[gps-talkusers] Re: GPS Version 3 changes

Hello, Les,

As for the measurement, yes, you could do both Metric, the one I most prefer, 
and miles as I understand.  Smile.  But Mike will tell you himself.

> ----- Original Message -----
>From: "Les Kriegler" <lkriegl1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 23:42:45 -0400
>Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: GPS Version 3 changes

>Hi Mike,

>Sounds great.  How much will the upgrade cost from version 2 to 3?  At
>what specific date can orders be accepted?  Can we start the process of
>purchase orders now?  To whom should these orders be sent?  Also, on the
>feature side, is there a way to map out a vehicular route and then
>determine how far it is from one's current location to one's destination
>measured in miles?  Thanks.
>Best Regards,

>Les

>-----Original Message-----
>From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>[mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Michael May
>Sent: Monday, June 28, 2004 12:40 PM
>To: GPS-talkusers-freelists.org
>Subject: [gps-talkusers] GPS Version 3 changes


>Well, BrailleNote GPS version 3 is almost here, close enough to being
>out
>that we can tell you everything that is in this version versus version
>2.
>We will be taking orders at the Summer shows and shipping right
>afterwards
>and possibly at the shows  for those we see in person.

>Thanks to this list for lots of great suggestions and to an incredible
>testing team.  The list of changes here represents a huge incremental
>advance over version 2 and yet there are still things we have reserved
>for
>a version 4.  And, of course, I am sure you will tell us what else we can

>improve upon.
>Mike

>Version 3 Changes, June 26, 2004

>BrailleNote GPS Version 3 improves upon Address Matching, Automatic
>Route
>Calculation, Look-Around mode, Points of Interest functionality as well
>as
>incorporating newer POI and map data.  A brand new Virtual Explore mode
>has
>been added.  A host of smaller feature and quality improvements have also

>been implemented.

>The following is a cryptic list of these changes in Version 3 versus
>Version 2.  A better understanding of these items can be found by reading

>them in context within the user manual.  Remember that we use the word
>"chord" to refer to a Space plus a letter or dots on the Braille
>keyboard
>and to the Control key plus a key on the QT keyboard.

>Advanced POI Search: Chord F
>The software now remembers the distance interval and expands by that
>interval.  For example, if you search from 0 to 25 miles, subsequent
>expansions on that search will be in 25-mile increments.

>When doing a POI Advanced Search you are presented with a list of
>categories.  The Default category is "All." You can scroll through the
>category list or use the first letter of a category to hop directly to a

>specific item.  It remembers the last category used, but defaults to the
>ALL
>category every time you enter the GPS program.

>Some POIs also have sub category names.  If you enter the word "Wreck" in

>the POI search string, you will find the sub category "Wrecks" within
>the
>Marine category.  Not all categories have data yet.

>New Look Around Features: Chord M
>When you turn on the Look-Around mode, you are presented with the POI
>categories as well as the option for intersections to trigger
>automatically
>or not.  The default is "All POIS including intersections." If you select
>a
>category, it will be remembered for Look-Around mode until you exit the
>GPS
>program.  The POI Categories include the User POI category.

>At the same time Look-Around mode looks for nearby POIs, it now searches

>for intersections within 200 feet when you are traveling under 15 miles
>per
>hour.  You can choose to look around for POIs only, Intersections only,
>or
>both.

>New prompt:
>When you start the GPS program, with the receiver turned off or
>disconnected, you now hear, "Turn on your GPS receiver or press V for
>Virtual Mode."

>The GPS Menu has a new item to take you directly to the GPS User's
>manual.

>If you select a route calculation that has a destination over 100 miles
>away from the starting position, you receive a warning that the route
>will
>take a long time to calculate so you have the option to cancel.

>Sendero will now provide a monthly compilation of all User POI files
>sent
>to the company.  A utility has been created to compress the User.POI
>files
>into a merged User.BPI file.  This User POI file will be made available
>by
>email and/or on the Sendero web site for version 3 users.  The first of
>these files is included with the new POIs.  Users are encouraged to
>submit
>their POIs to Sendero to be added to the collective user database at the

>beginning of each month.

>Command Changes:

>B and Chord B for Pedometer now impact GPS and Explore modes
>independently.

>C now announces other map features in addition to City/State/Zip.  If you

>are in a bay for example, it will announce the name of that body of
>water
>if it is in the map database.  You will hear it after the city name and
>before the state and zip.  You may also hear a county name, college
>campus
>or park announced.

>Chord C is a new command that announces a complete list of available map

>features for a location.  These include the road classification, speed
>limit, number of lanes, address range on each side of the road, city,
>surrounding borough or other similar classification if there is one,
>county, country and zip.

>Record POI on the QT is now Control R.  It used to be Control P.

>Record POI on the BT is SPACE with Dot 3.

>Chord P now announces POI details like phone number and address on both
>the
>BT and QT.

>The letter P announces the POI name, just as it did before.

>Chord X announces intersection details like which street you are on and
>the
>compass orientation of the cross streets.

>Chord D now sets an Explore position as a destination in addition to its

>previous function of setting a waypoint or Point of Interest as a
>Destination.  Simply press Chord D after exploring the map in virtual
>mode
>and the name of the intersection will be set as your destination.  Be
>aware
>that if a Point of Interest should trigger from the Look Around mode, it

>could be tagged as your destination unless you press the X key or
>Explore
>Left, Right or Forward first.

>Version 3 also has a slight difference in the W & Chord W commands in
>GPS
>mode.  Each time you press W, the total distance to that waypoint is
>added
>to the previous waypoints in your route.

>In virtual mode this behaves like it did before.  So this means if you
>want
>to virtually walk to route and find out how far each section of the
>route
>is enter virtual mode and use the W / CHORD W keys.  Since W really
>moves
>the current waypoint, it only makes sense in GPS mode that it gives you
>the
>distance and heading from your GPS position and not from the previous
>point
>in the route.

>Z, Altitude, now says "near sea level" when you are within 100 feet of
>sea
>level.

>Virtual Explore mode commands

>Turn Left, BT dots 23, QT Control Left Arrow
>Turn Right, Dots 56, QT Control Right Arrow
>Forward one Intersection, BT Dots 2356, QT Control Up Arrow Back up one
>intersection only, BT SPACE with Dots 2356, QT Control Down Arrow

>Improvements in address searching

>No Township:
>Many of the Township city names have been merged into their respective
>city
>names.

>Cross Streets:
>If the address you enter is not found during an Address search, a list
>of
>cross streets will be presented.  An alternate street number will be
>presented, which you can select by pressing Escape, SPACE with Z on the
>BT
>keyboard.  Note, if you do not enter a street address, the cross street
>list will also be presented.

>The cross street list in the Address matching mode is not completely in
>order.  You will find that sections of streets are in order but not the
>entire cross-street list.  The purpose of this list is so that the user
>has a choice of potential cross streets if an address number is not
>available.  If one needs to see the exact layout of cross streets, the
>Virtual Explore mode can provide this.

>Address Matching Improved:
>Successful City, street name and street number matching is now much
>better.
>When traveling on a train, cities can now be announced.

>Automatic Route Calculation:
>A number of programming changes have been made to improve automatic
>routes.

>Accessing lists by letter:
>When selecting a POI Category, City, Street or Cross Street from a list
>of
>choices you can either scroll through the list as before or use any
>letter
>A-Z to hop directly to items beginning with that letter.  By pressing
>the
>same letter repeatedly you will scroll through the list of items
>beginning
>with that letter.  Once you reach the end of the list with items
>beginning
>with that letter pressing the same letter again will repeat the process
>over.

>Distance calculations are even more precise.

>Two additional digits have been added to the latitude/longitude
>announcement.  Press the letter, Y.

>POI searches have been sped up.  Selecting a POI category increases
>searches
>even more.

>Version 3 announces "A Shoreline" or "A Railroad." These two classes of
>data have been added to the announcements but automatic routes will not
>route you on to a shoreline or a railroad.  The name of the body of water

>associated with that shoreline will be announced if it is in the data.

>Maps now have the complete state name and not its 2-letter abbreviation.

>Remember this when entering the state in the first field of an address
>search.  Enter DC however for the District of Columbia.

>Spell mode now slows down the speech so you can hear each letter more
>easily.

>When you are within 12 feet or less of a point or destination, the
>announcement now simply says, "Near" instead of giving you the heading
>and
>distance.

>Changes in GPS Receiver Types:
>The Default GPS receiver type set under the GPS Options Menu is now
>"Serial
>GPS." This mode is recommended for the Earthmate receiver.  It provides a

>slight improvement in processing time over the Magellan receiver type.
>An
>option for a Compact Flash GPS receiver type has also been added
>although
>the current models are not as good as the Earthmate.

>Improved Map Data:
>The street map data is now current through Q1 2004, well over a year
>newer
>than the Version 2 maps.  The U.S.  is now over 4.8 GB, 12% larger.  New
>maps
>for Europe are being released.  Canada is available for the first time.

>Increased POI data and functionality:
>Our POI database has increased from 750,000 points in the U.S.  to over a

>million points of interest.  Points are included for Guam, Puerto Rico
>and
>nearby islands as well as a smattering of points in countries around the

>world.  Detailed information is available for many of these points such
>as
>address and phone number.  New POI categories have been added like
>highway
>exits, large medium and small cities, hospitals and more.  If you don't
>find
>a city easily during an address search, use the POI search to find it.

>See the ReadMe, audio tutorial, User manual and receiver Getting Started

>documents for more details.



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