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Tom Tom GO Personal Navigator Source Code Released
Fofer writes "TomTom, makers of personal navigation software for PDA's and cell phones, also have a standalone device called the TomTom GO. Early reviews are excellent, with its sleek design and unique 3-D interface. Unlike other standalone GPS units, this one runs on Linux. It uses an SD card (optionally prefilled with the entire U.S. map) and 11 voices to choose from. More available here for free (in OGG format, no less!). There is also Mac support provided by a 3rd party. The big news is that this week, TomTom finally released the kernel they used, source code, patches, etc. of the device under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This is one sweet looking device and I can't wait to get my hands on one and start tinkering. Hmm... Ogg/MP3 jukebox anyone?"
The . (or the dot). It is a perfect companion to the / (or the slash).
Random Musings
Most, if not all, of their software and maps seem to have been released under the 'Find me on Kazaa' licence ages ago.
AT&ROFLMAO
I know, this may be foreign to the US contingent of the /. crowd, but where is the handheld version?
At least I pretty much never use GPS in a vehicle; even when I want to get to a specific address (not an easy feat in Japan), I would use maps to get to the general area, then get to the actual point (like a geocache or an address) on foot.
Trust the Computer. The Computer is your friend.
I tell you, the /. article summaries are slipping in quality. We've long moved passed RTFA, but pretty soon it will get to the point where even RTFS will be impossible. I suspect that when that occurs all future posts will just be references to M$, Linux, l33tn3ss, pr0n, or SCO.
lots of code for the kernel, modules, busybox etc. but what I want to know is, do we actually get the source code to the application itself?
Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
I'm glad to see OSDN puts some requirements on their slashvertisments now.
..": check.
Related to linux: check.
References to other open source software: check.
Playing with phrases like "cant wait to get my hand on
Posted by anonmyous user without email or homepage: check.
TomTom,
I'd be more excited with a tasty Burger right now - a semi-rare patty with gherkin, mustard and ketchup, dripping juices, toasted buns, ahhh.
My PDA is covered in tasty juices !
I'd rather have a burger than a PDA !
A slashdotting - you get the stick first and then the carrot !
Like oh my god, they already have a totally tubular voice - Zappa, American Valley Girl. so, like gag me with a spoon, why would I ever want anything else?
It had better have that valspeak attitude, too - "take that bitchin' right slider up there". It should, of course, base all directions on local malls (go to the point, then up the boulevard, then to the mulitplex, and then you're almost there) even if that's not the fastest way to go. (it's all about the style!)
HIV Crosses Species Barrier... into Muppets
At first this excited me because I thought "Hey, cool! A small, stand-alone GPS solution that could be mounted in people's cars and not cost a fortune!" But then I saw the $900 suggested retail price. I'm currently using a Garmin Streetpilot in my car, and we paid somewhere around $850 for it, over a year ago. It comes with a surprisingly usable "pillow mount"; (Basically like a black, nylon beanbag with a stalk sticking out of the top, center of it to snap the Garmin unit onto it. You can just plop it down on your dashboard and it stays put. No messy tape or velcro needed.) It also uses SD flash memory with a USB port for attaching to a PC to download new map data into it and do firmware upgrades to the unit itself. The speaker for the voice synthesizer is integrated into the lighter plug adapter, which usually ends up putting it in a better place for the driver to hear it clearly, and can get plenty loud too.
This might be cool if you really do need the GPS to be "hand held", but if you're downloading *street maps* into it, the obviously use I'd see would be for driving with it. Therefore, I think it needs to be priced more like $400-500 at most, so people will considering cutting holes in their dash and installing it to look like original factory equipment....
Free Flat Screen HERE!
I've already got a (Treo 600) smartphone, with an AGPS receiver for E911, a fast (~100Kbps) Internet connection, and PalmOS for which it's easy to write apps. Where's the app that integrates them into my single device that I already take everywhere? I want to add GPS to my contact list, the images I take, my SMS "Where are you?" messages...
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make install -not war
If it already runs under Linux, it might not be too hard for them to port it to a Zaurus. However, with Sharp's limited distribution in the US and Europe, I doubt they'd even try. It's too bad because I be the same app could run without recompiling on OpenZaurus or even an iPAQ running Familiar.
Of course, this isn't the only handheld option. The TomTom folks also have PDA editions for more popular devices.
Signatures are a waste of bandwi (buffering...)
The GPL'ed source code used in TomTom GO falls into three categories:
1. The Linux kernel for ARM, with modifications by TomTom.
2. The GNU C library (glibc), which is used unmodified.
3. BusyBox, which is used unmodified.
So , what exactly is the big deal here ? The used the linux kernel , glibc and busybox . The last two being unmodified , so they don't really count as "released by TomTom" . The modified linux kernel was released because of the gpl , and it was probably a very small price to pay instead of developing their own operating system for the device or buying from some vendor (anybocy has any clue to what where they useing before ?) .
It's not like they've released the source to their software or anything like that . What are you all going to do with the modified kernel ? Make a patch so you can run GNOME on the device ? If so , it's in TomTom's advantage . They're in a win-win situation , don't you see ? Not like it's someting to be ashamed for . But you have to realise that there's no charity involved .
As a side note we've bought their PDA software (all European maps included) for my boss to use in his latest trip . Well , the package has just now arrived to customs , a week too late , and my boss is happily roaming Europe with eMule software on his PDA , haveing no other choice .... No comment !
Yeah. Can't wait to get my hands on one. Of course, the fact that it costs around $800 will probably keep that from happening. While the small form factor is nice, I tend to reserve my 'tinkering' for devices that cost less than a brand new PC.
For all of you that didn't already know, TomTom used to mainly make WindowsCE/PocketPC navigation software. Their PocketPC binaries are available for free from their site somewhere, and that's obviously not where the money is being made. The real money is in the maps, which have heavy serial number protection combined with compulsory online registration.
I don't see why they couldn't release their navigation software for Linux so we can run it on our desktops and Zaurus PDA's, though it would expose the serial number generation sequence, most likely... but with legally bought maps, it should be usable on Linux.
I imagine it wouldn't be too hard to extract the application from the GO and run it on a Sharp Zaurus PDA, though it'd probably not be legal.