Interesting Articles Re SUNA (get there sooner) for GPS Devices

GPS Gadgets About to Get Smarter:

http://www.australianit.news.com.au/story/0,24897,22628065-39525,00.html

Australia’s First Real-Time Traffc Information Service for GPS:

http://www.gadgetguy.com.au/articles/884/australia-s-first-real-time-traffic-information-service-for-gps-in-car-navigation

Live Traffic Reports Coming to a GPS Near You:

http://www.aussiecommunity.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=45785

GPS ‘My Home Location’

Replacing the days of old when cars were broken into to steal car cassette/radios/CDs, GPS devices are now high on the list of items stolen from motor vehicles.

Unlike stolen car stereos, primarily stolen and sold for cash, the main purpose of thieving GPS devices from cars is for the thief to look up the owner’s home location and assuming that the device was stolen from the car at a location other than the home address, then the thief can be relatively certain that you are not at home when he/she decides to pay your home a visit.

Aside from the precaution of dismantling your GPS device when you exit the car, it is best to actually take the device with you. Thieves know from the residual marks left on the windscreen from the GPS cradle that although the device may not be visible, it may still be somewhere in the car, for example stowed in the glovebox, and if this is the case the device will still be stolen.

To further safeguard your home address, if indeed your device is stolen, DO NOT enter your correct home address details in the My Home Location. It is one of those crazy things that people enter into their devices, but one must assume both that people know where they live and if they are nearby home then the directions to get home from nearby. Therefore, to thwart would be thieves from breaking into your home:

1. Enter no home address details;

2. Enter your street name or nearby street with no house number;

3. Enter the address details of your nearest local police station; or

4. create some other diversionary address that does not in any way lead to your premises.

Another consideration regarding your GPS is whether it is covererd by insurance. It is best to list your GPS under both your Home & Contents Insurance as well as advising your motoring organisation, for example the NRMA in NSW. It may well be the case that NRMA may cover a broken car window that was broken into to steal a GPS, but not the device itself.

GPS (Global Positioning System) Devices – never get lost again

If you are in the market for a GPS device, and why not – these devices are becoming lower-priced, more sophisticated, easier to use, more reliable and except for the initial hardware/device cost free to use, making car travel around Australia  and for the cost of extra maps other continents such as Europe and the USA – then in making your decision to purchase one you should bear in mind a relatively new technology SUNA Traffic Channel – see http://www.sunatraffic.com.au/ for more information – and whether the GPS device you are planning to purchase is SUNA compatible or SUNA capable. SUNA is coming to Sydney in 2008.

Effectively SUNA Traffic provides real time traffic information, allowing users to bypass traffic jams and hazards, potentially saving motorists significant travelling time reductions. And who wouldn’t want something that has the potential to reduce the time spent in Sydney’s horrific road congestions.

There are now a number of manufacturers providing GPS devices including TomTom, Navman, Garmin and others. One device that was recently released by Navman is the S90i, which is SUNA ready.

The s90i is the GPS device I recently purchased. It is easy to set up, extremely accurate, and connects quickly to available satellites. It also has an onboard 2 megapixel digital camera and using Navpix allows users to navigate to destinations based on the photos taken and stored. The photos once taken record the GPS coordinates for that location. It also has text-to-speech – the chosen recorded voice providing audible instructions to turn at particular street names, rather than the generic turn right in 500 metres.

If you would like more information or advice regarding GPS devices please do not hesitate to get in contact.

A new GPS device would make a fantastic Christmas 2007 gift.

Roboform Password Manager

One of my favourite as well as most useful applications is Roboform – which describes itself as Password Manager, Form Filler, Password Generator, Fill & Save Forms.

You can download Roboform for FREE, but users are limited to storing a maximum of 10 passwords.

In upgrading to Roboform Pro, there are three versions available. My recommendation is using the Roboform2Go version. This version runs off a portable USB drive, allowing your passwords to be accessible via any computer you access. Although Roboform is protected by a Master Password, the main risk here is the loss of your USB drive, and the potential for someone to break your Master Password for your version of Roboform.

If you are only wishing to store and retrieve information and passwords on one machine then a single Roboform License is the preferred option. This currently is listed as US$29.95, but if you use the following discount code ‘SMC‘ you will receive an automatic US$10.00 discount.

The reason why Roboform is one of my favourite applications is simply I have a multitude of passwords for a variety of websites I either subscribe to or have to access. These include sites I use regularly such as accessing my Bank online, paying mobile phone and utility bills, managing my website and many more.

Trying to remember all my passwords is next to impossible and Roboform both allows storage of these passwords, filling in my username and password details and the ability to print all my details if I require a hard copy. Not only does it reduce the need to remember passwords, it allows me straight from Roboform to select the website I wish to navigate to and completely access the page – a reduction in time and typing.

The other benefit of Roboform is its ability to create unique paswords. One of the problems many internet users face is that often they use the same password for many websites, and they choose one that they can easily remember. The best passwords are those that are greater than 6 alpha-numeric characters, and Roboform can create these on the fly for you.

I highly commend this software to you.

If you wish to purchase Roboform please click on the following link:
Order Roboform

Introduction to My Favourite Applications

In this category I highlight my favourite and most useful applications, as well as share my experiences using them.

As always feedback is much appreciated.