2008 Woodie Awards
Global Positioning System
Friend or Foe
by Tim Suda
Issue date: 2/11/08 Section: Connections
Maps and compasses are nearly useless in today's MapQuest and GPS generation. Or at least that's what stores and manufacturers want you to think. GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System. In other words, these things are supposed to know where you are in relation to everything else.
The original idea for GPS devices was extremely intelligent. "Its like an electronic map in your pocket," some GPS device manufacturers exclaimed in their advertisements. These devices worked fairly well for a long time, helping many people get from point A to point B. Then, like most technology, it got fancy.
Soon after the initial boom of sales, one could see GPS devices built into cars, handheld computers, toasters; well not toasters yet. They were built so that you didn't have to carry around one of the devices in your pocket. Voices came next so they were hands-free and you could have someone telling you the directions, much like a navigator would have on a ship from the 15th century. Then these devices got even fancier: you could locate businesses.
For instance, on some of the newer models, you can look up the nearest McDonalds and get directions to it. Or if you have a desire for a Starbucks coffee, you can tell these things to find the nearest one.
In fact, this situation happened to the Navigator staff on the return trip from a recent awards banquet. We wanted coffee so Gloria, what we named the GPS device, told us it was four miles away. But then we had to turn, and turn again, and again. Not one of the eight people in the van knew where we were. I think that we later figured out we were in McDonough. The GPS unit knew where to go, our location just happened to be 20 miles on back roads through many turns.
The whole fiasco of trying to find the Starbucks was nerve racking just because it seemed at the time that Gloria, our GPS unit, had about as much clue where we were going as we did. But sometimes people aren't so lucky with these devices.
Alumna Rachel Viers was on her way to a new job in Atlanta so she imputed the address into her GPS device. A simple task that would make her life slightly less hectic for the drive to her interview. An hour later she realized that she was on the wrong side of town.
'I ended up by the airport and was an hour late to work," says Viers. "It made me realize how impotant it is to type in the exact address."
Does this mean that all of these GPS units will not work properly? No. It just means that people need to be aware, and that having a map handy in the car may not be a bad thing. Just because you can buy a map that vocalizes directions, doesn't mean that it will be a good navigator.
The original idea for GPS devices was extremely intelligent. "Its like an electronic map in your pocket," some GPS device manufacturers exclaimed in their advertisements. These devices worked fairly well for a long time, helping many people get from point A to point B. Then, like most technology, it got fancy.
Soon after the initial boom of sales, one could see GPS devices built into cars, handheld computers, toasters; well not toasters yet. They were built so that you didn't have to carry around one of the devices in your pocket. Voices came next so they were hands-free and you could have someone telling you the directions, much like a navigator would have on a ship from the 15th century. Then these devices got even fancier: you could locate businesses.
For instance, on some of the newer models, you can look up the nearest McDonalds and get directions to it. Or if you have a desire for a Starbucks coffee, you can tell these things to find the nearest one.
In fact, this situation happened to the Navigator staff on the return trip from a recent awards banquet. We wanted coffee so Gloria, what we named the GPS device, told us it was four miles away. But then we had to turn, and turn again, and again. Not one of the eight people in the van knew where we were. I think that we later figured out we were in McDonough. The GPS unit knew where to go, our location just happened to be 20 miles on back roads through many turns.
The whole fiasco of trying to find the Starbucks was nerve racking just because it seemed at the time that Gloria, our GPS unit, had about as much clue where we were going as we did. But sometimes people aren't so lucky with these devices.
Alumna Rachel Viers was on her way to a new job in Atlanta so she imputed the address into her GPS device. A simple task that would make her life slightly less hectic for the drive to her interview. An hour later she realized that she was on the wrong side of town.
'I ended up by the airport and was an hour late to work," says Viers. "It made me realize how impotant it is to type in the exact address."
Does this mean that all of these GPS units will not work properly? No. It just means that people need to be aware, and that having a map handy in the car may not be a bad thing. Just because you can buy a map that vocalizes directions, doesn't mean that it will be a good navigator.
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