Switched

I haven't needed a GPS yet but have used mapquest a lot but still take those directions with a grain of salt, I'll look at the map and the hybrid satellite view and zoom in on the details, I've gotten turned around but not totally lost, if all else fails, ask a local.
and according to mapquest, the street my parents live at, in Helena, MT., does not exist, turns out that it is located in another dimension where personal responsibility, courtesy to fellow human beings and self reliance still flies.

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We abuse, and become over-dependent on, every convenience.

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If your GPS gives you nightmares of an Orwellian existence, be aware that insurance defense firms have begun to use your GPS and it's memory (ever notice that it will retain a certain number of trips as "recent trips" (or some such name)) Some of them retain speed and physical routing. Also, for what it's worth and since Big Brother is already out there...computers in your car can be used to prove your speed immediately prior to an accident.

Finally, lots of rental cars have GPS transmitters that will squeal if you go outside your rental agreement area. They will also report to the car rental agency if you drive too fast.

And all you libs were worried about the Patriot Act when far worse intrusions are being stuck to the windshield of your SUV or contained in the, apparently, hundred or so onboard computers built into your vehicle.

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For those of you using, for example, Google Earth or the one from the phone company (AT&T??) those things are anywhere from "spot on" to being hundreds of yards off. Mapquest, to me, is almost the same as Google Earth. Those online mapping programs depend on the common sense of the user. With a GPS, the voice tells you that you have arrived. With, for example, Mapquest, it is up to you to look up at the address where you are going. I wonder if they all don't use the same algorithm.

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Normally my TomTom GPS has every street I have needed in their system. But that was until we went to Disney World in Orlando. Is it just this brand or does others not have the streets within the Disney Hotel complexes in their data base? All I could bring in was "downtown" Disney. Since the signage is terrible going to and from the hotels and the parks, a GPS would have been extremely helpful. Anyone else have a problem at Disney with their GPS?

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Larry mentioned the non-existent streets in DisneyWorld. My office building can only be accessed (according to Garmin which uses a maping program that sounds something like "NavTek" --That's wrong but it's somethign like that) by going through the parking lot of the cafeteria next door. Why?? Because the "street" that has 7 different buildings in this complex are not "public" streets but are, in fact, private driveways. Also, the folks at Garmin seem to be about 2 years behind new street/expressway construction/naming.

I-69 from I-55 westward to US Hwy 61 in north Mississippi does not exist on my Garmin. Kinda freaky to be driving across what appears on the GPS as vacant land but being interrupted every 4 or 5 miles for the intersection of county/state roads with the expressway.

The yearly upgrade to my Garmin was offered to me on the internet by direct mail for something like $80.

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I have one of these.. a tom tom I think'' got it on sale at Target for $210.00... like the remote for my TV, my Cell phone, the very computer from which I deliver this message... the %94 accuracy is enough for me to be quite dependent an all these items.....

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Wow .. now I read this. I have a Lexus and got lost going to Zion National Park, Utah, from Las Vegas, Nevada. I was supposed to get to the park lodge by 10 pm, instead I was there by 4 am. My GPS sent me around a cul-de-sac repeatedly, and it was so dark and no one out when they have no bars open, nothing. I stopped at some fast food place by about 2 am to find out how to get there. I expected my GPS to work fine. And, in truth, my own home I live in on the ocean front has not it's address listed, it shows there is no address where I live. I trusted the GPS but we must not all the time. Other times it works beautifully but not always.

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Maybe Brett favre needs a GPS in his helmet

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I am a pilot and use GPS daily for navigation but still keep maps in the cockpit and use them. Maps do not require electricity. I recently took a young commercial pilot up for a flight review and when I pulled the plug on his instruments as part of the check ride, he had a panic attack. I feel very sorry for this generation and more than a little scared for the future.

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My husband lets me use Karen, his Garmin GPS, and I love it! We live in a suburban area that is all cul-de-sacs and hinky roads and trails; Karen works every time! cha.

Garmin kicks Mapquests cyber butt! :P

Susan in IL

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I love my gps, you can not drive into a river and blame your gps. Also a map will not reveal the closest food, gas stations, etc.

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Alvie, you just cannot comment without bringing politics into it, can you?

As far as the GPS goes, I love my Garmin. It has been very reliable.

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IT IS A GPS. NOT A BRAIN SUBSITUTE.
TAKE IN INFOMATION THINK AND DO.

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I use my Magallan 2200T all the time.Only draw back so far in two years is the price to keep it up dated. I think that is a rip off.

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My husband turned me on to GPS. For years I thought it was just a "man thing", never wanting to stop for directions or not knowing how to read a map thing, until he showed me what it could do.
I am a yard sale nut and can go to any town or subdivision and not get lost. I love my husband for getting me one of my own.

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My husband and I love our TomTom. Since he swears I always like to tell him where to go. I watch the TomTom and he watches the road. Common sense. Wish there was more out there.

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I was given a Garmin GPS as a gift 2 years ago when I moved out of state and it is by far the absolute best gift I have ever received. I have always been horrible about directions and reading maps and my GPS has been a lifesaver. I will leave home without my American Express card but I won't leave home without my GPS.

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I'd use my Tom-Tom more but the directions it give are really wacky! On one trip that I have made many times, the actual directions are straight NORTH on the interstate----ONE interstate, no side roads at all till I get to the destination city----but the GPS had me going downtown in a neighboring town to me (which is the OPPOSITE direction from getting on the interstate for me--I live only 4 miles from the interstate, going downtown adds almost 40 miles--then going SOUTH for 25 miles, then WEST for over 100 miles. Then finally north, but at EVERY exit it had me getting OFF the interstate and taking back roads. Their directions said it would take me 6 hours and 47 minutes to make a trip that I have made many times in 3½ hours!

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