Global positioning: fun and glitches

Article Abstract:

Chicago Map Corp's $300 Compass and DeLorme's $150 Tripmate are both CD-ROM-based map packages coupled with GPS transceivers. To work properly, the transceivers need to be place on the dashboard of a car in order to have a wide view of the sky. This allows the receiver to maintain a fix on three or four satellites that provide the device with its bearings. Both of the devices connect to a standard serial port. Chicago Map Corp's Compass appears to have been produced quickly. It does not provide adequate documentation for its software and has poorly designed help screens. DeLorme's Tripmate is striped down to the bare necessities and requires DeLorme's software and a computer to run it on. Compass's receiver will allow users to save a route internally and upload it to the PC later. Users can also create a route on the PC and send-it to the hand-held device for computer-free travel. Both companies' CD-ROM maps will allow users to transfer information about specific states to a hard disc enabling the program to run on laptops without CD-ROM drives.

Radio & TV communications equipment, Radio and Television Broadcasting and Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing, General Radio Equip, Evaluation, Product/Service Evaluation, Product information, Transceivers, Hardware multiproduct review, Radio equipment, DeLorme Publishing Company Inc., Transceiver, Chicago Map Corp., DeLorme Tripmate Hyperformance GPS Navigation (Transceiver), Chicago Map Compass (Transceiver)

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Upgrade or not? A good question

Article Abstract:

Users considering upgrading software or hardware should have a compelling reason to do so. Users satisfied with their systems' performance should not upgrade simply because new products become available. Upgrades can affect the performance of other components of the computer system. New hardware can reduce available software features at the same time it increases the software's overall speed. Software upgrades can bring an entire system to a halt. Indeed, Microsoft is publishing lists of hardware and software incompatibilities for its upcoming Windows 95 operating system. At the same time, users who communicate with others or with the Internet may find it necessary to upgrade. Users should upgrade when the product offers a substantial improvement. Users should wait until a new component has been tested and problems and bugs have been resolved. New components should be installed while users have time to explore the changes made.

Management, Technology overview, Consumer behavior, Upgrading (Computers), Performance improvement, Performance improvement (Computers), User need, End users, Technology Information

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A fatal outcome from misplaced trust in 'Data'

Article Abstract:

American Airlines' investigation into the Dec 1995 crash of flight 965 from Miami into mountains near Cali, Colombia, details the role of the airplane's onboard computer in the accident. The air traffic controller instructed the pilot to head toward a nearby beacon, which is called Rozo and identified by the letter R on navigational charts. The crew entered the R into the flight management computer, but it displayed six navigational beacons in the area that were ranked by distance from the plane. The crew accepted the top entry on the list, which should have been the Rozo beacon but was actually the Romeo beacon over 100 miles away and more than 90 degrees off course. In retrospect, the pilot should have typed in the complete name for the beacon, instead of the letter R. This illustrates how people can come to rely on computers because they are so often correct, but when they fail the results can be spectacular, or even fatal.

Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical System and Instrument Manufacturing, Search and navigation equipment, Aircraft Navigation Systems & Displays, Usage, Investigations, Column, Airlines, Technology application, American Airlines Inc., Aircraft navigation systems, Ground navigation equipment, Navigation computer (Aeronautical instrument)

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