Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Coming Soon, to a Handheld Near You!
According to an article on NetWorkWorld.com, SkyHook Wireless has released XPS 2.0, the latest version of it's positioning firmware (the previous version can be found on, for example, the iPhone). XPS is an attempt to bridge the speed of WPS, in which a device uses the location of Wi-Fi access points to get a rapid position fix, and GPS, in which a device uses satellite data to get a very precise position fix.
XPS uses data from both to achieve both speed and accuracy, as well as (when necessary) cellular network data. Version 2.0 is supposed to have several improvements in the vein of it-does-the-same-thing-only-better, changes to the algorithm and what not.
GPS and it's derivatives still aren't perfect: there are lots of areas that lack coverage, satellite communication can be slow, and it's often a battery hog. But perfection is a goal, "usable" is what you actually sell, and it's not like cellphones never drop calls or work in the Antarctic. The technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous, especially in handhelds. To quote the article directly: "GPS is very precise, and a rash of specialized location products increasingly smarter versions of it." And while that isn't, technically, a sentence, it is a harbinger of what's heading our way. More and more, portable computers are replacing cellphones. More and more, these are coming with sophisticated GPS built-in.
What does this say about our culture? Well, we'll never get lost on the way to the supermarket again, not so long as the phone has battery. Alas, that it cannot also tell us which aisle has the hot-dog buns! I do worry sometimes about becoming over-dependent on such tools for simple things. I knew someone who, when asked what 10% of 300 was, punched a flurry of keys into her graphing calculator before responding emphatically that the answer was "30" (it is--but you shouldn't need the help for simple math like that). Will it be the same for GPS--will it result in an underdeveloped sense of direction? Will we be able to navigate if we go out into the wild--like people used to do in all those SUV commercials? Assuming there's no coverage out there.
I jest--there's coverage everywhere (right?). And as with all things, you can curse the changes or you can accept them, and I choose to say "thank you, Skyhook". The next time someone tells me to "Get lost," I can tell them that it's not very likely to happen.
FoxTrax GPS Fleet Tracking
Clever solutions for vehicle tracking
www.FoxTraxGPS.com
XPS uses data from both to achieve both speed and accuracy, as well as (when necessary) cellular network data. Version 2.0 is supposed to have several improvements in the vein of it-does-the-same-thing-only-better, changes to the algorithm and what not.
GPS and it's derivatives still aren't perfect: there are lots of areas that lack coverage, satellite communication can be slow, and it's often a battery hog. But perfection is a goal, "usable" is what you actually sell, and it's not like cellphones never drop calls or work in the Antarctic. The technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous, especially in handhelds. To quote the article directly: "GPS is very precise, and a rash of specialized location products increasingly smarter versions of it." And while that isn't, technically, a sentence, it is a harbinger of what's heading our way. More and more, portable computers are replacing cellphones. More and more, these are coming with sophisticated GPS built-in.
What does this say about our culture? Well, we'll never get lost on the way to the supermarket again, not so long as the phone has battery. Alas, that it cannot also tell us which aisle has the hot-dog buns! I do worry sometimes about becoming over-dependent on such tools for simple things. I knew someone who, when asked what 10% of 300 was, punched a flurry of keys into her graphing calculator before responding emphatically that the answer was "30" (it is--but you shouldn't need the help for simple math like that). Will it be the same for GPS--will it result in an underdeveloped sense of direction? Will we be able to navigate if we go out into the wild--like people used to do in all those SUV commercials? Assuming there's no coverage out there.
I jest--there's coverage everywhere (right?). And as with all things, you can curse the changes or you can accept them, and I choose to say "thank you, Skyhook". The next time someone tells me to "Get lost," I can tell them that it's not very likely to happen.
FoxTrax GPS Fleet Tracking
Clever solutions for vehicle tracking
www.FoxTraxGPS.com
Labels: GPS, technology
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