Introducing the Hipster GPS

Hipster GPS

With apologies to Merlin Mann:

Your shiny new iPhone doesn’t have GPS, and therefore you must actually push buttons in order to advance to the next leg of your journey. Fear not, dear readers, for I have a solution: The Hipster GPS.

Inspired by 43Folders’s Hipster PDA, the Hipster GPS takes a similarly low tech approach. Also, the price of entry is far below that of an electronic GPS system.

I always use Google Maps for directions, but fumbling around with an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of paper is clumsy and potentially distracting. The Hipster GPS solves this problem by allowing you to consult your directions without pulling your full attention away from the road.

Hardware:

  • a stack of Post-it Notes (or your favorite brand of self-adhesive note paper)
  • a pen
  • a car (with a windshield)

Software:

  • directions (via your favorite online source or a friend with better geographical awareness)

Usage:

  • Using the pen, write your directions on a Post-it Note.
  • Get in your car.
  • Place your directions at the top edge of the windshield, making sure to leave plenty of windshield real-estate through which to see the road
  • Drive to your destination, consulting the directions as you go.

Commentary:

Write the directions out, even if you have a fully-functional printer that can somehow print to Post-its. Having even the smallest foreknowledge of the turns and jukes will help the speed at which you glance at the directions and keep those eyes where they should be.

You can even incorporate your Hipster GPS with your Hipster PDA by sticking a small stack of Post-its on one of your note cards.

9 comments.

  1. [...] Introducing the Hipster GPS Love it! :) (tags: funny gis) [...]

  2. [...] James Foreman retrofits the GPS nicely, along the lines of the hipster PDA. (Hat tip to Merlin Mann, father of the hipster PDA.) [...]

  3. [...] http://jamesforeman.com/blog/?p=56 [...]

  4. [...] The hipster GPS. [...]

  5. [...] for those of you in need for a low cost solution I found a great approach on the “Kings of the Impossible” blog by James Foreman. He suggest to simply use sticky notes, write the step by step directions on them and stick them to [...]

  6. [...] The Blog of James Foreman, Fiction Writer and Pittsburgh Blogger “The Hipster GPS solves this problem by allowing you to consult your directions without pulling your full attention away from the road.” (tags: diy maps GTD minimalism hipsterpda articles) [...]

  7. [...] Introducing the Hipster GPS | King of the Impossible – “Using the pen, write your directions on a Post-it Note; Get in your car; Place your directions at the top edge of the windshield…” [...]

  8. [...] The Blog of James Foreman, Fiction Writer and Pittsburgh Blogger Your shiny new iPhone doesn’t have GPS, and therefore you must actually push buttons in order to advance to the next leg of your journey. Fear not, dear readers, for I have a solution: The Hipster GPS.Inspired by 43Folders’s Hipster PDA, the Hipster GPS takes a similarly low tech approach. Also, the price of entry is far below that of an electronic GPS system. [...]

  9. [...] Introducing the Hipster GPS | King of the Impossible by James Foreman, Fiction Writer Jak pomoci post-itu dojet do cile. :-) (tags: hipster gps) [...]