HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE GPS
After a long day in the office I’m driving home on one of the Europe’s busiest highways, which our computer technician calls the the M25 parking lot and I’m happy to report, no traffic jams. I know this because my GPS told me so, but if there were any delays or roadworks my radio will interrupt my CD player with traffic updates from the radio, keeping me informed of current developments.
I phone my house mates using the blue-tooth hands-free function on my GPS to inform them that my estimated time of arrival according to the GPS is 20:40. I parked in front of the house at 20:41.
I take a wrong exit at one of the many roundabouts (oh, how I do dislike UK roundabouts), but not to worry, the GPS recalculates and I’m redirected without loosing any time. It tells me when to stay left, where to get petrol, what route is fastest/shortest/most fuel efficient and in any language I want.
The best of all though is the speed camera warning system. It does a brilliant job of informing me of upcoming cameras, just in case you are speeding, and goes all red when you are actually over the limit (not that I see that often).
Arriving home, I unhook the GPS and wonder, how on earth did anybody ever drive anywhere without one and how did I manage to stay alive doing so? I definitely would have had far more speeding fines and might have still been driving around, lost in one of the lesser nice London areas.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love maps and I’ll be out of a job if people had to stop reading maps. I’m a great believer in knowing where you are and finding your own way, but I am very grateful for the $12 billion provided by the American taxpayer to set up the system. I have a feeling that we are only now discovering what the GPS can do for us.
From Time Magazine
So happy birthday to the GPS who celebrated its 20th birthday this year. To quote the Time Magazine “On a planet of 6 billion souls, GPS helps us to find ourselves. But it sometimes dazzles us so much that we forget what we still seek”.
a whats not to like about London circles/round abouts…?