Getting to where you need to be…

The reality of GPS systems has evolved. I used one of the very first integrated GPS programs with my Pocket PC. I had a Compaq PC that had a GPS sleeve that I used with CoPilot. I still use CoPilot today on my phone. But then, it was because I was traveling. I would fly from one place to another 3, 4 or 5 times a week. Sometimes I would land at night. Even if I knew where I was going, at night in a city I wasn’t used to things didn’t always feel right. I had some GPS options over the years, including carrying three different Garmin GPS units with me. IT was around 2004 that suddenly PPC phones had built-in GPS systems, and I only had to carry one device. But in the early 2000’s I was traveling all over the Central US and needed one.

I can remember in the day, landing, having to connect my laptop and an external GPS via USB to use CoPilot on my laptop. I landed in Milwaukee and had to make it to a location north of Milwaukee (Fond-Du-Lac Wisconsin). My laptop was nearly dead when I arrived (about a 2.5-hour ride). I also used the Tom-Tom products for years. I use a Garmin GPS on the boat, and all the cars we own have a GPS built in. Knowing where you are, knowing when you have to turn and not worrying about directions makes it easier to focus on driving in the DC area. The good news is I know where I am day or night now. The bad news is, sometimes you have to take a new route, to avoid the traffic that is ahead.

I do still use Copilot and the Tom-Tom software from time to time when I am walking in downtown DC.

With the new GPS III system in place, you will find that the accuracy of GPS systems has increased. It becomes an interesting problem however when you are using a GPS with a bike or walking in a city the issue is the tall buildings. Things are much better now (with many more GPS signal locks than we used to get) but they are still someone limited. There is still the need for a person to at least look at where they are!