> > I have my GPS on all the time, even when I don't need directions.
>
> I just have a humble little unhacked Mio C320 but was pleased to
> discover
> an unexpected benefit while driving some twisty Appalachian mountain
> roads at night in the fog. I usually have it rigged HUD-style (more
> or
> less the view out-the-windshield) and it was a big help as we felt our
> way along to know that, say, a gentle right right turn was coming up
> followed by a *sharp* left, etc. So it was not only useful telling us
> where we were in absolute terms but also for, um, "terrain
> avoidance"...
Many years ago I was in Germany at CEBIT, the worlds largest computer
and telephony show.
CEBIT is so large, and the town it is in so small, that you typically
have to stay many miles away from the show to get any room at all.
A friend rented a van with a (then) new feature called "GPS", and he
even had one that talked. It was a female voice, but probably came from
a retired high officer in the German army, because you could tell she
was used to being obeyed. And of course the voice was in German, so
although I was there and experienced this, I can only really relate what
the driver told me was happening....
One day we were driving along and "she" told us to "turn right". We
looked to the right and all that existed was plowed fields...no road at
all, not even a dirt one. We continued to drive straight along the road
as the voice became more and more exasperated, finally sort of
"yelling":
"Biegen Sie rechts ab! BIEGEN SIE RECHTS AB!"
(Turn right! TURN RIGHT!)
We continued along the road until the unit finally gave up, calculated
another route and returned to its former quieter, but still firm,
instructions.
The next time I went to Germany the same unit apparently had been
reprogrammed with a calmer, clearer voice....and more complete maps.
md
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