In the video on the next page you’ll see a demo of the SkySafari app from Southern Skies. It’s a great app for astronomy buffs, complete with gorgeous renderings of the night sky and an illustrated astronomy textbook in one neat little package. You’ll also see a product called SkyFi, which is a WiFi dongle that connects to telescopes using an RS-232 port (sometimes old school is the best school, yes). Finally, you’ll see a first: the very first Apple-approved 30-pin dock connector-to-RS-232 port cable used by SkySafari to control a telescope. It’s called SkyWire and seeing an iPhone control a telescope is a treat. We’re told the cable starts shipping in December.
While SkySafari is awesome, I’m kind of hoping to see this cable put to more uses, like robotics or electronics hobbyist tools. The RS-232 port has been around for a long time, and while newer technologies have surpassed it in speed, it’s an accessible tech for the amateur electronics buff. Check out SkySafari for iOS on the App Store or try the Lite version here. Both are on sale during the MacTech conference (ending November 5).
Please note the picture above is of a prototype unit.
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Continue reading First RS-232 to dock connector interface approved by Apple, controls telescope
First RS-232 to dock connector interface approved by Apple, controls telescope originally appeared on TUAW on Thu, 04 Nov 2010 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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