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[jimky20]

Hardware isn't the issue, USB GPS Dongles are available and work well with Linux.  The primary reason you won't be able to use the XO as a turn by turn GPS system is that there are no open map repositories. The street maps used by stand alone GPS systems are all proprietary.

[gerald]

Sorry for speaking without proof, but there is an open map repository. I found it a while ago and I can't remember where it was. I will look again and report back, but i believe it would be possible to use these maps (downloadable by county)

[jimky20]

I wasn't exactly clear either, there are partial open repositories being built by indviduals for open source software, and some talk of opening proprietary repositories , there are also projects to work with google map tiles, but none of these are nearly as complete or accurate as the repositories required to have useable turn by turn directions.

[pgf]

I wasn't exactly clear either, there are partial open repositories being built by indviduals for open source software, and some talk of opening proprietary repositories , there are also projects to work with google map tiles, but none of these are nearly as complete or accurate as the repositories required to have useable turn by turn directions.

this is true.  OpenStreetmap (http://www.openstreetmap.org) is a wikipedia-like mapping effort, and has lots of data, some of it very good, but it's not yet useful for true routing.  the TIGER data, which is the census bureau data, has complete, if somewhat inaccurate coverage of the USA, but also has no routing data.  the only free mapping project i know of that includes the meta-data needed for doing true assisted navigation is the "freemap israel" project (http://www.freemap.co.il), based on a branch of the RoadMap project (http://roadmap.sourceforge.net).

as i mentioned earlier in this thread, i'll be porting RoadMap to the XO laptop in fairly short order (after i finally get mine, sigh), but the version i'll be porting initially won't be the Freemap Israel version, but the main branch.  it supports rendering TIGER data (and a few other data sources including Canadian roads), and it recently gained the ability to render OSM (i.e. OpenStreetMap) data, but it doesn't have the ability to do navigation.  (but it can track your trips, and show you pre-planned routes, and save waypoints, etc etc.  just like a garmin or magellan GPS unit from 5 years ago.  :-)  (which is more useful than nothing, when you're lost.  trust me on this -- i speak from experience.)

paul

[olpc_franco]

Interesting.  I could zoom into my street at the openstreet site.

[olpc_franco]

That made me curious to see what google maps would show and I could see the sattelite photo of my home.  I could not get it to display full screen however.  Clicking on View > zoom at least made my property show a bit larger.

[Sarah Elkins]

pgf, for the "point" interface with the XO in tablet mode, what about a USB mouse?

[pgf]

pgf, for the "point" interface with the XO in tablet mode, what about a USB mouse?

oh, sure, that would work.  except that most of the time when you want tablet mode, you may not have a flat surface on which to use a mouse.  and if you have a flat surface, you can just open it up and use the keyboard.  so something like a USB joystick or touchpad would work better, esp. if it could be affixed somehow to the frame around the screen or the handle area, perhaps with velcro.

btw -- RoadMap runs fine on the XO.  i was able to borrow a friend's for a couple of weeks while waiting for mine.  i haven't had a chance to sugarize it yet, or make it installable as an activity, but if you're comfortable building from source, and installing programs via the command-line, then you should go ahead and try it.  you'll probably want to build from CVS, and not from the released 1.1.0, though either will work, i think.

paul

[yvesm]

About free map data, besides OpenStreetMap : http://openlayers.org/

[olpc_franco]

pgf,

Your comment on the mouse puzzled me so I tried it on mine.

I have no problem using a usb laser (?) mouse on my knee while the XO is in tablet mode.  One only needs to move it an inch or so in each direction to cover the small screen.

Franco

[pgf]

Your comment on the mouse puzzled me so I tried it on mine.

I have no problem using a usb laser (?) mouse on my knee while the XO is in tablet mode.  One only needs to move it an inch or so in each direction to cover the small screen.

franco -- you're right that i tend to forget about optical mice.  most of the mice i use still have rolling balls.

however -- repeat your experiment while standing up, and let me know how it works for you.  :-)

besides -- if your knee is available, presumably you're sitting down, and can simply open the XO and use it in "normal" mode.  tablet mode is for when you're lying on the grass, or walking down the street, or sitting on a crowded bus.  in those cases, i think needing another surface on which to use a mouse would be impractical.  (in my case, tablet mode will be used with the XO fastened to the tank of my motorcycle.  i need to be able to use a pointing device with one gloved hand.  (while stopped -- i wouldn't normally do this while riding.  but even when stopped, one hand often needs to stay on the handlebars.)

paul

[Gabey8]

Your comment on the mouse puzzled me so I tried it on mine.

I have no problem using a usb laser (?) mouse on my knee while the XO is in tablet mode.  One only needs to move it an inch or so in each direction to cover the small screen.

franco -- you're right that i tend to forget about optical mice.  most of the mice i use still have rolling balls.

however -- repeat your experiment while standing up, and let me know how it works for you.  :-)

besides -- if your knee is available, presumably you're sitting down, and can simply open the XO and use it in "normal" mode.  tablet mode is for when you're lying on the grass, or walking down the street, or sitting on a crowded bus.  in those cases, i think needing another surface on which to use a mouse would be impractical.  (in my case, tablet mode will be used with the XO fastened to the tank of my motorcycle.  i need to be able to use a pointing device with one gloved hand.  (while stopped -- i wouldn't normally do this while riding.  but even when stopped, one hand often needs to stay on the handlebars.)

paul

How about a USB touchpad? That might work.

[pgf]

How about a USB touchpad? That might work.

sure might.  the problem is finding such a thing.  it used to be that little add-on pointing devices were fairly readily available, back before every laptop always came with one (hard to imagine a time when they didn't, but it's true).  nowadays, though, it's hard.  for my purposes, a little joystick-like thing (like the ones popularized by ibm in the middle of their keyboards) would be perfect.  but i''ve yet to see a USB version of any sort -- let alone one that would be small enough to attach somewhere on an XO.  closest i've come is a couple of small trackball thingamajigs.  they might work, though the gloves might be an issue.

i'll be more willing to try ordering something to try it out, if i ever get my laptop.  ;-)

paul

[olpc_franco]

Paul,

I tried it walking around.  Easy to do since the mouse does not need to move far to cover the small screen.  One has to pay attention to the mouse on the screen, not the mouse on the (walking) leg.

"but i''ve yet to see a USB version of any sort "

or here...

USB touchpad - $25 on ebay direct buy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Touchpad-Mouse-USB-Ergonomic-Touchpad-Mice-Other_W0QQitemZ280202574321QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280202574321

Franco

[pgf]

USB touchpad - $25 on ebay direct buy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Touchpad-Mouse-USB-Ergonomic-Touchpad-Mice-Other_W0QQitemZ280202574321QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item280202574321

thanks!!  i hadn't seen that.