OpenStreetMap compatible GPS?

Joshua Judson Rosen rozzin at geekspace.com
Tue Apr 27 14:25:40 EDT 2010


Benjamin Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com> writes:
>
> On Mon, Apr 26, 2010 at 3:02 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen
> <rozzin at geekspace.com> wrote:
> > And *then* we discovered just how much better the OSM maps can be
> > than the proprietary ones ... which makes perfect sense to me,
> > since there's actually a way for bugs to be reported and fixed in
> > OSM....
> 
>   One of the selling points of the TomTom is that they have a
> mechanism for users to report updates back to the overmind.  I don't
> know how well it works, but they do advertise the capability.

Hunh--that's news to me. But now I see it on their website.

Looks like it requires regular map-update purchases....

>   Updated commercial map sets are still way expensive, though.
>   $80?!?  Yikes!

I'm pretty sure that the `$80 for one update' option is just the
`decoy effect' in action: it's there to show people that `$40 per year'
is `cheap' (even if you just want one update--throw the other 3 away,
and you're still saving $40!).


> > Of course, then we decided shortly thereafter that the whole `GPS thing'
> > seemed mostly stupid as far as we were concerned anyway[1],
> 
>   I've got a set of paper road atlases which still serve me pretty
> well.  Very large display surface, with excellent image quality, and
> they work *better* in bright sunlight.  But they're getting out of
> date, and are rather tattered.  I've considered just buying new paper
> maps, but have been pondering GPS, too.  This thread is of interest to
> me.
> 
>   Electronic maps do have their advantages.

Oh, of course. The classic issue of which features are defined as
`advantageous' varying from user to user applies as well here as
anywhere else, though--including some `features' for one type of user
being `misfeatures' for another.

> Compact.

i.e.: the display's too small, and it gets lost too easily? ;)

> The spot you're looking at will never be obscured by the boundary
> between two map pages.

Fold-out maps. Then we're just back to the `25+ inches of monitor
is too big' thread :)

> Route finding and estimating is useful if you're already on
> the road and want to make an unexpected change.  Audible turn-by-turn
> directions are useful if you get confused on your way to a new-to-you
> location.

See, these were the things that made me think `this whole GPS thing
is stupid'--it's so tempting to use features like that, but I've
invariably found that the `seat-of-the-pants technology' results
in `knowing where I'm going without really having any idea where
I *am* at any given point in time', which is just... perturbing.
Especially when, say, a frozen body of water next to the road
suddenly causes a multipath effect that makes the unit think that
it's somewhere else until I'm well past a turn that I needed.

I was delighted when I found applications that focused on just showing
me a map with a `you are here' marker and indicators as to where I was
in relation to where I wanted to be; creating, storing, and loading
traces; managing waypoints and points of interest; and other sorts of
`here's all of the information you need in an easy-to-grok form, learn
something from it' stuff for which I would have previously used a set
of paper maps.

Of course, the real `killer feature' for me is being able to change
the feature-set and add things that upstream didn't think of, e.g.:

    http://www.hackerposse.com/~rozzin/weblog/VisualIDs/mapping-with-visualids.html

> Route recording appeals to those who want to track where
> they've been, when (for whatever reason).

Some like that just as a sort of extended `you are here' dot.
Others like to use it to show other people where they've been,
or to create traces to extend OpenStreetMap where the existing
coverage is poor. Or to help find their way back when travelling
off-road or in other similar situations.

>   So I'm also wondering about good brands/models to buy, for the Linux
> user who prefers to avoid MS Windows.

I use my FreeRunner :)

If I were buying something right now, the Touch Book looks really neat
for GPS/mapping/navigation:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK6jVxd_o14

    http://www.alwaysinnovating.com/touchbook/


-- 
"Don't be afraid to ask (λf.((λx.xx) (λr.f(rr))))."



More information about the gnhlug-discuss mailing list