Paul’s Blog of Tech and Nonsense

In the recent past, and I would say – for an old guy like me — that’s something like 5-10 years, I’ve really enjoyed the ability to use technology in helping me find my way around. Just think about all of the great mobile abilities you have, these days, that allow you to help yourself in not just the “intended” way, but in ways that make your life really easy. Let’s start with an example of something I think is cool, but I haven’t done yet it’s totally do-able.

Here’s the example: I’m taking a trip to Orlando to visit Disney World (OK, so I’ve done that, but not like this example) with my family and parents, and I’m driving from my home to the location because my mom doesn’t like the idea of flying. So, what can I do to find my way there? I know you have the answer: Mapping.

Sure, you could unfold a map and start tracing your route down the coast (I live in the north eastern part of the USA), and struggle with that. Maybe you could do something hip like type the address of where you want to go (we’ll say “Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge”) into Google Maps, and click on the waypoint, then click on “Directions from…” and then type in a home address. Then you print out the pages and it’s easy to read! Very cool, and very simple! Besides, paper is ubiquitous; it doesn’t get damaged when you drop it on the ground, you can drop it in water and it still probably is good enough to read, and you can fold it up and put it in your back pocket - no batteries, no hassle.

Now, simple is good, but more information and instant access to stuff is even better! There are a host of electronic solutions to give you all kinds of cool functionality. Here are some I think you could use:

• A GPS Receiver - Something like what most people have stuck on the windshield in their car, or in the dash. The in-dash units are great, but their stuck in your car. What if you want to use it in a car that doesn’t have GPS in-dash, or maybe you want to Geocache? I think a PORTABLE receiver makes more sense. You can walk with these, talk to them as they talk to you, hook them up to a bike, or move them from car-to-car.
• A PC with a GPS receiver - This is a cool solution because you not only have GPS mapping software and a receiver, but you’ve got access to all kinds of other information - especially if you’ve equipped yourself with some kind of “air-card” so you can connect to the Internet from wherever you are. This is a great versatile solution, but also a greater risk because you’re now carrying something you’ll need to watch over carefully while traveling to unknown places. Besides that, you incur the additional cost of wireless-anywhere connectivity from your mobile provider.
• A Mobile Phone with GPS - Many phones now support some great GPS features. Companies like Verizon now offer services for voice-directed navigation with your mobile phone. You can also take advantage of (currently) free services like DIR-ECT-IONS (that’s the phone number) that will ask you where you want to go and then text the directions to your mobile phone! Excellent! 
• A PDA Phone (with GPS) - Now, here’s the one I think is the coolest of all. If you have a PDA phone, not only can you install/use a GPS receiver (either some kind of connected one like a SDIO card or Bluetooth enabled), but you now have something small enough to carry with you everywhere. Beyond that, you can easily make use of applications that are cropping up everywhere. With devices like the iPhone, Palm, and Windows Mobile, you can install (or already have pre-installed) Google Maps or similar tools to help you not only locate people or places in your contact list, but be able to call them directly, and even get turn-by-turn directions from where you are (with a GPS unit attached), or the simpler follow-along list. Remember, this also would require some kind of data plan to access the Internet, so that’s extra cost to you.

Before you say “that last one was kind of cool…” think about this too: that last one is expensive, too. So, you’ll want to be very careful with the device itself - and they’re usually pretty temperamental. 

Now think about this: with this device, you not only can have a phone, your contacts, access to maps, Internet connectivity and messaging, you can (almost always) have a camera. Think about it, you know when you park your car, you need to remember where you parked it, right? A picture is great. Now combine that picture with the ability to attach a waypoint (that’s a specific point on a map - like “this point is on the way…”) on your Google Map on your phone. You have a picture, GPS, and a phone. You CAN’T get lost or lose your car! … unless, of course, you lose your phone or it dies. But, let’s just assume it’s working well and you haven’t left it anywhere.

If you happen to have GPS tracking while you’re in a big place like Disney World, you can do some other cool things, too. How about not having to read Disney’s daily map, but being able to find the attraction with your GPS? Drop some push-pins/waypoints into your handy GPS application (and there are plenty of these things on the web, mind you) and you have your own destination map for each attraction! With the GPS on, you’ll know how far and which way to go, too! If you have little kids (or even if you don’t!), there is NOTHING more difficult than locating a restroom when you need it. With a few carefully recorded positions of restrooms, you’ll have an easy time finding what you need. The only thing better would be if you had a picture of it so you can identify the entrance visually. … Wait, we can do that, too, can’t we? Sweet!

So, what does this all mean? It means that technology is not only your friend, it’s your butler. Imagine deciding you want Italian food while at the park. With a GPS and the proper Points of Interest (POI) marked, you can find the closest places that serve that kind of food and be able to get there with just a few clicks or pokes of a touch screen.

You now have the tools you need to find everything and remember where you parked your car. Besides that, many of these tools (if not all) have support for playing your MP3s, listening to audio books, and showing slide-shows of pictures you’ve taken (from your memory cards - usually SD) while you’re vacationing. Now you don’t just have to listen to your parents singing some song you don’t even recognize! Along with that, some units even support the use of services like MSN Direct, which will give you information like the closest gas stations and their prices, movie theaters with phone numbers and show times, and even traffic updates, so you can avoid jams from construction or accidents.

Vacation with your family doesn’t have to be difficult, anymore.

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