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Tool or toy

sawyerloggingon

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I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?
 
Tool.

Especially for those of us who can get lost in a paper bag. :lol:
 
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They can be a useful tool, but they're not infallible. If you're heading south, and it tells you to go west or north, question it's advice. There's a place in the UK where semi-trailer units regularly get jammed in a narrow lane which has signs at the beginning banning them but the drivers just follow the GPS instructions. In Britain they're called Sat-Navs (satellite navigation) Don't be like this guy!

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/large-family-followed-sat-nav-into-river-57963.html
 
It can be both.

Did you know in ancient China, the yo-yo was a weapon? Food for thought.
 
They can be a useful tool, but they're not infallible. If you're heading south, and it tells you to go west or north, question it's advice. There's a place in the UK where semi-trailer units regularly get jammed in a narrow lane which has signs at the beginning banning them but the drivers just follow the GPS instructions. In Britain they're called Sat-Navs (satellite navigation) Don't be like this guy!

Large Family Followed Sat-Nav Into River

I drove over a local mountain pass that was just a dirt logging road but has been paved for 20 years now. My device says it is dirt and tried to guide me around it. I went over it anyway and it kept telling me to bear right or left every few minutes like it was the old dirt road with lots of forks. I just tried updating it but it still says dirt road. Kind of disappointing.
 
Total ****ing tool - me and my GPS don't have a close, helpful relationship :sigh:
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?

tool. i have google maps and navigation on my phone, and now i never have to get lost again. absolutely awesome for those of us with a poor sense of direction living in an area of the country where the roads are not arranged logically.
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?

Why can't it be both?
 
Definitely a tool. I use mine all the time on vacation. just go to Yelp, look for a restaurant or whatever then plug it into the GPS and you're good to go.
 
Maybe I am old school but I prefer looking at a paper map to get a total view of the area. At the most I use MapQuest to print out directions and I am good to go. The one funny thing about Mapquest is that I can pretty much find my way out of my town without its tips.

Might add too is that they have large font maps now, for us baby boomers.
 
GPS navigation is an extremely useful tool, particularly when navigating a strange town.
Did you know you can get an app for a smartphone that does the same thing? I have one called simply "navigation." I can tell it where I want to go, just speak my destination, and it gives me detailed driving directions. All I have to do is listen to it, and it guides me where I want to go. It even tells me whether that freeway onramp is on t he left or on the right in time to get into the correct lane. I wouldn't be without one.
 
As has been said, they are fallible. I've seen instances where they take longer routes than necessary.
 
I use it to find my way when I'm downtown - etc . . . but I prefer to still follow signs when I'm on the highway - not paying attention to exit numbers and mile markers, cardinal directions and the major highway basics is how people get lost and stranded in the desert.
 
I'm low vision with a daylight only license. I can't read street sign (but yes, I can see your car and promise not to hit it) and the GPS has been for me the single most life changing invention ever, at least as important as my computer.

Garmin. I :kitty:you.
 
I like to know where I'm going and what route I'm going to take BEFORE driving. GPS is handy if you need to alter your route due to construction, but I wouldn't rely on it to get from point a to point b. I remember how to read a real map and I carry an atlas if I'm going on a road trip. It doesn't require power and it won't lie to you.

Of course, there's always an exception. Like in Specklebangs case.
 
I say tool. I use mine when we are in a new town, and for the most part, we rarely get lost. The first one we had was a Garmin, several years ago. Bought it before we took a vacation to Memphis. Man, we were driving around Memphis like we lived there, taking shortcuts through neighborhoods to get to Graceland. Was awesome. Never got lost, even once, in Memphis.
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?

As far as your wife is concerned, it's a tool, as it will forever cut down on arguments over stopping for directions. Definitely a tool.
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?

Get her into GeoCaching. Then it will be a toy/tool she loves.

That being said, there is no question that you yourself are a tool.
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?

Absolutely a tool.

On vacation, it's a Godsend. Hungry? Wanna eat at a chain restaurant? Enter it in by name and it'll pull up in order of closest to you. Need a gas station? Same way. Hospital? Police station? Same way. Wanna shoot off on a little side trip off the x-way? Just go. It'll find you back there no problem. Want to find a particular chain hotel/motel? Plug it in and it'll pull them up in order of closeness. Want to find "the center of town?" No problem. Want to leave the x-way and take a scenic route? No problem! Just change your 'route' to exclude x-ways and tollroads. Off you go!!

Now, if you never need a map? Never look up directions on Mapquest? It's a waste. But I know you do, 'cause we all do. Either that or perhaps you need a bit more in your life. ;) ;) Reading a map or Mapquest directions while driving is as bad as texting while driving -- can be very unsafe.

Enjoy your new tool!! AND your vacation!!!
 
I just got one of those GPS map things for my upcoming vacation. I have been driving around playing with it, I mean learning how to use it and it is very cool. My wife says toy, I say tool. What say you?
Yes to both.
 
Definitely both. Just don't pull a Michael.

 
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