I think we were the only ones left who would use the printed directions from Mapquest and Google maps whenever we took a trip somewhere. As we’d be driving down the highway we’d see vehicles pass by with their gps in full action. Too many arguments (never ask Caron to give you directions.. turn now, but no left or right) and wasted time spent on the computer trying to find the location, then printing off the suggested map/directions .. plus, trying to read while you’re driving. We had enough!
Couple days ago we purchased the Magellan Road Mate 1440 for a couple hundred bucks at Futureshop and I’ve been testing it since then. Here’s my attempt at a review, in the event you’re planning to get a GPS in the near future… I hope this will help you decide on a unit.
* There were a range of units to choose from and to be quite honest it was a bit overwhelming at first. However the fella that was helping us didn’t try to sell us the mega priced one with all the bells and whistles (I think you can get the directions to ET’s home planet with those ones), but he took the time to listen to what our needs were and made a few suggestions. It just so happened that one of the 3 he suggested was the one I did some previous research on and came in with the intention to purchase.
Here’s what you get when you open the box…
In the box:
- Magellan RoadMate 1440 GPS receiver
- Pre loaded maps of US, Canada and Puerto Rico
- Windshield mount
- Adhesive disc for dash mounting
-Vehicle power adapter
- USB Cable
- User Handbook
Though I consider myself a techie I hate having to learn how to use electronics. I’m one of those people who tosses the manual out of the box as if it was meant as packaging and never bother with them. That said.. there was no need for the manual. As you power on the unit, in a few simple steps you’re ready to go. It’s all touch screen and the voice guides you as you go along with the initial setup.
NOTE: As mentioned, this is our first GPS receiver, so we have nothing to really compare it to.
The 1440 is very accurate at saving you time during trips, you can set it up to give you the fastest route or the shortest distance to your destination, which in many cases, is not the same route.
The highway lane assist is one of those features that you might not think you need until you start dealing with lower end GPS units that don’t offer such features. This feature helps you make sure that you are choosing the correct lane to exit during a freeway interchange. You’ll be glad you have this feature. As I mentioned at the top I used printed maps before and that was confusing when you didn’t know where or when to change lanes.
Just in case you were wondering, this unit is also compatible with the “Magellan Traffic Link” (sold Separately) which gives you FREE real time traffic alerts in exchange for small banner ads such as “AM/PM too much good stuff!” displayed on the top of your screen. a small price to pay for such a great service! In case of a traffic jam, a small timer will appear right next to the traffic warning sign, which tells you how many minutes it estimates you will be stuck in there. Click on the warning sign and it will give you a second route to follow. It will compare both routes for you and give you an estimated arrival time for each one. At this point you can opt to avoid traffic or deal with it.
I purposely “got lost” many times to test how accurate the unit was. I would assign a “point of interest” and make the wrong turns just to see how long it would take it to catch up to me, let me tell you it’s fast! in most cases it will have a new route to follow before I even hit the next intersection.
It comes with “text to speech” which means it actually tells you to “turn right on James Street” as opposed to “turn right in 15 meters”, this is a nice feature to have. I believe some of the lower priced units doesn’t have this feature, which means you constantly have to keep your eyes on the screen.
Positives so far…
City and Street Name Assists (SmartCity and QuickSpell in “Marketing-speak”)
This is by far my *favorite* feature!
For the most common cases, I simply begin typing my city without having to pick a province, and the device has an uncanny ability to zero in on the city I’m thinking of. It does this by using my current location as well as my driving habits. Likewise, it helps in picking street addresses by hiding characters on the keyboard that do not apply.
* Note : Without updated maps you’ll find that new areas will not show up, so when using this feature you won’t have the ability to choose an address that not in the saved maps. A movie theatre complex that was built about 2 months ago could not be found in our area.
2. The voice prompts are clear and well articulated. Plus you never have to really look at the screen for too long. You also ahve the option to control the volume in the event you find that it’s a bit too loud.
3. Lane Help
I used to believe this was a marketing gimmick until I tried it out for myself. The lane graphics come on about a mile away, providing enough time to maneuver appropriately. In the event of crawling traffic this gives you the heads-up in enough time to move into the correct lane.
4. Find Parking
When you arrive at a destination, a discreet button becomes available that lets you locate the nearest parking ramps. This is a huge help in downtown driving.
5. Highway Exit POIs
How often have you scanned the list of services available at an exit, looking for relief from full bladders or empty stomachs? Well, the “Exit POI” feature shows you an icon that lets you route to the nearest gas station, diner, or hotel from a freeway exit.
6. Panning the map This is the smoothest I’ve seen - it works even better than Google Maps and MapQuest.
7. Routing Choices . The choices for Fastest time, Least distance, Least use of freeways, etc. are easily accessible (with one click), with ETAs clearly displayed for each choice.
8. Traffic notification. This is available as an accessory - you need to purchase a vehicle adapter with a built in traffic receiver. It comes with a lifetime subscription.. In addition, traffic information is only available for select cities.
Nice big screen. Some of the reviews I read online before the purchase mentioned about the “glare” you get on the screen. I’ve not experienced that yet, but I did see an anti glare screen you can purchase as an accessory on ebay.
As I use this device a bit more, I’ll be adding some more comments.
Kinda sucks that the holiday falls on a Wednesday (no long weekend), but still a great opportunity to relax and enjoy the birthday of this great nation.
Speaking about birthday and celebrating…
It was announced the previous week that “Old Navy” (clothing store) was having a sale on Canada Day t-shirts as their way of celebrating Canada Day. At $1 a shirt, I though I’d rush out when the store was open yesterday and grab a few to give as gifts when we travel. Locals on the islands always show their appreciation when we take little gifts for them. I was at the store in Limeridge mall about 10.03 am (opens at 10.am) and it was pure madness! People were almost to the point of fist fights during the mad dash for the table with the shirts.
Within 3 minutes all the t-shirts were gone. I have to say “Shame on you” Old Navy. You’ve been announcing this sale for the past 7 days in the media and all you could do is a handful of shirts on a table? I know all about baiting to get people into stores, but this was ridiculous. An area of more that 1/2 a million people, serviced by one Old Navy and you could not ensure you have stock before advertising this “sale”?
Medical transcriptionists responsible for transforming various hospital reports from their dictated form to the written form. Every day, thousands of patients are admitted to hospitals around the world. Most patients are seen in any emergency room and in some point would require for various laboratory tests and x-rays. Every time a patient interacts with a medical professional, reports are generated – just imagine how many medical reports are dictated every single day.
Medical transcriptionists transcribe medical reports that are saved as hard copies or stored on computer. As long as there are doctors, medical reports will be created and will need to be transcribed, providing job opportunities for medical transcriptionists.
Working as a medical transcriptionist doesn’t necessarily mean working at a desk in a hospital or medical office – you can have a career in medical transcribing while working from the comfort of your home by applying online to medical institutions. Most medical institutions have web sites where they list job openings.
Be very careful, however, when in filling out the online form. Carefully the instructions before answering questions, since medical companies look at how well you’ve followed instructions and filled out the form as a basis for hiring. You must be meticulous with your grammar and spelling since medical reports need to be transcribed without any mistakes..
The usual requirements for transcriptionists are as follows: They must have a thorough knowledge of medical terminology, an excellent command of grammar and above-average keyboarding skills. Keyboarding is more than just typin – it means proficiency in using all the keys on your keyboard. Procrastination is not a trait that works well in this profession, so if you have the habit of putting things off then medical transcription is not the job for you. Home-based transcriptionists must be independent self-starters, should be able to research unfamiliar phrases or jargon when necessary, and should be conscientious, detail-oriented workers.
Most companies would rather hire medical transcriptionists with previous in-house experience when hiring someone to work from home, since they can save time that would be spent training. Many require that applicants have a year or more of experience working in a clinic or hospital.
If you’re an aspiring medical transcriptionist without any experience, though, there are some companies that only require their applicants to have excellent listening and keyboarding skills and, of course, good understanding of English grammar. These employers provide their home-based applicants with medical resources that contain terms, abbreviations and medical definitions to assist them on their transcription.
Pretty much everyone in business engages in networking. It’s always been that way, probably always will be. Typically, the contacts we make are great branding and sales opportunities. The past couple of weeks have shown me another aspect of networking though, that I have never read about before.
I’ve been too sick to work (or eat) for two weeks. I only get ill about once or twice a decade, but it hits me hard when it happens. It also has very bad timing. Not only was I unable to attend an expensive seminar that I had a ticket for, there was also the little matter of looming work deadlines.
When you work for someone else, being off sick isn’t nearly as big a deal as it is when you are a sole proprietor. As a freelance writer, I am the latter and therefore, have no backup for times when I’m out of commission. So, what is a sick sole proprietor to do?
I was having trouble thinking clearly but a few ideas came to mind as I struggled to find a solution:
Ask the client for more time
Email that client and whine that I had a tummy ache - and ask for more time
Go to sleep and hope that I would be all better in the morning
Please keep in mind that I was fevered, foggy and sick at the time. Luckily, I was able to come up with a better way to handle the order, despite my condition and without whining to the client. I have to admit though, that I was feeling very whiny and it wouldn’t have taken much to convince me that it was a good idea.
Here’s Where the Networking Comes In
If you stay within one industry for a period of time, you usually make some great connections with others who do exactly what you do. Assuming that you treat these people nicely, you build up some good friendships. It’s something that I did a lot of while working the promotional products industry. I like people, so I found it easy and my interest in them was genuine.
One of the benefits of making these types of associations is the mutual back scratching. If a fellow distributor needed some information, I would provide it if I could. They returned the favour. That’s just one example but it’s as good an illustration as any. There is a sense of helpfulness, rather than competition. No one tries to steal anyone else’s customers, either. Everybody trusts everybody else and it works out just beautifully. There seems to be unspoken yet clearly understood boundaries that are honoured.
Well, I am very lucky because I have similar relationships with other writers. When they are in need of information or assistance, I offer it if I can. This time though, it was my turn to ask for help. I’m not good at asking for help but it was that or start the whining. I thought it might be more professional to opt for the asking, so that’s how I solved my dilemma.
Thanks to some friendly networking with peers over the past couple of years, I made it through a rough patch (thanks, Chris!) that could have cost me a customer.
This experience has made me a little nervous though and very aware of the fact that home business owners need to have a good support system in place. It may be the only backup that we have at a time when we need it most.
This week I came across a couple great posts about optimizing Youtube videos and another about placing affiliate links within videos to push any affiliate products you may be promoting. But you’re not just limited to affiliate links, you have full control over which links you place in these videos.
John Chow’s post ” 7 Killer Tips For Optimizing Your YouTube Videos” reveals some known and little known secrets about getting tons of exposure and traffic to your next YouTube video. Pay attention to the tip about “pingoat” and how you can ping the rss feed for your Youtube channel. YES! I too didn’t know that could be done.
Then we have Ros who posted “How to Add Affiliate Links to YouTube Videos” I tested this a while back and like Ros, I found it to be very useful and simple to use. Here’s the instructional video:
