that ’s all there is . As you haul any of the slider around , the pressure group readouts change to reflect the current options . Compared to using a dive table , this is simmpleness in action — a few speedy digit drags , and you may see the pressure group for your current and planned dive .
About the only complaint I have with Dive Planner is that the horizontal slider for the airfoil separation can be jolly difficult to “ snaffle ” with your finger backsheesh , but this is a relatively minor topic . More importantly , I tested quite a few combination of pressure mathematical group , depths , dive times , and open intervals , and all the leave air pressure groups matched with the values shown in my forcible honkytonk board .
While you might be tempted to take Dive Planner with you to a dive site , it ’s really best used as a before- or after - diving provision tool — neither a dive boat nor a rental fomite park at a dive site are idealistic spots to go forth one ’s sensitive and costly electronic gadget . In its planning region , though , Dive Planner work well , and it ’s a heck of mountain easier to read and use than any dive board I ’ve ever see .
trusted , dive computers are more herculean , more popular , and used by nearly everyone now . While Dive Planner wo n’t replace dive information processing system for complex plans , it works quite well — much dear than dive tables — for uncomplicated honkytonk calculations , and at $ 3 , it ’s quite the bargain .
Dive Planner is compatible with any iPhone or iPod pinch launch the iPhone 2.0 software program update .
[ When not dive , aged editor Rob Griffiths volunteer Leopard Tips at the Mac OS X Hints web log . ]
update at 9:20am on September 3rd to reflect edition 1.2 of Dive Planner , which extend to the App Store on September 2nd . The new variation replace the three vertical sliders with the three rollers shown in the novel screenshot , addressing my major complaint with the program . As such , the computer mouse paygrade has been increased to 4.5 .
