Searching for GPS...

I've been trying to find a workable technical solution for route planning, navigation and the logging of personal location-based information into a map system. I am really not interested in getting tied into some sort of licensed system of mapping software which requires regular subscriptions. OK, I understand that if Nokia spent over 8 Billion US$ in October 2007 to buy Navteq then they have to have some sort of business plan to make that investment work for them. However, I am not interested, and cannot afford anyway, to purchase separate licenses of any software for all my devices. Mobile device software licenses are not easily transferable between devices in the same way you might do that for your computer. This might be acceptable when upgrading from one phone to another but when you want to be able to use several devices that you own with the same software then you are pretty much screwed. And, strange as it seems after their massive investment, I find that the Nokia Internet Pad (a gadget that I'm rather fond of due to its Linux-based OS, called Maemo) is still utilising maps from Wayfinder, a Swedish company. 

Apple's iPhone is interfacing with Google Maps for location-based applications and that is rather uncomplicated and has potential in the long run but, unfortunately, the iPhone's weak implementation of Bluetooth prevents users from using separate GPS receivers (and there are many advantages to be had from such a setup). It seems that the Steve Job's policy on Bluetooth in the iPhone is to keep it pretty much limited to support for wireless headphones and nothing much more. So, for now, that limitation has to be lived with.

So I'm spending some time and effort re-investigating Maemo Mapper, which is an open source software for Nokia's Internet Pad computers developed by John Costigan (aka gnuite) since 2006. It appears to be one of the most popular (useful?) applications available for the Nokia Internet Pad judging by the feedback comments on the Maemo web site. I've run the software in 2007 in the Internet Pad N800 although it also ran in the much less powerful and resourceful original 770 version. Now in the N810 there is more power and more memory so everything should be fine me thinks... The N810 has in-built GPS and the ability to utilise external, wireless GPS modules over Bluetooth. But does Maemo Mapper know how to deal with an in-built GPS and override it? So far, it seems the answer is a possible 'yes' but, in practice, you need some voodoo to get it to work. This is not plug-and-play! Seems some editing of txt files is necessary somewhere. Any hints on specific articles, tutorials and workarounds gratefully received ;-) 

Oh, the picture on this post has nothing to do with this subject but I was just wondering how on earth they got planning permission for that? It was surrounded by otherwise Welly-typical and quaint wooden homesteads. I thought this resembled something out of the late 1960s science fiction drama, The Prisoner, starring Patrick McGoohan.