MS Streets and Trips

Ron Eggers

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
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There is a discussion on the main Grumble forum about delivering to customers. Most of the framing I do now is picked up and delivered and that is a potential source of stress since I have a notorious propensity for getting lost in my own back yard. (If I have a meeting in some far corner of the gigantic building I work in now, I take a map, some food and water and ask directions along the way.)

I used to use Delorme mapping software and I would upgrade it annually since I live in a rapidly growing area.

For the past couple of years, I've been using MS Streets and Trips. I just bought the 2005 version for under $25.

It couldn't be easier. You type in the street address, which is then located and tagged on a map that you can print and take along for the trip. I suppose you could take a notebook computer along with the program and plan your route on the fly (with or without an attached GPS,) but that would be overkill for me.

My customers think I'm a genius 'cause I can find them even in the new subdivisions that are popping up all over the place.
 
Yes, but the maps are prettier with MS S&T, and if I'm actually travelling with a notebook, my internet access in the car is somewhat restricted.
 
Not if you hack into someones unsecured wireless system, right Mike
 
Mapquest is great when it works, but when it is wrong it is way off. I used it to go about 100 miles away and it was off the address by about 30 miles. I would stop and ask for directions and the people in this small town looked at me like I was crazy. After about an hour of looking I was crazy!!!
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It's pretty hard NOT to Tim.
Just turn on your laptop virtually anywhere, and theres about a 50/50 chance it'll detect and automatically use an unsecured internet feed. There are more unsecured than secured ones, that's for sure :(

When doing service calls, deliveries, attending PPFA meetings in other states, etc, I rely on an automotive navigation system. Being a gadget freak, naturally I think this is the best thing since sliced bread. It'll give you different route options (shortest distance, quickest way, alternate way, etc) and get you around traffic jams, etc. If you go off course, 'she' instantly calculates a new route and announces it verbally, with turn-by-turn instructions, and a map that shows you moving. If you need a hospital, dealer, police, gas station, specific business or phone #, restaurant, etc she will identify them on the map. (the restaurants have little country flags representing the type of food, etc) While driving through a city, it shows outlines of the major buildings. The nav systems are becoming very affordable and are even available as a portable unit, which can be moved between cars. I bet most cars will soon have these built in as standard feature.

This whole discussion brings up an interesting idea, though. Do many folks do deliveries and have to print out driving directions? I wonder if a potential feature for the various POS vendors would be a clickable link, from a customer record, to bring up driving directions? It would just have to pass the 'to and from' addresses to the web browser and mapquest.com, or optionally to a local copy of MS Streets and Trips. Maybe i'm just being overly lazy, but would this be something beneficial to consider?

Mike
 
With regard to errors, they all use the same databases as sources. A few years ago an exit off a highway in a neighboring town was missing in the source database. As a result both MapQuest and several friends' navigation systems all gave erroneous routes to the town where I live.

Pat
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Yea that's the downside. The maps only get updated once per year, and most vendors want a renewal fee to stay current.

There's a brand new exit here and it doesn't exist on the nav system(or mapquest). If you take the exit, however, it immediately recalculates the shortest route when you leave the 'invisible' exit ramp and back onto the road it knows.
 
Google has a map service now too. It's supposed to be more accurate than Mapquest, with more alternate routes available.

My whole glove compartment is now filled with little printed maps - at least the Google ones don't have big ads on them!

My brother got one of those navigation systems for his Lexus SUV and he has to make sure to load all of the correct areas into it prior to a trip. He left out part of New York State on his last trip and the thing kept telling him to get off the Thruway in Rochester to get to Geneva (many miles away!).

When he first bought the system and tried his hand at programming it he became very puzzled because it said there was no way for him to travel from his home in Michigan to New York state. Turns out the default location was Taiwan, and of course, it is pretty much impossible to drive to New York from Taiwan!!! LOL!
 
Ron, Ron, Ron! I'm SO disappointed. You have brought the possibility that men EVER get lost into the equation.

That's why we NEVER ask directions! What guy wants to admit that he's lost??

"Honey, are you sure you know how to find the beach?"

"Of COURSE I do. I decided since I enjoy being with you so much, I'd go the back way so I can talk and, *sigh* just look at you. What's an extra 4 hours on a 1 hour trip when I have the pleasure of your company?"
 
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