[gps-talkusers] Re: Post codes and zip codes
- From: "Richard Myers" <dkmyers28@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 2005 20:49:42 +0900
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)
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