What PC requirements for GPS

rtmie

Having lurked through these informative discussions for the past while I'm forming the impression that most of the GPS stuff out there is based around some embedded form of Windows CE or whatever it calls itself today.

I am thinking of buying a GPS and this is my main point of nervousness, as apart from the suspicion that I'll spend more time resetting the device than using it , I am wondering if this implies that one would need a PC running Windows to do the likes of map data updates from DVD etc.

Can anyone who uses one of the well known types discussed on the forum confirm that data transfer to the system is just seen as an external flash drive (in which case I would be alright) or is there some windows PC application required to update the device.

- R

Grayarea

Most use PC based update programs that need to be installed etc. Some units do show up as a disk but that is usualy just to allow easy movement of pictures and mp3 etc.

So you will need a PC and you will need USB port to update the units.

Later,

robinph

It is easier with a PC but a lot of the units that have memory cards will either allow you to use it just as an external drive or you can always remove the card and copy the files across yourself using another card reader.

Any unit firmware updates are likely to be only available via the PC application though.

rtmie

Grayarea wrote:

So you will need a PC and you will need USB port to update the units.

I have the PC and I have the USB port, it's just the windows part I don't want to do:( .
I don't mind borrowing a windows PC for something presumably occasional like a firmware update. What I don't want is to be tied to Windows (which I don't have on PC either work or home) for more routine tasks.

I'd appreciate some guidance on which makes are more/less Windows dependent.

-R

rtmie

I'll reply to myself.

Some digging around elsewhere indicates that TomTom One is built on an embedded linux os and is fairly easily managed as a file system type device.
I'll have to have a think now as I've seen mostly negative stuff about this on these forums, though some people seem to have had success with newer Europe version

-R

rtmie

rtmie wrote:

I'll reply to myself.

All this talking to myself. Well just for the record in case anyone comes in here, it looks like Garmin Nuvi's can also be updated from linux (according to This link)


-R