Dell To Offer GPS Option For Netbooks

Dell is going to start offering a GPS and Wi-Fi card called the Wireless 700, for about $70, with the purchase of it's Dell Mini 10 Netbook. The card will make the Netbook a personal navigation device the likes of TomTom or Garmin. “Smartphones already have GPS capabilities,” says Alan Sicher, senior wireless product manager at Dell. “We are now bringning it to netbooks so the devices know where you are and can help you where you want to go.” The move will make the little laptops location aware devices and will compete with gps enabled cellphones for consumer dollars. Check out Wired for more details.

My Tracks For Android

If you are into running, hiking, or biking, you're going to love applications like My Tracks for the Android phone. My Tracks takes advantage of the built in Global Positioning System (gps) of your Android Smartphone to follow your movements, track your time, calculate your speed and altitude. Check out the video:

Mumbai Terrorists Relied On Tech

The Terrorists that laid siege to a Jewish Center and several Luxury hotels in India last month navigated across the Arabian Sea to Mumbai from Karachi, Pakistan, using a global positioning system (gps), communicating with corroborators via satellite phone and apparently studied satellite photos from Google Earth in preparation for their attacks. Their Pakistani-based handlers apparently communicated with them using Internet phones that complicate efforts to trace and intercept calls. The handlers reportedly relayed what they were seeing on television, via a voice over Internet Protocol service, to the terrorists providing them with intel and encouragement as the siege played out. Seems as though the level of suffistication is growing within these organizations.

NYTimes.com

iPhone 2.0 GPS Capability Has Other Hardware Makers Scared

Wired Blog Network's Autopia blog discusses the impact that a new iPhone with GPS capability is going to have on companies, like Garmin, who already in the portable GPS market. Suffice it to say that the appeal of the iPhone will likely steal some of that business away for the portable navigation system makers. The same was being said of Research in Motions business when the first iPhone was unveiled but the Blackberry lives on and sales are strong. Time will tell, but I must say that for a guy like me who has not already invested in a portable GPS, the thought of an all in one device is appealing.

The Biggest Drawing In The World

One of the things that I love, and hate, about the web is the odd destinations that you end up at when you start out looking for something completely different. Today I happened upon biggestdrawingintheworld.com a sight that chronicles the delivery of a brief case filled with a gps unit that, according to the story, was handed off to DHL with explicit delivery instructions that when plotted on the map creates a self portrait image of the artist Erik Nordenankar. I'm not sure whether or not to truly believe this, but I suppose stranger things have happened in the name of art, you can judge for yourself. It just seems to me that the path, particularly over water, seems a bit sketchy... pardon the pun. It's quite the feat if indeed it happened as told...

Ford Offers Hi-Tech Features To F-Series Trucks and E-Series Vans

Ford Motor Co. is offering up some innovative features to appeal to contractors and business owners. The company announced yesterday that it was rolling out four new features branded as Ford Work Solutions. “Our truck customers are smart - and they work hard,” said Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas. “Ford Work Solutions provides truck customers new technologies and tools to help them work even smarter and further boost their productivity.” The lineup includes:

• an in-dash computer system that provides full high-speed Internet access via the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network and navigation by Garmin;
• Tool Link, a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) asset tracking system enabling customers to maintain a detailed real-time inventory of the tools or equipment stored in the pickup box;
  
• Crew Chief, a fleet telematics and diagnostics system; and
• Cable Lock, a security system to discourage theft of tools too large to fit in the cab.

It's funny, I never saw Ford as a Geek's company but these features would make Tim Taylor drool! On second thought my '79 Pinto wagon was a little on the geeky side...

OnStar to put brakes on stolen vehicles... not really, but nearly!

In fact the brakes aren't involved at all but it makes for a good title. Engadget is reporting that OnStar is adding a new feature in 2009 that will pinpoint a vehicle via GPS when the owner reports it stolen, and then when the police have it in sight OnStar "interacts with the powertrain to reduce engine power, which will [in turn] slow the vehicle down gradually." Seems like a safer option than jamming on the brakes and launching the thief through the windshield, but then again that might be a better deterrent!

LAPD use laser targeted bug to end high speed chases

G4's The Feed has a story about the Los Angeles Police Department's use of the StarChase system, a laser sighted projectile that mounts to a police cruiser and when deployed fires an adhesive gps bug that sticks to the bad guys car allowing the police to back off and track from a safe distance. StarChase says "It’s comprised of a tracking projectile with a miniaturized GPS receiver, radio transmitter, power supply and a launcher which can be hand-held or mounted on a police car." Their site, which may not have been updated in a while, has a video of the system in action... cool!

A to B, not enough... we want the details too

With GPS technology becoming more and more prevalent it seems that we are no longer satisfied by directions alone, we want more accurate and up-to-date data on hotels, gas stations, restaurants, theme parks, etc.. and the race to get us this info is really heating up. The Globe and Mail has the story of Navteq Corp. and rival Tele Atlas NV in their quests to dominate the mapping game. Big bucks are in play and it's no longer just about getting from point A to point B, you can be sure that both sides know their way to the nearest bank without any difficulty.