Gps

Cyclists, runners, walkers, even swimmers and windsurfers have now gone global. Using small, global-positioning devices, outdoor athletes are mapping their routes, tracking their distance, speed and elevation -- even creating their own virtual training partners, ones that beep instead of speaking when athletes are ahead of, or behind, their target goals. "If you're a gadget person," says Bruce Mosier, an avid runner and hiker from Santa Monica, Calif., "GPS is one of those things you absolutely need."

I'm a big fan of technology. Most guys are. This is why all important inventions were invented by guys. For example, millions of years ago, there was no such thing as the wheel. One day, some primitive guys were watching their wives drag a dead mastodon to the food-preparation area. It was exhausting work; the guys were getting tired just watching. Then they noticed some large, smooth, rounded boulders, and they had an idea: They could sit on the boulders and watch! This was the first in a series of breakthroughs that ultimately led to television.

LOST SOMEWHERE NEAR OGONQUIT, Me. -- It was deep in Stephen King country on a winding two-lane road, dark, forbidding forests on either side, the smell of woodsy decay heavy in the air, that an unfamiliar and inhuman voice suddenly spoke up, startling the mini-van passengers. "In one-point-four miles, turn right on Blue Star Memorial Highway." Aaaaaaaaaaagh! Scary? Well, perhaps you had to be there. Talking GPS navigation units may have become as ubiquitous in the U.S. as bankrupt car manufacturers, but there was still something awfully weird about what was coming out of this particular model.

NEW YORK -- Now that many of our children have cell phones, wireless companies such as Sprint and Disney Mobile are offering models with GPS systems. This feature raises important questions that parents should consider about the nature of growing up, trust and the illusion of safety that technology perpetuates. First, a confession: Unlike many parents, I have never believed that cell phones are essential. My daughter's cell phone was a gift from her grandparents before she left Manhattan for college.

In case you were wondering, there is a "Hilltop Drive" in downtown Baltimore. It's in the middle of the Clifton Park Golf Course. What you won't find there is the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, which is on Hilltop Circle. And if you're wondering where this column is going, it's about my circuitous route to UMBC via the Clifton Park Golf Course. I have some sort of major wiring glitch in the directions area of the brain. Because I am a part-time brain specialist as well as humor columnist, I have self-diagnosed this area to be in the left side of the hippocampus.

Jeremiah Harper pleaded guilty this month to selling cocaine. But despite previous convictions for drugs and manslaughter, a Baltimore judge agreed to sentence him to home detention, subjected to three years of round-the-clock monitoring by a Global Positioning System device. The 27-year-old is one of the first in Baltimore to be sentenced to this type of high-tech monitoring, the same type of system that powers navigational systems in cars. It is a punishment that could become more common in Maryland.

The family road trip is a journey for the brave of heart, especially when it involves tension between driver and navigator. Enter the Global Positioning System, which offers a measure of harmony to the family car. It was a four-week cross-country summer car trip that made me, the technology-averse navigator, a GPS believer. Here is how GPS works: a constellation of satellites transmits radio signals that allow receivers on the ground to pinpoint longitude, latitude and altitude. A network of ground stations known as the WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System)

A Baltimore teenager nicknamed "Murder" was facing new assault charges Monday, three days after he was placed on house arrest and equipped with a tracking monitor to deter criminal activity. The case is raising more questions about whether home monitoring, particularly that backed by an ankle bracelet global positioning device, can keep the public safe from potentially violent juvenile offenders. Last month, another teen, Lamont Davis, was convicted of attempted murder while on the same GPS system.

Anne Arundel County police are trying to track down victims of a newly popular form of automobile theft after finding 33 stolen navigational units in local pawnshops. Police have issued a warrant in 10 cases but declined yesterday to identify the suspect because the person has not been arrested. They are seeking additional crime victims who can provide descriptions of their stolen devices, particularly the serial number. Global positioning system units are a growing target for thieves because drivers often leave them perched on dashboards.

What's it like to navigate Baltimore's streets by satellite?To find out, Sun artist Charles Hazard and I went to the airport on a rainy day to try out a GPS-equipped rental car. We got a 1997 Ford Taurus guided by NeverLost, the name the Hertz Corp. uses for the Rockwell-built Global Positioning System.Our conclusion: NeverLost is like someone who meets you at the airport, but lets you drive. It describes each step in advance, with two voice warnings before each turn. Common sense is still required, but if you get lost, it calmly offers to set you right again.