Google Maps or MapQuest and aided by the Global Positioning System (GPS)

Our "direct" route took us on a narrow two-lane road through Central California's hill country, a sparsely populated part of the Golden State. By the time they reached the promised location of the first gas station, the "E" light was glaring at me from the dashboard & they were walking on fumes. But the station was nowhere to be found. That was when they noticed the refineries & realized that our helpful app could not tell the difference between a gas station as well as a fuel processing plant.

Directions offered by smartphone through a mapping service such as Google Maps or MapQuest & aided by the Global Positioning Method (GPS), the satellite-based navigation method that provides location information, have always been a tiny dodgy. But recent advances hold the promise of change.

Google has unveiled what it is calling a "next generation" update to its maps program that will permit it to map off-road locations; a spokesman told me that the company is also making all its directions "more correct." & Apple, maker of the uber-popular iPhone, has announced that it is developing a brand spanking new mapping application that will be obtainable with its latest phone operating method. With leading GPS apps in your smartphone, you'll be able to plot a route with both to see whether they agree; in the event that they don't, you can consult a "real" map or ask for directions.