GPS distraction blamed for truck-train collision
I might as well call this the train wreck edition, for more reasons than one. Hopefully all the links work; I had some problems this week with the plugin I use to handle bookmarked links – you may see many redirect thru Delicious before resolving to the proper URL. Today’s lead image is a lesson in GPS distraction.
This week in GPS is a weekly link roundup of (mostly) GPS related odds and ends, from GPS Tracklog and other places around the Web. To get a few of the biggest stories as they break, follow me on Twitter.
From GPS Tracklog
Our posts from the past week:
I’ve also added a couple new GPS deals on the Garmin nuvi 40 and Oregon 550.
GPS in the news
- Yet another train crash: Derailment May Have Been Caused By Faulty GPS
- GPS-tagged cows: How Virtual Fences Will Transform Rural America
- Bus driver says he was looking at GPS before bridge crash:
Ouch!
Geocaching
- Cache number two million coming soon
- 5 Tips to Achieve Geocaching Stardom
- The Lexicon of Geocaching; via StarBrand
- Here are 9 Geocaching Tools – What Else Should You Pack?
- An inside look at Geocachers NYC
- Geocaching Your Way Through Black History
- One Smartphone. Two Kids. Tons of Fun
- The latest Geocaching.com site update details
Garmin
- I’ve probably linked to it before, but here’s a great resource for Garmin-compatible OSM map downloads; via Joachim
- Click the link and scroll down for the latest ship dates for the nuvi 2013 Advanced and Prestige series
- Garmin software updates this week: Alpha 100, BaseCamp, Edge 510/810, quatix
- Review: Garmin Edge Out Front Mount
- Garmin’s On the Trail Pintest section caught my eye
- Video on how to set up the Garmin Edge 810
- GizzMoVest cases
now available for the Alpha 100
TomTom
- TomTom Taxi Booking app comes to the Netherlands (see pic below)
- Looks like that new TomTom RIDER is real
TomTom taxi app
Magellan
- Magellan Switch Series update
- Magellan Switch series launched in Europe
Going mobile
- TomTom Update Adds A 30-Day Free Trial Of Its HD Traffic Service
- Waze: 500 Million Map Edits in 2012
- Navigate International Cities With No Data Roaming Charges
- TeleNav Navigation Software Debuts in GM Vehicles
GPS tracking
- Another GPS tracks missing phones to wrong house story
- Use of GPS in burglary case ruled OK (attorney claimed warrant didn’t specify real-time tracking)
- Bloomberg: Facebook Creating Mobile Location-Tracking App
- Car dealerships use GPS to track high-risk borrowers
- Wind Cave uses GPS to track elk population
- Ospreys ideal bird for GPS tracking
- Mother creates GPS safety device
Drones
- The right of the people to keep and fly drones
- First City In the US To Pass an Anti-Drone Resolution
- Is this the secret US drone base in Saudi Arabia? Via @ogleearth
Satellites and such
- GPS III moves closer
- Europe’s Galileo GPS Plan Limps to Crossroads
- Why the Price of Precision Receivers Will Drop (I wonder if we’ll see high-end consumer handhelds with this)
The business of GPS
- Did Briartek “invent” two-way distress beacons?
- GPS Industry Poised to Launch New Association
- Apple Hiring 10 New People to Work on Maps
Just geo
- If you’ve ever seen a checkerboard BLM public lands map, you’ll understand this: Montana Law Maker Wants to Allow Corner to Corner Crossing to Public Lands
- USGS topo map symbols (PDF)
- Sichuan Bans Domestic Map Web Sites From Linking to Foreign Maps
- Mediawiki GeoData Extension: A New Age of Geotagging on Wikipedia
- Ski Resorts now on Google Maps
- A Line of Bearing
- Open Street Map: State of the Map US 2013
- Google to crowdsource Indian mapping data, offers swag to top contributors
- Via Stefan Geens:
From XKCD
Miscellany
- 55% of New Vehicles to Have Voice Recognition in 2019
- Survival Truths; via Outdoor Quest
- Book – Walking Distance: Extraordinary Hikes for Ordinary People
; via Meanderthals
- DIY: GPS time on the Alpha Clock Five
- Geotagging: Olympus Tough TG-2 Review
- 70MPH skateboarder sets off speed camera in South Africa; via Pocket GPS World
Updated GPS reviews
I’ve updated these review and resource pages with the following links:
- Garmin Forerunner 910XT – Mark Rucker reviews this sportswatch, as does Macworld Australia
About Rich Owings