the geek outdoors: using high tech to get the most out of your high adventure

The Great OutdoorsUsing High Tech to get the

most out of your High Adventure

Geek

TT956Macworld|iWorld 2012San FranciscoChuck La Tournous

1Monday, February 6, 12

Housekeeping Notes

• Please fill out an evaluation form!

• Slides will be available for download

• I’ll try to leave time for questions and to look at the gear

• Ask questions along the way

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Who Am I?• Chuck La Tournous

• RandomMaccess/The Mac Observer

• Long-time Scout Leader

• Avid hiker, camper & kayaker

• Spend 20-30 days a year in a tent

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Who Am I?

• @ChuckLaTournous

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To tech or not to tech…

© Stéphan. Used under Fair Use Doctrine: Teaching

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To tech or not to tech…

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Navigation

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Navigation

• Mirror/Sighting Compass

• Liquid Filled

• Declination Lines

• Lid protects compass

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GPS Receiver

• Track waypoints

• Record Trails

• Record Altitude

• Locate coordinates

• and more

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MotionX GPS

• Track waypoints

• Record Trails

• Record Altitude

• Locate coordinates

• and more

$1.99

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MotionX GPS

• Track waypoints

• Record Trails

• Record Altitude

• Locate coordinates

• and more

$1.99

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Trail Maps• Lots of apps that

use MyTopo for topographic maps

• Use specific trail maps

• Maplets has many; also available as PDFs—read on GoodReader

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Trail Maps• Make sure to

store them locally

• Print out a backup and keep it in a Ziploc bag

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Star Gazing

Star Walk$2.99/4.99

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Reference• Knot Tying

• First Aid

• Survival

• Bird Watching

• Store notes, recipes, manuals, etc. as PDFs to read in iBooks or GoodReader

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Geocaching• ‘High Tech

Treasure Hunt’

• Caches or “Finds” are placed by members and registered at geocaching.com

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Geocaching• iPhone app

• Finds caches near you

• Provides descriptions and hints

• Uses GPS to guide you to cache

Keep your eye out for

‘opencaching’—a free, open source

alternative to geocaching.

$9.99

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Communicating• You’ll probably be more

connected than you expect

• Photo sharing services

• Upload to Picassa

• Set special email address before you leave

• Subject line becomes photo title• Body text becomes caption

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Photo Stream

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iMovie

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Live broadcasting

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Journals• Don’t go digital

• Handwritten notes

• Stuff with photos, leaves, trail maps, park passes, etc.

• Keeps for years without worrying about format changes, media life or magnets

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SPOT Connect

$170+$99/year

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Emergency Beacon

99¢

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Emergency Beacon

99¢

24Monday, February 6, 12

Emergency Beacon

99¢

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Protecting your gear• Two-layer protection:

hard shell to protect against impact; rubberized or silicone to absorb shock

• Plugs to protect headphone/dock ports

• Screen protector

• Waterproof cases let you use your iPhone as an underwater camera

$79 $49

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Protecting Your Gear

• Coghlan’s Waterproof pouches

• Ziploc freezer bags

• Waterproof bags and pouches

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Using your gear outdoors

• Capacitive gloves

• Metallic (or other conductive material) thread

• Completes the circuit between your skin and the screen

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Solar Cases• Small solar panel

• Doesn’t charge in your pocket

• Doesn’t provide protection of dedicated cases

• Only charges iPhone

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External Batteries

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Solar Panels

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Minimize Power Use

• Turn off WiFi and Bluetooth

• Turn screen brightness down

• Turn off push email and notifications

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Water Purification• Boiling

• Chemical Treatment

• Filtration

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Water Purification

• Magic

• Ultraviolet Light

• SteriPEN

• Kills 99.9% of bacteria and other pathogens

• Fast: 48 seconds

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Entertainment

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High tech fire

+ =

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High tech fire

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High tech coffee?

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Questions?

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Closing Notes

• Please fill out an evaluation

• Follow me on Twitter: @ChuckLaTournous

• Slides will be available at:www.RandomMaccess.com/presos

39Monday, February 6, 12

Thanks to…

• SteriPEN (steripen.com)

• Spot Connect (findmespot.com)

• Goal Zero (goalzero.com)

• Trident Cases (tridentcase.com)

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Thanks, Steve

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