GPS, or Global Positioning System has been operational since December 1993, but its history lies much further back to the 1940s when ground based navigation systems such as Decca Navigator began. This, while it planted the seed of inspiration would not take another step forward until the 1957 launch of the first Sputnik by the Soviet union showed that satellites were a possibility.
In the beginning the system was only intended for military use, but that changed in 1983 when a Soviet interceptor plane shot down a civilian aircraft in restricted Soviet space killing all on board, after the craft had mistakenly wandered off course. This was something that GPS could have prevented, and so President Reagan soon announced that GPS would be available for all once it was complete.
GPS is a satellite controlled navigation system that is used by the military and general public alike. For the general public it is a useful tool, a step forward from the one dimensional and none interactive maps that some people find difficult to read and follow. There are many different brands of GPS receivers, and they each offer different features, some of which may not even be related to...