OpenStreetMap compatible GPS?

[Benjamin Scott]

On Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Joshua Judson Rosen
<rozzin at geekspace.com> wrote:
> 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' ...

  Ah, good point!

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

  The spot you're looking at will *still* be right on the edge between
two plates.  It's a corollary to Finagle's law.  And fold-out maps are
a serious impediment to operating a motor vehicle.

> 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.

  I've actually had fairly good results using GPS units belonging to
friends.  They were not perfect, but nothing is.  I've made mistakes
plotting routes manually, too.

  I do much prefer to plan my route ahead of time, but sometimes life
doesn't work that way.  I'd rather have the option.  To me, it seems
stupid to deliberately avoid a capability just because it does not
work perfectly.

  In particular, real-time routefinding with turn-by-turn directions
wins big in situations such "the road I was planning on using is
closed" or "I just missed my turn".  It's not always feasible to stop
and consult the map.  (In Boston, it can be downright suicidal.)  And
even in situations where I can plan my route, the ability to listen
for real-time updates, rather than peering around at street signs
(instead of the street ahead of me) makes for safer driving.

> 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.

  The software on anything decent made in the past several years is
generally smart enough to monitor velocity and ignore data that would
yield physically impossible results.

> 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 ...

  What were you using that couldn't do that?  I've honestly never seen
a GPS that did not have that capability.  Indeed, that's all you had
at first (beyond a simple lat/long readout).  Routefinding and
turn-by-turn directions are the newer features.

> I use my FreeRunner :)

  I have a phone provided by work, and it's not that.  Plus you can
generally get a bigger screen if you're not locked into the phone form
factor.  Something about 3x5 inches seems optimal for dashboard
placement.

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

  Too big to fit on my dashboard.

  I already have a laptop I can use for "pull over and consult the
map" situations.

  But ultimately, if you don't want a GPS, by all means, don't buy
one.  Those of us who do want one would like to know what's good to
buy.

-- Ben