Cheap National Geographic TOPO Map (Minnesota - Windows) (Electronics) Price

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Customer Reviews of National Geographic TOPO Map (Minnesota - Windows)

Go with a different vendor
This information is all available from the US Govt. The trick is to have software that will display it easily and with no hassles. First some background before I get started. I became a programmer in 1970. My first computer was an Epson QX10, an 8 bit CP/M machine from the early 80's. The reason for giving you a peek at my background is what I have to say about this software. It is, without a doubt, the worst example of <
>programming I have encountered since owning my first PC. I could list the problems and their lack of attention to detail and their seemingly complete unconcern for bringing to market a product with all the loose ends tied and that has the primary purpose of making the program that is easy to set up and use but I have neither the time nor desire to present you with a multi-page review that would waste your time reading the details of bad programming practice. My advice is this; consider this your last choice when shopping for GPS compatible software. Let the buyer beware. Note: I was going to give it one star but decided to give it 2 since it does work. We have to save one star things that absolutely do not work.

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A Good Thing
This is a 'must have' software if you hike, bike and recreate outdoors. The software interface takes a bit of getting use to, but once mastered it provides simple navigation and a lot of information. I do a lot of mountain biking in Northern California and this software lets you 'preview' a trail by mapping it (you draw a line on the trail) and the software then calculates distance travelled and the cumulative vertical ascent. This is very helpful in determining how long a ride will take, and how much physical exertion will be required. It also helps you to track your condition level - as you get in better shape you will be able to do more vertical in less time ... <
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>Once you have created a route you can send it (via e-mail) to friends, or post it on the Topo website to share with others. Other neat features are a 3 dimensional viewing package (sold separately fo $20) and the ablity to send waypoints to handheld GPS units. <
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>There really aren't any 'cons' to the software. Some things you should be aware of though are that Garmin (maker of many handheld GPS units) promotes its own topographical software. This is a pain because Garmin only allows you to send waypoints form the 'Topo' software and you can't upload the detailed maps into the handheld GPS unit. I own an Extrex Vista and the inability to load maps without buying the Garmin software is an irratant. The only other comment is that some of the maps in the software are dated so they don't always show the latest information in terms of roads and buildings. This you just get used to. Similar to other posts - When hiking or biking in remote areas don't rely on a handheld GPS exclusively, bring a printed map, and have some familiarity with a compass and know generally the area into which you are going - also let other people know where you are going (send an e-mail of your route ...). This is common sense that will save a lot of headache. <
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>Overall this software is 'a good thing' and I highly recommend it to people who enjoy spending time outside, and it is particularly good for the mountain biking community.

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Pretty Good. Must have realistic expectations
If Topo maps still cost $2.50, I never would have purchased this product. Now that they cost upwards of $8, this product pays for itself fairly quickly. <
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>I like setting the waypoints on the map and then uploading to my Garmin eTRex (serial) GPS. I do not go the other way from GPS to map. The quality of the map printouts is good, and scaling is good although I wish you could set the variable manually instead of using the preset values. <
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>The paper is expensive but very durable. Best to make test prints on regular paper until ready to print for real. The paper size is a limitation (unless one has a large-format printer). <
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>If you want to just use this to browse topos, it's not a great tool. It's much better to have a larger format topo, say 1:25000 to get a rough idea of your route, and then use Topo to scan a small area. The screen real estate of a computer monitor is tiny, and really does not lend itself well to casual map browsing, especially at 1:24000 scale where it takes 8 screens to pan a map, whereas a real map can be panned by the naked eye. <
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>Anyway, I'm happy with the tool as long as the limitations are understood. This is for the PC version on W2K for Topo California. I just bought a Mac (yes!) and I hope the conversion utility works!