 http://www.trainwatchers.com/ | For Immediate Release |
Darryl Wattenberg's Michigan Train
Watchers
First Rail Fan Channel on AvantGo
 The Michigan Train Watcher channel through AvantGo gives rail fans information in the palm of their hand. |
The AvantGo software and service is completely free. The user must first install the software on their handheld device (Palm O/S or Windows CE) and desktop computer. This software can be downloaded from the AvantGo web site at www.avantgo.com. With the software installed the user can create a user name for the AvantGo service. The user then selects the channels they would like in their device. These channels are then downloaded to the handheld device either through the normal sync session or through the use of a modem (wireless or otherwise) by connecting to the internet. All the user pays for is their internet service.
The Michigan Train Watchers channel is designed to keep information rail fans want handy on their travels. Most graphics and all photo essays have been eliminated. The design is streamlined to improve readability. This enables the channel to fit the confines of a handheld device. The current Michigan Train Watchers web site occupies more than 400 megabytes. The channel occupies less than 50 kilobytes (about 1/8000 the space). Because the entire channel must be downloaded to the handheld device (which normally has between 2 and 8 megabytes), reducing memory requirements is critical.
Mr. Wattenberg emphasizes that the channel will grow. "For the initial channel launch I only have pieces of the Michigan Train Watchers web site which don't change very often but are vital to a rail fan. The current plan is to update the channel with information from the events page at least one per month. Another major project will be to add the Amtrak Michigan schedule information once the new timetable is released. Like most good web sites, both Michigan Train Watchers and the Michigan Train Watcher Channel will continue to evolve."
The Michigan Train Watchers web site was started in 1998 to showcase some of Darryl Wattenberg's railroad photographs. The first photos posted were from a trip with the Royal Oak/Birmingham Trainwatchers group (now the Wolverine Railroad Club) to New York for a rare trip on the C&O 614 steam locomotive. From those first photos the site has grown to house more than 300 photos and a wealth of information for rail fans.
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