AMBIT, the new Suunto range comes in two colors, black or silver, with or without a heart rate belt. It will be available in March 2012 in selected outdoor stores and the price is estimated to be between 400-500 Euro.

Bill Johnston, who is 83 years old, had wandered away toward a main highway. Joan Johnston recalled, “I looked over — was looking all around the parking lots and the shopping center, across the street from McDonald’s I saw him. … He couldn’t remember when I would be back. When I wasn’t there the he said — ‘Well where is she? I’ll just walk home.”‘ She picked him up and brought him home.

Bill Johnston is one of an estimated 5.3 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, and wandering is one of the most common symptoms. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, many will wander at least once during the progression of the disease, and many, three or more times which, Quijano noted, can make shoes loaded with GPS technology a literal life-saver, and ease the burden often placed on primary care-takers.

Andrew Carle, executive in residence of senior housing at George Mason University, saw a need to curb wandering and reached out to a California company that makes shoes with GPS systems. They partnered on a model for the elderly. “(Primary caretakers are) afraid to even turn their back on their loved ones for two or three minutes or even to go to the bathroom for a few minutes, because they’re afraid when they come out, they may be gone,” Carle said. “And this technology can really help them and gives them a chance of locating them.”

Seeking ways to control Bill Johnston’s wandering, Joan Johnston and son Alan Johnston were led to George Mason University and Carle, who offered them a pair of shoes to test. “We discussed it and we decided to try these shoes out on him,” Alan Johnston said. “And (we) thought this would be a good match and kind of went from there.” A computer programmer, Alan Johnston takes care of the technological side of things for his parents.

“The shoes give you more control,” Alan Johnston said. “My mom can call me immediately and I can give her immediate feedback on his location.” Carle said, “We’re trying to maximize the odds that they’re going to have this technology on them and the best location is to put it in shoes.”

Joan and Bill Johnston hope it will make their lives easier. The philosophy Joan lives by? “You take it day-by-day and moment-by-moment and try not to plan too far ahead,” she said. “I don’t plan more than a day ahead of time. And you take it, today.”
Carle also worked closely with a company in New Jersey Aetrex, on the shoe.

December issue has links to GPS maps for Garmin, Navitel and CityGuide, Maps to all countries in the Middle East and ….More information

Kish Island GPS Map

There are different types of maps; the traditional paper map, an internet generated map and a GPS map. Amongst all these, a GPS map is perhaps the most versatile and updated one. A GPS device is as good as the mapping information it holds. Thus GPS navigators come with basemaps and several points of interests that indicate the locations of gas stations or hotels. A GPS receiver comes preloaded with the detailed and most updated map information of a specific region or country. In case you need any additional data, you can always download it to your device. A few advantages a GPS map has over the others is stated below :

Advantage I: Most Up-to-Date

Unlike the traditional paper maps or an internet generated one, the GPS map is the most up-to-date one. This is because although, the device comes with preloaded maps of certain region, you can definitely download the latest version of the maps directly into your unit from the mapping website. Also the sat nav manufacturers ensure to have the most recent versions of maps on their site, wherein you get the detailed mapping data absolutely free of cost.

Advantage II: It provides the facility to personalise the map
Paper map and internet generated maps can also be customized to suit your needs. However you will need a marker to mark the locations of gas stations or trace your best hiking route. Once you use a marker or highlighter on the map, it is permanent and next time you want to mark something, you either need a new map or a different colour marker. Eventually you might have either spent a great deal on buying a new map everytime you visit a new place or there would be so many markings on your map that it would appear shabby and unreadable.

This is where GPS maps are useful. All you need to do is create a separate folder and save the data in the specific folder after every trip. You can later even make alterations or changes to it, as per your convenience and choice. The maps are in no way rendered unreadable. Saves you loads or time and money as well.

Advantage III: Easy to Trace Back
With a GPS map you can easily trace back your steps. This is because the device has the capability to track your progress, thus by just selecting the right buttons, you can easily get a complete history of the route taken, makes it simple to re-trace your steps. Although, this can also be done by using the paper maps, it is a little tedious and cumbersome procedure.

The above stated points are some of the reasons why users might prefer a GPS map from a traditional paper map. If you too need to reap the benefits of GPS maps, then just go and grab a satellite navigational unit that has the latest and updated GPS maps and plan your travel to unknown and unfamiliar cities.

It was earlier used for military purpose and in 1993 it was available for civilian use. These systems were degraded and thus affected its accuracy. Other factors affecting the accuracy of GPS in boat navigation depends on the speed of the boat, strength of the signals and environmental factors like geomagnetic and gravitational forces.

Signal strength depends on the distance of the satellite to the receiver, at the beginning the GPS system evaluates all the signals and selects the best 5 nearest satellite signals for navigation.
Advanced satellite navigation system called as Chart plotter can be used in boat navigation for determining your boats progress. It uses electronic chart display and an information system to display your accurate location in a chart, map or a specified area.

It will also give the distance to the nearest land or shore. To find the best and easiest route to a specific destination one can connect this GPS system to the boat radar. This will give you the track line or the way point to your destination.

The Iran GPS Map in Farsi includes:
* Complete detailed maps of Ahvaz, Arak, Ardabil, Bam, Babol, Babolsar, Bandar-Abbas, Chalos, Dizin ski resort, Esfahan (Isfahan), Fereydoon kenar, Ghom (Qom), Hamedan, Kashan, Karaj, Kerman, Kish Island, Nour, Noshahr, Mashhad, Qeshm Island, Rasht, Sabzevar, Sari, Semnan, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Uromiyeh (Urima), Yazd, Zanjan and …..

* Iran roads complete map
* Turn-by-turn voice directions in Farsi (Persian),
* Mapping/route guide in Farsi (Persian),
* Monthly & Yearly update and
* With more than 83.000 POI

It can be purchased at following web sites:
- MapShop.me Online Shop
- Iran GPS map for Mobiles

More information

Design changes for Android 4.0 include:
– Replacing physical buttons on devices with equivalent on-screen icons.
– New lock screen features – the ability to access camera and notifications.
– Ability to group apps and shortcuts by dragging icons onto each other.
– Redesigned multi-tasking screen. Applications are represented by scrollable tiles.

Other software changes include:
– Face recognition unlocking. Rather than entering a pattern code as in previous versions, users can opt to look into their camera.
– Enhanced email capability – support for nested subfolders
– Android Beam – users can swap web content or links to apps by touching their phones together.
– Enhanced voice input featuring a continuously open microphone – meaning phones listen out for instructions.

According to figures published by Canalsys in August, Android handsets accounted for 48% of smartphones shipped to retailers, compared to 19% for Apple devices. However, many more Android models are available, from manufacturers such as HTC, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson.

1. TV satellite dishes

These really are the “get out of jail free” cards in an urban area. This is because the dishes point at a geostationary satellite, one that stays over the same point on the Earth’s surface. In the UK there is a dominant satellite broadcaster, hence nearly all the dishes tend to point in the same direction – close to southeast.

2. Religious buildings

From earliest times, religious buildings and sacred sites have been laid out to give clues as to direction. Christian churches are normally aligned west-east, with the main altar at the eastern end to face the sunrise. Gravestones, too, are aligned west-east.
To find direction from a mosque, you need to go inside and look for the niche in one wall, which indicates the direction for prayer. This niche, known as al-Qibla, will be the direction of Mecca, wherever you are in the world. And synagogues normally place the Torah Ark at the eastern end, positioned so worshippers face towards Jerusalem. (Synagogues in countries east of Israel will face west.) The same applies in rural areas – especially those blessed with pubs screening sport.

3. Weathering

The prevailing winds carry rain and pollution. These then hit the buildings, leaving patterns. The wind comes from the southwest in the UK more often than from any other direction. This results in asymmetrical weathering patterns on buildings – similar to the erosion seen in nature. Look up, above the cleaned glass and metals of the lower floors, to the natural stone or weathered bricks higher up. Notice how the building’s corners all show subtly different weathering patterns. The contrast between southwest and northeast corners is the greatest. But the shifts in colours, where the rain and pollutants have left their mark, can be read on all sides with a little practice. Trees, too, indicate direction, with the very tops combed over by the prevailing wind.

4. Flow of people

Pacific navigators learned to follow the birds in their search of land. They quickly realised that while an individual bird can behave eccentrically, a pair – or even better a flock – will follow a pattern. The same is true of human beings. There is no point following an individual, you could end up anywhere. But following a crowd in the late afternoon will take you towards a station or other transport hub. In the mornings, walk against the flow to find these stations. At lunchtime in sunny weather, crowds move from office blocks towards the open spaces of parks and rivers.

5. Road alignment

Roads do not spring up randomly, they grow to carry traffic – and the bulk of traffic is either heading into or out of a town. So the biggest roads tend to be aligned in a certain way, depending on whether you are in the centre or on the outskirts. In the north or south of town, the major roads will tend to be aligned north/south. In the northwest or southeast, they will have a bias towards northwest/southeast. This is why road maps of big towns show a radial pattern. It is common sense, but very few people realise this when they feel lost in a big city.

6. Clouds

One of the best ways not to lose your sense of direction is to hold onto it. My favourite way of doing this in a city is to orientate myself – using some of the clues above – and then note the direction the clouds are moving. The wind pushing the clouds will remain fairly constant, providing there’s no dramatic change in the weather. This technique really earns its keep on underground journeys, especially to a new part of town. Simply look up before you head underground, and remember the direction of the clouds. When you emerge in a strange part of the city, look up again and you’ll be able to work out which way is which from the clouds overhead.
Source: MemNav

Like other Garmin sport watches, the Forerunner 910XT is GPS-enabled, so it captures all tracks, including swim tracks for analysis and upload. It offers detailed swim metrics such as swim distance, stroke identification, stroke count and pool lengths. Retail for Garmin Forerunner 910XT is about $400 alone and $450 with a heart rate monitor.