GPS – Lead the way!!

By Jerry Kranitz (June 22, 2026)

I have very few apps on my phone. I use text and email the most. Camera. Uber. My wife and I like to take the bus downtown for walking adventures, and the Transit app tells me when the bus will arrive at a given stop. Occasionally, I’ll even use the phone to talk to someone! I’ve made hard decisions over many years of digitally dominated life about what I’ll call the Electronic vs. Analog balance.

Technology must make sense

Throughout my 28-year career in the technology division of the company I retired from, my experiences provided food for thought about the use of technology. Being more of a project manager than an actual technical person gave me a point of view that I’m sure differed from my colleagues. My takeaway…  Technology must make sense. New, cool, or simply exciting? No thanks.

I’ll always remember and appreciate our company president addressing a room full of sales reps about the products and services we sold. It wasn’t sufficient, he insisted, that they had landed a sale. He wanted to know, from the customer’s perspective, exactly how our products were helping them get their job done. How else would we know if the products were useful and, consequently, competitive? How else would we know how to improve them?

I’ve been on the internet for over thirty years. But I came of age in the analog world. Apps must prove their value before I’ll adopt them. Heck, I still use a day planner! It may look laughably messy, but it works great for me.

GPS – I just want to drive and enjoy

One app I haven’t mentioned but is among my favorites is the Maps. Plug in an address and the voice will guide me. Like the internet, the origins of this handy service that we take for granted were far from humble. GPS, or Global Positioning System, began life in the early 1970s as a US Department of Defense project to ensure the availability of a reliable satellite navigation system.

Speaking to the potential drawbacks of GPS, Christine Rosen says, “GPS is more precise than tools such as paper maps or sextants, but it also places users in the role of spectators rather than navigators during the journey. We are placed at the center of the GPS map, but we do not know how to orient ourselves.” Rosen then goes on to recount an incident where she found herself in a remote location in California without GPS service and the mildly terrifying experience of finding her way back.

This outlier situation notwithstanding, I get Rosen’s point. But I’ll counter her argument by saying that leaving the navigation to the GPS and allowing me to enjoy the ride is precisely the attraction.

It’s the little things

When driving to vacation destinations, my wife and I like to select the avoid highways option when mapping our route. The drive is longer but so much more enjoyable. And we stumble on things.

During one trip we mapped a back roads route from Buffalo to Erie, Pennsylvania. It was Labor Day Monday. We were just rolling into Erie and were sitting at a red light. I look to my left and what do I see? A brewery! That’s always a holy grail find for me. I pulled into the parking lot just as they were opening. It was a small operation and the owner/brewer’s mom was tending bar. She said they’re always closed on Mondays but decided to open for Labor Day to see if they got any business. She was delightful to chat with, we had some snacks, and the beer was good. We never would have known about the place blowing through town on I-90.

We live in central Ohio and many of our micro-vacations are to cities in Ohio we’ve not visited before. Avoiding the highways invariably takes us through a succession of tiny towns. Even if we don’t stop it’s so much more pleasurable than the generic highway view. With a mere click we can find these alternate routes, thanks to the GPS.

Think about it

I’m speaking purely based on my experience and opinions about the use of technology. I fully understand the gazillion apps some of my friends have and find useful. One thing I’ve learned when considering a new app is that it often doesn’t do much more than save me a phone call. Like the pizza place up the street. It’s not a huge company that I have to jump through hoops to get a living breathing human on the phone. In fact, I think calling them is quicker than using the app.

My motto – When in doubt… GO ANALOG!