Due to the holidays, I didn’t get around to writing a Waypoints post last week, so here are two weeks worth of GPS briefs:
GPS in the news
- Here’s a story claiming a man followed a GPS off a cliff to his death. I haven’t seen any verification.
- Will Mexican state governments give GPS units to border-crossing migrants?
- They want to give GPS receivers to prisoners in one California county, but not for the reasons you might expect.
- GPS Tracking Systems reports that Fresno, California police are using GPS tracking to catch drunk drivers.
- Got your first GPS
over the holidays? Here’s an article on trying it out before venturing
into the backcountry. Or as I heard someone say once, try it out in the
rain, in the dark, before going out into the woods with it. - A crashed plane was found via its GPS beacon, near my former hometown of Asheville, NC.
- Antarctic GPS tracks as art.
International maps
- Here’s yet another source of GPS maps for Baja.
- European maps, apparently including some for GPS receivers. I’ve added this site to my GPS data search engine. Via Digg.
GPS software
- How some Garmin owners can get a City Navigator NT disc for free and load it on a second (compatible) GPS.
- Here’s a review of the TomTom TMC receiver.
- A drag and drop POI editor for Mio. Via Ogle Earth.
- Open source TomTom software for all you Linux freaks out there. Not sure if I’ve linked to this before or not. Via Gizmodo.
- Ogle Earth reviews ArcGIS Explorer.
GPS hardware
- A very funny, though not necessarily family friendly review of a TomTom. Via Digg.
- Turn your Garmin StreetPilot c550 into an in-dash GPS receiver.
- Underwater GPS? Not without an above surface antenna.
- This has got to be some kind of a creepy joke. Develop a subcutaneous GPS tracking device for under $500?
- A 20 channel GPS tracking device in an SD card, with a slot to hold up to a 2GB microSD. Via Digg.
- A Mac-based tablet with GPS.
- GPS with built-in RFID.
- A solar-powered GPS receiver.
- LG enters the U.S. GPS market.
Fitness GPS
- Here is a comparison of the five models in the Garmin Forerunner series.
- And here is a runner who is addicted to GPS.
- Tips on using your Forerunner or Edge heart rate monitor.
GPS and cell phones
- Bluetooth text messaging tips from Chet.
- Business Week has an article entitled Smartphones to shake up GPS business, though they come to a somewhat different conclusion than the title would lead you to believe.
- A TeleNav Navigator review.
The business of GPS
- Here’s an interesting read on GPS manufacturing in China.
- Garmin acquires a French distributor.
Updated reviews
- Garmin zumo 550 review – YourNav has posted a very thorough review, giving the zumo a big thumbs up.
- Garmin StreetPilot 2820 review – I’ve updated this with links to reviews by PocketGPSWorld and Bikeland.
- Garmin nuvi 350 review – WizbangTech has posted a nuvi 350 review.
- TomTom GO 910 review – GeekBrief.TV has posted a video review of the TomTom GO 910.
Google, etc.
- How to use your GPS in real-time with Google Earth.
- Can access to global high resolution aerial imagery save the Earth and the human race?
- Airplane crashes on Google Maps. Via Digg.
Not a thing to do with GPS
- Mail a letter without an address, or even coordinates.
About Rich Owings
Waypoints – January 7 2007
Yeah, why? Your typical Mac comes with all the Unix goodies and goodness you could ever need. But there are a bunch of Linux PPC distributions that you can, if you feel the urge, install on your Apple hardware.
If youve been alive the last coup…
Is there such a thing as subcuteneous GPS tracking? Who has seen or tested it?
Only on TV shows like Alias (maybe). Who knows what the CIA has. There are certainly some obstacles. Like the fact that GPS signals don’t penetrate water very well, which is what most of your body is made of. Then there is the battery replacement issue. And I don’t know much about transmitters, but have to wonder if there aren’t issues there as well.