GPS Slowly Changing How Things Are Done 292
Hemos forwarded me a link to a story at Fast Company about how GPS is changing the way people do business. Several good examples are used, from farmers in Alabama to anti-theft devices. Some notes on GPS' military origins as well. Also worth noting is how GPS, like computers, wasn't adopted overnight, but rather over time as applications were found.
Imagine if GPS were made by a corporation... (Score:5, Insightful)
I hope they don't run over the barn ... (Score:3, Insightful)
"For the moment, they've managed to resist the hottest new GPS tool: tractors that steer themselves. The price is still too high, but the idea is appealing, because with an auto-steer tractor, they would be able to work at night."
Re:I hope they don't run over the barn ... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Imagine if GPS were made by a corporation... (Score:3, Insightful)
But instead the government just spends our tax money so people can look for buried garbage in the woods.
How much of the 1/3rd of my salary the feds take funds this? I'm thinking 9.99 a month sounds pretty nice. It's only free for mooching foreign nations who do nothing but whine about it.
Re:Privacy ignored ***again*** (Score:4, Insightful)
There are many people who, like you, would be too worried about the big-brother aspect and would want different insurance. These people would flock to insurance companies that work like those today and would be covered.
The only real problem would be if the government were to regulate that all insurace MUST function this was, but seeing as how this is the US (if you're not in the US, I don't know what will happen), you'll be fine. Here in the US just find other people like you (it shouldn't be to hard to find others who don't want to be locked into the system, or believe that people shouldn't have to be locked into it whether they personally like it or not) to be able to elect new people to abolish the rule.
I really don't think you have too much to worry about.
You don't want to violate the terms of the GPS. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Boy, I Wish GPS Was Around During WW2 (Score:5, Insightful)
Look, if it hadn't been for France bailing your asses out 250 years ago, you'd have continued to have your "country" run by some unelected idiot called George whose only qualification to the job was that his father did it.
Thankfully the French were there to help you defeat King George III, and you avoided that situation.
How technology really evolves... (Score:5, Insightful)
What will ever happen to human progress if we start all being nice to each other?
Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Boy, I Wish GPS Was Around During WW2 (Score:1, Insightful)
And yes, I think Gore would have done a better job. I think there's a slightly better chance that the WTC attack might not have happened, given I doubt Gore would have closed the investigation into Bin Laden, and I know he took airport and airplane security seriously enough to doubt his usual pro-gun-control views would have lead him to, as Bush did, issue the order banning guns from cockpits.
Clinton's government did, after all, head off a major attack on our airports on New Year's Eve 1999. Or did you forget that too?
Re:Cell Phones (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Why post anonymously then (Score:4, Insightful)
Actually, the PPS transmits the P(Y) code on both L1 and L2. That's how the military gets better accuracy: the 2 different frequencies experience slightly different amounts of ionospheric delay, and by measuring this difference it's possible to correct for the delay.
more satellites in view = better positioning accuracy
This is not strictly true, since the position accuracy depends a lot on the relative position of the satellites you are taking a fix from (if they're all bunched up then you will experience significant dilution of precision). More satellites in view may increase the likelihood that you'll get a favorable geometric configuration. But it doesn't always, which is why the current GPS constellation is optimized to provide good geometric configurations, instead of to maximize the number of sats in view.
To make matters worse, some cheaper GPS receivers just grab data from the first 4 satellites they detect, and satellites that are directly overhead will have (slightly) stronger signals than their counterparts near the horizon as a result of the smaller amount of propagation loss and atmospheric loss their signals will experience. So there's a good chance that a cheap GPS receiver will take a fix from a bunch of satellites directly overhead (particularly with many more satellites in the sky to form that bunch), even if a more favorable configuration is in view, and end up with a much lower accuracy than they should. That said, I believe that most newer receivers look at all of the satellites in view, and pick the best 4.
Also GPS is being heavily upgraded. They are adding a third signal with M-code(L3), and adding C/A code on L2.
This isn't entirely accurate. M-code will in fact be on transmitted on both the L1 and L2 frequencies, not on L3. You're correct about the extra civilian signal on L2 (designated L2C), although I'm not sure if it's identical to the L1 C/A code. There's also another civilian signal that will be broadcast on L5 - this one will be primarily for aviation use and "safety-of-life" applications. I don't remember what L3 is being used for, but I'm fairly sure it's not going to have any kind of navigation code on it. Check out this article [aero.org] in the Aerospace Corporation's online "Crosslink" magazine for a nice overview of GPS modernization.
Re:Boy, I Wish GPS Was Around During WW2 (Score:2, Insightful)
May be we will be more successull finding the weapons of mass destruction. really think that We would all be dead by now...? Some soldiers may be alive. The US external image would be not so bad and US citizens may have keept the right to a judgement in cases of terrorism.
I can't say that GORE would have been better, but I' sure that somewhere there must be a better president.