GPS and thankyou...

["Phil Harris" <phillip.harris1@xxxxxxx>]

Just wanted to let you know how my first real foray out with GPS went ...
used the Garmin eTrex (£130 from Maplin), my Compaq M300 (£999 from Tempo)
and MS Autoroute 2001 (£50) to navigate my way up to see John Hill today.

John lives up in Hampstead (I'm in Winchester) which to me is central
London
and so I was pooping myself this morning when I set off - especially as
Autoroute had planned me a route that took me through Piccadilly and up
along Tottenham Court Road (maybe it already knew my addiction to
gadgets?).
Anyway, with the laptop balanced on the seat beside me I got to Johns
driving through London with only two wrong turns - spotted immediately and
solely due to my own misreading the screen. It even guided me back out
again
and all the way home on a fully charged standard battery with 9% remaining
as I pulled into the drive at about 10:30. I thought this pretty good at
getting on for 1.75 hours with the screen on!

As John said ... the route wasn't the best and local knowledge would have
resulted in a shorter/quicker/less congested route but given that I know
sod
all about the inner workings of London I was willing to let uncle Bill
guide
me and he did so admirably.

As an adjuct to this I'd like to thank John for his hospitality today ... I
spent a pleasant day mulling over everything from wireless LANs to the UKHA
"project" with John and it was nice to meet yet another group
member. (Plus
he makes a damn decent ham roll and a good mug of tea which even my missus
hasn't mastered yet!) It seems that John joined us just before Paul and I
got sh*tfaced on the group that infamous Saturday evening and miraculously
wasn't put of the group as a whole or meeting up with me!

Phil