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December 13, 2006 Travel Help
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 with GPS Locator (www.microsoft.com, Windows 2000/XP with Pentium, $129.95; without GPS Locator $39.95) combines a street-level locator, GPS receiver and trip planning program in one package. The GPS Locator is a compact 1.25 inch receiver that plugs into your computer’s USB port, either directly or by using an included cable. The receiver is very sensitive and can track satellites from the front seat of your car, saving running a cable to the windshield or dashboard. The program includes 6.2 million miles of routable roads in the United States and Canada. The program makes planning a trip very easy: just type in your beginning street address (if using the GPS locator, use your current location) or simply click a spot on the map to begin your plan. Do the same for your destination and any stops along the way. The routes between stops are called segments, and for each segment, you can have the program route you for the quickest or shortest route and also specify your preference for road types (such as Interstate, toll roads and highway). Then add any other trip planning features you want, such as specifying start and stop driving times, driving speeds and timed rest stops. You can also add your car’s fuel consumption and fuel cost per gallon. The program then calculates the route and provides you with directions, time and distances, fuel usage and costs and a map displaying the route.
You can change the order of segments by rearranging them in the segment list and have the program recalculate the results. Or you can drag and drop segments on the map to include or exclude specific roads. A useful feature is the ability to search for points of interest along your route. The program includes 1.2 million points of interest, such as lodging, restaurants, gas, rest areas, historic and natural sights and the all-important ATMs. The points of interest automatically refresh as you scroll the map. Another useful feature is the option for adding push pins to mark any spot on the map and customize the push pins with a note, contact information or even an Internet Web link. If you need to add more information to the map, you can import icons, pictures, graphics, logos or formatted text to place anywhere on your map. Once you’re satisfied with the routing, you have several printing options: driving directions only, turn-by-turn maps, strip maps, selected area or highlighted places map. You can use Outlook to e-mail a copy of the map currently on your screen or save your maps in picture format to add in an e-mail or as an attachment; or save them in HTML format to include on your Web site or to share with others. If you need to fax a map, the program will format the map for fax transmission.
You can have maps displayed on your computer in road, terrain, or political map format. Moving about the maps is made easy with edge-scrolling arrows, variable zoom slider and wheel mouse zoom and pan. Maps can be displayed full screen or as a special green on black display for night time viewing. When used in conjunction with the GPS Locator, the program will track your progress along your route, announcing when the next turns are coming up (unfortunately doesn’t announce street names). If you make a wrong turn, you are notified and ask the program to do a reroute to get you back on track. Using the computer for your trip navigator is best done by a passenger other than the driver, since the control details are more than a driver should attempt. Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007 can also be used to find a location or to show where you are. Type in an address, and a map will display that location. The GPS Locator can automatically find where you are now, and a new feature can also use known wireless WiFi spots to locate you. You can also use a place name to find a location on a map. Place names can be those of hospitals, landmarks, cities, airports or geographic landmarks. After you enter the place name, a list matching your request will be shown; just select the one you want, and the program displays a map showing the place or address location. If you’re connected to the Internet, links to Windows Live Search are included in the program to greatly expand search capabilities. Any matches will be highlighted on a map, and you can even get directions from where you are now. If you’ve added the included Microsoft Windows Live Local module and are connected to the Internet, you can search for a location and see it on a map, see aerial views of the location and, for some places, see aerial 3D views as well. With your computer, GPS locator and Microsoft Streets & Trips 2007, planning and taking that vacation can be easy and fun too--and you don’t have to worry about getting lost. |
