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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: GPS

GPS stories: 40 news summaries

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Wal-Mart Will Push TVs, Laptops on Black Friday

Discount circular leaks ahead of schedule

Nov 17, 09 6:18 PM CST
(Newser) - Details of Wal-Mart's Black Friday deals—normally kept under wraps until Thanksgiving week—have been obtained by CNNMoney and partially confirmed by the retailer. The day after Thanksgiving will see deep discounts on high-def TVs, laptops, and Blu-ray players. Some specifics:
  • Sanyo 50-inch plasma TVs will be available for
... More »

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big deals • iPod • sales • GPS • consumer electronics • Black Friday • large-screen TVs • Wal-Mart • Blu-ray • computers

Teens Cop to Texting and Driving—But Say Dad's Worse

No age limit for bad behavior behind wheel

Nov 16, 09 5:57 PM CST
(Newser) - One-third of 16- and 17-year-olds say they have written text messages while behind the wheel. Despite that, young drivers are actually more responsible than many adults: 48% of respondents aged 12 to 17 say they’ve been in the car with a driver who was texting. One boy said his... More »

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driving • GPS • texting • teenage drivers • driver distraction • reckless driving • bad example

GPS Will Track Dutch Drivers for Per-Mile Tax

Those who drive on congested roads at peak hours will pay more

Nov 14, 09 3:03 PM CST
(AP) - The Dutch government plans to bring the polluter-pays principle into the home garage. Rather than an annual road tax for their cars, drivers will soon pay a small sum for every mile on the road—a plan aimed at breaking chronic traffic jams and cutting carbon emissions. GPS devices installed... More »

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taxes • Netherlands • GPS • Dutch government • drivers

bloggers' first look

 Verizon Unveils 
 Droid Smartphone 

All looks promising, but some think OS is still no match for iPhone

Oct 28, 09 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Verizon's Droid smartphone—built by Motorola and powered by Google's Android—goes on sale Nov. 6 for $200. Some early opinions on the iPhone challenger:
  • The phone is "almost not worth writing about," notes Chris Dannen in Fast Company . It's "fine" but "doesn't advance" the
... More »

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Iraq • Verizon • Motorola • Google Maps • GPS • smartphones • consumer electronics • Google Android • wireless industry • Motorola Droid • Droid • Droid phones • Verizon Droid price • Verizon Droid review

Goodbye, iPod; Hello, Portable Computer

Single-purpose devices' days are numbered: Manjoo

Sep 10, 09 5:32 PM CDT
(Newser) - After yesterday's announcement that the iPod Nano now has a video camera, Apple's future direction is clear, writes Farhad Manjoo for Slate. Eventually, every iPod will be what Steve Jobs calls a “general-purpose device,” aka a small computer—a music player/phone/camera/web browser/GPS. Sure, Apple still sells dedicated music... More »

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technology • Steve Jobs • iPhone • Apple • iPod Nano • GPS • Kindle • computer • ebooks

 Best New Travel Websites 

Get advice from locals, exchange currency, and more

Aug 28, 09 3:25 PM CDT
(Newser) - The summer is winding down, but there’s still time for a last-minute vacation. The Times of London lists 10 new websites to check out:
  • Tripbod: Answer questions about your interests and hobbies, and a local expert will plan an itinerary for you.
  • Vimeo: The travel group
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
travel • euro • website • GPS • travel tips • international travel • Jay-ZTV

(Newser) - Looking for Highway 61? The answer, my friend, might soon be blowin' in the wind: “I am talking to a couple of car companies about being the voice of their GPS system,” Bob Dylan revealed in a radio interview today. “I think it would be good if... More »

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music • Bob Dylan • GPS

GPS Rescues $600K Violin
Left in NYC Cab

Technology 'cut the driver out of the picture,' says taxi boss

Aug 18, 09 11:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - GPS technology reunited a violinist with the $600,000 instrument he left in a New York cab yesterday, the Times reports. After Korean musician Hanh-Bin left a vehicle without his 18th-century instrument, the Taxi and Limousine Commission was able to find it in less than an hour, using the cab’... More »

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New York City • taxi • violin • GPS • musician • taxi driver • Hanh-Bin

OPINION

 Your GPS Is Probably Evil 


Jul 11, 09 8:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - Emily Yoffe is typically a technophobe, but she also has a horrible sense of direction, so she had high hopes for her GPS. “This seemed like a breakthrough that promised only upside,” she writes in the Washington Post. Then she used it. In harrowing trip after harrowing... More »

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driving • GPS

(Newser) - As the US moves away from a gasoline-only auto culture, researchers and the government are investigating alternative taxes to fund road-building and maintenance, the Kansas City Star reports. The leading idea to supplant the gas tax is a by-the-mile approach endorsed by a federal commission. “If you’re committed... More »

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driving • GPS • electric cars • gas tax • hybrid car • automobile • gasoline • mileage

Wandering Kids' Parents Get High-Tech Help

GPS, alarms, other safety measures can't top common sense

Jun 22, 09 9:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some 90% of families lose their kids briefly in public places, and more and more are turning to new methods of preventing major mishaps, the Baltimore Sun reports. Some parents track kids with GPS; others use watches that give off loud alarms. Lower-tech temporary tattoos that show parents’ phone numbers... More »

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parenting • children • tattoos • GPS • child safety • parental supervision

 GPS Shoes 
 to Track 
 Alzheimer's 
 Patients 

Shoe-maker and tech firm team up

Jun 7, 09 4:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Two companies are developing GPS-trackable footwear to essentially LoJack Alzheimer's patients, AFP reports. The shoes will spot their location within 30 feet "anywhere on the planet," said a consultant. Sixty percent of Alzheimer's sufferers wander off at least once during the disease, he said, but most retain enough... More »

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dementia • GPS • tracking chip • Alzheimer's Disease

 'Twitter Rescue' Fails 
 Snowboarding 
 Music Man 

Twitter leads to two men missing in Alps whiteout, one dead

Mar 4, 09 3:57 AM CST
(Newser) - The first-ever "Twitter rescue" saved the life of a snowboarder in the Swiss Alps, but failed a 29-year-old British music entrepreneur whose body was found at the foot of a 66-foot cliff, reports the Daily Telegraph. Cheery "tweets" from a female companion noting "am having the best... More »

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cell phones • iPhone • Switzerland • GPS • snowboarding • Alps • Twitter • tweet • Rob Williams

Oregon Mulls Mileage,
Not Gas, Tax 

State worries about tax shortfall as vehicles get more efficient

Jan 3, 09 9:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Worried that the rise of fuel-efficient and hybrid cars will wipe out revenue for road repair, Oregon is considering taxing drivers by the mile instead of by the gallon, reports the AP. Lawmakers—aware that hiking gas tax is a political kiss of death—believe a mileage tax is the... More »

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taxes • fuel efficiency • Oregon • GPS • gas tax • hybrid car • taxation

Texting, Research Laws
 to Hit Calif. in New Year 

Student journalists, bottled water also targeted by lawmakers

Dec 29, 08 3:40 PM CST
(Newser) - A texting-while-driving ban isn’t the only new law Californians will wake up to on Jan. 1. The San Francisco Chronicle lists some other new regulations:
  • Drivers can now mount a GPS system in the lower corners of their windshields.
  • It will become a crime to publish the
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
recycling • bottled water • journalist • text message • GPS • scientific research • driver distraction

OPINION

Tired of Pirate Attacks?
Time to Call Blackwater

US forces aren't coming, Shippers need to hire their own army

Dec 11, 08 6:05 PM CST
(Newser) - Somali hijackers have free rein around the Horn of Africa, and neither the US nor any other nation has a prayer of stopping them with their ineffectual patrols. What to do? Call in the troops—or, more precisely, the fomer troops, writes Peter Hannaford in the American Spectator. Namely,... More »

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Somalia • Blackwater • GPS • pirates • Navy SEALs • security contractors • AK-47

 Technology 
 the Linchpin in 
 Mumbai Attacks 

They used GPS and satellite maps, phones

Dec 3, 08 1:54 PM CST
(Newser) - The Mumbai terrorists relied on advanced technology to carry out their attacks, and Indian security forces had trouble keeping up, the Washington Post reports. GPS devices enabled the non-sailors to get to Mumbai; satellite maps gave them "a good feel for the city's streets and buildings," said a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • India • VoIP • BlackBerry • Mumbai • GPS • terrorist attack

Cops Knocked Over Using GPS to Tail Suspects

Privacy advocates question warrantless, undetectable tracking

Aug 13, 08 12:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - As GPS units become cheaper and easier to use, police forces around the country are turning to the technology to easily track suspects. The Washington Post examines the advantages of this new crime-fighting weapon, and the privacy concerns it’s raising among critics. Cops can easily attach a GPS device... More »

MORE ABOUT:
technology • police • privacy • surveillance • GPS • police investigation • criminal investigation • search warrant

In 200 Yards,
Tell Your GPS to Shut Up Already

Developers finally realize personality as important as function

Aug 5, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - GPS voices, for all their helpfulness to drivers, are still obnoxious and humorless. Now, after years of focusing on packing “navbots” with information, developers are realizing that friendliness counts, too, the Washington Post reports. “Personality, from an engineering perspective, is still an afterthought,” one says. “But... More »

MORE ABOUT:
driving • navigation • GPS • cars

 Dog Reunited
 With Family
 After 5 Years 

Beagle returns to Queens home after turning up at Georgia shelter

Jul 15, 08 2:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - A Queens family experienced its own version of the Incredible Journey last weekend when it was reunited with a beagle puppy after 5 years—and more than 850 miles, reports the New York Post. No one knows where Rocco's travels took him in the interim, but when he turned... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Georgia • family • Queens • GPS • dog • animal shelters • lost dog

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