A host still in search of himself on 'Fareed Zakaria GPS'












The namesake of the CNN Sunday issues talk show tries working from inside. And out.
By Jon Caramanica, Special to The Times
June 29, 2008
THE QUALITY of an interview has, naturally, a great deal to do with the quality of the interviewer. But it may have just as much to do with the perceived quality of the interviewer. In other words, is the person asking the questions worthy of receiving a greater-than-usual dose of truth?

Fareed Zakaria, host of the new CNN Sunday talk show "Fareed Zakaria GPS" (10 a.m.), comes to that battle well equipped. The editor of Newsweek International, he has been a frequent talking head on a range of shows in recent years (including amusing turns on "The Daily Show") and was, for 2 1/2 years, the host of the PBS talk show "Foreign Exchange With Fareed Zakaria."

On "Fareed Zakaria GPS" (in the show's usage, "GPS" stands for Global Public Square), which premiered June 1, time is split between a longish interview with a key political figure and a round-table discussion, led by Zakaria, with a rotating cast of experts.

Zakaria's status has helped him land high-profile interview subjects in the first weeks of his fledgling show: Tony Blair, Henry Kissinger, Condoleezza Rice (billed as Rice's first in-depth television interview in two years). As an interlocutor, Zakaria has a natural calm, and is utterly comfortable discussing the range of foreign crises, from the war in Iraq to Ireland's recent rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon, which would have paved the way for the creation of a president of the European Union, among other reforms.

There has been little discussion of Africa as of yet or Hugo Chávez or the recent shifts in power in Cuba. Nevertheless, Zakaria is refreshingly open in his viewpoints on the subjects he does take on. When interviewing Kissinger, he asked sincerely about the security concerns of Iran, not just the security concerns caused by Iran. After a brief news item on the recent protests in South Korea over the importation of U.S. beef, Zakaria noted, "Just one more example that being seen as pro-American remains a political problem in many parts of the world."

One-on-one, though, Zakaria's skepticism can get lost. He exudes a certain coziness with his guests, even the ones who are perhaps deserving of more circumspection. It has in moments bordered on complicity. Toward the end of his time with Kissinger, he asked the statesman, who had just turned 85, "Is your strategy now to simply outlive every critic that you have?" This is not, strictly speaking, a question. Instead, it is a wink -- to Kissinger, who could dodge (though he gave a better answer than the question deserved) and to the audience, to remind them that even though Zakaria had been playing nice, he was sympathetic to the opposition or at least aware of them.

He was tougher on Rice, opening with a carefully worded broadside about Gaza: "I can certainly say from my travels that the hypocrisy of saying we want democracy and then the minute they vote for Hamas, saying we're gonna try to strangle it is loudly proclaimed." (A transcript of the interview, with several questions that did not make it to air, is on the U.S. Department of State website.) Still, this had all the tension of breakfast at Davos or Sun Valley. The BBC's Jeremy Paxman of "Newsnight" never would have abided her evasions.

Nor would Tim Russert have. In the wake of Russert's passing, Sunday feels wide open. Tom Brokaw will anchor "Meet the Press" until the elections. ABC has the well-regarded "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," and CBS has "Face the Nation" with longtime host Bob Schieffer. Zakaria, an Indian-born, Yale- and Harvard-educated Muslim, offers perspectives that none of these other shows can. Earlier this year, he released "The Post-American World," his third book, about the decreasing power of the United States in the evolving geopolitical climate.

Global positioning device

HE IS astute enough to understand that the average American viewer might not be comfortable with that reality. But savvily, Zakaria positions himself as a true cosmopolitan, a liaison between them and us. On his first show, Zakaria introduced his mission thusly: "I know that right now to a lot of people, the world looks like a grim place. Almost every day you're bombarded with frightening headlines, stories of out-of-control governments and terrorists who want to kill you. But beyond those headlines, the picture is actually much brighter."

Note the use of the second person: It's part genial and avuncular and just a touch condescending. Inviting and exclusionary all at once.

But even though his interviews have been comfortable, when moderating his panel, Zakaria recedes; the contrast between him and CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, who has appeared on the panel three times, seemingly to help anchor it, has been striking.

Zakaria has attempted to strike notes of humor, with varying success. Two weeks ago, he said the show was getting rid of its dizzying background graphics, which were, if nothing else, distinctive. "The person responsible for this is now at Guantanamo Bay," he joked.

And in the premiere episode, after a lengthy chat with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Zakaria showed a clip from a British comedy show, "Dead Ringers," that included vicious impersonations of Blair and President Bush. (Blair presumably was no longer in the studio.) It was a vicious send-up and offered a glimmer of possibility that Zakaria might not be so cozy as he seemed. But at the end, after a laugh, he offered "apologies to Mr. Blair and, of course, President Bush." That sort of comedy is not a trick Zakaria has repeated. After all, the president may come by for a chat.




3 Tips on Installing a Car Navigation System

Based on the function, different types of navigation system use.

The plug and play, remote and in-dash software use to navigate the car. The GPS Company provides detail instruction about the installation of the different types of navigation system.

1. In-dash navigation systems built with three parts like external antenna, built-in screen, hideaway connection etc. It operates on a special navigation computer to manage the system. The in-dash component installations like stereo. Remote-mount navigation systems connect to the car through Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) wire. The VSS give the exact details of speed. Its function is same as the navigation system. The VSS system sends the different pulses based on the speed. The speed is ranging from 800-1000 miles. In some system it connects to the back light of the vehicles so can connect car in the reverse stage. The VSS provides training to the users. It can be available for 24 /7.

2. The gyroscope will provide the details when the vehicle gets turn on the road. The gyroscope is located in ups and down. It can set horizontal also. It is essential to set the gero properly to monitor the turn of the computer.

3. Plug-and-play GPS is easy to install. The receivers use the suction cup mount to directly attach to the windshield. The GPS unit provide power by power adaptor.

The different car navigation systems can be used different monitoring system to navigate car. It is essential to install the proper system depends on the usages. You must have to read the guidelines as per the need.
Stumble It!

Author: Christy Myers

Getting the Help of a GPS Fish Finder

The days of old school fishing no longer exists in the world today and now it has become all about having the latest and most innovative piece of technology to help you in your fishing endeavors. In the old days, people never thought about what technological gadgets they were going to need to bring on board with them to help catch fish. However, today just about anyone who fishes, whether infrequently or daily, has at least the basics. The basics include some type of GPS fish finder and/or chart plotter to assist in their journey.

For any sailor or fisherman, it is always still a good idea to have an updated paper version of a chart plotter on board, but it is difficult to keep up with this when there are so many choices of different GPS fish finders and other electronic navigation devices. There are two different ways that sailors can display electronic navigation charts; on waterproof chart plotters or on a personal laptop. Lately, it seems that the choice of methods is directly related to the size of boat they are traveling on and what length and types of trips they are taking. People who have boats that are smaller than fifty feet have been favoring the electronic chart plotters.

The sailors or seafarers who have larger crafts that provide them with more room and overall protection from the natural elements may choose to use a laptop. The way the charts on chart plotters work is they are created through a memory card that is inserted into a Global Positioning System unit. This allows them to have a clear view of where they are at the current moment and even more so, where they want to go and the best route to take to get there.
Getting the Help of a GPS Fish FinderGetting the Help of a GPS Fish Finder
There are many varieties of these electronic chart plotters to choose from so it is important to know what you are looking for before setting out on your search. Almost all of these products provide premium charts that display real pictures with three dimensional and satellite images. Some of the fancier, high end systems are equipped with touch screens as opposed to buttons to make it easier and more efficient to use. Ultimately, it does not matter which model you choose, but it is important to figure out which device you need. Chart plotters are a great idea for anyone who travels on a boat, but the package is really not complete without a GPS fish finder. A GPS fish finder is guaranteed to revolutionize your approach to fishing and improve the sport as a whole.


TomTom ONE XLS: High-end Features at a Budget Price

Text-to-speech isn't all that the TomTom ONE XLS has going for it. The receiver also features a wide screen (4.3 inches diagonal) rather than the square, pocket-size GPS screen size (3 inches) often seen on units at this price. TomTom just kept going, packing real-time traffic tracking capability into this unit (with purchase of an optional RDS-TMC traffic receiver for $129), and good online update utilities.

TomTom units have a solid feel, a nice dark-silver and gray finish, nice styling, and simple but effective and easy-to-adjust windshield mounting kits. On the road, the TomTom ONE XLS's screen and navigation are just as good as TomTom's pricier, high-end GO 920 model.

TomTom's exclusive "Map Share" capability is also enabled on this model. Map Share allows you to send map updates from your GPS to TomTom, and in turn, you are able to download and install map updates made by others.

The ONE XLS also features a "Help Me" menu location selection including the nearest car repair service center, police station, or hospital. The menu also allows users to locate the nearest emergency service provider. Users can also quickly identify their exact location, so that they can provide the information to emergency assistance providers.

The ONE XLS doesn't include higher-end features such as Bluetooth hands-free mobile phone connectivity, an MP3 player, image viewer, or remote control, but if you don't need these, you may be well-served by the ONE XLS.

On the road, the ONE XLS is a pleasure to use, and reliably provided me with solid directions and crisp, clear text-to-speech. Its high-sensitivity receiver picks up satellites very well. Two features I like that are missing on the ONE XLS are automatic day-night display mode (you need to switch these modes manually), and automatic on-off with car ignition.

From Fred Zahradnik,

Make Life Easy With Your GPS System

GPS or Global Positioning System is a modern technology which is used primarily for tracking the position of your object. The object can be anything from vehicles to human. The invention of GPS system can be dated back to the year 1940 when the radio-based navigational systems was used for Long Range Navigation. The GPS as we know today is the evolution of the Long Range Navigation technology. However, the system was available to public until 20 years ago. Now-a-days, GPS system is implemented in almost every facet of human life.

Mobile phones:

The advancement of GPS technology can also be seen being used in the mobile phone industry. For instance, some of the latest mobile phones are based on 3G network. Today`s mobile phones use the Global Navigation Satellite system. The GPS receiver in the mobile phones catches the signal transmitted by the Global Navigation Satellite. This helps in determining the location, time and speed of the object, i.e. the handset.

Personal vehicles:

What works for a mobile phone also works for vehicles such buses, trucks, cars and even motorbikes. The Global Positing System technology is being predominantly used for tracking the position and movement of the vehicles. Using GPS system in your vehicle helps you know the accurate route of your vehicle.

Police department:

The Global Positing System technology is also used by the police department to track the criminal through route maps and voice guidance. Understandably, this system is used under the sea and also in the sky for surveillance purpose.

Gaming console:

GPS system is used in many gaming consoles allowing the gamers to figure out their speed of the vehicles to improve their gaming skills. The latest play station introduced by Sony is the best example of GPS system-based gaming console.

How GPS Can Help You Improve Your Personal Life:

In your car:

If you are driving a GPS automobile you are least likely to lose you way no mater wherever you go. With the help of GPS you can figure out where you are located at any particular point of time. As a result you save your precious time in wondering about you are located.

While you play:

If you are a serious golfer, GPS will help can help you determine things such as how far is your ball from the hole, a bunker or even a water hazard. If you are sucker for soccer, use GPS to figure out your speed on the ground and total distance covered by you.

For you family members:

If you are one of those who always worry about their kids taking their car out, you can use the GPS in your car to track their movement no matter wherever they go. Similarly, if your parents or any family members are suffering from dementia and likely to get lost in their way back to home, you can use GPS in their vehicles which will help you tack their position and rescue them accordingly.

In your business:

If you are running a transport business and need to keep track of the drivers, GPS can do a world of good to your business. GPS system will help you find if your drivers are taking undue breaks or using wrong routes. Moreover, GPS will help you find the status of your shipment.

For you pets:

Are you a pet lover? Then use a GPS-based chip in your pet`s collar and rest assured that you pet it safe. You can let your pet roam freely enjoying its freedom. Even if it loses its way, it will be pretty easy for you to find it.

It`s not always easy to ensure you remember everything in the fast-paced life. To reduce the risk many people use GPS technology where they feel its importance.


Bring A Measure Of Safety With A Handheld GPS System

There are many great safety advantages to having a handheld GPS system that many people do not consider when they think about purchasing a system. It is important to think about the fact that a vehicle tracking device usually has some type of connection with the local police force.

In the event of a theft, the police can track where the car is and figure out the best way to retrieve it. The implementation of vehicle tracking systems is becoming a great way to combat car theft. The aim with these types of systems is: the more popular they become, the lower the theft rate.

There are other handheld GPS system advantages that are all related the importance of safety prevention. Something that also must be considered is the possibility of boat theft. Sometimes, this can be an even more common occurrence than car theft because boats are unattended for longer periods of time, whereas you most likely use your car everyday.

Many GPS tracking devices are connected to the local police channels and the units that can be mounted onto a boat are no exception. Since handheld GPS systems have become such a staple of the technology world today, most thieves are familiar with them so it also serves as a deterrent. Typically, when someone sees a GPS system mounted in a vehicle or on a boat, they will think twice about breaking in.

Handheld GPS systems are commonly used in companies where they have a lot of fleet drivers. It can be a risk to employ people who drive company owned vehicles everyday, so it relieves some of the worry by installing handheld GPS systems in each vehicle.

There are so many different GPS systems on the market today which can make shopping for one extremely overwhelming and somewhat confusing. If you are a person who spends a lot of time outdoors hiking and exploring, then you want to be sure that your system has features like: topographical mapping, back tracking capabilities, a computer interface, all weatherproofing and a Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

The Magellan GPS Meridian series is a great handheld system that you may want to consider. The most important thing to keep in mind when you are shopping around is not to get stressed out; take the time to find a GPS system that is tailored to your needs and will increase the level of safety in your life.


By : Phoenix Delray

GPS will help drivers go more with traffic flow


The most ambitious use of technology to combat traffic congestion debuts next month along one of the nation's most clogged arteries and could become a model duplicated throughout the USA.

Drivers on Interstate 95 from New Jersey to North Carolina will have access to real-time information on traffic flows, crashes and travel time to help them anticipate delays.

The data will be collected from more than 800,000 Global Positioning System (GPS) devices on delivery vans, trucks, taxicabs and other service vehicles; from sensors embedded in the roadways; from toll tag data such as EZ Pass, and from cellphones.

The information will be sent within three minutes to state transportation departments that will then alert drivers via road signs, 511 phone systems, mobile alerts and the Internet. The system will enable officials to get more detailed information to a broader audience.

"Real-time information is critical to drivers, not only in terms of what's going on but also in terms of providing alternative solutions," says James Ray of the Federal Highway Administration.
FIND MORE STORIES IN: Washington | Internet | Florida | New Jersey | North Carolina | Maine | East Coast | American Civil Liberties Union | Global Positioning System | Texas A&M University | Federal Highway Administration | MapQuest | Texas Transportation Institute | Garmin | TomTom | EZ Pass | James Ray | I-95 Corridor Coalition

Each year congestion costs $78 billion in delays and wasted fuel, according to a September report from the Texas Transportation Institute, a research arm of Texas A&M University.

ARE WE THERE YET: Project will make real-time traffic info available

The new network will initially cover 1,500 miles of freeway and 1,000 miles of major roads between New Jersey and North Carolina. It could eventually be expanded to include the entire East Coast, from Maine to Florida.

Inrix Inc., a Washington state-based company that already provides real time and predictive traffic data to navigation services such as MapQuest, TomTom and Garmin, will collect the data under a $1 million contract with the 16-state I-95 Corridor Coalition.

The collection of all that data is likely to raise privacy concerns, says Alan Pisarksi, a national expert on commuting. "The public is very suspicious of these things, he says.

Barry Steinhardt, of the American Civil Liberties Union, says, "The sad reality is there's very little law that governs what data can be collected, how it can be used and when it can be turned over to law enforcement or the private sector."

Inrix CEO Bryan Mistele says no identifying information is collected.

By Larry Copeland

5 Reasons You Should Buy The 3G iPhone On Launch Day

The 3G iPhone is coming, and it is coming fast.  Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced  the 3G iPhone this past Monday during his keynote speech at WWDC, and consumers are already getting ready for it.  For those still in limbo though, here are the top 5 reasons you need a 3G iPhone on launch day.Boston (dbTechno) - The 3G iPhone is coming, and it is coming fast. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the 3G iPhone this past Monday during his keynote speech at WWDC, and consumers are already getting ready for it. For those still in limbo though, here are the top 5 reasons you need a 3G iPhone on launch day.

5. Price - Price plays a major factor in the decision of just about all consumers, and Apple knows that as they have dropped the price of the 3G iPhone down to $199 for the 8GB model, and $299 for the 16GB model. The iPhone is now clearly at a mass market price, making it close to being an impulse purchase.

4. GPS - One of the biggest complaints with the original iPhone was that even though it had the great Google Maps feature, it did not have full GPS, and therefore you could not track yourself as you went. Now you can get rid of that GPS you have in your car it seems, as the iPhone will be able to track you anywhere.

3. Games - The games are a major reason to own the new 3G iPhone as some big developers are working on some quality games for the smartphone. It looks like there may not even be a need to carry around a Nintendo DS or Sony PSP if you just want some quick fun on the go.


2. 3G - 3G is a huge factor in the new iPhone as everything the device does revolves around the network it runs on. The iPhone experience is going to increase and become far more enjoyable on the faster network, especially for YouTube and Safari browsing.

1. Still The iPhone - No matter how you cut it, the original iPhone was the best smartphone on the market, and the 3G iPhone is pretty much the same device with some nice improvements. If you didn’t own an iPhone before, there is absolutely no excuse for you not to own one now.

An Inexpensive External GPS Antenna (Part 1)

If you operate APRS or just need an external antenna for your GPS receiver, here’s one that is easy to build yet offers surprisingly good performance in a compact size. Best of all, it uses commonly available components and materials.

This antenna design is based on a classic turnstile
configuration (for circular polarization)—two dipoles are placed on the same plane but rotated 90° from each other. These dipoles are then spaced ¼ wavelength above a ground plane. A ¼ wavelength “parallelplate” transmission line (printed circuitboard material) serves as the connection method and mounting post for the dipoles.

Construction
Start with the base plate. Cut a 4-inch diameter circle out of thin hobby tin or brass. (It happens that the inside diameter of the container lid is 4 inches, approximately the same width as the hobby tin/brass sheet.) Mark the exact center of the base plate. This is where the parallelplate transmission line assembly is attached (see Figure 1). Cut two 4-inch lengths of #14 solid copper or brass wire and bend each in the exact center at 90°. Make the radius of the bend as small as possible. Set these aside, they will be soldered to the parallel-plate section later. Select an 8-foot length of RG-58/U, RG-174 or RG-188 coax. Attach a male BNC connector to one end (or whatever compatible connector is used on your particular GPS receiver). I used a solderless connector but removed the screw and then soldered the center conductor directly into the screw hole. If your GPS unit has a BNC antenna connection, you can use an Ethernet coax cable found at most computer stores. Just make sure they are 50 Ω. They’ll already have the BNC connectors crimped on each end.

Just cut in the center, trim to length and you’ll have enough
for two antennas. The GPS frequency is 1.57542 GHz so the longer the coax, the greater the loss. Use no more than 8 feet—less if you don’t need the length.

To make the parallel-plate transmission line, cut two 2-inch lengths of single-sided printed circuit board material that are 0.250-inch wide. Make sure it is glass-epoxy (FR-4 or G10 type material) and that it is 0.062-inch (1/16 inch) thick.

On one of the PCB strips, cut the copper foil with a sharp hobby knife or Dremel tool, as shown in Figure 1. This will be the “active” section of the parallel- plate where the other non-modified strip will be the “ground” side, as shown in Figure 2. The 45° cut on the active side is known as a “microwave turn” which allows the signal to effectively turn 90° to the coax. Glue the two strips together (copper outside) and set aside to dry.

I’ve found it easier to cut the PCB strips a bit wide and glue them together first. Then I just file both edges to the correct dimensions. A light sanding with #600 sandpaper finishes off the edges and removes any burrs.

Double-sided 0.125-inch thick PCB material could be used but can be difficult to obtain for the average hobbyist. Conversely, by using a single 0.063-inch thick double-sided material we would be working with a rather small and fragile structure (half the thickness equates to roughly half the width). This might not hold up during handling and operation. By using the two sections glued together, we’ve solved the problem by creating our own 0.125-inch thick material.

Solder the transmission line section to the base plate keeping it as square and plumb as possible. Drill or melt a hole in the plastic container the same diameter as the coax. Feed the end of the coax through the hole and attach the coax to the transmission line active side as shown in Figure 4.

Measure 1.78 inches up from the base end of the parallel-plate
section and scribe a line in the copper foil. Solder one of the #14 wires to the ground side of the parallel- plate section. Position as shown in Figure 4. Do the same with the active side—you may need a helping third hand as it’s difficult to hold the soldering iron, antenna and position the wires all at the same time.

Measure each leg of the horizontal wires and trim to 1.51 inches from the center junctions. Next, trim both the 45° wires to 1.82 inches from the center junction. If all went well, you should have approximately ½ inch between the tips of the 45° wires and the base. If not, carefully resolder or bend the wires to this dimension.

Using a fine saw or a Dremel tool, remove the excess length of the transmission line just above the wire junctions. Sand the exposed junction to remove any burrs and check for a short circuit.

Note that we’ve purposely kept the transmission line section length long, until after construction. The thin copper foil tends to separate from the glass epoxy during heavy duty soldering. The longer length acts as a heatsink to preserve the bond between the copper foil and the glass-epoxy base.

To Be Continue...

With GPS Expected on the New iPhone, Portable Nav Suppliers Are "Scared %#*@-less"

With portable navigation systems hanging from millions of windshields and the price point of the popular devices diving down to the $99 mark, automakers' expensive in-dash nav systems are going the way of the car phone. But with mobile-phone based navigation gaining ground -- and the new 3-G iPhone expected to debut on Monday with full GPS capability -- portable navs could soon face a similar fate.

Phone-based GPS navigation has been steadily gaining ground on portables. Earlier this week, Networks in Motion, the leading provider of navigation services to the top four U.S. cellular carriers, announced that the day before Mother’s Day, May 10, saw the largest spike ever in the use of navigation on mobile phones, with nearly 5 million requests.

That's a lot of drivers finding their way to mom's house. And looking at a small screen while driving.

Portable navigation has experienced phenomenal growth over the past several years, while automakers' expensive in-dash systems have been shown to increase the depreciation of a vehicle. But the use of GPS-enabled mobile phones is expected to quadruple by 2011, and if GPS is introduced on the new iPhone, as expected, it could accelerate the shift away from portable nav systems. And as Popular Mechanics reported, leave GPS suppliers "scared %#*@-less."
Portable nav heavyweight Garmin already introduced an iPhone-like GPS phone earlier this year, and last week minor player Mio unveiled two similar GPS phones. Now, all eyes will be on Steve Jobs on Monday when the Apple Godhead is expected to unveil the iPhone 2.0 with built-in GPS at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

The market is ripe for it. Networks in Motion, which claims to have a 57 percent share of U.S. revenue from navigation services offered on mobile phones, says that in early in 2007 it had less than a million paid users. Now it has more than 3 million, and in May it reached the milestone of more than 100 million monthly navigation requests.

But the biggest challenge will be how to deal with driver distraction issues in moving from the small screen of portable navs to the even smaller screen of mobile phones.

Let's see if Apple will show the way.


By Doug Newcomb
 

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