Hitting the GPS trail with Miss Direction

Hi, everyone, and welcome to my new personal blog, Miss Direction. I'm actually not here to misdirect you, rather quite the opposite. I started covering Global Positioning Systems (GPS) for CNET in 2005, and back then, I was lucky if I got one or two portable navigation devices to review a month. Now? Now, my desk is overrun by these navigation aids and I'm clocking in some serious time behind the wheel of my trusty ol' 2000 Honda Accord. It's pretty amazing how fast this category has grown, and there are new companies throwing their hat into the GPS ring every day. It's all exciting, but I also know it can get a bit confusing. Thus, Miss Direction was born.

In this blog, I'll answer your questions about all things GPS, discuss industry trends, rant and rave about the technology, and tell you about the hottest (and not so hot) products coming to market. I'll also share any stories and misadventures from the field, because I love to take road trips. And I would love to hear your stories as well. As much as I want this to be a resource for you, I also want this to be an open forum for discussing GPS. I mean, is it me, or do the multimedia features on a portable nav system seem useless? And I'm dying to know...how many California and Minnesota residents actually get ticketed for using a windshield mount in their car, because although they're supposed to be illegal, I see them all time here in San Francisco. These are the burning questions that keep me up at night.

In all seriousness, I'm really looking forward to this new adventure and hope you'll join me for the ride. Oh, and this blog isn't limited to just in-car devices. I know there are plenty more uses for GPS out there--geocaching, hiking, boating--so we'll take a look at those topics as well. So let's get started and have some fun, shall we?

[By the way, I've got to give a big shout-out to CNET.com copy editor Jeff Sparkman for coming up with the clever title of this blog. Thanks, Jeff!]