Are Sat-Nav Systems Becoming Information Overload?

curtS writes "The Economist's tech editor reviews the ever-more-detailed assistance of mobile GPS devices, and wonders if the attention-sucking visual complexity isn't more trouble than it's worth. He contrasts the simplicity of London's Underground map (not directionally accurate but visually easy to understand) and his own habit of dimming the display and using the audio commands for guidance."

.no

[Dance_Dance_Karnov]

no more than a map I suppose

Situational awareness

[wsanders]

I have to post quickly, I have a Prius with a technology editor pinned inside I need to unwrap from around a bridge abutment.

Most people have pretty poor situational awareness. I've overheard more than once on he local ham radio repeater a conversation similar to this:

Ham driver: "Help help I have an emergency, I need a phone patch to CHP!"
Ham answers from somewhere: "Where are you?"
Driver: "I'm on the freeway!"

And so on. I can only imagine what 911 dispatchers go through.

Re:technology editor sucks at technology?

[Anonymous Coward]

Wait, isn't sucking at multitasking already multitasking, right there?

*ducks

*head explodes

Case in point

[jdeitch]

Just last week, here, we had a truck driver following his GPS ignore no less than EIGHT road signs saying "no trucks allowed" ...

Then he got stuck on the train tracks (which was WHY the signs said "no trucks allowed") ... the predictable result followed, and about 24,000 lbs of pizza ingredients got scattered over a fairly good chunk of town.

There are some people in the world who just shouldn't abandon paper.

Re:technology editor sucks at technology?

[Anonymous Coward]

2 metric tons of steel down a road at 60MPH or faster.

Please don't do that. We've lost mars probes because of things like that.

This is a great article, except...

[starglider29a]

...it's hard to read on my iPhone while driving!

Anyone reading Doonesbury?

[Bazman]

There's a storyline on Doonesbury in a studio where they are recording celebrity SatNav voice-overs. What we really need is James Earl-Jones on our SatNav. http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20091207 [doonesbury.com]

Re:Anyone reading Doonesbury?

[zippthorne]

Yeah, but "What is thy bidding, my master?" gets pretty old after only a couple of destinations are entered, and "Your lack of faith disturbs me" is a pretty obnoxious replacement for "recalculating."

Re:Useful Safety Feature

[6Yankee]

I need to get my dad one of those. There's nothing quite as disconcerting as barrelling down an on-ramp, accelerating through 80mph, and realising he's driving the screen...

Re:.no

[dov_0]

I find maps far less distracting, far less annoying and generally far more useful. Personally, I never really trust anything with a womans voice that gives directions...