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Tripping wit TripMate

From: "P. Ju" <>
Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 00:25:04 -0800 (PST)

Using GPS

I've been happily ignoring my TripMate/Street Atlas setup as it tells me
directions to some very poor routing choices between home and work.  I
also notice that it's way off (very optimistic) in estimating how far away
a turn is.  I think I need to do something to make my receiver/software
more accurate.

FYI, Street Atlas 5.0 leaves much to be desired.  One would think the
developers would write a quick parser to change the directionals (N, W, S,
E, &c) so that they would be read completely by the text-to-speech engine.
Instead, the barely comprehensible lo-tech andro engine likes to say:

"Turn left onto NEE 49th" and
"Go to Broadway BRR"

Lame!

Although I have been told that GPS is not great in cities, I think mine is
as good (which is not terribly) in downtown Portland (building heights
around 20 stories I'd guess) as in the suburbs.  However, I think it's not
accurate enough to be able to use while walking..  Not sure, but will try
it out, maybe with my M1.

I'm still trying to understand the file formats for maps and GPS data.. I
Assume there is a standard for both and to tie them together.. but I
wonder whether Street Atlas uses a proprietary format.  Furthermore, if I
scan any random map in (Assuming the map is reasonably to scale), I guess
I won't be able to hear/route street names.. unless S.A. actually scans
the bitmap/image for letters! (Very doubtful!)

P

----
Patricia Ju
Author of "Databases on the Web: Designing and Programming
	for Network Access", Henry Holt/MIS:Press

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