Date: Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:47:13 -0400
Reply-To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: POI Mega File for S&T Users Driving Westfalias Addemdum
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Here's a counter-opinion, of sorts.<br><br>
At 12:37 PM 3/24/2011, Loren Busch wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">good, very sensitive. BUT,
having tried this some years back I found it<br>
dangerous as hell. That is, if you are a solo driver.
</blockquote><br>
I'd be very interested in your impression of the relative dangers of
using laptop vs dedicated GPS setups solo. My own use of dedicated
ones has been limited to boats.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""> If you have a<br>
co-pilot in the right seat then you should be okay. Frank and Rita
use such<br>
a setup and swear by it. But after trying such a setup I went out
and<br>
acquired a dedicated GPS to mount on the dash and it works much
better.</blockquote><br>
Huge advantage of laptop software is context/flexibility. The tiny
screen on a dedicated unit really can't give much. With the larger
screen you can either see a lot more territory or you can see it MUCH
BIGGER so you can take in the information at a glance. With a
14" laptop all you need to mount it is a strip of nylon tent-cloth
through the defroster vents on the dash, brought around the case hinge
and tied in a bow on the left. Length is adjusted so the display
opens fully, aimed toward driver, and the keyboard is at arms
reach. You can instantly close the display, the thin cloth strip
doesn't interfere.<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">A couple of cautions, based on
my experience, about laptop mapping<br>
software. First, avoid the the Delorme setup. I found the
software, Street<br>
Atlas, to have the worst interface you could imagine, totally user
opaque.<br>
Get Streets & Trips. But get the latest version, 2010 or
later. They made<br>
major improvements in the 2010 version (I understand that 2011 is out
now</blockquote><br>
I only have experience with Streets and Trips of 2009 and prior, and in
addition to user-interface issues it had a bug that required period
reboots on long trips as it would start eating 100% CPU after a certain
time running. My brother, who runs it, could supply details of
that. One niggling sore point that stuck out was that it had no
convenient way to discover the GPS satellite status. Another was
night-time displays.<br><br>
I use the DeLorme software starting with the 2008 version. There
were some noticeable improvements in either '09 or '10, but '11 seems to
be mostly updated data *and they took away handheld devices* while adding
a "netbook" condensed display mode. I completely agree
with Loren that the user interface does not follow Windows conventions
and can be a real stinker until you get used to it. Sometimes after
you think you're used to it. However, for on-the-road use it has a
powerful set of keyboard commands with an easily-printable reference card
(or you can keep it blown-up large size in a browser window) and an
extremely powerful and fairly intuitive voice-command system. It is
these that IMO makes it tolerably safe to use underway. You'll want
a headset mic, of course, or a directional in the overhead might
work. I'll list the voice commands at the bottom, not formatted
very well. Continuing, it can toggle between an overhead view and a
pseudo-3d view (lots of overhead if you also have it rotating the map in
real time). It has a decent high-contrast color scheme for night
use. It will automatically magnify the display up to 2x if you
choose whenever you start GPS tracking. GPS updates once a
second. In addition to the track log, with which you can re-run
your route later, it will at your option display a "breadcrumb
trail" of your last hour or so.<br><br>
Between the two my brother prefers the Microsoft but there are things
about it he hates, and he's never used DeLorme voice commands. He
*has* done large-scale round-country trip planning.<br><br>
I've used his Microsoft in on the road mode, and then my own copies of
DeLorme for much less elaborate route planning and on the road use; and I
greatly prefer it. I have not been impressed by its built-in POI
database; however it has an on-the-fly sweeping search that can come in
handy. GPS radar they call it, or summat. I need to read up
on its options a little more to get best use out of it; it can
auto-generate routes to things it finds, for example.<br><br>
Here are a few of the keyboard commands: <br><br>
Alt-R toggles auto-rotate<br>
Alt-P toggles auto-center<br>
Alt-C recalculates the route according to the current set of prefs<br>
Alt-B toggles auto back-on-track, i.e. on the fly recalculating the route
as soon as you leave it and continuing to recalculate until you
rejoin.<br>
Alt-Z toggles auto-zoom<br>
Ctrl-H toggles display colors<br>
F2 toggles voice nav, i.e. voice output of turn instructions.<br>
F3 toggles the microphone for voice commands.<br>
Alt-M or F12 - puts cursor focus on map<br>
Shift-F10 or right-click - opens context menu.<br>
Page up or mouse wheel forward - zoom in<br>
Page down or mouse wheel aft - zoom out<br>
Ctrl-Up - increase size of bottom tabs (GPS, route, info, find etc) once
for each press.<br>
Ctrl-Down - decrease size of bottom tabs ditto.<br>
F10 - open GPS status tab (speed, altitude, lat/lon, heading, fix status
none/2d/3d)<br><br>
<br><br>
Here are the voice commands for the 2011 version; note that several can
be phrased in two or three different ways to get the same result. I
have chosen to require that all voice commands be prefaced with
"pilot" - you can use a word of your choice, or none. I
started with "George" but it's harder to say. You can
choose for it to acknowledge receiving a command by making a bonking
noise. It uses the Microsoft speech engine for navigation speech
output; I find the "Mary" voice to be the least
pessimal.<br><br>
Ok, voice commands:<br><br>
<b>What is the next turn? (F5)<br><br>
What's the next turn? (F5)<br><br>
Next turn. (F5)<br><br>
</b>Speaks the next turn name, time to turn, distance to turn, bearing to
turn, and turn direction. Displays the Directions subtab in the Route
tab.<br><br>
<b>Show next turn. (F6)<br><br>
</b>Displays current location and next turn. Displays the Directions
subtab in the Route tab. (Turn off auto-center first)<br><br>
<b>Center on next turn.<br><br>
</b>Centers map on the next turn. Displays the Directions subtab in the
Route tab.<br><br>
<b>What is the next stop? <br><br>
What's the next stop?<br><br>
Next stop<br><br>
</b>Speaks the next stop name, distance to stop, bearing to stop, and
time to stop. Displays the Directions subtab in the Route tab.<br><br>
<b>Show next stop. (F7)<br><br>
</b>Displays current location and next stop. Displays the Directions
subtab in the Route tab. (Turn off auto-center first)<br><br>
<b>Center on next stop. <br><br>
</b>Centers map on the next stop. Displays the Directions subtab in the
Route tab. (Turn off auto-center first)<br><br>
<b>After that.<br><br>
</b>Speaks the next stop or turn information, depending on the previous
spoken direction.<br><br>
<b>Are we there yet?<br><br>
</b>Speaks the finish name, time to finish, and distance to
finish.<br><br>
<b>Show finish. (F8)<br><br>
</b>Displays current location and finish on the map. (Turn off
auto-center first)<br><br>
<b>Center on finish.<br><br>
</b>Centers map on the finish. Displays the Directions subtab in the
Route tab. (Turn off auto-center first)<br><br>
<b>Directions.<br><br>
</b>Speaks the next turn, next stop, finish, name, time, and distance.
Displays the Directions subtab in the Route tab.<br><br>
<b>Where am I?<br><br>
</b>Speaks current route segment, heading, speed, town, county, and
state.<br><br>
<b>Coordinates.<br><br>
</b>Speaks the coordinate of your current location.<br><br>
<b>Shush.<br><br>
</b>Silences GPS <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> navigation, but does
not turn it off.<br><br>
<b>Be quiet.<br><br>
</b>Silences GPS <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> navigation, but does
not turn it off.<br><br>
<b>nav on. (F2)<br><br>
</b>Turns <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> navigation (spoken turn
directions) on.<br><br>
<b>nav off. (F2)<br><br>
</b>Turns <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> navigation (spoken turn
directions) off.<br><br>
<b>Show route. <br><br>
</b>Displays your route on the map.<br><br>
<b>Back on track.<br><br>
</b>Adds current GPS location as a stop and recalculates the route.
(I find this "add a stop" behavior irritating as it messes up
the route for later use)<br><br>
<b>Continue route from here. (F9)<br><br>
</b>Adds current location as a stop and recalculates the route.<br><br>
<b>Show turns.<br><br>
</b>Activates the Show Turns dialog area in the Route tab.<br><br>
<b>Show directions.<br><br>
</b>Activates the Directions subtab in the Route tab.<br><br>
<b>Show list.<br><br>
<h3><b><a name="Map commands"></a>Map Commands </b></h3>The following
table shows main map <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> commands. If
there is a keyboard shortcut available, it is listed after the
command.<br><br>
<br>
<b>Pan left. (ALT+Left)<br><br>
</b>Pans (or scrolls) the map left. (Turn off auto-center for all of
these)<br><br>
<b>Scroll left. (ALT+Left)<br><br>
Pan right. (ALT+Right)<br><br>
</b>Pans (or scrolls) the map right.<br><br>
<b>Scroll right. (ALT+Right)<br><br>
Pan up. (ALT+UP)<br><br>
</b>Pans (or scrolls) the map up.<br><br>
<b>Scroll up. (ALT+UP)<br><br>
Pan down. (ALT+DOWN)<br><br>
</b>Pans (or scrolls) the map down.<br><br>
<b>Scroll down. (ALT+DOWN)<br><br>
Zoom in. (ALT+PAGE DOWN)<br><br>
</b>Zooms in one level. (Turn off auto-zoom for all of these)<br><br>
<b>Zoom out. (ALT+PAGE UP)<br><br>
</b>Zooms out one level.<br><br>
<b>Zoom in <#> times.<br><br>
</b>Zooms in the specified number of levels.<br><br>
<b>Zoom out <#> times.<br><br>
</b>Zooms out the specified number of levels.<br><br>
<b>Zoom level <#>. <br><br>
</b>Zooms to specified level.<br><br>
<b>Previous map.<br><br>
</b>Displays the previous map.<br><br>
<b>Go back. <br><br>
<h3><b>GPS Tab Commands </b></h3>The following table shows GPS
<font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> commands. If there is a keyboard
shortcut available, it is listed after the command.<br><br>
<br>
<b>Start GPS. (CTRL+G)<br><br>
</b>Starts GPS tracking.<br><br>
<b>Stop GPS. (CTRL+G)<br><br>
</b>Stops GPS tracking.<br><br>
<b>GPS status. <br><br>
</b>Displays the GPS Status subtab.<br><br>
<b>Monitor GPS.<br>
GPS Monitor.<br><br>
</b>Displays the GPS Monitor subtab.<br><br>
<br>
<b>Center on GPS. (ALT+P)<br><br>
</b>Recenters the map on the current GPS location.<br><br>
<b>Stop centering on GPS. (ALT+P)<br>
Stop center on GPS. (ALT+P)<br><br>
</b>Stops the map from recentering on your current GPS location.<br><br>
<b>Clear GPS.<br><br>
</b>Clears the GPS "bread crumb trail" from the map.<br><br>
<b>Autorotate map on. (ALT+R)<br><br>
</b>Turns automatic map rotation on.<br><br>
<b>Autorotate map off. (ALT+R)<br><br>
</b>Turns automatic map rotation off.<br><br>
<b>Autozoom map on. (ALT+Z)<br><br>
</b>When GPS tracking, turns automatic zoom on.<br><br>
<b>Autozoom map off. (ALT+Z)<br><br>
</b>When GPS tracking, turns automatic zoom off. <br><br>
<h3><font size=4 color="#FFFFFF"><b>Voice</font> Tab Commands
</b></h3>The following table shows <font color="#FFFFFF">Voice</font> tab
<font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font> commands and the response. If there is
a keyboard shortcut available, it is listed after the command.<br><br>
<br>
<b>What can I say?<br><br>
</b>Displays the Monitor dialog box. (In tiny print, forget about reading
it on the road)<br><br>
<b>More commands.<br><br>
</b>Displays next page of <font color="#FFFFFF">voice</font>
commands.<br><br>
<b>Repeat last command. <br><br>
</b>Repeats your last spoken command. (This applies to the whole list
above)<br><br>
Yrs,<br>
d<br>
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