From SatNav to SatCom

The future is already here but its just not evenly distributed

is a phrase attributed to may people - but the thought came to my mind when reading about the creation of a new service 230 Miles of Love

Interesting, then, that this week brought news of a novel way of using a satnav, which seems to encourage drivers to engage with their surroundings rather than simply tell them how to get from A to B and let them daydream (metaphorically, of course) through anything in between.

Called 230 Miles of Love, it is billed as the world's first "satcom" - a free series of comedy sketches you can download to your satnav or GPS mobile phone, which automatically play at relevant points along the M6. It was made using a programme called Geovative, which allows users to plot a GPS tour that can contain audio, images and text. Though it sounds complicated, it is just a step up from the programme many satnav owners use to alert them to the location of speed cameras.

After a shaky start, the satcom first made me laugh after junction three near Birmingham, when drivers are weighing up whether to pay the £4.50 for a speedy toll road. Ever the cheapskate, I plumped for the free road, and just as my heart was sinking after spying a sea of brake lights ahead, another sketch kicked in telling me what a terrible choice I had made.

But 230 miles of Love is not the only version we also have Road Tour which can fulfill your interests around Royal Palaces, Castles, Monuments, Places of Worship, Pubs and Inns, Historic Homes, Battle Fields and Gardens and Landscapes.

And finally

The Good Pub Guide has produced a satnav version, which alerts drivers to the best watering holes nearby, and on the TomTom website, users can log in and share their own routes and recommendations, for example the best greasy spoon cafes in the north-west, or the most accommodating hotels for bikers.

All are examples of "locative media", ideas which aim to exploit developments in "locative technologies" - GPS standalone systems, GPS mobile phones, wireless networks and satnavs.

Fascinating