Copilot
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ICYMI: Bot is my co-pilot
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: DARPA's autopilot system for military planes is being tested, this time in a Cessna Caravan turboprop plane. It's made up of a robotic arm and tablet with speech recognition, so communicating with the mechanical brain is supposed to be even easier. Meanwhile, ping-pong fans will want to know about new paddles that set the music based on the pace of the rally. A new product designed for gamers with haptic actuators is here, while just for kicks, the Price is Right celebration is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
Kerry Davis10.20.2016
Comcast 'Co-Pilot' is tech support screen sharing for your DVR
Comcast's X1 DVR platform is pretty powerful, but with more moving parts comes the chance for more things to go wrong. As PC tech support users might know, sometimes the easiest way to describe a problem isn't to speak at all, but to give someone remote access to your computer so they can see what's what. Comcast is trying that with "Co-Pilot" which allows customer service reps to take control and walk you through any fixes. You shouldn't have to worry about anything nefarious going down, though: the techs can only access your DVR after being given a special code. Currently Co-Pilot is in a limited trial phase but Comcast plans to go wide with it later this year. Not too shabby for one of the most-hated companies in America, eh? [Image credit: Getty Images]
Timothy J. Seppala07.09.2015
CoPilot comes to Windows Phone 8: free offline sat nav, £18 for premium features
It can't be easy, developing a Windows Phone sat nav app in the heavily publicized shadow of Nokia Here, but when we met the folks at CoPilot recently they were brimming with confidence. They've already counted 4.5 million downloads on Android and iOS, and today they've finally gone live for owners of WP8 devices too. The free app comes with CoPilot's own, slightly different approach to laying out navigation info and options on a small screen, plus an offline map for the country of your choice, but you'll have to scroll through directions manually. For the full works, which are only free for 14 days, you'll need to spend £17.99 (the equivalent of $28) on an in-app upgrade that brings voice guided turn-by-turn instructions, a year's worth of live traffic flow info, 3D maps and a few other features. You'll find more screenshots and a growing number of reviews over at the source link.
Sharif Sakr06.13.2013
CoPilot GPS navigation coming to Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8
While most Windows Phone 8 users have at least one option for driving directions, that doesn't preclude them opting for a little extra. ALK Technologies at least believes we're willing to splurge, as it's bringing versions of its CoPilot GPS apps to both Windows Phone 8 as well as Windows 8. Both platforms will share the extras we've seen in the Android and iOS releases, such as on-the-fly route editing, speed limit warnings and local search that involves Wikipedia, Yelp and Google -- shh, don't tell Microsoft. ALK is also promising a similar, two-tiered pricing approach that will offer both a free planning-only app as well as a paid Premium version that delivers turn-by-turn navigation and a year of live traffic information. The catch is an extreme wait for the Windows builds: the two will only appear just as we're setting out on our summer vacations.
Jon Fingas02.25.2013
CoPilot GPS app includes free offline maps with optional traffic data and turn-by-turn navigation, headed to Android and iOS
ALK (that's the company behind CoPilot Live) is no stranger to GPS apps, but it's starting afresh this week with a new application offering more features for free. CoPilot GPS, which will be available on iOS and Android, goes the way of Nokia Maps in that it stores all those millions of points of interests offline, so you don't need an Internet connection to calculate directions. Download the free version and you'll also get some requisite social networking integration, walking and driving directions, the ability to choose from up to three routes and built-in Bing and Wikipedia search functionality. The app also matches Google Maps with voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation and 3D maps, but you'll have to shell out $19.99 as a one-time in-app payment for the privilege. Real-time traffic updates are also an option, but that'll cost you an additional $9.99 for a 12-month subscription. According to ALK, the app will be available for iOS and Android in early to mid March, but in the meantime we've got a handful of screens below to give you a taste of what to expect.
Dana Wollman02.26.2012
Add GPS to your Viewsonic G-Tablet and test your soldering skills
If you picked up one of those G-Tablets, but are now suffering from buyer's remorse after realizing how much you miss GPS, there's a solution -- provided you have a strong DIY streak. It turns out Viewsonic set space aside on the Froyo-powered slate's motherboard to place a GPS receiver. Of course, if you even have to ask what flux is or what SMD stands for this is not the hack for you. And while apps that rely on 3G, such as Google Maps, won't work properly, offline navigators like Navigon and CoPilot should be just fine. If you're comfortable tearing open your device and poking at it with a hot iron, hit up the source link for a complete list of parts and some very detailed instructions... or, you could just buy a tablet that already has GPS. [Thanks, Andrew F.]
Terrence O'Brien05.26.2011
iPhone GPS navigation head-to-head review
Nobody likes getting lost, and nobody likes paying too much for a reheated lunch at a franchise restaurant when there's a mouthwatering family joint hiding just around the corner. Wouldn't you know it, there's an app that solves those problems -- quite a few of the things, as it turns out. Following up on our earlier look at non-iPhone GPS apps, we took a look at the top iPhone navigation choices in the App Store and narrowed it down to the five below, then threw in a no charge option for kicks, covering a range of prices from free to upwards of $120 per year. As it turns out there's a very tangible difference between the discount and the "premium" options here, but is that extra really worth it? Read on to find out.
Tim Stevens04.10.2010
Toshiba TG01 gets CoPilot GPS app, takes you to camp
What's there to say about the TG01? It's under ten millimeters thin, rocks a GPS and a 4.1-inch display, and with that 1GHz Snapdragon chip under the proverbial hood, we're counting on some serious multimedia action. Now that we're gearing up for MWC, ALK Technologies has just announced that it's making the CoPilot Live GPS nav system available for the guy. The app promises full-featured turn-by-turn navigation and both 3D and 2D widescreen map views, and real-time services like traffic alerts, fuel price info, and weather conditions. Additionally, this bad boy supports safety camera alerts, with free database updates available for download directly to the phone. Specifics -- such as price and release date -- to be announced.
Joseph L. Flatley02.14.2009
Copilot satellite navigation for WM6 launched
Mobile navigation just doesn't seem to stop these days -- everyone and their dog has a smartphone-enabled navigation solution built for the Palm ACCESS Garnet, Windows Mobile or RIM Blackberry platform. But, we love the name "Copilot", which was launched for the just-unveiled Windows Mobile 6. Initial details? Well, you get what is rapidly becoming standard with mobile nav apps -- except for Copilot's market-first solution for WM6 -- and that list includes color 2D/3D maps, natural text-to-speech voice directions in multiple languages and access to navigational route upgrades from NAVTEQ to round out Copilot's package. [Thanks, Peter]
Brian White02.14.2007
Copilot 2.0 supports Macs
I love my mother, which is why I gave her my old G5 iMac (the last of the G5 iMacs) but she isn't really all that tech savvy. To her credit she has gotten much better with surfing the web, and doing email but if a problem crops up on her iMac (which is rare, but it does happen) she calls her own personal tech support agent: me.I'm not the only person who knows the joys of trying to talk a frustrated parent through some troubleshooting technique. I have often thought about installing VNC, or Apple Remote Desktop on her machine, but I she lives in VA and I live in PA. When I visit her I want to spend time talking and not fiddling with her computer so I can make sure I'll be able to connect remotely when needed.Enter Copilot, the Fog Creek online 'assistive service' that allows you to connect to a remote computer using a small app and a website. Copilot 2.0 now supports OS X 10.2, and later, as well as both Safari and Firefox. No configuration is required, and the pricing structure is very interesting. 5 bucks will get you 24 hours of unlimited access, and if you find yourself using Copilot more than that there are subscription plans available that should suit your needs.You can read more about Copilot at this post on Joel On Software, and to get a glimpse into the Mac dev side of things check out this post on Red Sweater blog.Next time my mom runs into a problem I know who my copilot will be (see what I did there?).
Scott McNulty01.27.2007