long live the GPS

[Pete M]

so I was perusing good ol' google maps exploring alternatives to a local intersection that's about to undergo major reconstruction and one of my routes brought up this li'l beauty.  inside of a 3 mile stretch, this road has 4 different names.  (I couldn't get the map zoom to include the 4th name and still show the whole thing, but believe me, the last bit on the right is a new name).  this is an extreme example of what's common in georgia.  way different than what I'm used to in Michigan.  man, getting around on southern roads with a map must have been... challenging. 

 

 

[87MJTIM]

Looks like an old road that the other streets were built around.  You see that is some areas.  If you stand in an intersection, a road may have one name in one direction; turn around 180* and the road has a different name.  Usually, the names are for the next town, or cluster of houses, or just some long forgotten landmark, the road went through.  When you get to the next town, the road is named for the town you just came from.  I see that a lot in around here (MD).  Head south out of Frederick on "Urbana Pike."  When you reach Urbana, the road north if "Frederick Rd."

[mjeff87]

It's the South.....get used to it

 

One of the main drags around me here changes names 4 times in the span of 10 miles.  The worst part is, at some arbitrary point that someone long, long ago decided on, it changes from East Hundred Road to West Hundred Road.  Listening to the morning/afternoon traffic reports (so I can get home), you hear accidents on "westbound East Hundred Road" and/or "eastbound West Hundred Road" and the like every day.  It's a mental nightmare to work out in your head while driving to avoid whatever it is, wherever it is.  Especially if they don't give a landmark or the nearest cross street.

 

A couple miles down the road going westbound on West Hundred Road, it turns into Ironbridge Road.  Going the other way (eastbound on East Hundred) it is simply called "Route 10".  The whole damn road is State Route 10 for crying out loud......why don't we just use one name for it all??????

[Keyav8r]

It all goes back to The War of Northern Aggression when rampaging mobs in blue, led by officers who would today be charged with war crimes for their actions, wantonly and maniacally wreaked devastation on Southern infrastructure.  Then the economic strangulation after cessation of the invasion made it almost impossible to rebuild our ravaged lands.

And that’s history (from the Southern point of view).

[87MJTIM]

...but let us know how you really feel about the Civil War.

[Keyav8r]

Too subtle?

[87MJTIM]

Not at all.

 

Did you have any friends named Sherman or Grant growing up? 

[PCO6]

c51a6a4604ae81707d89513f029476ffx.wdp.jxr

[Keyav8r]

Of course not, y’all!  Weren’t none around.  What right thinking Southerner would name their son Sherman or Grant?

[Jeep Driver]

No one here seems really hip on current events....however.......

 

https://phys.org/news/2018-12-next-generation-gps-satellites-space.html

[Pete M]

yup, an upgrade is coming.   

[Eagle]

Speaking of GPS, I had an amusing interaction this afternoon.

 

I'm still cruising along with my Samsung Galaxy S3 cell phone, which even I admit is getting a bit long in the tooth. But it still works. A year ago I tried upgrading to a newer Samsung through Verizon -- and I sent it back within 48 hours. I HATED it. My old Galaxy S3 defaults to a restful, black background with white text for most screens. The new one was black on white, which is both more difficult to read, and more tiring on the eyes. The only option Verizon could suggest was in the accessibility options, where there's a feature to reverse the display. That got me white on black -- but it also inverted the colors for all the screen icons.

 

So I thought I'd try again. It's now a year later, but the two Samsung phones Verizon offers that are within my budget range are still the Galaxy J3 and Galaxy J7. Both and entry-level smart phones. Aside from the screen color issue, neither includes a built-in compass or gyroscope. In the year since my aborted upgrade, I've been playing with some compass and aircraft/sailboat navigation apps, and I've learned that compass apps do strange things when installed on a device that doesn't have a built-in compass. The apps (most of the ones I've tried, anyway) can use GPS to generate a compass heading as long as you're moving, but as soon as you stop the heading defaults to North (0 degrees). That's obviously not useful when hiking if you want to stop on top of a hill and take a sight to a landmark in the distance. Or sight along a known heading and pick a landmark on which to align.

 

I tried to explain that to the Verizon sales drone, and he just couldn't get it. His "solution" was to just download a compass app. "You don't need a compass in the phone."

 

 

[DirtyComanche]

2 hours ago, Eagle said:

Speaking of GPS, I had an amusing interaction this afternoon.

 

I'm still cruising along with my Samsung Galaxy S3 cell phone, which even I admit is getting a bit long in the tooth. But it still works. A year ago I tried upgrading to a newer Samsung through Verizon -- and I sent it back within 48 hours. I HATED it. My old Galaxy S3 defaults to a restful, black background with white text for most screens. The new one was black on white, which is both more difficult to read, and more tiring on the eyes. The only option Verizon could suggest was in the accessibility options, where there's a feature to reverse the display. That got me white on black -- but it also inverted the colors for all the screen icons.

 

So I thought I'd try again. It's now a year later, but the two Samsung phones Verizon offers that are within my budget range are still the Galaxy J3 and Galaxy J7. Both and entry-level smart phones. Aside from the screen color issue, neither includes a built-in compass or gyroscope. In the year since my aborted upgrade, I've been playing with some compass and aircraft/sailboat navigation apps, and I've learned that compass apps do strange things when installed on a device that doesn't have a built-in compass. The apps (most of the ones I've tried, anyway) can use GPS to generate a compass heading as long as you're moving, but as soon as you stop the heading defaults to North (0 degrees). That's obviously not useful when hiking if you want to stop on top of a hill and take a sight to a landmark in the distance. Or sight along a known heading and pick a landmark on which to align.

 

I tried to explain that to the Verizon sales drone, and he just couldn't get it. His "solution" was to just download a compass app. "You don't need a compass in the phone."

 

 

 

The slightly updated model of the J3, called the J3 "Emerge", has the accelerometers and compass necessary for that function to work.  I believe the latest J7 (Refine) will also have these features.  Apparently enough people were annoyed by the poor function of Maps without it, so they added them.

 

Tell them to stop trying to sell you old stock.

[Eagle]

8 hours ago, DirtyComanche said:

 

The slightly updated model of the J3, called the J3 "Emerge", has the accelerometers and compass necessary for that function to work.  I believe the latest J7 (Refine) will also have these features.  Apparently enough people were annoyed by the poor function of Maps without it, so they added them.

 

Tell them to stop trying to sell you old stock.

 

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[Edit to add] As a result of this comment, I just went to the Verizon Wireless web site. The prices I was given yesterday were the same as they were a year ago -- $7/month for the J3 and $10/month for the J7. On the web site, the prices are $0/month for the J3 and $5/month for the J7. But ... apparently not the most current versions suggested by DirtyComanche.

 

 

[Eagle]

Well, that's just wonderful.

 

The Verizon web site clearly shows that both the J3 3rd Generation and the J7 2nd Generation do NOT have a removable battery. But the chat agent (or bot) on the web site says "No worries, the battery is removable." I just read through 182 pages of the downloaded user manual for the J7, and it doesn't mention either the battery, or the internal sensors.

 

The cell phone industry has obviously entered the commodity stage. It's no longer considered important to tell users anything useful. 'Take what we give you, peon, be happy with it and STFU."

[Pete M]

when in doubt, search youtube for battery removal instructions.    all batteries are removable in some way.  I had to buy a special tool (cost maybe $2 on ebay) for my parents' old iphones.

[Jeep Driver]

How can I put this gently?

 

 

You say you are an architect, I assume you are on job sites, you are active and mobile?

 

I'm a contractor, without my phone I'm out of business. 

 

What do you expect from a phone you'll pay $5 a month for?

 

Phones, like any devise, are disposable. I know it's difficult for some of you to wrap your minds around that concept. 

 

May I suggest the S8 Active, I had the S6 Active for two years and I have the S8 Active for almost two years now, Active phones will take a beating. 

 

I really want a Note 9 but I'll wait to see if Samsung releases a S9 Active in the coming months. 

 

My phone is my source of news, internet, email, texts, radio, GPS, camera,.....and yes, even a phone. When customers send me links to materials they want to use or photos of designs or directions or prints and layouts or........when I send them photos of my work.........I need a powerful tool, not a $5 POS. 

 

FWIW, I pay exactly $251.00 per month for two phones and a tablet, not cheap but sometimes you really do get what you pay for. 

 

 

As for the compass, I've never used it, I've never used a compass for that matter, my internal compass has never failed me. 

[Eagle]

4 hours ago, Jeep Driver said:

My phone is my source of news, internet, email, texts, radio, GPS, camera,.....and yes, even a phone. When customers send me links to materials they want to use or photos of designs or directions or prints and layouts or........when I send them photos of my work.........I need a powerful tool, not a $5 POS. 

 

 

My phone is a phone, and I sometimes use the calendar. For things that call for a computer, I have a tablet and a notebook, and a Verizon Jetpack portable WiFi hotspot.

 

Playing with the compass and navigation apps is, at least for now, just playing.

[Jeep Driver]

4 hours ago, Eagle said:

 

My phone is a phone, and I sometimes use the calendar. For things that call for a computer, I have a tablet and a notebook, and a Verizon Jetpack portable WiFi hotspot.

 

Playing with the compass and navigation apps is, at least for now, just playing.

I'm speaking to the bigger picture here. 

 

When speaking to prospective customers, I have found that I have just seconds to capture their attention, if I cannot pull information out of my pocket and show them current work or past work or ideas or products.........I've lost their attention. My tablet stays in the truck for the more patient and creative and curious. 

 

I build a lot of showers, in our area we install our own pans, I photo-doc everything that gets covered up, not only to prove that I did the work but to prove I did it correctly. The GCs I work for don't even question me, they know I document everything and can prove my work instantly. 

 

Customer shows me receipt for tile they purchased or any other materials, I photograph the receipt, or they send me a photo of the receipt, either way, I have the information I need to pick up materials. 

 

If I make a purchase that I need to get reimbursed for I can sent the receipt in via email instantly. And I also have an e-record at all times. 

 

Approvals, I can send photos of my work to GCs or customers via text or email and get an approval to go forward whenever there may be a question, approval comes quickly and I have a record of approval, colors or designs or framing or .........whatever it is, no one can ever come back and say they did not approve. Or approvals for additional work or damage that needs to be repaired, they can see what I see in real time and make decisions accordingly. 

 

Inspections, if I can get my phone into wall cavities or floor cavities, I can see what direction wiring or plumbing or the condition of framing....etc....

 

Price-matching, scanning of bar codes for purchases, comparing products, e-coupons.............showing the unimaginative/ignorant sales people what I'm  looking for.....

 

I generally invoice from home but can and sometimes do remotely. The one thing I refuse to do, the one line I refuse to cross is mobile banking or mobile bill pay, I don't want any of that information on a phone that I may lose. 

 

Just a couple of examples and I'm certain others are using their phones for things I haven't thought of. 

 

Almost all of my customers are middle aged, wealthy, and fairly tech savvy, I try to keep up, I like to be taken seriously. 

 

 

My phone ain't a 'phone', it's my primary tool. 

[Pete M]

I'm a big fan of Samsung's Active series of phones.    I simply cannot be trusted with a fragile device.  

 

don't forget the used market when looking for a phone.    I've acquired several phones off ebay (for friends and family too).