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(More customer reviews)I've been buying DeLorme map products for years - and with each passing year, my love/hate relationship tilts a little more toward hate.
My reasons for buying DeLorme Topo are perhaps a bit different than most of its users. I am not an avid hiker, camper or outdoors person. I use Topo USA 8 and its predecessor to scout out good locations for landscape photography. Pretty simple stuff - and Topo doesn't handle it very well, but it is still the best in its class as far as similarly priced commercial products are concerned.
The GUI is, putting it charitably, weird. DeLorme insists on using its own graphical interface, eschewing ordinary Windows conventions. At the bottom of the screen are a series of tabs, many of which are of no interest to the casual user such as myself. Fortunately, the tabs can be managed to meet user desires. Everything is cumbersome. If computers had existed in the 1930s, the DeLorme Topo USA 8.0 interface would be right at home. However, this is 2009 and even the act of performing a simple location find is a burden. Zooming in an out of the map is accomplished with a bizarre set of icons, controls or drags on the screen..
The screen display is divided into three parts: an overview map, a default 2-D map and a switchable panel that provides a 3-D view if chosen. You can choose from three different map styles, only two of which are provided with the program. The instructions on using each of these panels is buried somewhere in the abbreviated help file. I've figure out enough of how to use the 3-D function to use it for my purposes.
DeLorme has become annoying in pushing extra-cost options at the customer, whether it is their handheld GPS map device, aerial imagery or other data. I am sure all these things are useful to some people, but I wish there were a way to disable all the advertising prompts, toggles and switches.
Map accuracy is better than Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009, but it is still not the greatest. A few days ago, I wanted to find a vantage point for photographing a lock and dam on the Upper Mississippi. It took me a while to figure out that the lock and dam which stretch across several hundred feet of the river are shown on the map as only a single dot.
As I noted above, my use of the product is a bit unusual and perhaps hikers and others will find the product more useful. Things are not helped by the failure to provide any worthwhile printed information. The help file is sparse, to say the least.
The program is relatively stable under Vista 64-bit.
On the whole, I think Google Maps are increasingly more suitable for my specific needs and, of course, are free. This is the second or third version of DeLorme Topo I've purchased. The interface has remained essentially the same: awful. The only other product of this kind at this price point that I've seen was worse, so DeLorme wins by default. But as I said, Google maps is a strong contender. It offers topographical maps for many locations.
I would advise caution for the first-time buyer of DeLorme Topo USA. It may not be a product you'll find usable. DeLorme itself offers a 30-day Satisfaction Guaranty. I don't know if this extends to products that aren't purchased directly from them.
Jerry
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Topo USA 8.0 National EditionScout your destination as if you were there, with up-to-date terrain, trail, and road detail. Explore or fly over realistic 3-D. Import aerial imagery. Route your travels over roads and trails. Find public recreation lands. See elevation profiles. Customize and print maps at a wide range of scales. Topo USA 8.0 does it all.
The Most Complete & Best Value Mapping Software for Recreation Topo USA 8.0 is the most comprehensive computer mapping program for outdoor recreation, with unsurpassed maps, available imagery, trip planning features, on-road navigation, and GPS capabilities.
And it's by far the best value for the price--EVERYTHING needed comes in-the-box for the purchase price, including:
Complete USA topographic maps and detailed streets
Detailed streets for Canada; major roads for Mexico
Over 4 million places-of-interest (POIs)
Extensive USA trails network
Flexible printing choices
Ability to share your custom maps over the internet, and more
Core Functions
Map Controls The maps can be controlled using a variety of methods, including the traditional push-button zooming, which drills in/out while keeping the map exactly centered. Drag and Zoom CursorAlso, holding down the left mouse button enables you to drag and zoom, left-to-right, across the map, and moving the mouse in the same manner but in the opposite direction zooms out.
3-D Map Views and Flyovers See the terrain in vivid detail using the 3-D map views and controls. These realistic views also retain the various elements you add to your customized maps--trails, MapNotes, GPS waypoints, and Draw objects. The split-screen framework lets you see 2-D and 3-D maps side by side, with linked Draw tools that move and update in tandem. Now you can also grab the 3-D map views using the image grabber tool and scroll rapidly through 3-D views with great precision. The 3-D software engine has been completely rebuilt for this new version.
Find DeLorme employs several powerful search capabilities within the software. The first is a simple box called QuickSearch where you type common requests including towns, cities, lakes, mountains, lat/lons, ZIP codes, street addresses and many more to receive the quickest possible matches. The Advanced Search helps clarify more complex searches to provide the best possible results. Enhancements to Find with version 8.0 include the ability to perform searches based on multiple criteria: address, intersection, place name, natural feature, coordinates, places of interest, and more.
Profile The Profile tool lets you click on a route, line object, or body of water and see the elevation gain between one point and the next. Ideal for bikers, hikers, and large rigs wanting to know the elevation on their trips. It also gives you the ability to import heart rate, speed, and cadence data from GPS wrist computers, and graph them with the terrain profile for evaluation of athlete performance.
Draw Add MapNotes; draw your own circles, polygons, and squares; measure the area of your draw objects--even draw in your own roads and route on them--these are amazingly powerful draw tools for the money.
Measure The Measure Tool lets you measure linear distance and area on the map based on the units chosen in the Display tab of the Options dialog box. Draw polygons on the map and see the square footage or acreage of plots of land.
Info Right-click on the map to learn more about what's underneath your cursor. Lat/Lon, names of streets and bodies of water--even local radio station information--can be viewed in this manner. Moreover, the bottom toolbar of the software displays a continuously updated readout of what's underneath your cursor.
Attaching Images, Web URLs, and Other Documents Add your own images, live Web URLs, and diagrams and documents to the maps. Embed photos and diagrams showing fleet personnel what they will find at each location. Embed URLs next to your important stops on the maps for easy access when additional information is needed or updated online.
Image Tagger Preserve a record of exactly where you took your digital photos--all you need is a GPS track. The enlargeable thumbnail images appear on your map exactly where you took them on your trip.
Ease of Use
E-Z Nav Toolbar This handy toolbar runs along the top of the interface and offers access to commonly needed options, including GPS settings, the Measure tool, MapShare and Routing functions.
Keyboard Shortcuts New is the ability to set your own keyboard shortcut preferences for optimum control when using GPS. The new key-bindings function is very powerful and advanced so you can design your ideal in-vehicle navigation solution to your own personal specifications.
NetLink Netlink is your online link to DeLorme for important technical support messages, as well as the place where you select the download areas you want for use within the software.
Routing
Routing on Roads or Trails Create automatic road routes to get you to the trailhead, then use automatic trail routing to bring on your hikes. You can create routes from the Route tab or by simply right-clicking on the map and setting your Starts, Stops, and Finish points.
Personalized Routing with Address Book New is the ability to create and save commonly-used names for places you visit often, such as "home," work," or "Dad's." Once these names are assigned, the routing Starts, Stops, and Finishes also display these names making retrieval easy for repeated usage. Customize routes using your own names and save them within MapShare for others to see--they'll be amazed. You can also include up to 200 names from your address book to be recognized using this system.
Add Local Roads to Routing A DeLorme exclusive, this is the best way to update local roads when new developments are planned or added between DeLorme software releases. This tool is located within the Draw tab and lets you draw in the road segment, connecting it to another local road within the database. Assign a name, save it, and when you create automatic routes, the software is smart enough to include these new local roads in the routing calculations and also update the directions.
Map & Travel Information
NEW! Points-of-Interest New to Topo USA with the release of version 8.0 are 4 million places of interest from DeLorme's Street Atlas USA, including restaurants, lodgings, retailers, and businesses of all kinds. Also new are backcountry locations from the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteers with icons for boat ramps, unique natural features, fishing and hunting locations, and more.
Map Data Topo USA offers the best of both worlds--the latest USGS digital topographic data and the latest DeLorme street network. Unlike the scanned raster USGS paper maps used in many other topographic software products, this unique DeLorme vector data blending assures you are working with the latest information. Many scanned USGS quad maps were made decades ago, so the roads shown are oftentimes outdated or nonexistent. Topo USA's vector -- or intelligent -- blended data enables smart searching, better labeling, and many other powerful software capabilities.
Data Download Dollars--FREE Map, Chart, and Imagery Downloads In addition to the enhanced topographic and street maps on the included Topo USA 8.0 DVD-ROM, your purchase entitles you to $40 in new Data Download Dollars, good for supplementary data as Web downloads. Options include USGS 1:24,000 quad maps, NOAA nautical charts, and the following imagery types: color aerial, black-and-white aerial, high-resolution cities (color aerial), and 10-meter color satellite. Data Download Dollars and the ability to purchase each dataset separately replaces the former Aerial Data Packets, that combined three data type together. Now you get only what you really need. Visit the Netlink tab of your DeLorme software to supplementary datasets.
GPS Features
GPS Waypoint Exchange Use the automatic route generation tool to create the route you want without hand-drawing each object. Then exchange this track log to your handheld GPS receiver and bring the information with you into the field. Bring your field data back into the desktop software from your GPS receiver to see where you have been. Supports Garmin, Magellan, and most other NMEA-compliant receivers.
GPS Log Playback Create a route along your favorite trail, right-click on the trail and Save as GPS Log File. Open the GPS tab, switch to 3-D mode, and play back the log file showing various icons moving along the trail. It's as close to being there as one can get without actually leaving your home.
Geocaching Support Topo USA supports popular geocaching site file formats .gpx and .loc, which makes geocaching more fun than ever. New with version 8.0 is the ability to import extended descriptions and hints from .gpx files found online at geocaching.com, also transportable to the PN-Series GPS Devices.
Printing & Sharing
Print Print crisp color or black & white maps that you control to best match what is seen on screen. Print maps including the elevation profile or simply print the elevation profile by itself. New in this version, print the split-screen maps showing your various datasets and Draw objects.
MapShare MapShare makes it easy to share your customized maps and directions with family, friends, and business associates. You create exactly the content you want and then post within our online MapShare library, which includes private administrative tools for you to manage. Similar to some of the better online photo resources, MapShare allows you to provide controlled access to your important maps without worrying about email and spam filters.
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