You Can't Miss It

People of means used to live by a few simple rules: Don't spend the principal, don't pay retail and don't be indiscreet. The list just got longer: now it's a major faux pas to get lost.

Modern navigation systems have turned getting lost into the ultimate expression of bad form.

You used to have an excuse when you couldn't find your way -- navigation is complex. It requires understanding thorny concepts like longitude and latitude, universal time, bearings and, oh yes, basic algebra.

It makes sense that normal people's eyes would glaze over when it came to Mercator projections, logarithmic speeds and the ins and outs of dead reckoning.

Of course, I love it all. Even my friends call me The Navigeek. To my face.

Are We There Yet?

But my wayward friends don't need me so much these days. Intelligent electronic navigations systems, which can do all the work for you, are now ubiquitous.

There are handheld units from the traditional global positioning system makers, such as Garmin (GRMN Quote) and Magellan.

There are in-car units from electronics companies, such as Pioneer and Alpine built into pricier vehicles.

There are live traffic feeds from satellite and terrestrial radio companies, such as XM (XMSR Quote). Even cell-phone operators offer excellent navigation products in their phones.

With today's nav systems, there are no excuses. If you're lost, late, bickering about being lost or late, or even unaware of your down-to-the-second ETA, it is your own dang fault.

Though technoilliterate dramas like "24," "Alias" and "Lost" like to lie to us about what a GPS can do, navigation systems are simple once you understand what they need to have to work.

Listen up JJ Abrams, I love you, baby, but if I have to put up with another Sydney Bristow or John Lock doing completely unrealistic things with their nav systems on "Alias" or "Lost," I am going to dress up in a cheap pink wig and run away to a metaphorical jungle island paradise.

GPS systems need a clear shot at the sky and time to acquire sufficient satellite signals to work up a location. Invariably, when there are problems with GPS, it's because users rush the system or forget that they are working indoors, under some trees or next to a row of tall buildings.

The best advice for GPS users: be patient and be outside.

	The Pioneer Avic-Z1

A Pioneering Entry

To test the current crop of GPS nav units, I picked two of the latest integrated systems, the in-car, in-dash Avic-Z1 from Pioneer ($2,500) and the ultrasleek, ultraportable Garmin Nuvi 360 ($965).

First, the Pioneer. Avics are integrated entertainment navigation systems that come hardwired and installed into a car's dashboard. (I tested the Z-1 mounted on a late-model Scion.)

The unit combines entertainment and route-finding systems in one centrally controlled system. AM, FM, XM, Sirius, digital video disc, compact disc, rear-screen controls, rear back-up camera -- all of it passes through the Avic.

It even comes with 10-gigabyte hard drive for digital content.