[access-uk] Re: Loadstone GPS - free accessible GPS navigation for your mobile
- From: "Steve Nutt" <steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 15 Jul 2006 21:51:20 +0100
Hi Steve,
The good news is that it is streets ahead of Wayfinder in accessibility
terms, from the look of it.
The bad news from our point of view, is that it is a community driven thing,
so you have to rely on user-donated points of interest, and from that point
of view, it will probably be years before it gives you the kind of map
accuracy that Wayfinder offers, since Wayfinder offers the whole of Western
Europe and North America if you want it too.
OK, you have to pay for Wayfinder, and again, I must stress that from the
limited testing, about ten minutes, that I have done, this looks very
accessible, but community-driven POIs means that it will be a while before
we get the kind of map coverage that commercial organisations can offer.
This is not to put it down in the least, this is merely to say that in its
present state, I could not use it for the amount of travelling I do, as it
won't yet give me enough information, and creating POIs assumes that you
know where you are all the time.
One advantage that it has over all the GPS programs I have seen so far, free
or otherwise, is that you can label phone cell ID data as well, a bit like
Mini GPS, so you have a combination of Mini GPS functionality and Wayfinder
functionality, in one program.
What I would like to see, is for Loadstone to be able to import commercial
maps, such as Teleatlas, should you own a GPS system already. For example,
you can already download Wayfinder maps if you are subscribed to its
service, so an import function per region, would be perfect, but I guess the
developers don't have the information necessary to do this, since the maps
are probably of a proprietory standard. This however, would be the answer
to the problem. I suppose this would cause another problem though, since it
would be easy to give away maps, and copyright would not permit this. I
would actually prefer this not to be free, and for the Loadstone developers
to hook up with a map provider, simply for the reasons outlined above.
Anyway, that's my take on it. I don't want to appear ungrateful for what
looks like an excellent and accessible program, but I do feel it will be a
while, before we get really useful map data, if we don't get the import
function.
I hope this helps to put things into some perspective, and I am just trying
to be realistic..
All the best
--
Computer Room Services: the long cane for blind computer users.
Telephone Low-call: 08452 606 277
International: +44(0)1438 742286,
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Email: mailto:Steve@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web site: http://www.comproom.co.uk <http://www.comproom.co.uk/>
_____
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
Steve Dryden
Sent: 15 July 2006 01:20
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Loadstone GPS - free accessible GPS navigation for
your mobile
Hi Monty,
This looks really good. Not so sure on all it's features yetl. Will take a
good look at the site butt briefly, how does it compare to something like
wayfinder? Are all the POI's identified only if you program them, or are
there any pre done from maps?
Best regards.
Steve
----- Original Message -----
From: Monty Lilburn <mailto:monty_ac@xxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 12:28 AM
Subject: [access-uk] Loadstone GPS - free accessible GPS navigation for your
mobile
Hello all,
I just wanted to let everyone know about a new free GPS navigation
application called Loadstone GPS. It works on mobile phones and is
compatible with the various screen readers such as Talks and Mobile Speak.
To find out more information, visit:
http://www.loadstone-gps.com
Admittedly it may not be suitable for everyone but it's worth checking out
if you are interested in having accessible GPS navigation that works on
your mobile phone.
There is a mailing list set up for Loadstone GPS specific discussion as
well as general GPS navigation discussion. More info on the web site.
Best regards,
Monty
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