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I took the waypoint info from his tracking map and stuffed it into a spreadsheet. Synthesizing the vertical speed indications, it seems Mr Trappe may have had problems controlling his altitude: the maximum descent rate was over 600 fpm when approaching the New Brunswick coast, during a descent from 19,835 ft to just 968 ft in fifty minutes. Having bobbed back up to over 15,000 ft he again descended over the sea, this time to just 314 ft above sea level, with the VSI reading -220 fpm over the preceding ten minutes. I'm guessing that that looked like waves coming up pretty fast. I suspect that his ballast and helium might have been depleted to the extent that he was glad to put down in Newfoundland rather than ditch in the Atlantic. No doubt we'll be told shortly.

I have an iridium phone. and I would much rather have a GPS in an emergency.

Iridium phones are like the ultra basic Phones from 1999. it also has crap for battery life so it will be useless in less than 1 day. The Iridium Extreme is the ONLY phone that has a GPS in it as well to send your location to search and rescue, that phone is expensive as hell compared to the basic iridium.

Instead of doing something stupid like blowing $1000 on a Iridium phone and a basic plan.

If you really care about safety you will get a http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10820&minisite=10020/ Delorme In reach. as it's affordable and does not require you to spend a few hundred monthly to keep the thing active.

And you have always been able to "tweet" from an iridium phone. Iridium lets you SMS message. and you can SMS your twitter account. But only the filthy rich or those of us that actually hike in areas without cellphone coverage have Iridium, like my favorite... The wilds of alaska or canada.

I would rather someone spend the money on a good bug out bag and a small GPS than an Iridium phone.

Not to sound like an advert for Delorme, but you might want to feast your eyes on the third screenshot in this advert...

http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=30536&section=10461

I've held that little beauty in my hands, and if my company-issue Blackberry didn't come with all the mapping I need I'd own one of those.

Disclaimer: Delorme's corporate headquarters and retail store are a few tens of miles from where I live. I have a couple of friends and family members who work there.

Doesn't change the fact that, as far as I'm concerned, if you want to pay money for a mapping product Delorme is way up at the top of my list - their Gazeteers are just plain awesome and I carry one in my car - always.

Most of M$ patents are invalid, invented by somebody else, or invalidated by prior disclosure & sale.

Delorme beat M$ to the punch (mapping software + laptop in auto/plane/etc) back in 1995.. Their GPS receiver had NO physical user interface! To make it operate, one connected it (via rs-232) to a laptop running Delorme real-time mapping software.

To add even more salt to the wounds, nearly all of M$ Fat patents are defeated by their own EARLY BETA releases of Windows which often predate M$ patent filings by over a year.

Add to the mess.. Microsoft's Linux Labs internal distributions required agreement to GPL distribution/patent licensing terms.

I took an internship this summer that forced me to drive a 1/2 hour to work. When you're cutting through a city and then taking the interstate highway every day you tend to see a lot of cars and a lot of crazy driving. I fail to see how children are the only problem, when people from every demographic seem to speed, and not just a little. Is it because the kids are getting hurt? Could that have something to do with inexperience? Or is it just that adult speeding isn't getting reported because they get out of speeding tickets more often (no basis for fact here, just a possibility).


In terms of the specific unit from TFA, Delorme has come out with something that can do relatively the same thing, minus the phoning home. The data it collects can be used in an Atlas or GIS program to do pretty much the same thing as this new unit. The tools have been out there, this teen just used one in a way that would ensure he wouldn't get laid.

is DeLorme's Street Atlas 2006; at $40 it's a bargain. It has a little trouble detecting Bluetooth GPS in WM5 (but so does everyone else apparently), but you can work around it with a little registry hacking.

I've used Street Atlas on the Siemens SX66 (WM 2003) and Qtek 9100 (WM5); it works well on both.

I invite you to slashgeo.org. Quite smaller than slashdot (and only 6 months old), but it reach thousands of geospatial professionals and has over 8000 daily hits right now. It has an active GPS section that will undoubtly interest you and of course, the usual Ask Slash section.

"As a side note, I already purchased Microsoft Pocket Streets 2006"

Stories in other sections, such as web mapping, might also interest you since it includes stories such as Open Source Alternatives to Consumer Map Programs. A part of the story: "Open source tends to be lacking in consumer map programs ala Microsoft Streets and Trips and Delorme's Street Atlas. There are several efforts to repair that situation. GMap, Roadster, and RoadNav are three examples. [...]"

Ahh, the wonders of Moore's Law. This device is more powerful than my current laptop (yes, it is a very old laptop) - they only edge my laptop has is in mass storage. I'd love to replace my laptop with one of these, save for only one problem - a lack of mapping software.

At least with my current x86 laptop, I can run Delorme's mapping software under Wine. However, since the Nokia device is NOT x86 that option is not open.

Yes, I *could* use Google Maps. Except that would require me having a live Internet connection while moving down the highway, and except that Google maps does not do multiple point routes very well, and Google maps does not update very quickly, and....

Nokia is a big enough company they could go to one of the map software companies and negotiate for a license to port the software to this device - that, and a Bluetooth GPS and that would settle it for me.

For you early adopters who are going to be interviewed by Nokia - could you put a word in for this feature?

(before you suggest just buying a GPS with mapping built in - most of those run US$700 or more. They are not a multi-function device, and they STILL suck at computing a route).

I'd like to see Cahokia push *somebody* into making a trip planning/mapping client for this. Yes, *if* you have WiFi or a phone with GPRS|EDGE, you could use Google Maps.

If.

You.

Like.

To.

Wait.

But a local mapping client on this would be great. Granted, I somehow doubt that Cahokia could get Streets and Trips or Street Atlas, but if they partnered with Rand McNally or somebody like that they could get a 1G flash drive with the map data on it.

DeLorme
Two DeLorme Drive
P.O. Box 298
Yarmouth, ME 04096
USA

DeLorme
Two DeLorme Drive
P.O. Box 298
Yarmouth, ME 04096
USA

Yes, you can buy a GPS unit that can plug into a USB port. The newer models out are powered directly from the USB port.

As for how to extract the data from a USB GPS unit, that will depend on the vendor. I personally only know how to extract data via a serial port. I would recommend you try the Earthmate GPS from DeLorme. You can download an update to their software online that will emulate a COM port. Then you can just use VB to query the GPS. Use the NMEA 0183 V2.0 standard, here is a FAQ to get you started.

Hope that helps you!

Yes, you can buy a GPS unit that can plug into a USB port. The newer models out are powered directly from the USB port.

As for how to extract the data from a USB GPS unit, that will depend on the vendor. I personally only know how to extract data via a serial port. I would recommend you try the Earthmate GPS from DeLorme. You can download an update to their software online that will emulate a COM port. Then you can just use VB to query the GPS. Use the NMEA 0183 V2.0 standard, here is a FAQ to get you started.

Hope that helps you!

I'd just like to see *somebody*, anybody, release a decent trip planning package for Linux.

I used to hold out hope for Delorme, but since they discontinued support for Mac and went pure Windows I've given that up. There was a glimmer of a chance for change, but that was dashed upon the rocks of /. apathy.

Your best (free) bet is probably TIGER data in either its original form or in shapefile form, updated and corrected locally.

TIGER is made from USGS DLG or DRG files, combined with some updating done by the US Census Bureau. Since the census is only done periodically, the TIGER data gets out of date.

Some organizations take TIGER data and update it and resell it in various forms. One of these is NAVTEQ, who has people out on the road constantly driving around and updating their maps. As a result, this information tends to be rather expensive, but pretty high quality. Other companies in the same business are DeLorme and UnderTow (formerly Chicago Mapping, I believe). I think UnderTow's Precision Mapping product has pretty decent licensing terms, last I looked at it (several years ago). Much better than DeLorme.

If you want to get your own imagery and work from that, there are several good free sources:

University of Maryland's GLCF site serves up 30m color imagery and 15m monochrome imagery for most of the world. To make the color imagery useful, you'll want to take a look at Scott Cherba's Tutorial using Photoshop or Terrainmap's tutorial using PaintShop Pro. One of the software companies I've founded makes an inexpensive utility called PixelSense (Windows, $49) to do this process automatically.

The United States Department of Agriculture Lighthouse Server serves up a variety of data including free 1m monochrome mosaics of virtually every county in the US. These are large files, and come in MrSID format, for which you'll need to download a Viewer (time-limited trial version) that can save out the portions you want. The nice thing about this is that they are mosaiced and brightness-balanced, whereas if you just go buy/download a bunch of DOQQs elsewhere, they may not match well at the edges of each file.

Finally, in urban areas, you may be able to take advantage of the USGS Urban Areas High-Resolution Orthoimagery available for some cities from the USGS Seamless Server. This data is fantastic, 1ft resolution color airphotos. You can see cars and individual people. It's very recent, having been aquired after 2001 for national disaster planning and response purposes.

Good luck. I'd be happy to answer questions you might have privately, as a lot of my customers do cartography.

Very definitely yes - the folks you are looking for are Delorme, from my hometown of Yarmouth Maine. Their Topo USA software does precisely that - I have the software with the database files for New England, and it works very well. It's great for planning camping/hiking trips. Here's a link to the software itself. It's fairly expensive ($100), but you get high detail maps of the entire US in the bargain, so it's worth it.

Very definitely yes - the folks you are looking for are Delorme, from my hometown of Yarmouth Maine. Their Topo USA software does precisely that - I have the software with the database files for New England, and it works very well. It's great for planning camping/hiking trips. Here's a link to the software itself. It's fairly expensive ($100), but you get high detail maps of the entire US in the bargain, so it's worth it.

Can't speak to the push-pin thing, though... haven't checked its accuracy.

I've bought every version of Delorme's Street Atlas since version 4. The interface has always worked extremely well for me and the directions are top-notch. Plus, it integrates directly with my Garmin GPS. The only downside is that it doesn't run well under WINE, so I have to boot to Windows to use it. :-(

Yes, as a matter of fact, most Good map data IS proprietary

Maine also has the world's largest Revolving/Rotating Globe, 41 feet in diameter, at the DeLorme map company office. They make the state atlases that are based on topo maps (good for camping and stuff).

Man, they really wussied out on the sun. It's just a two-dimensional arch. I want to see a fifty-foot ball of fire, godammit!

Strangely enough, the world's largest rotating globe is also in Maine. It is far more impressive.

I just recently purchased the Samsung SPH-i330 smart phone, and I have been very happy with it. It runs PalmOS 3.5.3 with 16mb of RAM. It has a virtual silkscreen, so you can do fun stuff similar to what you can do with a HandERA such as having a full keyboard (SilkyBoard). The only draw back to it is that it doesn't have an expansion slot. I did purchase the data cable and hooked it up with my Delorme Earthmate GPS and XMap® Handheld Street Atlas USA® Edition. It works quite nicely like this.

I just recently purchased the Samsung SPH-i330 smart phone, and I have been very happy with it. It runs PalmOS 3.5.3 with 16mb of RAM. It has a virtual silkscreen, so you can do fun stuff similar to what you can do with a HandERA such as having a full keyboard (SilkyBoard). The only draw back to it is that it doesn't have an expansion slot. I did purchase the data cable and hooked it up with my Delorme Earthmate GPS and XMap® Handheld Street Atlas USA® Edition. It works quite nicely like this.

I just recently purchased the Samsung SPH-i330 smart phone, and I have been very happy with it. It runs PalmOS 3.5.3 with 16mb of RAM. It has a virtual silkscreen, so you can do fun stuff similar to what you can do with a HandERA such as having a full keyboard (SilkyBoard). The only draw back to it is that it doesn't have an expansion slot. I did purchase the data cable and hooked it up with my Delorme Earthmate GPS and XMap® Handheld Street Atlas USA® Edition. It works quite nicely like this.

It also has routing capabilities (ie; MapQuest directions) and will route on both the PC and the PDA. Also, with this configuration I am not limited by the PDA's low battery capacity and only go to it when I need to look at the map (ie; I set up waypoints in advance in the GPS). I do a lot of outdoor activities mtn bike/camp etc; and this scenario, although not as elegant as an all-in-one, works for what I need it for.

Has anyone ever thought of the security implications of allowing someone to have silent access to the rest of the world on an airplane? Let's set up the scenario: Some nutbag with a portable GPS device on his laptop is able to provide real-time coordinates to someone on the ground via AOL Instant messenger or some other chat program. With the elevated threat of surface to air shoulder-mounted rockets on the news lately, isn't this giving terrorists a new way to track planes? Call me paranoid, but as cool as it would be to be able to get an IRC fix at 40,000 feet, I just don't think its a very wise idea in these troubled times.

Holy geezus fuck, at $2k you'd do better building your own navigation system based on a mini-PC, a touch screen LCD, and DeLorme's Street Atlas USA software. And you can plug in a webcam, and store and play mp3s.

And let's face it, the Jeep Grand Cherokee is an original, and therefore real, SUV. Almost everything else is for yuppy wankers and soccor moms. And Acura? Does it come with VTEC stickers and irrelevent Chinese glyphs?

• http://www.nikontechusa.com/Nikontechnicalnote9.ht m

• http://www.nikontechusa.com/Nikontechnicalnote9.ht m

Actually, this is what I'm looking for on a small device. I can get lost in a city without the help of a map very efficiently (have many witnesses), but getting truly lost requires putting full trust in a GPS and Topo maps.

The day I can install Delorme map tools on a PDA I might reconsider, but, that's for my personal preference.

Like this?

Solus Pro has been around for a while. If you have the Palm VII (the wireless one), you can download maps and routes to your handheld as you need them.

Yeah, trying to do mapping stuff on a palm-sized screen sucks, but I thought I would point out that it exists, and with GPS support at that.

All you'd need to do is get your Amateur Radio License. It's much easier than you might think.

Then, look at this device from Kenwood. It's a neat little package that includes a camera, the display, and all the computing you need.

Hook this baby up to your radio, have a similar setup on the other end, hook it up to a computer on the net and you're all set!

This is called Slow Scan Television (SSTV).

Another cool thing about this setup.. throw in a cheap GPS reciever and you're ready to do APRS! (report your position, send messages, and lots of other fun stuff)

Good luck

1. Woolaroc, OK.
2. The home of Frank Phillips (of Phillips Petrolium), and a very cool place to visit.
3. The Kansas Cosmosphere, Hutchinson, KS. If you are a /. reader you want to visit. One of the top space mueseums in the world, it has one of the largest collections of Russian space artifacts outside Russia.
4. Big Brutis, West Mineral, KS The second largest earthmover in the US.

As for hotel phone lines: Almost all hotels now have a modem jack on the side of the phone so that you won't blow your modem out. However, lots of hotels also try to screw you when you call an 800 number, so be careful.

Lastly, I suggest you look into some good mapping software. I use Delorme's AAA Map N Go, which runs (sort of ) under Wine (and flawlessly under Windows). Add to it their cheap GPS receiver, and you will make your travels a lot nicer.