Optimizing and visualizing GPS data
Climbing Aid
Handheld navigation devices point the way and continuously record your position while you are walking. With a few scripts on Linux, extreme climber Mike Schilli attractively visualizes the data from some of his bold first ascents.
Every smartphone features a GPS receiver nowadays, and a generous collection of apps are guiding hikers across hill and dale by displaying maps. Of course, things can be pretty rustic out there in the wild, and it is a good idea to use more robust, water-splash protected devices with more powerful batteries. Some time ago, I purchased a Garmin 62s – on special offer. Although it might be a little outmoded by now, it looks as if you could drive a tank over it without causing any damage.
If you are spoiled by years of intuitive on-screen operation with your smartphone, you will probably be rubbing your eyes in disbelief to discover that LCD displays with weird menu designs – in which the user has to steer the cursor with a dozen plastic buttons on the front of the device – really do still exist (Figure 1).
UI for Steam Punks
Entering a single waypoint to mark the start of the trail nearly drove me mad. This is probably what the future of mobile telephony would have looked like if Bill Gates had asserted his aggressive monopoly policy – heaven forbid! If I were a product designer at Garmin, I would immediately launch a product line with a Mad Max Fury Road-influenced steam punk look.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
EndeavorOS Mercury Neo Available
A new release from the EndeavorOS team ships with Plasma 6.3 and other goodies.
-
Fedora 42 Beta Has Arrived
The Fedora Project has announced the availability of the first beta release for version 42 of the open-source distribution.
-
Dash to Panel Maintainer Quits
Charles Gagnon has stepped away as maintainer of the popular Dash to Panel Gnome extension.
-
CIQ Releases Security-Hardened Version of Rocky Linux
If you're looking for an enterprise-grade Linux distribution that is hardened for business use, there's a new version of Rocky Linux that's sure to make you and your company happy.
-
Gnome’s Dash to Panel Extension Gets a Massive Update
If you're a fan of the Gnome Dash to Panel extension, you'll be thrilled to hear that a new version has been released with a dock mode.
-
Blender App Makes it to the Big Screen
The animated film "Flow" won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 97th Academy Awards held on March 2, 2025 and Blender was a part of it.
-
Linux Mint Retools the Cinnamon App Launcher
The developers of Linux Mint are working on an improved Cinnamon App Launcher with a better, more accessible UI.
-
New Linux Tool for Security Issues
Seal Security is launching a new solution to automate fixing Linux vulnerabilities.
-
Ubuntu 25.04 Coming Soon
Ubuntu 25.04 (Plucky Puffin) has been given an April release date with many notable updates.
-
Gnome Developers Consider Dropping RPM Support
In a move that might shock a lot of users, the Gnome development team has proposed the idea of going straight up Flatpak.