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An Old-School View of GPS

Posted by JD on December 18, 2009

GARMIN OREGON 200 PORTABLE HANDHELD GPS NAVIGATOR

$189.95

GARMIN COLORADO 300 HANDHELD GPS NAVIGATOR

$188.95

Garmin 76cs Plus Handheld GPS (West Marine Version)

$310.00

Can you imagine living without GPS systems? I can’t. And that’s saying something because I do remember when we had to live without them. Of course, you can’t miss something that you never had, so not having GPS wasn’t something that bothered me. I suppose I could go back to reading maps. But I sure wouldn’t want to.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. Over the past couple of decades GPS has evolved from a military targeting and navigation system, to experimental gadgets for geeks, to an indispensable technology that has integrated itself into our daily lives.

Of course, it was only natural that GPS systems would become a part of navigating our way on the roads. Not that long ago, a road atlas could be found in every car. Remember those AAA Trip-Tiks (a custom-made strip map for your road trip)? Those items are a thing of the past as even the most basic four-wheelers have built-in navigation systems. Today’s high end auto GPS systems even route you around traffic jams and warn you of construction. Tomorrow’s systems will be talking to each other, with the GPS units in cars ahead of you signaling back to your car that they are slowing down ahead.

Of GPS isn’t always perfect. More than once I have sat idling next to an empty field while my GPS resolutely repeats “You have reached your destination.” Maybe the GPS units of the next generation could come with a camera so they could see what I see and maybe reconsider.

One of my favorite features on a GPS is probably one of the simplest. I like the arrival time display. Whenever someone at my destination begins to wonder when I will arrive and calls me on my cell phone, I can announce with a reasonable degree of certainty, “I will be there at 8:13!” I’ll admit I couldn’t do that without a map.

So I suppose these new-fangled gadgets are here to stay. In fact, they are well on their way to becoming standard equipment for trips of any length. Even if you believe you’d rather pass on this tech marvel, you should probably try it out. You may find that you enjoy having a little more direction in your life.