Talk:Etak

Initial comments

Etak was the first company to deliver in-car navigation systems. Why would you want to delete that?

http://www.townsend.com/case/caseDetails.asp?o=6084 http://sec.edgar-online.com/1996/09/10/00/0000950109-96-005911/Section5.asp http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/secarticle.asp?&sid=1796833&symb=NVT&guid=1550118&type=311 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.92.48.132 (talk) 19:21, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

It needs external sources to prove notability. Lucyliz 19:17, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

They need to go on the article, not here! And if it is to stay, it needs to be rewritten in an encyclopaedic style. Lucyliz 19:24, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

can you help with the rewrite. I am not an expert writer, but know the value of this information. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.92.48.132 (talk) 19:27, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

I've corrected some grammar errors and tried to make it sound more like an encyclopaedia article by changing the tone (getting rid of the 'you's). It still needs more sources though. Lucyliz 19:42, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

I think I've provided some more specific sourcing to substantiate the claim of "first commercially available automotive navigation system." It's too bad this fact is not better known. However, Etak's pioneering role in this particular areana of innovation is somewhat obscured by its relatively early decision to license technology to big companies with much more established brands (Blaupunkt/Bosch, Clarion in Japan, GM/Delco). I was on the scene around the time, and my impression from working there was that the decision was forced by financial circumstances. The $2M ($1M?) that Bushnell kicked in was just about the only VC financing the company ever got; the Navigator was arguably a few years premature (private communication from a co-founder) and, though a marvel of optimization, was still not really a viable product; and the company needed to make payroll somehow. Licensing, focusing on the digital map market, and only supporting car nav hardware as needed for licensee support and vertical market fleet vehicle apps just barely paid the bills. So their name really never became synonymous with car navigation gear.

I've cleaned up the citations a lot (though they could still be improved a lot), corrected a few technical errors, rewritten some awkward parts, and flagged some assertions as needing citations. It's still a long way from being an encyclopedia article, and I might never be able to substantiate some of the history from public souces, but .... it's getting there, I think. Yakushima (talk) 16:31, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Etak as polynesian navigation technique vs. eponymous car-nav/digital mapping company

Right now there's a whole section "Definition" with an unsource definition of "etak". This is, in fact, a polynesian word (in which polynesian language, I don't know). The nautical metaphor might seem odd, but it was apt in ways both obscure and relatively obvious. Obscurely: Etak co-founder Stan Honey and Nolan Bushnell were both yachters, and in fact Stan Honey had designed some special purpose navigation computers for yacht races. At least according to Etak in-house legend, Honey's boat-racing navigation expertise was how he came to Bushnell's attention, and from that connection, Etak got Bushnell's financing out of Bushnell's Atari winnings. (The only "venture capital" the company ever really got, I think; really more like angel investment considering the source, the mode and the amount). The Etak name is fitting in a more obvious way: Etak as part of a polynesian navigation technique relied on sketchy environmental clues, since full celestial navigation wasn't possible for polynesian navigators; the car-nav system that Etak (the company) developed also had to rely on clues, in lieu of GPS, and some fairly tricky sensor fusion, since all sensors had failure modes -- the compass could be spun by magnetic fields in building structures, the wheels could spin because of being stuck in mud, etc.

Etak (the polynesian navigation technique) is probably worth an entire article, and of course it should be distinguished from Etak the company. Etak was (almost certainly) the original commercial car navigation equipment seller, and that is notable. Tele Atlas claims credit, perhaps because they acquired Etak, but they acquired Etak long after it had stopped selling car-nav gear.

As for how I know all this: I worked at Etak as a consultant for a number of months in the late 1980s, and got to know a co-founder and some other early-stage employees.

Yakushima (talk) 12:15, 16 April 2008 (UTC)

Etak is a Polynesian navigation technique. It's mentioned repeatedly in Thomas Gladwin's "East Is A Big Bird". I'm not expert enough to write an article on it, but it should certainly be expanded and a disambiguation page made. I suspect there will be more people looking for it since Huth's "The Lost Art Of Finding Our Way" has come out in December 2013. It uses the word "etak" in a way which is different from how I remember Gladwin using it. I was disappointed to find only this article on wikipedia, I hope someone with some expertise in Polynesian navigation can make an article. Baron ridiculous (talk) 03:02, 26 December 2013 (UTC)