Microsoft Streets & Trips 2004 and Globalsat USB GPS Bundle
By Nathan Lee

Among several map software suites that we tested, only Microsoft Streets and Trips was both powerful enough for our purposes and easy enough to use for the average user. The 2004 edition of Streets contains maps of all of North America, which can be loaded on your laptop with a CD, or installed directly to your computer’s hard drive. Coupled with the software’s versatile route-plotting features and extensive point-of-interest database, you should never have a lost or dull moment on road outings.

The GPS support for Streets & Trips is also quite good, supporting GPS devices on laptop and PocketPC. The Globalsat GPS hardware is also very good, with quality construction and ease of installation.

Installation and Interface

Street & Trips takes a gigabyte of hard drive space on your computer with full install, useful if you want to use the software without the CDs. There were no problems when we installed the software, and upon starting the program, we were glad to find a streamlined and simple interface.

There are three panes of information in the interface: a map with driving directions in the center, driving directions on the top, and a task pane on the left displaying nearby attractions and route planning. To plot a route, you only need to use the left pane to enter two or more locations, and then push the route button. The program will then generate the route based on distance or other criteria.

To use the GPS in conjunction with the software, you need to run Globalsat’s GPSinfo software that is included on the driver CD. From there, you can toggle WAAS, VTG, and Power Save features, and also see the progress of your satellite lock. As an added bonus, you can also see the current local time with atomic precision, as provided by the GPS satellites overhead. Use this software to identify the Com port of the GPS device, and return to Microsoft Street.

Within the Street software, you can then initialize the Globalsat hardware. Select the appropriate Com port from the GPS configuration menu and the software will run the GPS device. Through this software, it is possible to track your current location on the map and see your current speed and bearing.

Features

The Streets & Trips software offers several enhancements over previous versions. One way streets are colored and marked – useful if you have ever had to navigate the treacherous city streets of San Francisco. Microsoft has also added an ‘estimate cost’ feature that estimates the price of gas for the total trip based on average gasoline price and total distance.

When you find an area of interest, you can easily mark that spot with a pushpin. After doing this, you can determine routes with the pushpin as a designation, finding your way to and from that point.

As in previous editions, Streets & Trips has a wonderful database of establishments. Streets & Trips plots more restaurants even in your own neighborhood than you probably knew existed. In addition to movie theatres, landmarks, and notable stores, you will have at your disposal almost every interesting location within the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska.

If you use the bundled Pocket Streets software, you can export the maps to your Pocket PC based PDA. You can even use your PDA’s GPS software to plot your location as you drive.

Service and Support

The products in the Microsoft Streets & Trips and Globalsat GPS bundle are warranted individually. Microsoft offers standard support, providing a detailed help file, and customer representatives who can be reached Monday through Friday 5am – 9pm, or Saturday 5am -3pm PST. The Globalsat GPS comes with a 1 year replacement warranty.

Posted July 28, 2004