Can the Garmin map set be used by a blind person? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Myers" <dkmyers28@xxxxxxxxxxx> To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2005 6:49 AM Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Post codes and zip codes > Hello, Liam, > Are you still here? I hope so. In Japan, where I live now, and in the > US, > where I have a second home, as far as I know, the post code does not > identify single dwellings. Map Quest is a free service on the Internet > with > versatile expandable map sections of the US in great detail and a little > less detail in the rest of the world. Map Quest will give you a post > code, > normally called "Zip plus 4". If you enter Map Quest with the number > address and street and town or city, you get a pinpoint location of the > address with all adjoining streets and some points of interest, like parks > and post offices. > > So far, that does not help GPS very much because GPS uses earth > coordinates > (latitude and longitude) to define locations. Garmin has a set of maps > covering the entire US on a single CD. These maps also have street names, > towns, and the like, but they do not contain street address information > for > houses or buildings. You could use Map Quest to get the physical location > of the address, then the lat-lon coordinates of the same point for your > GPS. > Kind of clumsy, but it would work for trip planning. > > The reason I am describing this is the difference in price. The only > price > is for the Garmin map set, and I think it is about $67, you will have to > check with Garmin on that. That is for the entire US. I have seen the > map > sets for the BN GPS for sale at the price of $250 per state. That is > $12,500 for the entire US, including Alaska and Hawaii. A little > difference > in price, one affordable, one not, at least on my budget. > > Now, what in the world is an "embuggerance"? You gotta explain that. > > Dick Myers > > > > From: "liam" <liam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Reply-To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Post codes and zip codes > Date: Thu, 6 Jan 2005 22:04:40 -0000 > > Richard, > > I understand that in the UK we might use post codes more than in the > states. A post code in the UK will identify a house rather than just a > general area. For us the use of a post code saves a lot of keyboard > work. It's the norm to be able to search on a post code for both PDA > based systems and car based systems. > > I don't understand your comment below about map quest. I don't want to > look up a postal code I want to be able to jump to the address > associated with that code. > > I'm hoping that you are not suggesting that systems should be set up to > make the life of programmer's easier? > > I take Mike's point that it would need some restructuring of the data > set or the indexes for referencing the data. I suspect what we have > here though is a cultural point that in the UK we use post codes a lot > and see the lack of them as a genuine embuggerance. > > - Liam > -----Original Message----- > From: gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:gps-talkusers-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Myers > Sent: 06 January 2005 02:02 > To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Subject: [gps-talkusers] Re: Post codes and zip codes > > > Looking at this from a GPS programmer's point of view, post codes (zip > codes) do not help ther GPS system to find a location. If you want Zip > codes, go to MapQuest. > > From: "liam" <liam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Reply-To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > To: <gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Subject: [gps-talkusers] Post codes and zip codes > Date: Sun, 2 Jan 2005 09:11:33 -0000 > > Mike, > > This is where I show my lack of world knowledge. > > Isn't a post code the same as a zip code? Or can the zip code be > calculated in some way? I'm puzzled as to why the use of post codes > should be so difficult given that it appears to be standard, for the > systems being sold in the UK at at the moment. Is the post code not > held within the map data set? > > Regards - Liam > > > > > > > > > (8):[(8) > > > > > > > > > (8):[(8) > > >