Wireless all- In-One for Dummies- P16

Wireless all- In-One for Dummies- P16:I still remember when I got my first cordless phone. Suddenly, I didn’thave to run to the kitchen when the phone rang, I just carried the phonewith me. I could make a phone call from wherever I was. Wireless meantfreedom, and this is just a phone that I’m talking about!
Nội dung trích xuất từ tài liệu:
Wireless all- In-One for Dummies- P16 Making a Connection with Your PC 429 GPS mapping programs for laptop PCs generally offer the option to print out both ordinary maps and those that show your selected route. These printed copies can serve as an excellent backup for your GPS unit and save you a trip to the auto club office.Making a Connection with Your PC There are quite a few reasons why I think you’ll find that having a connec- tion between your GPS receiver and your PC awfully handy. Examine a few of them. Upgrading software and maps As I mentioned in the previous section, once you move beyond the most basic portable GPS receivers, you quickly get into units that display maps rather than simply numbers to indicate your position. You may have noticed, however, that maps have a certain amount of obsolescence built in. For some reason people want to build new roads, change the course of old ones, or even just rename existing roads. That’s one reason many GPS receivers offer the option to connect to your PC — so you can update the maps in the GPS receiver. Downloading your life’s movements Virtually all GPS units can store some record of where they’ve been. By downloading this tracking information to your PC, you can map out the route you took in getting somewhere. Here are some possible uses for this type of information: ✦ Imagine how useful it would be to be able to print out maps of the trail to some hidden but beautiful picnic spot so that you could share those maps with your friends. ✦ If you have a consulting business where you must visit your client’s loca- Book VIII tions, you could use your GPS track to justify the travel expenses you Chapter 1 bill to the customers or that you claim on your tax returns. Getting Uncle Sam ✦ Because the GPS track also includes information about the speed of travel, you might try to beat an unwarranted speeding ticket by convincing a to Ante Up judge that the GPS track is an accurate representation of how you were driving. I don’t think I’d bet on that working, but you’re welcome to try. (Just don’t blame me if the judge throws the book at you — remember, I’m not offering anything resembling legal advice here.) ✦ You could put your GPS receiver in your car before you let your teen- ager drive to the library and remind him or her that the unit tracks both speed and location. Who knows? It might just make your kid drive a bit more carefully.430 Making a Connection with Your PC Using your GPS with your laptop Don’t you just love it when you can get the best of both worlds out of a product? Well, when it comes to GPS, it’s entirely possible for you to do so. There’s no reason why you can’t buy a small, portable GPS receiver that’s perfect for taking on hikes and then connect that same GPS receiver to your laptop PC to use with the far more comprehensive PC-based GPS mapping software for trip navigation in your vehicle. Sure, you probably have to buy a portable GPS receiver that’s slightly above the bottom of the line, but virtually any of the portable units that include a PC connection cable as standard equipment can likely do the job. (You can check the PC-based GPS mapping software manufacturer’s Web site to verify if a particular portable GPS unit is considered compatible.) GPS receivers work the best in vehicles when the receiver has a clear view of the sky. The optimal location in most cars is at the front of the dashboard as close to the windshield as possible. A small piece of rubberized drawer liner (like you find in the housewares section at your local store) goes a long way toward preventing the GPS receiver from sliding around as you drive. Chapter 2: Finding Your Way in the World In This Chapter ✓ Taking a quick mapping course ✓ Coordinating your coordinates ✓ Deciphering a GPS display ✓ Understanding waypoints I n the preceding chapter, I give you an overview of the global positioning system (GPS). Hopefully, that chapter gives you a good understanding of what GPS is, how you can use it, and how to pick a GPS receiver. It also shows you a number of different options to fit different circumstances so you also realize that GPS isn’t something just for a few dedicated hobbyists. Now I’m going to take you to the next step, which is understanding how to read a GPS display. Most importantly, I give you a quick lesson in longitude, latitude, and related mapping terms so you know what your GPS receiver is telling you. You probably learned most of this in school, but if you’re like me, you slept through most of it. Still, while this information is interesting, it’s more important to understand your GPS receiver so you can figure out how to get found when you’ve become lost. After all, it’s unlikely a latitude and longitude reading will help much when you’re lost in the middle of, say, the Adirondack National Park without any idea of how you got to wherever it is you are.Giving Some Latitude to Your Longitude Maybe you remember latitude and longitude from geography class, maybe you don’t. It’s an international way to indicate your location in the world. I don’t think i ...