Dear All,

Enclosed are some interesting articles on GPS usage worldwide. GPS Navigation is hugely useful and successful, but also use it with common sense, don’t expect it to be perfect as map development is a constantly evolving cycle. These are from countries which have ‘perfect maps’ from global players. Point is, we need to understand that technology is here to stay, can save us time, give security and peace of mind to loved ones, but identifying one wrong road or turning and trying to say this is not useful or that market / product is not ready as yet, is not the right way of evaluating the products that exist in Indian market today.

Let’s embrace GPS in the country and start spreading good word about what it can do for us. This market needs to grow to next level and needs brand ambassadors to make that happen. If competing companies think that they can grow by bad mouthing each other, or by just picking up one area in a competitors map which they know is not recently updated, they should realize that they will only be shooting themselves in the foot as the market pie wont grow due to these misinformation campaigns. Let’s be smarter, not let this market go the way GPS Tracking has gone in India, like no one trusts it! Help consumers benefit from this amazing technology.

 

Regards,

Amit

 

Let the errors of others show the right way

Jan 03, 2010 (Herald-Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — Old wives tell us that the burned hand teaches best. I’ve learned plenty from my own mistakes, but it’s even smarter to learn from those of other people. The ounce of prevention to be found in the occasional cautionary tale can make lighter trips for all of us.

A Nevada couple has a fresh appreciation for the sometimes two-edged sword of technology after spending their Christmas weekend stuck in the snow in the middle of Oregon. The GPS navigation unit in their SUV had directed them to turn off of a state road and onto a forest maintenance road. They apparently drove for some time before becoming lodged in the snow.

I’ve heard plenty of humorous stories of mishaps or embarrassment caused by GPS navigation gone wrong. Many a delivery driver has called my house in confusion because the two leading online map providers show a course to the road I live on that simply does not exist. The technology is neither perfect nor foolproof.

This sort of incident is only possible with the assumption that our devices know better than we do. I have to imagine that at some point while bumping down a gravel trail it occurred to this couple to wonder about the route they were taking. A decision had to be made to trust the navigation device and press on. This decision could only be made by a person who did not know where they were going without the device.

I have a great respect for gizmos; I recently upgraded to a pocket computer that happens to also make phone calls. I like it a lot, and the available GPS doodads are great. I can download maps or have it trace the path I’m walking and look at it online later. One problem I’ve noticed, though, is that since GPS relies on line-of-sight between the device and multiple GPS satellites, your location cannot accurately be determined if the device can’t see enough satellites.

Power is also a concern for electronic devices. I can’t exactly slap a couple of fresh double As into my phone, and the more I use the GPS functions, the faster the battery is drained. Power conservation is something to keep in mind if you’re ever lost with a GPS-enabled phone; the GPS may help you navigate to somewhere you can get a call signal, but you need enough juice to use it when you find it.

It’s worth noting that our cautionary couple was located by the GPS signals from their cell phones when they were eventually able to call. These signals allowed rescuers to find them and tow them out of the snow unharmed.

The odd part of this tale is that these folks were otherwise well prepared for winter travel. The food, water and warm clothing they had with them helped to keep them alive until the weather cleared enough for their cell phones to operate. A winter emergency kit is especially important on long journeys, but even around town, it’s a good idea to have a first aid kit, flashlight and blanket available at need. A gallon or two of water and some candy bars will make a long stay much more tolerable.

Staying put is another thing our heroes got right. To stay or to go is one of the most important questions in any survival situation. The key to surviving in winter is to stay as warm and dry as possible. An automobile provides great shelter; even if it won’t run, it’s out of the wind.

Everyone makes mistakes. What separates the tragic from the cautionary is preparation.

Lee Hadley is an outdoor enthusiast who has lived in Bloomington since 1993.

 

GPS is my co-pilot, so pray for us

By Glynn Moore
Columnist
Monday, Jan. 4, 2010

Before Christmas, I told my wife that I suspected the kids were planning to give me a GPS navigation system for my car. It was only a matter of time, I reasoned, because they all know that I have the sense of direction of a blindfolded, drunken airline pilot.

As it turned out, the kids didn’t give me a GPS; my wife did. She apparently wanted to keep me from getting lost in the driveway and agonizing over the best route to take to my office — although I work five days a week.

My lame sense of direction is not my fault. It has nothing to do with intelligence or paying attention. I had long heard that it is a matter of having the right amount of iron in our noses, but nothing seems to support that theory.

Finally, a few weeks ago, I read an article in The Week magazine saying that a part of the brain called the hippocampus determines our ability to sense location. The increased use of GPS lets us turn off the hippocampus, eventually making it even more difficult to judge our surroundings. Use it or lose it.

I’m not worried; I can’t lose what I never had. I’ve always wandered around in circles, wondering which way I’m going and unsure whether the road runs north-south or east-west.

That’s why I stay out of places that rhyme with “Atlanta.” It’s why I rarely go to out-of-town ball games or concerts unless someone else is driving. It’s why I panic whenever a tourist asks for directions — in my own town.

One night in high school, I took out a girl on a first date to the movies in a city I rarely visited because, well, you know. It was a long night, though it was a short date: We never found the theater, and she never went out with me again.

A few years ago, my wife and I took the scenic route from Baton Rouge, La., through Natchez, Miss. We drove for miles on a country highway without seeing the first road sign. It was midday, so the sun offered no help. Though I had begun in the right direction, we somehow drove many miles the wrong way before finding a marked road and comparing it to a map.

On Christmas Day, my son-in-law Dennis (who admits that his sense of direction is no better than mine) and I took my navigation unit for a recommended test spin to the nearest drugstore. I typed in the street address.

This much I’ve learned over the years: If you turn right from my subdivision, you will reach the drugstore. The infernal machine had other ideas.

“Turn left,” its sweet feminine voice advised. Dennis and I looked at each other.

“Left isn’t right,” I said. “Left will take us far, far away.”

We thought about obeying the voice, but my fuel light was aglow, and I didn’t want to run out of gas while following a sweet voice all around the county. I turned right.

“Turn around as soon as you can!” the voice immediately admonished.

Instead, I pulled over and reprogrammed the unit to find the crossroads nearest the drugstore. It took us right there.

One out of two isn’t bad, I suppose. It’s better than my unaided efforts have been over the years.

I didn’t feel so bad a few days later when I read a story in our paper about a couple who disappeared in Oregon on Christmas after their GPS unit guided them to a remote forest road on their drive home to Nevada. They were lost in the snow for three days.

Moreover, another group of travelers got lost a few days later on the same road because their GPS also misquoted the truth.

So, where does that leave me? I’ve decided that from now on I’ll do what the sweet voice tells me, even if I think it’s wrong. After all, I know my record, so it’s about time to let someone else do the driving.

Reach Glynn Moore at (706) 823-3419 or glynn.moore@augustachronicle.com.