Theo Moore

Picked up a new toy over the weekend (I love gadgets, the gods helps me). I was going to dinner for a friend's birthday and had to miss my turn. We found the place ok, but I was reminded how much I don't like being lost. As a matter of fact, I hate it. I decided I'd had enough of this (after ending up in what I refer to as "Banjo, South Carolina" the week prior for the mud run), so went a found one.

I decided on the 260. It's sweet. It has none of the extra features (like phone bluetooth or MP3 player...stuff I call "fluff"), and does a great job. I considered the 205 (cheaper), but the 205 might say "1.0 miles, turn right", the 260 says "1.0 turn right on First Street North". The combination of voice prompt with the visual cue of a road sign greatly contributes to my send of well-being. The 260 also has a full size SD card slot (apparently the map updates come on them) rather than the microDC as supported by the 205. 'Course, the 205 does come in red (which matches my car), and the 260 in grey only.

I considered the 260 wide screen, but ultimately decided that if I am driving, I ain't lookin' at the screen anyway...or I shouldn't be anyway.

If yer looking for a good, reliable, easy to follow GPS without the extra fluff features, the 26o is a nice option.

CNET has an interesting teaser article describing a "black box" feature for VS2010. As a developer/tester, I can tell you this would be excellent! Imagine having all the details of the application state on a crash or error. As the article describes, it should reduce the "works fine on my box" approach to defect resolution. As a developer, it will reduce my feeling of helplessness when a defect pops up that I can't reproduce. As a tester, I will be able to provide additional information about the problem that will allow better communication between me and the developer. Apparently, there's not much more being said about VS2010 at present, but this feature alone sounds most excellent.