Lost About GPS? Here's Some Direction!Written by Keith Thompson
If you've been confounded by all technical jargon and hype surrounding GPS, confusing what's turning out to be a very useful tool, allow me to shed a little light on your roadmap to deciding whether or not this technology is for you! Originally designed with military applications in mind, technology was made available to mere mortals in hte 1980's for many and varied uses we've found so far for these special tools. Not only handy for auto navigation, GPS units have made their way into maritime navigation, backcountry uses, and much, much more!How does GPS work? GPS (which stands for Global Positioning System) allows you to pinpoint your position anywhere on planet to within an average of 15 meters, with some units doing much better than that. Twenty-four GPS satellites, paid for and placed in orbit by Dept. of Defense courtesy of your tax dollars, send signals back to terra firma 24/7. These signals are retrieved by your handy dandy GPS receiver which uses three sources (satellites) to triangulate this information and compute your actual position. If there are four data sources, even altitude can be determined. Since there are normally eight satellites in line of sight from anywhere on earth, opportunity for accurate positioning exists. Other things that can be determined besides latitude, longitude, and altitude would include things like speed, sunrises and sunsets, bearing, distance and more. While they will work in any weather, some hindrances would be electronic interference, buildings, and certain terrain. A good rule of thumb is that units will generally not perform underwater, indoors, or underground. There are currently two Global Navigation Satellite Systems in use. Besides GPS, there is Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS) Protocols are constantly being refined to enhance abilities of these systems. A bright light on horizon is Galileo, scheduled to go online in 2008, which promises even greater accuracy and functionality.
| | Cell Phones--The Increasingly Indispensable "Luxury" GadgetsWritten by Larry Denton
Millions of people in U.S. and around globe use cell phones. They are such great gadgets--with a cell phone you can talk to anyone on planet from just about anywhere! Once thought of as an expensive, distracting "toy", cell phones have become a necessity for many people around world. In just a few short years, cell phones have graduated from being considered a luxury to an absolute necessity. The ability to keep in touch with friends, family, business associates, and access to email are only a few reasons for increasing importance of cell phones.When cell phones were first introduced, they were heavy, bulky and expensive. Good reception was a major problem and battery life was severely limited. These days, cell phones provide an incredible array of functions, and new models are being added at a breakneck pace. Depending on your cell-phone model, you can: store contact information, make to-do lists, use built-in calculator, download information from Internet, play simple games, and even listen to music. Camera cell phones are one of newest and neatest pieces of pocket technology on market. Camera cell phones have benefited from ever-shrinking microchip technology, making phones more affordable and pictures more viewable. If you want to purchase a camera phone, consider quality of pictures you want to take. Most camera phones have less than one mega pixel resolution which produces low-quality images. If you really need to take clear photos, check out a camera phone with 3 or more mega pixels. And always buy one with a removable memory card which will allow you to upgrade camera's memory capacity and allow you to more easily transfer photos to a computer or printer. Selecting a cell phone is no longer just about communication--it is now a lifestyle choice. If you don't get one to fit your personality, you won't be satisfied. Text messaging or "texting" in now a standard feature on most cell phones. Multimedia messaging allows you to send audio, video and pictures. Some of newer phones are designed with entertainment as a primary function. They can play music MP3 files, stored video, movies and even video games. Random House hopes to cash in on cell phone phenomenon by offering foreign language courses using cell phone text. And more changes are on way! "Charge it to my cell phone," is an instruction that store clerks may soon hear in increasing numbers. Phones that can be swiped against credit card readers are already on sale in Asia and U.S. cell phone manufacturers are seriously studying technology. A new report from Diffusion Group, a consumer technology think-tank, shows that most consumers are comfortable playing music and videos on their cell phones and that more than 30% of U.S. consumers surveyed wanted to watch TV on their cell phones as well. According to survey, more than 70% of U.S. households now own at least one cell phone.
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