Truth is this information could probably go in about three palces depending on how you look at it...
Anyway,
Last week I downloaded a "demo" copy of Microsoft Streets and Routes 2003 to try out. As many of you know, I'm planning a trip to Californial next month, but don't know my way around there very well since I've never had to get around there on my own.
The mapping software seems preaty easy to use and offer a variety of features that seem pretty cool to me. You can set your starting and destination address just like mapquest and get directions, but in addition you can get the lastest highway contruction information and it will tell you where to expect contruction. You can enter your highway and city fuel milage along with the size of your tank and it will estimate when you will need to refuel. You can set your average driving speed for different types of roads to get your ETA and can even build in rest stops after certain periods of time for certain lengths of time.
Beyond that, the software is preprogrammed with many businesses, sites, and other points of interest, so rather then entering an address, you can enter a business name and as much information as you know about it's location and it will eather give you the location or give you a list of possible locations to choose from. As a test, I put in the name and state only of a night club I knew about in Monterey and it was able to give the location so I could plot routes to it. Some times it even includes the last phone number it had on file for the place. Pretty handy.
Lastly, because I liked the interface so well, I bought a PC uplink cable for my Garmin GPS 12 GPS reciever. Unfortunatly, because of the trees around me and the story above me, I can't get a GPS signal in my room. To test with, I went ahead and switched the GPS to Simulation mode, which essentially allows you to enter your own GPS coordinates. It had default values and when I hooked it to the PC, sure enough, I got the default values, which was somewhere in Kansas. Wes tells me he thinks the coordinates are the geographical center of the US. Makes sence to me! Just to varify, I used the map tool to find the approximate coordinates for my house and entered them into the GPS. Sure enough, I got a little car icon, the icon that's used to indicate the current position of the GPS signal, right on top of the coordinates I had specified.
I'm really pleased with how well the software worked. By the time I leave for my trip I should be getting my dad's old laptop, which I'll run this software on. I've also purchased a copy of "Microsoft Streets and Routes 2004" so I'll have a 'non-demo' copy, if you know what i mean...
The software is only about $30 off eBay if anyone is interested. The uplink cable was like 19 bucks shipped. I bought the Garmin GPS 12 like two years ago. I think I paid like $80 - $120 for it back then... can't remember exactly. The GPS 12 is not specifically a road travel GPS, but rather is more designed for marine applications and hiking. Still, a GPS coordinate is a GPS coordinate, so works fine with this software.
-Dan
Anyway,
Last week I downloaded a "demo" copy of Microsoft Streets and Routes 2003 to try out. As many of you know, I'm planning a trip to Californial next month, but don't know my way around there very well since I've never had to get around there on my own.
The mapping software seems preaty easy to use and offer a variety of features that seem pretty cool to me. You can set your starting and destination address just like mapquest and get directions, but in addition you can get the lastest highway contruction information and it will tell you where to expect contruction. You can enter your highway and city fuel milage along with the size of your tank and it will estimate when you will need to refuel. You can set your average driving speed for different types of roads to get your ETA and can even build in rest stops after certain periods of time for certain lengths of time.
Beyond that, the software is preprogrammed with many businesses, sites, and other points of interest, so rather then entering an address, you can enter a business name and as much information as you know about it's location and it will eather give you the location or give you a list of possible locations to choose from. As a test, I put in the name and state only of a night club I knew about in Monterey and it was able to give the location so I could plot routes to it. Some times it even includes the last phone number it had on file for the place. Pretty handy.
Lastly, because I liked the interface so well, I bought a PC uplink cable for my Garmin GPS 12 GPS reciever. Unfortunatly, because of the trees around me and the story above me, I can't get a GPS signal in my room. To test with, I went ahead and switched the GPS to Simulation mode, which essentially allows you to enter your own GPS coordinates. It had default values and when I hooked it to the PC, sure enough, I got the default values, which was somewhere in Kansas. Wes tells me he thinks the coordinates are the geographical center of the US. Makes sence to me! Just to varify, I used the map tool to find the approximate coordinates for my house and entered them into the GPS. Sure enough, I got a little car icon, the icon that's used to indicate the current position of the GPS signal, right on top of the coordinates I had specified.
I'm really pleased with how well the software worked. By the time I leave for my trip I should be getting my dad's old laptop, which I'll run this software on. I've also purchased a copy of "Microsoft Streets and Routes 2004" so I'll have a 'non-demo' copy, if you know what i mean...
The software is only about $30 off eBay if anyone is interested. The uplink cable was like 19 bucks shipped. I bought the Garmin GPS 12 like two years ago. I think I paid like $80 - $120 for it back then... can't remember exactly. The GPS 12 is not specifically a road travel GPS, but rather is more designed for marine applications and hiking. Still, a GPS coordinate is a GPS coordinate, so works fine with this software.
-Dan