Personally, I dislike GPS on the smartphone. I like maps on my computer and my favourite feature is directions and routes. But I like looking them up at home, studying the route options and choosing one. Then I use memory and reference my familiarity and navigate without GPS. The exception is when I travel out of town to places I've not yet been. But still, when I travel the 4 hour drive to my uncle's place, I don't use GPS. I know the route. I very much like the feeling of knowing the roads on the land. It makes me feel situated in space in a way the GPS can't.
I also don't use it for hiking. I realize this is considered unsafe. But I do use a compass, I look around a lot, get my bearings frequently. I also always tell my wife which area I'm hiking in.
I wouldn't do that on a multi-day hike. But if I'm just leaving in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, I don't bring a GPS. If I break my leg and get stuck up there... well, that'll suck.
There are good and bad to both eras of technology. I like to read Kindle books on my phone or iPad. When I finish a book I can pick up a new one right away, which is useful if I'm not home. But the notifications keep coming in. Constantly. That doesn't happen with print books. And with a paper book, my wife can't get the idea she seems to get whenever I try to focus on a task and decide to send me a text asking a random question. It happens every single time, and Do Not Disturb doesn't help because you pretty much have to make your wife a VIP contact, which makes her impervious to Do Not Disturb.
But, let's say you want to call a friend and ask if he wants to hang out in the 1980's. There's only one phone in the house, and my mom could be on that thing for HOURS, making it unusable for everybody else. Then she finally gets off the phone and I go to call my friend, and HIS mom is on the phone for her own four hour conversation. Or his brother is talking to his girlfriend, leaving me completely stuck without the ability to reach out and make plans. And you really can't just walk to his house and knock on the door because it's impolite to come over without calling first. It was a strange time in its own ways.
Remember having pockets big enough to stash the paperbacks? Or spotting a book you wanted at the grocery store or 7/11? Asimov's magazine was still good value then, too. Cheap (thanks. Mr. Reagan), everywhere, and unpozzed* And there were always friends galore at the public library.
**sigh**
TL'DW Did he visit an arcade? Or a mall. Or shoot, a handball court (So Cal) or the pool? Always someone to hang out with...
My memories of the eighties are a little fuzzy, but during the nineties the technology was nearly the same. I remember getting lost so much! I will never be ungrateful for GPS, especially on my phone. Paper maps, or written directions, do not compare.
I have a particularly amusing memory in which I was going out with a group of friends. I thought this was "group date," and I was going on a "date" with the driver. I didn't like him, but it felt good to be asked out on a date. Well, we a have one more person to pick up and he insists that he knows the way. One hour of driving around in circles, and we finally get to the house. Out comes the real date. I was too proud to let my disappointment show, so I just act like nothing happened. Funny enough, the real date had no idea she was supposed to be on a date. So, he ended up lonely either way.
GPS enables you to just hop in the car and drive somewhere you’ve never been. Not in the cards with paper maps. If it was somewhere you were totally unfamiliar with you would have to spend a while before setting out. Usually it was somewhere short of that where you would figure it that it was close to X place you already knew and you would need to do Y after getting there. I feel like that kind of understanding takes longer to build with GPS-what’s close to what, etc.
Personally, I dislike GPS on the smartphone. I like maps on my computer and my favourite feature is directions and routes. But I like looking them up at home, studying the route options and choosing one. Then I use memory and reference my familiarity and navigate without GPS. The exception is when I travel out of town to places I've not yet been. But still, when I travel the 4 hour drive to my uncle's place, I don't use GPS. I know the route. I very much like the feeling of knowing the roads on the land. It makes me feel situated in space in a way the GPS can't.
I also don't use it for hiking. I realize this is considered unsafe. But I do use a compass, I look around a lot, get my bearings frequently. I also always tell my wife which area I'm hiking in.
I wouldn't do that on a multi-day hike. But if I'm just leaving in the morning and coming back in the afternoon, I don't bring a GPS. If I break my leg and get stuck up there... well, that'll suck.
I actually prefer paper maps. With GPS I can never get a mental picture of a new area.
That's fair.
If the keyboards too loud you are too young.
I bought a mechanical keyboard partly for that reason.
There are good and bad to both eras of technology. I like to read Kindle books on my phone or iPad. When I finish a book I can pick up a new one right away, which is useful if I'm not home. But the notifications keep coming in. Constantly. That doesn't happen with print books. And with a paper book, my wife can't get the idea she seems to get whenever I try to focus on a task and decide to send me a text asking a random question. It happens every single time, and Do Not Disturb doesn't help because you pretty much have to make your wife a VIP contact, which makes her impervious to Do Not Disturb.
But, let's say you want to call a friend and ask if he wants to hang out in the 1980's. There's only one phone in the house, and my mom could be on that thing for HOURS, making it unusable for everybody else. Then she finally gets off the phone and I go to call my friend, and HIS mom is on the phone for her own four hour conversation. Or his brother is talking to his girlfriend, leaving me completely stuck without the ability to reach out and make plans. And you really can't just walk to his house and knock on the door because it's impolite to come over without calling first. It was a strange time in its own ways.
"And you really can't just walk to his house and knock on the door"
You could when you were a kid in the 70s and 80s, and sorta could in college at the dorms, depending.
That was the one thing that came a bit strange as a new GenX mom post-80s. My daughter never experienced:
"Knock, knock"
"Yes."
"Hi, Mrs. Hobbit. Can Glyph come out to play?"
It was only playdates.
"And in between, there was [the books]"
FiFY
Remember having pockets big enough to stash the paperbacks? Or spotting a book you wanted at the grocery store or 7/11? Asimov's magazine was still good value then, too. Cheap (thanks. Mr. Reagan), everywhere, and unpozzed* And there were always friends galore at the public library.
**sigh**
TL'DW Did he visit an arcade? Or a mall. Or shoot, a handball court (So Cal) or the pool? Always someone to hang out with...
*You can spot it if you are looking.
My memories of the eighties are a little fuzzy, but during the nineties the technology was nearly the same. I remember getting lost so much! I will never be ungrateful for GPS, especially on my phone. Paper maps, or written directions, do not compare.
I have a particularly amusing memory in which I was going out with a group of friends. I thought this was "group date," and I was going on a "date" with the driver. I didn't like him, but it felt good to be asked out on a date. Well, we a have one more person to pick up and he insists that he knows the way. One hour of driving around in circles, and we finally get to the house. Out comes the real date. I was too proud to let my disappointment show, so I just act like nothing happened. Funny enough, the real date had no idea she was supposed to be on a date. So, he ended up lonely either way.
Good times.
GPS enables you to just hop in the car and drive somewhere you’ve never been. Not in the cards with paper maps. If it was somewhere you were totally unfamiliar with you would have to spend a while before setting out. Usually it was somewhere short of that where you would figure it that it was close to X place you already knew and you would need to do Y after getting there. I feel like that kind of understanding takes longer to build with GPS-what’s close to what, etc.