7 Oct
2002
7 Oct
'02
11:19 a.m.
On Mon, 7 Oct 2002, Patrick Rigney wrote:
Back in the mid-80's, Etak began shipping what I
believe is the first
commercially available in-vehicle navigation system. This system was the
precursor to today's driver-guidance systems, and Etak's patents are
probably in most if not all of them. The original Etak Navigator was a
specially-packaged 286 system with 256MB RAM and 256MB ROM, and a four-track
tape drive on which some of the "OS" and the digital maps were stored.
I'm guessing you meant to say "256KB RAM and 256KB ROM"; otherwise, that
computer would've probably cost several times more than the car in which
it was used--at least back in the mid-1980s.
-brian.