TomTom 3 map mode

BoPeep · Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 3:41 pm Post subject:

Thank you, Privateer! Wink

<Moderating this thread very carefully! Mr. Green

Bo Peep.
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R1chard · Regular Visitor Joined: Feb 07, 2004 Posts: 64

My wife is quite pleased that she no longer has to use her (lack of) navigating skills. A while back, when trying to navigate us through France, she pointed to the map and said "I think we should take this blue road". You've guessed it: it was a river!

Richard

MrT · Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 6:39 am Post subject:

It really does save on arguments. I used to get regularly frustrated with instructions such as "you need to turn left" where? "about half a mile back" and "there is a road in front that crosses the motorway and you need to be on that" where there is no junction.

raboyme · Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 9:59 am Post subject:

Well, I don't know, why I like to have the map always pointing towards my destination.... If I travel to south, I like to see the destination on the top of the map, not somewhere down.

I use it like the navigator does, and I turn around the map, depending of my own position. Maybe this is the reason, why I bought and use TomTom, and no more paper maps.....

By the way, I'm sorry about my "not so good" English but I hope all you understand me(hopefully a little).

Roy

mgibbs · Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 10:50 am Post subject:

If you turn the map so that the direction you're travelling is up then right is right and left is left.

Just seems easier to me.

Mark

djohnson · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 12, 2004 Posts: 35

It's good to hear that the next release (after Tom Tom 3) will include road names in Navigator view (I wonder when that will be though). The first thing my Dad said when I demonstrated my new Navigator was, "It's not showing any road names." I later discovered that yes I could switch to Map view but I didn't like the fact that the map doesn't turn around. And also, the screen updates slower.

Actually this brings me onto another question. I wonder why it's not possible to have smoother scolling maps? I'm sure this would be a question of using some clever JAVA or something other type of programming language. I reckon there's some boff out there who could do this 8O

mgibbs · Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2004 7:35 pm Post subject:

The smoothness of the map scrolling is likely to be a design decision I would think.

The smoother the scrolling, the more processing power is used. Slower handhelds might not keep up.

I doubt that the programming language used would make a huge difference as it will be compiled to object code anyway unless its writteni n assembler then it'll really fly. But the only program I've come across in day to day usage that's written in assembler is Gibson Research's SpinRite disk recovery utility (www.grc.com)

Mark

DavidW · Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2004 12:32 am Post subject:

Part of the reason that maps don't scroll that smoothly is that you only get one new GPS position every second.

You also have to remember that a Pocket PC doesn't have the processing power we're used to in our PCs. The Java implementations we have on Pocket PC are incredibly slow compared to a PC, and things like generating SSH session keys takes several seconds on a Pocket PC. Though it's becoming more common now, some Pocket PCs don't have any graphics acceleration hardware either.

Remember - the aim of a navigation system is to get you to your destination safely. I appreciate the passengers may enjoy beautifully scrolling maps, but these systems are a tool, and drivers certainly shouldn't be watching the maps.

Much of the time my setup doesn't have a map on screen - my safety speed (above which the map disappears) is set at 30mph. I find that's the safest for me.

David

djohnson · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 12, 2004 Posts: 35

It's just a niceity really. We are actually very spoilt these days with nice colour graphics etc. To be totally honest, I feel that navigation systems on PDA's are a liability. Why? Well, Because there are far too many factors that can distract the driver. By virtue of the fact that other software can run side by side that could at any time produce errors that appear on the display. Just one example is how Tom Tom Traffic software pops up a screen telling me that it's dialling a GPRS connection. Do I really need to know that? Or when it can't connect, it tells me that it can't connect. This might all be very well while I'm not driving, but whilst I'm driving, it's just a distraction.

I wouldn't be surprised if one day, navigation aids on PDA's becomes illegal. Instead, we would probably have to opt for dedicated units that we can't play around with.

I mean, how would one feel as passengers of aircraft if we knew that Pocket PC software was responsible for our safety? And that the software had been installed by the pilot and that he may or may not have the latest patch or whatever. A strange scenario but you get my point. Ultimately, it's out lives. Anyway, another subject.

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