GPS Map Viewer for PSP Released

DCEmu writes "Deniska has released a GPS Map Viewer for the PSP. The program uses imagery from Google Maps, which currently has pretty good coverage of North America, Western Europe, Australia, Japan. There's also a video on YouTube." According to the post, map data can be retrieved via WiFi or an external GPS receiver. This story selected and edited by LinuxWorld editor for the day Saied Pinto.

Comments

Now, you see

[FireballX301]

This is why I like the PSP platform - versatility.

None of the games that came out for it are worth their cost and the cost of upgrading my 1.5 firmware. No thanks, I like being able to do awesome stuff like this on a high res handheld. Music, video, emulation, and all the homebrew you can ever imagine.

Now, Sony, if you pulled your face out of your ass and stopped trying to screw the homebrew community over, maybe the PSP could have sold more units.

Re:Now, you see

[Abcd1234]

Now, Sony, if you pulled your face out of your ass and stopped trying to screw the homebrew community over, maybe the PSP could have sold more units.

So people can buy what is ostensibly a portable video game device that (as you point out) has no decent video games, leaving them to settle for hobbyist software? Oddly, I really doubt that's going to convince your average consumer to drop the dough for one of these things...

Re:GPS reciver?

[FireballX301]

Quoted:

- GPS support: ability to read and interpret NMEA sentences from a GPS receiver communicating through PSP's serial port. Rather simple DYI hook up with GPSlim 236 receiver from Holux is explained in following thread: http://www.dcemu.co.uk/vbulletin/showthread.php?t= 30035

RTFA.

Re:GPS reciver?

[FireballX301]

The map data is downloaded onto the PSP through its USB port, like anything else.

Why a GPS enabled PSP?

[crazyjeremy]

Aww, yes... for that large "handheld gaming/gps self-positioning" demographic. Glad that group is good with serial ports, cause they're going to need to fall back on that to get active GPS data to the device.

Re:Why a GPS enabled PSP?

[Abcd1234]

Aww, yes... for that large "handheld gaming/gps self-positioning" demographic.

It is an excellent demonstration of how confused I think people are regarding what, precisely, the PSP is intended to be. Is it a video game device? A movie player? A music player? Honestly, I don't know! The movies are crazy expensive, so it's not terribly good for that. As a music player, it's mediocre at best. And we've heard time and again how lack-lustre the game lineup is. So... what is this thing? Frankly, I doubt even Sony really knows the answer to that question...

Re:Why a GPS enabled PSP?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't care what Sony or anyone else for that matter thinks it is. The kids and I share it. We use it to play official games, browse the internet from the national Linksys network or I use my iPass or Tmobile wifi credentials supplied by my employer, watch movies and shows that I convert to its native format (automated tools make that conversion easy), listen to music, and for a temporary file carrier (well, that is really only a function of the memory card). I was doing home brew for a while but since I do play official games, I updated the firmware. I assume by the time the home brew scene gets my interest again, tools will be available to use $current_firmware or allow easier switching between various firmwares (some tools are already out for this and I've been out of the scene for a while).
The lack of keyboard makes the internet a little different but more often then not, I use the PSP more for browsing then my Blackberry or my cell phone.

I agree with the others though, if Sony opened the freaking thing up, it would be much better. If you don't play the official PSP games, various Palm devices would seem like a more logical choice.

Re:GPS reciver?

[DruidFyr]

The summary does not have it quite right...

Wifi is used to get map graphics from google (cached on memory stick)
The article notes there is a script to "preload" maps for a given area.

The GPS is used for position data to show where you are on the maps.

Two different functions. Hope this clears up your confusion. %-)

I know exactly where we are!

[ackthpt]

We're halfway between a bunch of mushrooms with a plumber jumping around on them and a checkered landscape full of gold rings a hedgehog is running around trying to collect.

Well, maybe some kids will take a break from playing games to do some GeoCaching.

RTFA or shup up, go away, get help

[maggard]

I have not RTFA

Then why are you posting?

Are you one of those obnoxious kids who couldn't wait for the teacher to finish saying something before yelling out what you thought would be the answer?

Are you still so socially stunted?

Have you considered medication to help control this compulsion? Some sort of course in effective communication? Learning to sit on your hands?

Seriously, shut up. Go away. You're not contributing signal, you're noise.

Is this a troll? No, it's communicating to the too-quick-to-post asshats to actually skim (at least!) the damn article so they don't continually burp up inanities. It might be off-topic, but then anything that begins with "I have not RTFA" was pretty much assured to be that to begin with...

Re:RTFA or shup up, go away, get help

[maggard]

How many people reply on the Slashdot forums and don't read the articles but just want to talk and interact?

Yes dear, they're called "boors": Folks who can't be bothered to make the least effort to inform themselves before imposing on others to do so for them.

They're self-indulgant parasites, taking up space but contributing little of value, indeed actively degrading the quality of conversation. They're why moderation systems are now so popular, and why unmoderated environments like usenet are now largely wastelands.

"Talk & interact" is an admirable, if limited, goal for a child's playgroup.

However adults have a higher expectation for interaction, it is called "conversation", and to engage in such one must have a clue as to what one is talking about. To excuse posters from this minimal level of competence, to indulge their social dysfunction, neither benefits the community or those unable to meet this requirement.

Instead setting expectations, giving public feedback, both provides incentive towards socially sucessful interaction and dissuades antisocial "I want to make noise" masturbation. Hopefully Atlantis-Rising and others who are disinclined to RTFA but insist on posting inanities will learn from this and adopt age-appropriate communication strategies.

Or perhaps this will be the wake-up-call they need to look into medication to control a disorder, develop better skills, simply learn when to not speak unless they have something useful to say.

Re:RTFA or shup up, go away, get help

[IANAAC]

"Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people"

- Elenor Roosevelt, among others.

Why from the GTA-without-guns dept?

[BeardsmoreA]

No guns? It said North America support didn't it?

But is it LEGAL though?

[Anonymous Coward]

Posting anon on this one..

Going by Google's TOS.. uses of google imagery/maps like this are a huge no-no in their books. Funny thing though, there are a lot of sites out there that use GE imagery in a TOS breaking way.

Wonder what will happen when Google finnaly decides it has to put it's foot down globally and stop the "It is ok for you, but NOT ok for you" game.