GPS Tracks

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 05 May 2007, 14:35

Drove past the Parly today with Nokia Sports Tracker running on my phone - you can see the difference between driving (smooth line) and walking (wobbly line) :

not much press, just that wee guy off the thingy channel :

Bob Jefferson · Post by **Bob Jefferson** » 05 May 2007, 16:23

Dadaist wrote:Drove past the Parly today with Nokia Sports Tracker running on my phone - you can see the difference between driving (smooth line) and walking (wobbly line) :

I want one of those. How does it work, how much does it cost and what range does it work over? Could I go out for a walk in the Pentlands and then map where I had been?

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 05 May 2007, 16:52

I'll give you the full gen - you can have a loan of it if you want, I'm that evangelical about it.

It's a Nokia N95 :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nokia_N95

Most of the big shops will have it now, but it's a new phone so they want a premium.

If you want the handset free, you're going to have to sign up for an 18-month contract.

Different shops will have different deals, but be warned - progressive pricing for data is in its infancy and there are still places which want to charge you so many £ per megabyte of data - which for a 3.5G phone means lunatic costs if you dare download anything!

The best deal I found was T-Mobile who offer 1 GB of data a month for £7.50 (it's called "Web 'n' Walk")

T-Mobile aren't the best for voice coverage. What's inside the phone isn't just for voice calls though :

When you're at home it joins your home wireless network.

The GPS is quite nice. It's a proper unit - that is to say it doesn't rely on any other outside data (wangi might be able to verify this) but it's clever enough to use the web or mobile cell data to find out where it is if it loses sight of enough satellites (again, wangi knows more than me about this!)

I'm sure you'll get a GPS signal in the Pentlands, and much of the rest of the globe.

Nokia Sports Tracker is just one app written for the phone - there will be more which use the raw data in interesting ways. It's free software, and saves a file whenever you tell it you're "training" - in KML, which can be read by another bit of free software called Google Earth.

I've seen nice stuff done by marathon runners who keep all their training data online - you can then browse exactly where they went and when on streetmaps, all online - one minute you're looking at them running near Ocean Terminal then the next map can be a marathon in San Francisco.

As toys go, this one is a knockout.

SoupDragon · Post by **SoupDragon** » 05 May 2007, 17:04

Ooo
Would it mean if you're out "training" and detour into the pub your other half would spot that.
Or could I track the kids whereabouts online?
Big Mother is watching you

magbagpuss · Post by **magbagpuss** » 05 May 2007, 17:33

Reckon I'm going to hope Derek doesn't see this thread or it's going to be OH that would be good for .........

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 05 May 2007, 18:27

i am posting this from the dadaphone. Yes there are loads of things you could do with a gps that records - there is also stuff that means you can see which friends are online and their exact positions in real time !

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 05 May 2007, 19:45

And geocaching! The joy of geocaching

There are three caches buried near here

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 05 May 2007, 20:31

I'd love more spare time to do geocaching. Such a nice way to see places you'd otherwise have no reason to visit!

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 05 May 2007, 20:33

I'd like to be one of the people who leaves caches up mountains and at the bottom of the sea

bearcub · Post by **bearcub** » 05 May 2007, 21:14

I think we should all be issued with one of these after the next talkPorty Parly lunch. "Name the forum member" from their 'attempts' at walking in a straight line.

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 05 May 2007, 21:49

We could help guide them home

bearcub · Post by **bearcub** » 05 May 2007, 22:29

rapunzell wrote:We could help guide them home

Left a bit - right a bit - left a bit - get up off the pavement and start again....

rapunzell · Post by **rapunzell** » 05 May 2007, 22:41

and we'll know if you take a wee rest in the Forresters!

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 07 Jun 2007, 17:52

went to Loch Lomond today :

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/surrealist303/534770901/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1045/534 ... 0e9b98.jpg" width="500" height="437" alt="rowardennan1"></a>

toilet stop :

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/surrealist303/534770599/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1046/534 ... 6a6f6e.jpg" width="500" height="437" alt="going to the toilet at balmaha"></a>

driving past the airport :

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/surrealist303/534770807/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1119/534 ... 279076.jpg" width="500" height="437" alt="past the airport"></a>

SoupDragon · Post by **SoupDragon** » 08 Jun 2007, 22:57

You do like your gadgets, Dadaist
heard about the wireless electricity? Minds me of my auld granny, she firmly held the belief that the electrics would come out the wall and get her.
bbc

Dadaist · Post by **Dadaist** » 09 Jun 2007, 07:54

She would have loved Poltergeist 2 - that bit with the braces.