Showing posts with label GPS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GPS. Show all posts

Friday, November 23, 2007

Dauber's World's Holiday Gift Advice: Get Them Something They Don't Know They Want



Buying presents for people is hard work. You never really know what someone wants, and it could be argued that if they really wanted it they'd have already purchased it for themselves (this doesn't count kids and assumes they have the money of course). The other strategy is to get them something that they would want if only they knew it existed. Of course this is what makes gift-buying so difficult, but if it were easy then where would the "thought" come from?

In doing some field research, Dauber's World has found a gift idea that may appeal to someone on your list (or yourself). It's no Wine Rack of course, but potentially useful. After making it to DC in one piece on Wednesday Dauber's World went running Thursday morning with official brother of Dauber's World. Official Brother is, (much like Dauber's World) a gadget fiend and he unveiled one yesterday that is worth mentioning. A GPS wristwatch from Garmin. Before mentioning the highlights it's worth mentioning that it's pricey ($199.99 -- though Official Brother says he got it for $150 at Wal-Mart). It's also big and it takes a while to acquire the satellites if you moved a significant distance from the previous time you used it.

The single best highlight of this watch is that it tells you exactly how far you went running and what your pace is. There's also another model (more expensive of course) that also adds heartbeat monitoring. Dauber's World found in his experience as a runner that's there's always the question of how far did you just go running? Everyone has their ways of guessing, but this watch lets you be precise. It also has a feature that lets you download where you ran to your computer and mapping it on Google Earth (which would be cool if you just ran in the Grand Canyon). Of course, after running with this for a half an hour Dauber's World determined that the cure is worse than the proverbial disease. It's just too bulky and expensive for Dauber's World, but maybe it's worth it for you.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Who Are You Who is So Wise in The Ways of Science?

Many of you who know Yours Truly are aware of an impending study that will truly test the limits of modern science. I am not merely a blogger who lives life on the sidelines. In less than 48 hours I will begin a real-life test of one the purported greatest technologies ever promised to mankind (a brief aside: what is "mankind"? To understand it you first must look at the words that make it up: "mank" and "ind". What do these words mean? It's a mystery and so is "mankind").

Anyways, I will kick this momentous test off very soon and I will be providing regular updates so that you the (hopefully) loyal reader can make your determination for yourself and not rely merely on my opinion.

I don't want you coming away from this reading without any useful information, so I offer you this new technology nugget: Google Maps for the BlackBerry now has the ability to link to the GPS in the 8800! I noticed the link on my Google Homepage today on my 8800 and downloaded it immediately. All you do is press "zero" and it finds you and places a blinking blue dot where you are. I know it will "follow" you just like a normal GPS, but I'm not sure if it dynamically updates directions that it gives you. I'm sure if it doesn't it will soon. The irony here of course is that the BB8800 comes with a SW package (TelNAV) that you can pay $15 a month for that does the same exact thing. Man I'd hate to compete with Google. I haven't tried it for VZ's version of the 8800 (the "World Phone" which is a funny thing to call it since all of Cingular's phones are "World Phones"), but I assume it works on their phone too.

The TelNAV vs. Google discussion reminds me of a great George Carlin bit I saw once about prostitution:
Selling is legal
F*cking is legal
Why isn't selling f*cking legal?
Why is it ILLEGAL to sell something, but perfectly legal to give it away for free?