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Microsoft Streets & Trips 2005 Getting There
by Bayle Emlein, Road Warrior
Well, folks, we’re back to disk swapping. Only now it’s CDs. The program comes on 2 CDs. The Run CD is required in your computer if you choose Minimum Installation, a courtesy to true road warriors. Otherwise, dust off your memories of the 1980s and swap out the Install CD when requested to do so. Installation did not require a reboot, further interfering with my coffee preparation plans. Otherwise, installation was the usual ho-hum of clicking on Yes, I really do want to install the Install Disk I’ve put in my CD-ROM drive, and locate whatever files it has wherever you think best in my file tree.
Like many other programs with previous versions, the current version of S&T would prefer to be the only version on my computer. I elected to keep the current version; however I’m not quite sure where the installation stashed it. Providing that kind of info right up front would be a feature many programs could adopt.
This is the kind of application that meets a particular need, finding one’s way without depending on strangers to misdirect one. In addition to my personal wanderings, my job requires me to travel to lots of places around the Bay Area and I go to many of them just once, so there’s no learning curve. I’m a visual learner: it helps me to see a picture of where I’m going, even if the verbal directions are clear, complete, and accurate. Getting lost, I’ve found some very interesting places I never would have gone on purpose. However, I don’t always have the time or gasoline for exploration.
Of course there are a few annoyances. One is the oxymoronic Help menu, which suffers from the same lack of help it does in all Microsoft products: arcane names and terminology required to find what you’re looking for, circular definitions (rather than instructions). Whoever designs the maps manages to plonk an unmovable city name down right on top of what I really need to see. The 2005 edition includes Canada, which widens the market and increases its use as a vacation planner. Once I learned to include US at the end of each and every local address, finding places got a lot simpler and I stopped getting routed through small towns in Alberta. But it seems I’ve got to remember to include the country designation every time. Wish I could set that somewhere in preferences and forget it, sort of like not dialing an area code for local phone calls.
I’ve been using Streets & Trips 2002 for a while–obviously–and wanted to see what’s new. This version still has my favorite gripe about the previous version: the slider for adjusting the level of magnification is mouse adjustable only. I’d like to be able to type in the zoom level in exact numbers instead of trying to get the mouse to slide the little arrow to exactly combine the level of detail with the level of orientation to the larger world. Mice are a barrier to accessibility. Something else I’d like to see: include the exit numbers in the parts of the world that number their freeway exits sequentially. This is especially useful when I’m driving in unfamiliar territory. However, the maps do include both the names and numerical designations of each freeway. The verbal directions are detailed and have been accurate every place I’ve gone so far. This version of Streets and Trips accurately found places where others leave me lost (literally) in the Napa County wetlands. One-way streets and divided roads are clearly indicated. I’ve found Streets &Trips to be more accurate than MapQuest or Yahoo Maps.
Why is an electronic map better than paper? Because you can zoom in and out, follow a road to the edge of the earth, update information without scheduling a trip to the Triple A map department or paying their membership fee. Print an overview, print route details, and print turn-by-turn instructions. Increase the font size on the map so that you or your navigator can read street names en route. Highlight your route, draw in details and add comments to guide others to that door that’s not quite visible from the street.
Why is a local application better? The whole screen is your map: no clutter, no ads and pop-ups. Unlike the interactive mapping sites, a local mapping application doesn’t need to reload each time you move along a roadway. In Streets and Trips, you can either pan or scroll in the direction of your choice, at the magnification of your choice, from border to border, from sea to shining sea, with no redraw delay.
The slim Getting Started pamphlet points out the similarity between the Draw menu and the Draw features in other Microsoft products. I wish the resemblance were greater. Not being able to rotate a rectangle to place a building on an angled street meant that I had to draw each wall separately and I had to click on the Draw Line button again for each wall. Wouldn’t mind being able to reorient the maps, either, especially if I could add a compass rose. That would be very helpful, especially on maps I’m sharing with others–they don’t necessarily know which way I had the paper in my printer.
Through no fault of Streets and Trips, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to check the GPS or Pocket maps. They don’t provide the computer to run the full version and they don’t provide the mobile devices to run their GPS or PocketMaps.
Bottom line: If you go any farther than your corner store, you need this thing. If you ever give directions to anyone else to get to your corner store, you/they need this thing. Why is it worth paying money for? Because your time and nerves are more valuable. The maps are big–they fill the whole screen when you close the Find, Navigation, and Help windows. They’ll print out as big as your printer can handle: 11"X17" in my case. You can add your own arrows to show routing, highlight streets (or anything else), compose text boxes with directions and notes, and email your individualized map to someone trying to find you.
Price at the Microsoft site: $39.95. The $10 rebate until June 30, 2005 would reduce any price you find. By July, you’ll be ready for the 2006 version.
Streets & Trips 2005
Microsoft
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
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Last Updated on November 13, 2004 1:35 PM by Webmaster