Opinons from those who have used both M S&T and Street Atlas

[nodine]

I have used Microsoft Streets & Trips for years but just purchased a copy of Delorme Street Atlas USA 2009. I have not got through the learning curve of Street Atlas yet but so far I like it. Just wonder what folks who have used both thought about one versus the other.

Bob

[nodine]

I have used Microsoft Streets & Trips for years but just purchased a copy of Delorme Street Atlas USA 2009. I have not got through the learning curve of Street Atlas yet but so far I like it. Just wonder what folks who have used both thought about one versus the other.

Bob

[paz]

We have both MS Streets & Trips and DeLorme Street Atlas. IMO, S&T is more user friendly, but DeLorme works better with our GPS. Even though we don't use GPS that much anymore, we have gotten used to DeLorme so we use it much more than S&T. In fact, we just upgraded to Street Atlas 2009, but we aren't planning to update our S&T 2005 anytime soon.

One of the features we like about DeLorme is the way you can layer route files within map files. For example, we have a map file called "2008 Travels" and then have individual legs of our journey within that map file. You can move route files in and out of the map files and turn on the routes on and off as needed. That way, everything is handy (just click it off and on), but is isn't always visible cluttering up your screen.

[M&EM]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by paz:
We have both MS Streets & Trips and DeLorme Street Atlas. IMO, S&T is more user friendly, but DeLorme works better with our GPS. Even though we don't use GPS that much anymore, we have gotten used to DeLorme so we use it much more than S&T. In fact, we just upgraded to Street Atlas 2009, but we aren't planning to update our S&T 2005 anytime soon.

One of the features we like about DeLorme is the way you can layer route files within map files. For example, we have a map file called "2008 Travels" and then have individual legs of our journey within that map file. You can move route files in and out of the map files and turn on the routes on and off as needed. That way, everything is handy (just click it off and on), but is isn't always visible cluttering up your screen. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ditto to what Paz said above.

I use Delorme and a GPS for all my navigation needs while motorhoming. Still keep a CD copy of MS S&T and TW Good Sam locations for reference. When it comes to certain street information, there is always some info on one of these programs that another doesn't have.

Marty

[Gary RVRoamer]

I used the Street Atlas products for years but it got so complex that simple things were no longer easy to do. I started using Streets & Trips for my routine map look-ups and trip planning and gradually stopped using Street Atlas altogether. I don't use a GPS with it, so that is not a factor for me (we also have standalone GPS nav systems in both coach and car).

I think Street Atlas has more detailed data in some cases and more POI's, but 99.5% of the time Streets & Trips does the job nicely for us. It's quick and convenient, which [to me] is what a computer mapping program is all about.

[Clay L]

We started with S&T but I got upset when I wanted to do something I thought should be simple and it wasn't.
We switched to Street Atlas and have used it for 5 or 6 years.

Of course the Street Atlas interface has changed a lot over the years and I don't know how it would seem if I wasn't already familiar with it.

[RVDriver]

I use both, started with S&T, and still use 2007 for finding restaurants, campgrounds, shopping centers, and towns that are off the beaten path that I never heard of.

Use SA 2008 (now upgraded to 2009) with GPS for driving down the road, and listening to Microsoft Mary tell me when to turn! Of course "Off Route" is disabled, thats the only thing bad about SA.

[Bob (WA0MQE)]

At the FMCA Convention in St. Paul they were handing out a 60-day trial (Pre-release) version of MS Streets & Trips 2009. It has a few new features and a little bit of a different Icon interface. Seems to work okay, and it includes Wal-Mart Stores.

However, after trying to install it on 3 different computers it caused a problem. I found if you install all their recommended options, i.e., when asked if you want to have the internet search engine, windows live, etc. as the default say "NO" on all of them. I'm not sure what or which one it is but it will mess up Internet Explorer regarding the tabs causing a lock-up and require Ctrl-Alt-Del. I had to uninstall it and also go into Explorer, Tools, Internet Options and disable a bunch of the "Manage Add-Ons".

Hopefully this is just a "Pre-release" issue and when the release the final copy it will be fixed.

[BigRigRVing]

I teach classes on both at Rallies and such, I use them all but by far Delmore is easier to use, gives more details, and does not have Microsoft issues, if you like to dry camp in national forest and BLM Delmore is the only way to go. In most cases you can zome into the forest roads and see areas off that road to dry camp, like just outside Grand Canyon NP, fire road to right, alone fence bewteen NP and NF there area 4 big cleared areas to dry camp FREE!

[rmmpe]

I have S&T 2008 but cannot get it to interface with a Garmin 200W GPS via USB cable.
Is the Garmin GPS able to work as the S&T GPS sensor?

If so, can anyone guide me?

Thanks.

[kenkap]

We started with S&T 2006. I found it very easy to use. I loved the way it got from the east coast of Texas to the Rio Grande using roads that no state map (AAA or Rand McNally) included. The only complaint was the accuracy of the maps. Instructions included making turns where there were no roads; "Off Route" warnings appeared although the map indicated we were exactly where we should have (and wanted) to be. It got us into so many situations where we had to unhitch the toad to turn around, we started calling it "Streets & Traps" and switched to DeLorme SA 2008.

SA was helpful because it included Mexico, but is, for me, very user UNfriendly. In spite of all the Microsoft bashing, it is nice when programs have a familiar look and feel. The learning curve was long. When I don't use it for a few months, I have to start from the beginning. While it has never gotten us into "Dead End" situations, its route calculations can be absolutely mind blowing. On one leg of our Baja journey it calculated a route that went 300 degrees around a circle route instead of the shorter way which was 150 miles less. Even trying to force SA to go the way I wanted (by inserting waypoints), getting the gap down to less than a mile, it would not generate the short route. On a route from Chatham, NJ to West Chester, PA it put me on the NJ Turnpike, then off and on twice before finally getting me going toward Pennsylvania.

Every time I plot a new route, I have to go over it in detail and compare it to my paper maps to have any confidence. I don't which I'll use this winter, but fortunately we'll use interstates to get to and from Florida.

But either one is better than my Garmin Nuvi 370, simply because a) I can plan in advance and, b) I can see a bigger picture (see a map) while I'm travelling.