Short week

[altivo]

Like having a weekend, then a one day work week, then another weekend. It's really weird. I felt like it was Monday all day, and almost forgot that it was Friday and I had to stay the extra 30 minutes to help lock up.

We addressed and stamped printed copies of Tess' Christmas letter, finally, so they will be mailed tomorrow to all our friends who don't read this stuff online.

The GPS I bought with my gift cash arrived today, even though FedEx still can't find it in their tracking database. Yep, the tracking number on the package matches the one I was given, so it isn't the shipper's fault. The delivery person also ignored the doorbell, signage, and drop box right at the driveway, and waded through snow, ice, and overgrown shrubbery to leave the parcel on the front deck that we don't use by a door that gets opened only two or three times a year. Fortunately we were watching for that. I don't know why they do that. Anyone with half a brain can see that no one ever uses that door.

As for the GPS itself, it's tiny. I mean, the display size is fine, the same as Gary's more or less, but the unit is half the size and weight of his. The menus are a little different and I'm going to have to study the manual, which is only in PDF on the computer and not in print, darn it. It works nicely though. Found corelog's address for me, calculated the distance, and offered to navigate me there. I declined, politely. That's a little far to be driving at this time of year. Though the catalog description said US maps were included, evidently Canada is also in there. I didn't try Alaska or Hawaii, but will have to do so. If I asked it for driving instructions to Honolulu, what would it do?

Registering it with the manufacturer (a good idea, since they have anti-theft and recovery features that you can take advantage of if you registered) was a nuisance. You go to their website, fill out a form, and then it asks you to plug the GPS into a USB port. OK, but they didn't supply a cable. Fortunately, the cable for my MP3 player fits (also good because it will charge the internal battery from a USB port if plugged in.) Only at this point do they tell you that you must be using Internet Explorer on Windows 2000 or later. OK, move to Gary's machine that has XP. Get to the same spot. Now it says I have to download a plug-in so IE can find the GPS. OK, do that. Now you have to restart IE, which loses your place and your form data so you get to fill it all in yet another time. Now it finally finds the unit and registers it.

Fortunately, add-ons to the software and data do not require this procedure apparently. I'll bet a firmware update would, though. To add data or features, you just copy them into the correct folder on the GPS, which looks like a USB flash drive when plugged in. That works fine from Linux, already tested it.

They apparently have a freebie downloadable database of geocache locations, and it has a walking GPS mode that is supposed to work for locating them. Guess I'll have to try it, but not in this weather.

Comments

[duskwuff.livejournal.com]

If I asked it for driving instructions to Honolulu, what would it do?

54. ...
55. Turn left at the dock.
56. Park your car.
57. Start swimming westward.
58. Now arriving: Hawaii.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I did try it. "No route to location" was the result. But it knew where the hotels and restaurants are in Honolulu, so I guess if you took the gadget there and rented a car it would work.

[corelog.livejournal.com]

Sounds somewhat like my Archos. It also registers as an external drive when connected to a computer. You add music or other files to it by copying them to the appropriate folder. Upgrading the firmware or adding features is accomplished by copying the downloaded files into the root of the drive, after which the device will read the files and copy the code over into the (hidden) system partition.

Perversely, though the Archos OS is based on Linux, connecting the device itself to Linux has invariably resulted in the device crashing. Permanently. On the one occasion, I ended up returning it to the manufacturer because it was unrecoverable.

Archos has released an older version of the OS source, since it is GPL'd, but they're none too swift about releasing source for the more recent stuff.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Archos is a name I didn't encounter while researching products. I did try to get the Garmin to take me to Honolulu this morning. It has Hawaii maps and locations, but when asked for routing it just decided there was "No route to location." The old "You can't get there from here" excuse. ;p I haven't tried Alaska, but since it could route me to you, it can probably reach the areas of AK that are connected by road.

[duskwuff.livejournal.com]

Don't worry, you didn't miss anything. Archos is a producer of hard-disk based MP3 players.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, that explains that. ;p In three years I haven't managed to fill up a half-gig flash-based player. Guess I won't have to be looking for one of those.

[corelog.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised that you didn't encounter Archos in your research. I only discovered it myself as a result of somebody at school owning and recommending one. It's not a GPS per se, but a media device. (Music, videos, photos.) With WiFi. :)

It's very expandable, though, which I like very much. Additional plugins (which must be purchased) can add additional codecs for H.264 video, MPEG-2 video, Quicktime, AAC, MP4, etc., as well as new features like a web browser, Internet radio and TV, games, and the like. Then there are hardware add-ons, such as the DVR Station (slot the Archos into it, and voila! instant Tivo (the other kind of Tivo)), helmet camcorder, battery dock, and GPS holder. The holder itself is a plastic mount with a suction cup to stick to your car windshield, with the GPS antenna located in the mount. Inconvenient for handheld use, but manageable. And any time you add a new plugin or plug in a new hardware device, the Archos adapts and integrates.

Honestly, the most disappointing parts of it (for me) have been the self-destruct-when-attached-to-Linux thing, and the unbearable slowness of their technical support. It took me five calls and three weeks just to get them to fix one issue alone. :P But once it works, it works, once you've learned how it works. There's lots of little quirks it has. But for the price I got it and the features it has, on balance I consider it a positive acquisition. Just not one that would be suited for everybody.

Knowing your extreme dislike of alpha or beta products, it probably wouldn't be for you. :)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Doesn't sound like it's for me anyway. Alpha, gamma, final, I have no desire to be so "plugged-in" all the time. It sounds like a product that is trying to be too many things at once, though. I admire flexibility but it has practical limitations as a rule. ;p

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

<3 GPS..
I need to find an app for WinMo that will work with my builtin GPS that will let me sms my location to someone and have my phone sms my location if they send me a sms automagically..
(As well as tracking on a website.. gpsed.com seems to work ok for that), ie http://gpsed.com/user/Kyhwana

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Sounds like APRS, the amateur radio setup that does that sort of thing. I didn't know it was possible over SMS.

[kyhwana.livejournal.com]

Well, if you phone has GPS, all you need is a background app that listens for incoming SMSs with a certain content (which is possible in WinMo) and then you can just poll the GPS for your location (or wait till you get a fix) then reply to that number with your location.)

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Nope. My phone is just a phone. I can read e-mail with it if I feel really masochistic, and it does send and receive SMS. But that's all. :)

[animist.livejournal.com]

So which GPS did you end up with? I didn't find the one I was trying to find, either at Walmart or Sams locally. Decided to wait for now.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Garmin nuvi 260. It was $145, mail delivery only, from Sam's. The little extra meant it could announce street names, which is a feature I like. It is also geocache and hiking capable, though I don't know if you need to purchase extra maps for that.

[animist.livejournal.com]

I have an old black and white GPS for hiking, with topographical maps. I'd like to pass that one on to my brother and use any new GPS also for hiking. Does this one have topographical maps?

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I dunno. I think I saw a topo map add-on for sale on the Garmin web site, but I didn't look to see which devices were compatible with it.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

I was back on Garmin's web site so I checked. The topo maps are usable on the various handheld devices, but not on the lower priced automobile GPSes. In the nuvi line you need at least a 500 to use the topos.

[soanos.livejournal.com]

I got myself a Garmin Nüvi 250W with full European maps, which cost me £99.99 from Amazon.com, and I got myself a free leather case for it.

Pound is currently very low against the Euro so I ended up paying only €103 or something. The funny ting is that the same device costs €160 in Finland, so I saved a lot with this one. I'll still need to get a new phone because my olf Nokia 6260 is about to fall apart. :\

I didn't get a USB cable with my Nüvi either, only a car charger adapter thingamadoodah and the mounting bits, so I guess I won't be fiddling aroun with it until I am back in Finland. Oh, well. Doesn't matter.
I don't need to drive here in the UK, so I'll be fine. I haven't tried registering my thingie yet, but I will do it as soon as I return to Finland.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

You'll need a standard USB cable with the miniature connector on one end in order to run the registration process, and it requires an internet connected PC with Windows 2000 or higher or, apparently, Macintosh OS 10.x. No point in starting the precedure unless you have that already at hand.

The GPS battery will charge from the PC through the USB cable when it's plugged in. Full charging takes several hours.

[kint.livejournal.com]

I'll have to ask what you think of it in a few months. I don't think Jason is any rush to replace his, but when the time comes would love some input on the Garmins.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, keep in mind the fact that this is pretty much a low end model. It's doing fairly well in terms of having current maps, announcing turns at the appropriate time, and having a valid POI database. But that's all it does. If you need other features, like traffic service or speed zone reminders, this one doesn't do that so I can't evaluate it.

[kint.livejournal.com]

That's about all he has right now. The nicest feature of his is the larger size screen. Otherwise it's pretty basic.

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, they do have larger size screens available in that price range. In fact, soanos just got one, so when he gets back home perhaps he'll comment on it.

I can say that the display is nicely readable even on my small screen version. Also, by default it shows maps at night with glowing roads on a dark ground. I like that and may end up selecting the option to use it all the time, rather than just at night.

[drgnkiyo.livejournal.com]

It seems GPS's were the gift (either direct or indirect) of the season. o_o

[altivo.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, if you count the gift I selected myself (though Gary's mom paid for most of it.) Having gotten lost in the boonies trying to navigate to some of our more distant libraries in the system, I decided I really could justify having it. Typically when I go to those meetings, I'm driving alone. I find it too dangerous to try to read printed directions and drive at the same time. ;/

[cozycabbage.livejournal.com]

I know how that is. I had a bunch of problems getting the router set up, because when I'd hit the button to save the changes it would give me a Page Not Found error (these were pages hosted on the router). In a last-ditch effort, I tried it with IE, and it worked.

"Guess I'll have to try it, but not in this weather."
Why ever not? I've found Geocaches in colder weather, and I don't even have a GPS!

[altivo.livejournal.com]

It wasn't cold, it was freezing rain that was forecast at the time. No point in going out into that unless absolutely necessary.