Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Basecamp is a terrible piece of software

5827051
over 3 years ago

Really, Garmin. Have you used it yourself? It's buggy, totally user-unfriendly, etc..., etc... There is too much not to like about this program to start listing issues. 

Trash the current implementation and rebuild it from the ground up, please.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Works fine for many of us, if you don't like it then you'll need to find a better alternative, or you could ask for help to do what you're trying to do rather than simply moan about it?

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    Although the complaint seems generic, I totally understand what you mean. It's not just one help question, it's the total implementation. The software is buggy, crashes regularly and is terribly slow. Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of Garmin, but BaseCamp (at least for the Mac) is the worst piece of software I have worked with in a long time. And indeed I stopped using it.

    Main reason for stopping to use it, is because Garmin doesn't seem to listen to the feedback from its user community. 

    That is also reflected in the rating the app gets in the App Store. A 1.8 average is something to really be ashamed about.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to eberends

    Main problem is that it is what it is, development stopped years ago. 

    There have been some updates but these were only to resolve issues considered essential, like dealing with GDPR , rather than program improvement. 

    The Windows version from what I've read is far better than the Mac version, should you be able to use that.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to SUSSAMB

    True that!

    I heard the same about the Windows version, but I don't want to buy and run Windows on my Mac, solely for BaseCamp. I learned to manage without Wink

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to eberends

    I must be very lucky as I have been using the Mac version for some years without issues!

    It did take me a while to get used to Basecamp after Mapsource but once I had got used to its foibles I have found it to be a very able program for planning my bike tours.  My only gripe was when Garmin stopped the ability within the program to view planned routes via google earth - I can still do it but it takes a little longer to do now.

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to Skellum

    I believe that was a GE issue rather than Garmin, on the Windows version it was still possible using 4.6.2, but broken again when GE did an automatic update a week or so ago.  Had to uninstall GE and revert to an earlier version that doesn't automatically update Slight smile

  • 0 over 3 years ago in reply to SUSSAMB

    In Windows, BaseCamp could have used an approach that would not have broke. A similar approach might exist for MacOS.

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    I'm using  Basecamp 4.8.8 on macOS 10.15.5 and except for some annoying and fixable issues and being super slow on a 27 retina iMac unless I run it in low res mode (pre 64 bit versions ran fine in high res mode) I find it very usable and it doesn't crash.  That being said, it doesn't make me want to spend money on a new GPS if Garmin in unwilling to fix/imporve their software or device firmware unless there is a dire need and then only do a half-baked job.  

  • 0 over 3 years ago

    The problem is that a Garmin uses Windows developers and started from a Windows product (Mapsource) which was heavily optimized for Windows video updates. I never got the impression as a user that Garmin was doing anything but the minimal effort for Mac. Hired contract programmers who hang around until management signs off, then gone. Such programmers do not write code that they themselves expect to have to maintain or enhance. You are a stupid Mac user who will be happy for anything. Obviously true because we are here.

    The user interface for managing sets of data is a pie in the sky fantasy. It doesn’t work with large quantities of data. It doesn’t gave a clean means of archiving data then revisit.

    Much data read from GPS again is confused with data previously read so one ends up with a collection of HOME, HOME-1, -2, -3, ... -7. And same thing for track logs and other waypoints.

    Can only upload a route to the GPS. Only means to delete is directly on the GPS. For years we had to mount the GPS as a file system then navigate to a folder to delete files in order to clean up the mess.

    Most of Mac BaseCamp’s life it had juvenile coding errors such as wrong case for /Volumes/GARMIN. If one’s root volume was case sensitive then BC could not read most Garmin GPSs. However Garmin Express could. Today if your Time Capsule uses a case sensitive file system then BC will perpetually pest for permission to scan the volume to determine if it is Garmin-ese. Apparently this is not an issue in Windows where C:\ and c:\ are indistinguishable  

    Then let’s not forget the problems creating a route on computer that is interpreted differently in the GPS.

    I’d love for a company to offer a high quality GPS and supporting software. I’m tired of paying premium prices for mediocre Garmin Zumo 595. But I’ll put up with Garmin when I bought DriveSmart 61LMT 7” for $99 refurbished. Arguably better GPS than the $800 Zumo.