GPS Navigation didn’t become widely available at a decent size until the mid 2000s I would say. I remember for sure I had GPS navigation on a laptop which was just as ridiculous as it sounds in around 2002-2003.
The GPS was a PCMCIA card with an aerial you put near the windscreen. The software would just stop showing a map when you went faster than 50mph or so, and only provide basic instructions and your speed. Buying a laptop charger that plugged into the cigarette lighter socket wasn’t as cheap as it is now either.
Needless to say, it was a novelty thing. The main problem with paper map navigation when driving is, you really need to compress the instructions down to something you can remember if driving on your own. Since you need to stop if you lose track of your route. I don’t miss that to be honest.
I haven’t bought a paper map once in my 30 years of life. My parents still used them in the 90s and early 2000s when we went on vacation.
GPS Navigation didn’t become widely available at a decent size until the mid 2000s I would say. I remember for sure I had GPS navigation on a laptop which was just as ridiculous as it sounds in around 2002-2003.
The GPS was a PCMCIA card with an aerial you put near the windscreen. The software would just stop showing a map when you went faster than 50mph or so, and only provide basic instructions and your speed. Buying a laptop charger that plugged into the cigarette lighter socket wasn’t as cheap as it is now either.
Needless to say, it was a novelty thing. The main problem with paper map navigation when driving is, you really need to compress the instructions down to something you can remember if driving on your own. Since you need to stop if you lose track of your route. I don’t miss that to be honest.