168, Washington, DC 20373-5819. News stories are intended for use in Navy newspapers or other internal products. Mass. Copies of the software, designed to replace paper navigation charts, were donated to USS Constitution, the Boston Police Department's Harbor Patrol and the Massachusetts State Police. DNC data is based on NIMA's Harbor, Approach, Coastal and General charts, a computerized representation of traditional paper charts available to all mariners. By digitizing the maps, data from a Global Positioning System receiver and radar systems can be overlaid on the map real-time, providing fast and accurate position information to users.
Users can choose which categories of information are displayed on their computer screens.
Boston Police Department Sergeant Bob Guiney, who works at the city's Harbormaster's Office, said he is impressed by the new technology. It's a way to improve public safety, and public safety is our business. When completed in 2001, the software will be released on 29 CD-ROMS and have cartographic information on all navigable seas and waterways in the world. For more information on DNC or NIMA, visit NIMA's web site at . Dallas will be officially decommissioned Sept. 26.