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About 6 months ago I was trying to find a local post depot to pick up a package. I had never been to this particular company depot before and it was in an unfamiliar part of town. Not a problem, I would just fire up the Satnav and be guided there by TomTom. Normally that’s all good, but this time I was listed as being in Portugal with a few thousand miles to my destination… TomTom was clearly going crazy. [click to continue…]

The GPS logger looks like an amazing device when you first see the image and title. However, it’s not all too good to be honest. The GPS logger fits inside an envelope which can then be posted through regular mail. The logger is a tracker which records details of exactly where your posted letter went. That’s all well and good, but the problem is that there is no transmitter built in… so if you want to track where the data went you need to wait till the letter is received, take out the SD card and import the data in to Google earth. That leaves a few questions like “what happens if my letter doesn’t get delivered and is lost?”… well, if there is no transmitter then it’s tough. You will never know where your letter got to.

The logger costs $700 which seems an awful lot to look at a history of a letter that arrived the next day. It would be great news and totally amazing if it could tell you where it was remotely, but unfortunately not.

Maybe I sound harsh… but I guess it could have a good side in that you could test various delivery companies to find which one is most effective at getting mail to you the quickest.

The GPS Logger is available from Brickhouse Security.

Via: Wired

GPS (Global Positioning System) was first tested back in 1972 at a US Air Force Central Inertial Guidance Test Facility. In 1978 the system became operational and in 1994 the network was opened up for general public who were free to use it (and still are). The US owned Navstar is the only global positioning system available. Other sat nav systems are available, but they do not span the entire globe at the moment.

How can GPS be Used?

Satellite Navigation (Sat Nav) was initially used for military applications. Applications included sat nav guided bombs who’s accuracy was far higher then before making targets easier to hit while keeping casualties to a minimum.

Uses still stay the same for military, but a more common and familiar usage is for mapping. These days you can pick up a Sat Nav receiver for just a few hundred pounds and have fully detailed street maps of the whole of Europe in it’s memory.

GPS is used to track where you are and the software tells you where to go. SatNavs.net aims to provide you details on the latest satnav news, products and provide technical support as well as downloads.