Mapping Software Program Question

[+GeoGordie]

Does anyone have experience with using the "Street Atlas USA 2005" program, if so .. your thoughts please.

I would like to have a mapping program that I can use on the home PC to load and print / directions BEFORE I hit the trails / caches in cities other than my own.

I also use a Palm Zire 31 using the Cachemate program .. LOVE IT !!

Not the sharpest tack when it comes to PC's ... but I get by for an Ol' Man !

I understand there is a "smaller" program that can be used on the Palm ... not sure how well that would work on the Zire 31 though ....

Thanks to all ....

GeoGordie in Greensboro, NC

[+bigdog999]

I've long been a user of Delorme's StreetAtlas program. I like it a lot. I haven't tested other programs so I can't compare. Delorme does keep their programs up to date. I've used the Handheld version and it was ok. I use StreetAtlas on a laptop with a Delorme USB GPS sometimes for street navigation, but less now since I got a Garmin GPSMAP 60c.

[+EWDaron10]

I also have been a user of Delorme products, but I am finding that the maps are not being updated as they should be. As an example: I live in Southern Oregon and there have been major highway additions and changes here that go back as far as 1999 and they are not yet on their maps. I look at other software (including CitySelect from Garmin for my GPS) and they are all there. I sent a report via email to Delorme and never received a reply. That was 6 months ago.

 

I have heard many good reports of MS Streets and Trips being updated pretty well, and much cheaper. I may look onto using that.

 

What I am trying to get across is check it out ahead of time if you can for the area you are interested in and see how up to date it is for an area you are familiar with.

 

Edit to add

I do like the way the software works. It's just the lack of updated maps that bothers me.

Edited June 6, 2005 by ErnieD1125

[+Mach 5]

Someone really needs to come up with one mapping product that works with PC/GPS/PDA (I must be dreaming). I too have a Zire 31, and I'd like to get my Mapsource maps to work with that (since I already paid for the product). I love using Mapsource with my eTrex Legend, but would like to use them with the PDA too.

[+NightPilot]

Get USAPhotomaps, download the map or aerial photo of the area you want, and save it as a .jpg. You can load it on your SD card, and use any of several viewers to view the map. VFSi is a good freeware viewer, but make sure you get the .jpg plugin for it. Its main use is for reading text files. You can't put anything except .pdb files in RAM on a Palm.