GPS

On Feb 22, 11:44*pm, riverman wrote:
And that's the crux of the bisquit. You lose all sense of place when
you use them; instead you rely on the GPS to keep track of your
journey instead of constantly checking landmarks, keeping mental tabs
on surroundings, mapping the 'big picture' in your mind and knowing
where you are on it, etc.

I've never thought I needed one (& still don't); & I see your point;
though I haven't used one enough to have my brain switch off. Thus
far, I've taken it along as an amusement more than a tool, and I've
been sure enough of my route that I've just ignored it when it told me
something other than what I wanted to do anyway.

I have used it a few times in lieu of being prepared with directions
and a map of my own, and it's performed admirably; surprisingly so, in
fact. Still, I doubt I'd ever use it as a primary tool without backup
for anything critical. I'm still too much of a Luddite for that.

Joe F.

On Feb 23, 6:45 am, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:
Thanks Dan, and thanks to all who had suggestions. Every single person
recommended some model of Garmin. It is extremely rare when roff reaches

I left a garmin gpsmap 60 overnight at 9000 feet in the rain. Found it
the next day, let it dry for two weeks before turning on, and its
fine, I still use it. I too don't depend on it but its nice for
marking spots, etc. I've never bought the mapping software so I don't
have any topos loaded in it, so I can't comment on computer
interfacing. I did once figure out how to download waypoints to linux.

Jon.

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Thanks Dan, and thanks to all who had suggestions. Every single person
recommended some model of Garmin. It is extremely rare when roff reaches
a consensus and damn near unprecedented when roff is unanimous ! ;-)

FWIW, I do have a Magellan handheld unit that I also like a lot. I'm
not out getting lost in the wilderness, but it's handy for more
featureless scenarios e.g. kayaking on larger lakes. Not really
applicable to car navigation tho.

Joe

On Feb 22, 4:49*pm, wrote:

Only problem with Garmin is the MAC operating system, but Garmin now
has Mac interface you can download for free so it communicates with
the system but IIRC you still need the Windows shell (I use Parallels)
to run their map software but that may have changed in the past year.

All GPS vendors I'm aware of, and particularly Garmin, are notoriously
poor
with their Mac support (if they have any at all). Just because Garmin
advertises a Mac interface, that doesn't mean it works. (You'll
probably have to buy another cable, as well).

There are two solutions:

You can run Windows in a virtual mode with Parallels or VMware. Yuck.
It's cool that virtualization works, allowing Mac users to run Windows
or
Linux or whatever with little overhead, but it's like the dog that
sings.
It's not that he sings well, but that he sings at all.

You can use third-party softwa http://www.gpsy.com/. I haven't used
GPSy (pronounced "gypsy"), but it's been well reviewed. I'd like to
know
how it works if you decide to try it. You'll still need another cable
which
you can buy at the GPSy website.

On Feb 23, 10:00*am, wrote:
On Feb 22, 4:49*pm, wrote:

There are two solutions:

Or, you could boot in Windows with Boot Camp. Probably more reliable
and faster than virtualization, but again, yuck.

This assumes you have an Intel-based Mac.

On Feb 22, 4:27*pm, Ken Fortenberry
wrote:

Damn if I understand why these things are such an attraction.
Especially the ones in cars. What a distraction, and mistakes these
things make wipe out any advantage they might have. What I find most
amazing is how they seem to reveal who can and who cannot read a map
and do basic orienteering. I can see some advantage at sea and maybe
in calling in air support, artillery, nite ops etc but otherwise ? I
see folks using them just for simple stuff like where is north. I just
don't get it.

Dave

On Feb 23, 1:00*pm, wrote:

Just because Garmin
advertises a Mac interface, that doesn't mean it works. (You'll
probably have to buy another cable, as well).

I have three Garmin GPS' in my household, the GPS 60CX, the Nuvi 255W,
and my daughter has an Etrex model (actually a fourth one-my old
garmin resides somewhere in the basement).

The new Mac interface works with all three as advertised for
downloading from the Garmin site without the need for another cable.
The bigger problem I had before this interface software became
available was getting the windows shell to recognize the usb interface
for the GPS 6OCX and the Etrex, both of which are no longer an issue
since Garmin updated their software.

On Feb 23, 11:49*am, DaveS wrote:

I can see some advantage at sea and maybe
in calling in air support, artillery, nite ops etc but otherwise ?

Floating a 100+ mile-long wilderness Alaskan river with unreliable
maps, and expecting to be picked up at a particular place at a
particular time, just to name one. :-)

On Feb 23, 12:00*pm, wrote:
On Feb 23, 1:00*pm, wrote:

Just because Garmin
advertises a Mac interface, that doesn't mean it works. (You'll
probably have to buy another cable, as well).

I have three Garmin GPS' in my household, the GPS 60CX, the Nuvi 255W,
and my daughter has an Etrex model (actually a fourth one-my old
garmin resides somewhere in the basement).

The new Mac interface works with all three as advertised for
downloading from the Garmin site without the need for another cable.
The bigger problem I had before this interface software became
available was getting the windows shell to recognize the usb interface
for the GPS 6OCX and the Etrex, both of which are no longer an issue
since Garmin updated their software.

That's good news for Mac users. Thanks for the update.

On Feb 23, 2:49*pm, DaveS wrote:
Damn if I understand why these things are such an attraction.
Especially the ones in cars. What a distraction, and mistakes these
things make wipe out any advantage they might have. *What I *find most
amazing is how they seem to reveal who can and who cannot read a map
and do basic orienteering. I can see some advantage at sea and maybe
in calling in air support, artillery, nite ops etc but otherwise ? I
see folks using them just for simple stuff like where is north. I just
don't get it.

A curse of being a capable person is that it's sometimes hard to see
the POV of the incapable. For a lot of people, these things are a
godsend. People who couldn't read a map if they had one. People who
couldn't find north with a compass, or even have a concept of what
north represents. Yeah, they're out there. The people who, if
driving south, have to turn the map around to figure out they need to
turn right to go west.

That said, I do see the utility. For the couple times I actually used
one to go someplace unfamiliar, it saw it as a map I didn't have to
stop the car to unfold and look at.

I'll also go as far as to say I don't think it's less of a crutch than
looking up an address on Google Maps & printing out the map. If you
do that, you're not relying on your own skills, but those of a
database. Except that this database and map are GPS-based and can
travel with you. Same thing, just better technology.

I'll certainly agree with the downsides, though. I see too many
people programming (or playing with) these things while driving. In
that sense, they're dangerous distractions; but just a casual glance
at the screen or a brief audio prompt isn't much of an issue for me.
In fact, I can see where they'd increase safety in the way they offer
advance notice of an upcoming course change or waypoint instead of a
driver having to dart across three lanes because they didn't realize
their exit was coming up. It's like most things, safe enough if used
properly.

Yin and yang for me; but I'm geeky enough to like the gadget aspect
and too poor to buy one just for the entertainment value.

Joe F.