Electronics User Reviews » netbook

1.5M Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport

Jessie Robinson — Wed, 02 May 2012 16:39:36 +0000

Search For 1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport at Amazon

The buyer faces a bewildering range of cable choices when attempting to connect their PC to their TV. They may wonder which cables give them the best sound and picture quality, and may also want to recognise the respective choices they have to connect their television and computer together. HDMI cables are by far the most usual cable of choice nowadays, but buyers are ill-informed that they have other choices of connecting their television to their computer.

So, what are the ‘other options’ of connecting PC to TV?

If your computer, or PC, has a USB port or ‘socket’, there are some merchandise available from numerous online merchants who sells goods at retail which will grant you to stream both audio and visual content wirelessly from your PC, provided that your Television has a HDMI port or socket (same thing). Fortunately, closely all HD Televisions on sale in the UK are equipped with a HDMI socket, and each new 3D television is equipped with a HDMI port.

Connecting mini USB and micro USB PC to TV wirelessly

Some Laptops, Desktops, Tablet PCs and even Smartphones have mini USB or micro USB ports, and so to stream audio and visual content wirelessly from one of these devices, you would need a micro USB to USB (Type A) adapter, or mini USB to USB (Type A) adapter to use a Wireless PC to TV streamer.

Connecting iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to an HD Television screen with a HDMI cable.

If you want to connect your Apple iPad or iPhone to your Television screen, you may do this by using an Apple 30-Pin Dock connector to HDMI (Type A) adapter in conjunction with a HDMI (Type A) 1.4 cable. This combining of adapter and cable may likewise be applied with the iPhone and iPod touch.

There is a staggering potpourri of HDMI cables available to the buyer at present, which may only be a good thing for the consumer. Due to massive competition, buyers have the power to demand ever-increasing levels of durability and transmission quality, at prices as low as 46p for a HDMI cable. It would be best to commend any form of HDMI 1.4 cable from a trusted online retailer.

Is it worth investing huge bucks into a snazzy HDMI cable?

If you have just expended your hard-earned cash on a 42″ HD Television, you may think that spending 40 on a “top-of-the-range” HDMI cable will ascertain better effigy quality, but it is widely regarded that around 9.99 is a sensible amount to spend on a HDMI cable (to strike a good compromise amongst value and quality), unless you require a cable of more than 3 metres. Lengthier HDMI cables tend to cost more than 10, but are surely a cost-effective substitute to connecting PC to TV wirelessly.

Connect PC to TV

If you don’t know your PC or TV connection type, use an online configurator to search for a PC and TV connection by Make and Model. If you don’t recognise the Make and Model of the PC and TV you want to connect, you may also search by cable connection type.

If your laptop lacks a HDMI input, but has a VGA socket, you have two options:

Option one: Buy a VGA (Male) to VGA (Male) cable, a VGA to HDMI converter box, a HDMI (Male) to HDMI (Male) cable, and a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable

Option two: If your PC likewise has a USB socket, use that rather and buy a Wireless PC to TV Streamer

Option one will cost you almost the same as the wireless PC to TV streamer, because the VGA to HDMI converter box will set you back at least 39.99.

Most wireless PC to TV streamer widgets are rated to work from a distance of up to 30 feet, so if you are planning to connect PC to TV wirelessly from a big distance, you will be better off using high quality HDMI cable, VGA cable and HDMI to VGA converter box, along with a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable.

You will need a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable when connecting using VGA because VGA does not carry audio signal. VGA ports ought to be employed in conjunction with a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable when connecting PC to TV.

If you have a recent Apple laptop or PC, you are likely to have either a Mini DisplayPort socket or Apple Thunderbolt socket. Most new Mini DisplayPort adapters and cables are compatible with Apple Thunderbolt for connecting PC to TV, so if you are planning to connect your Mini Displayport or Thunderbolt equipped Apple device to your Apple LED Monitor, you may use a Thunderbolt cable. Like HDMI cables, Thunderbolt also carries audio signal.

If you want to connect your Apple Thunderbolt or Mini DisplayPort PC, Desktop, Laptop, Netbook or Tablet to your HDMI High Definition Television, you may use a Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter, or Apple Thunderbolt to HDMI adapter.

Some new televisions come equipped with a DVI port (either a DVI-Integrated, DVI-Analogue, or DVI-Digital). DVI cables do not carry audio signal, so need to be used in conjunction with a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable.

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport

The 1.5m mini displayport to mini cabldisplayport cable.

Most helpful customer reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
Works but with flickering (Kanex works great)
By T. Bisson
I tried this cable with a 2011 macbook pro and ’09 27in imac to get 2560×1440. It works, but there is screen and pixel flickering. An apple store representative told me to try the Kanex mini displayport to mini displayport. I bought one from microcenter and it works great. I can now use the iMac in target display mode at 2560×1440 with no flickering. BTW – I also tried to use the thunderbolt cable, but that wouldn’t work. I thought thunderbolt was supposed to be backward-compatible with minidisplayport but I guess it isn’t.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Little known cable does an awesome thing!
By ginkgoboy
I have a new iMac at home with a gloriously brilliant and beautiful screen. I have a Mac laptop for work and frequently bring it home to finish up projects late in the evening. I’m a web designer/animator that uses programs that require lots of desktop space which can prove difficult on a laptop screen. Because of this lovely little cable, I can now hook my laptop up to my iMac and use that awesome display as an external monitor. It’s a little thing in a sense but it’s been a fantastically helpful development for me.

The odd thing here is that I ran around to several Mac based stores and the like trying to locate this cable. Nobody had any clue that the iMac could be used in such a way. The Apple store that I called seemed to think it might work but didn’t carry the cable. It was tough to find one online but I was happy to find a Belkin version because my prior experiences with their products have been solid. Thus far it’s been working great and would highly recommend it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Prone to Interference
By Frank Schmitt
Like some other reviewers I use this to connect my work laptop to my 2010 27″ iMac using Target Display Mode.

90% of the time it works flawlessly, but occasionally I’ll get flickering. It seems to be related to interference from the adjacent USB or power cables (they’re all on the same side on MacBook Pros). Moving the cables around a bit makes it go away. I would probably recommend checking out the Kanex cable recommended by another reviewer, especially since it’s something like a third the price.

It also works well with my Thunderbolt MacBook Air. However, you apparently can’t use a pre-Thunderbolt (i.e. mini DisplayPort) video source to drive a Thunderbolt iMac’s display.

See all 11 customer reviews…

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport Pic

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport Photo

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport Picture

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport Pic

1 5m Mini Displayport To Mini Displayport Photo

Rca Male / Rca Male High Quality

Renee Montoya — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:39:27 +0000

Search For Rca Male Rca Male High Quality at Amazon

The buyer faces a bewildering range of cable choices when attempting to connect their PC to their TV. They may wonder which cables give them the best sound and picture quality, and may likewise want to recognise the respective choices they have to connect their television and computer together. HDMI cables are by far the most popular cable of choice nowadays, but buyers are ill-informed that they have other choices of connecting their television to their computer.

So, what are the ‘other options’ of connecting PC to TV?

If your computer, or PC, has a USB port or ‘socket’, there are a great deal of merchandise available from a great deal of online merchants who sells goods at retail which will concede you to stream both audio and visual content wirelessly from your PC, provided that your Television has a HDMI port or socket (same thing). Fortunately, almost all HD Televisions on sale in the UK are equipped with a HDMI socket, and each new 3D television is equipped with a HDMI port.

Connecting mini USB and micro USB PC to TV wirelessly

Connecting iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch to an HD Television screen with a HDMI cable.

There is a staggering assortment of HDMI cables available to the buyer at present, which may only be a good thing for the consumer. Due to massive competition, buyers have the power to demand ever-increasing levels of durability and transmission quality, at prices as low as 46p for a HDMI cable. It would be best to commend any form of HDMI 1.4 cable from a trusted online retailer.

Is it worth investing huge bucks into a snazzy HDMI cable?

If you have just expended your hard-earned cash on a 42″ HD Television, you may think that spending 40 on a “top-of-the-range” HDMI cable will assure better effigy quality, but it is widely regarded that around 9.99 is a sensible amount to spend on a HDMI cable (to strike a good compromise among value and quality), unless you require a cable of more than 3 metres. Lengthier HDMI cables tend to cost more than 10, but are surely a cost-effective substitute to connecting PC to TV wirelessly.

Connect PC to TV

If you don’t recognise your PC or TV connection type, use an online configurator to search for a PC and TV connection by Make and Model. If you don’t know the Make and Model of the PC and TV you want to connect, you may also search by cable connection type.

If your laptop lacks a HDMI input, but has a VGA socket, you have two options:

Option one: Buy a VGA (Male) to VGA (Male) cable, a VGA to HDMI converter box, a HDMI (Male) to HDMI (Male) cable, and a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable

Option two: If your PC likewise has a USB socket, use that rather and buy a Wireless PC to TV Streamer

Option one will cost you almost the same as the wireless PC to TV streamer, because the VGA to HDMI converter box will set you back at least 39.99.

Most wireless PC to TV streamer gadgets are rated to work from a distance of up to 30 feet, so if you are planning to connect PC to TV wirelessly from a big distance, you will be better off using high quality HDMI cable, VGA cable and HDMI to VGA converter box, along with a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable.

You will need a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable when connecting using VGA because VGA does not carry audio signal. VGA ports will have to be used in conjunction with a 3.5mm Mini Jack to RCA cable when connecting PC to TV.

Rca Male Rca Male High Quality

Integrate this high quality 12ft 2xMale to 2xMale RCA cable into your stereo system to amplify sound quality for a more pleasurable audio experience. Our high quality RCA cables feature much thicker cables than our frequent RCAs and have gold plated connectors for bettered audio/video signal transfer and less signal interference. RCA is a outstanding substitute for audio/video apps where newer connection types are not available.

Most helpful customer reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Blue colored, not black.
By G. Garcia
These cables work as they should and are of pretty good quality. One thing I didn’t realize however, is that they are blue colored, not the typical black. Not a big deal, but had that little bit of information been included in the description, I might’ve opted for different product. These are less expensive than most other hi-quality RCA cables, so for the price they’re a good option.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful.
Rubbery!
By G. Barnes
The rubbery feeling is delightful! I don’t know how these magic tubes work, but I like them a lot and by a lot I mean a whole lot!!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
High Quality Indeed
By Ed
Cables were as advertised. Great Price, Shipped on Time and Couldn’t be happier.
Would do business again with this vendor.

See all 3 customer reviews…

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Rca Male Rca Male High Quality Photo

Rca Male Rca Male High Quality Image

Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps

Alexander Glover — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 16:40:55 +0000

Find Similar Products Like Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps at Amazon

The GPS system was devised in the first place for military operations, but there are now new ways of using GPS in each day life. You will find GPS receivers in the most recent car models. But did you know that you may turn your mini laptop into a GPS device?

You may do this by merely installing a comparatively cheap and compact receiver, and associate mapping software. Even if they only cost you $60 to 150, do you actually need GPS? It is a fact that GPS is saving lives and property throughout the nation. The tunnel under the English Channel would have been crooked if the French and British crew -who were working simultaneously from both ends – did not use GPS. In real life, you will need GPS in the following instances:

Road trips

Imagine never again getting lost in the middle of your trip, and all because you took the time to plan your route on your GPS device. With turn by turn visual and audible directions you may get to where you are going by the most direct route possible. Many software packages grant you to locate nearby restaurants, gas stations and hotels. Want to know how far you’ll have to wait for your next Starbucks? Just enter “Starbucks” and you’ll know incisively how long until your next coffee fix.

For emergencies

GPS gimmicks support you to determine the nearest police station or hospital in case of emergencies. In a life-or-death situation, this is very critical.

There are a lot of GPS software being sold in the market today. Some of the most well-known brands are DeLorme Earthmate, Garmin Mobile Laptop GPS, and Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 with GPS.

The Delorme Earthmate may be plugged to your mini laptop through a USB cable. You may connect the Garmin Mobile 10 Laptop GPS to your netbook by way of Bluetooth while Garmin Mobile 20 may be connected through USB cable. Microsoft’s GPS software likewise uses a USB cable for connectivity.

Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps

Microsoft Streets & Trips 2006 with GPS Locator combines Streets & Trips, the finish and customizable trip planning software, with a sleek and stylish Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. With progressed GPS features and voice prompted directions, you’ll always know precisely where you are and where your next turn is. Just plug it in your laptop and go!

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 with GPS Locator combines the latest version of Microsoft’s heightened customizable trip planning software, Streets and Trips, with a sleek and stylish Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. Just plug the receiver into the USB port on your laptop, get started your car, and you’ll always know precisely where you are, where your next turn is, and how far it is to the next gas station or point of interest.

The navigation screen with GPS pane. A blue progression bar counts down to the next maneuver. View larger.

Find all points of interest within a given radius. View larger.

Acquire your emplacement with the Wi-Fi Location Finder. View larger.

Trip Planning with Door-to-Door Convenience
Streets and Trips 2006 is an easy-to-use, hands-free trip planning and guidance solution. Whether you’re running errands or planning a cross-country road trip, Streets and Trips 2006 offers customizable maps and data on more than 1.8 million points of interest (POIs), such as restaurants, ATMs, museums, campgrounds and more. Online or off, Streets and Trips 2006 provides altered maps that give you accurate, elaborated door to door directions and puts 5.9 million miles of routable roads and highways allround the US and Canada at your fingertips. While you’re driving, verbal turn-by-turn directions let you concentrate on the road while the software guides you. Customizable trip planning features grant you to plan multiple stops, find nearby places to visit, calculate drive time, and more.

Taking vantage of the intensified trip planning software is easy. With a customizable observing pane, you may display turn-by-turn directions, including street names, in big type for easy viewing, and large, easy-to-see arrows that indicate the direction of your next turn. The pane displays the distance to your destination in miles or yards, and for a quick “at-a-glance” view, a thermometer-style bar shows the relative distance you’ve travelled. To develop a route and generate directions, you plainly type in the starting and ending locatings and click on “Get Directions.” It’s that simple. Your trips may include multiple segments, and you may instruct the software to custommake your route by telling it what types of roads you want to travel, how much gas your car has, and the general area where you want to stop to gas up. Streets and Trips 2006 will do the rest, giving you your optimal itinerary, down to the precise gas station. Overall you’ll have access to over 1.8 million local POIs such as hotels, restaurants, gas stations and ATMs, and by planning ahead, Streets and Trips 2006 will aid you keep out of the way of delays with construction updates and other recent changes to your route.

With the GPS receiver plugged into your laptop, you’ll always recognise precisely where you are. The GPS panel shows your current latitude/longitude, direction of travel, current speed, and GPS signal strength. This is also the control panel for arranging and customizing the map display, and you may even give rise to a “bread crumb” GPS trail, making your return trip a breeze. Voice-prompted directions announce upcoming turns with precise instructions, such as, “In one point two miles, turn left on Andover Street.” If you drive past your planned exit, the software will tell you without delay that you’re off track. A single click will get you back on track. The “Re-route from Here” feature quickly recalculates directions if you miss a turn.

To find a sure POI, such as restaurants or gas stations, you merely select from 35 POI types to display on the map. You have the option of searching within a sure radius of an address that you choose, your current location, a specific direction within a planned route, or all of the POIs along the entire route. Your results are displayed in a directory-tree listing. When you click on a POI, a balloon box pops up on the map with elaborate information, including an address and phone number, and if you right-click on the POI icon, you may add it to your route list.

MSN Virtual Earth and Other Extras
To heighten to your travel experience, Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 offers a link to MSN Virtual Earth, Microsoft’s online repository of satellite maps. Let’s say you’re observing a map of the theater district in Manhattan. If you want to see a bird’s-eye view of it, just click the Virtual Earth icon and a satellite effigy of the area will load into your browser. Another commodious feature is the “Night Map Style” which makes reading your routes at night or in other low-light conditions a breeze. The map’s background is black, and roads and street names are shown in shades of green for easy viewing. Also included with Streets and Trips 2006 is Pocket Streets for your Pocket PC or Smartphone, which you may load onto your compatible Windows-based Pocket PC or Windows-powered Smartphone for dandier travel convenience.

And best of all, once you register your software, you may access a full year of email and toll-free client support, and you’ll likewise have access to an online cognition base devoted to Streets and Trips 2006. So no matter where you’re travels are taking you, you may drive with the selfassurance that you’ll have Microsoft’s extensive aid and software behind you each click of your odometer.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 with GPS Locator combines Streets and Trips, the finish and customizable trip-planning software, with a sleek and stylish Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. You’ll always know precisely where you are and where your next turn is.

Features:

Advanced GPS routing features, including new distance-based voice-prompted directions, rerouting intellectual zooming, and much more.
USB-ready GPS hardware device–just plug it in and go.
Get accurate, detailed, door-to-door directions for any trip.
Customizable trip-planning choices concede you to plan stops, scenic detours, and fuel stops, as well as add multiple destinations, quickly change your route, and calculate mileage, time, and expenses.
Includes over 1.8 million points of interest so you may speedily find restaurants, ATMs, hotels, and other points of interest without the need to be online.
All-new altered maps of more than 5.4 million miles of routable roads and highways all around the U.S. and Canada.

Most helpful customer reviews

484 of 489 people found the following review helpful.
Good news and bad news.
By JanSobieski
The bad news first: The map details are still not as good as were found in the 2004 version of this program. I can’t understand why MS would dumb down their product. Also, the street names seem to have been dumbed down as well. For example, Golden Eagle Ferry Road has been reduced to Ferry Road. There are innumerable examples of this dumbing down and simpifying which only serves to confuse.

The good news: The GPS functionality has been vastly improved with voice and large visual prompts which make using the program in an automobile MUCH MUCH easier. The little car cursor in the 2005 version has been replaced by a much more visible circle with a large arrow in it indicating direction.

Despite the dumbing down of the actual map data the program remains a superb mapping program with many updates since the 2004 and 2005 versions. New streets, restaurants and other points of interest are now incorporated. This program offers a truly affordable GPS guidance system for nearly all consumers without having to go to the expensive Garmin or Magellan systems. If you find yourself traveling to points unknown I cannot imagine a better solution for getting around than this product in conjunction with your notebook.

A few comments about the Streets and Trips mapping software. I am familiar with the Delorme product and the Garmin product and Streets and Trips blows them both away – no contest. Instantaneous panning, zooming in and zooming out, outstanding routing software, and a plethora of other features makes Streets and Trips, by far, my favorite mapping software.

One problem I had, and hopefully this will help others who might encounter the same problem: Downloading the software into your computer does NOT automatically load the drivers for the GPS locator device! This must be done separately with the Setup disk when you first attach the locator device. Should you fail to put the Setup disk in and let your computer find the driver automatically ON THAT DISK, then your program will not recognize the locator! I wasted quite a bit of time trying to figure out what was wrong. If you don’t add the drivers manually your device manager will automatically load drivers that will not be recognized by the program! I had to go into my Device Manager and uninstall the drivers that were added and then manually install the MS drivers for the GPS locator. Not an insurmountable problem, but it does require a bit of experience with computers.

The included driver software turns your USB port into a pseudo-serial communication port enabling the software to recognize the locator (only serial ports are recognized by the software). The software will not recognize the locator UNLESS it is attached to a serial (or in this case pseudo-serial) communications port. So be careful and follow the installation instructions closely. The locator is made by Pharos GPS and if you have any installation problems go to their web site for further instructions.

I heartily recommend this product however be aware of the minor software and driver glitches I’ve described above. All in all, I think you will be VERY pleased.

214 of 221 people found the following review helpful.
Major improvements over previous versions. Must buy.
By Michael V
I’ve been using MS Streets and Trips since 2001 and I honestly say this version is a major improvement. This version has voice turn by turn directions (example, right turn in 200 yards) which was not avaiable in previous versions (must have GPS and Windows XP for text to voice feature); also shows the information visually on map as you drive. If you are near a wireless hot spot it can automatically locate your postion on a map without a GPS attached (its called Locate Me). Very interesting feature.

The new maps also show building and sports arena locations on the map as gray outlines of the building structure (not just as tiny icons). Very useful for major downton metropolitan areas. Major highways (4-lanes, none interstate) stand out more clearly with newer visualizations and colors, which is great for finding shortcuts in non-urban areas that don’t have interstates or limited access highways. Probably the most unique features is the night map visualizations. The night mode shows the map in a visually enhance mode for use a night (black background with bright green roads).

MS S&Trips also links up with MSN website to show the current location you are view on the web with satellite images. Similar to Google Earth.

The negatives are that you can’t type in your exact driving speed in the route planner (unlike MS S&T 2003). It only gives you the options of setting your driving speed to Slower-Average-Faster. Even thought the program contains up-to date road information, it stills has some out of date information. If you look at the product descriptiong for 2003/2002 vs 2004/2005 verisions you notice they it contains information for 1 million plus more miles of road. The is more of an issue when interstate exit numbers and street names have been changed over the years.

Overall its worth buying. Lots of new features not just updated maps.

64 of 65 people found the following review helpful.
Totally affordable GPS solution, with voice guidance
By Gadgester
This will be a long review, so sit back and relax. I hope my review can help you make your decision.

I bought this product this morning at my local Staples store (…). I took it out for a spin and have been quite happy with it. It works really well, (…).

First, a little background on my own needs. Ever since I bought my 2-pound ultralight Sharp Actius MM20 notebook computer last summer, I’d been looking for a GPS locator to go with it. I had used various stand-alone, windshield-mounted GPS units such as the TomTom 300. I never quited liked them very much because their screens were too small and not bright enough on a sunny day. Also, punching in street addresses one character at a time is just not my cup of tea, and I hated it. Given my Sharp laptop has a bright 10.4″ screen and is so lightweight, I thought it would make a good road companion with GPS installed.

Back in the summer I looked at Microsoft Streets and Trips 2005 with GPS but didn’t like the fact that it did not have voice prompt. I thought voice prompt (aka voice guidance, which reads out turns before they come up) was a must-have because, as my laptop wouldn’t be dashboard-mounted and would mostly sit in the front passenger seat, I’d want to hear, rather than constantly glance over to check, the directions and road names. I also looked at Garmin’s laptop-friendly GPS offering but it was a little too expensive (compared to the Microsoft product) and people were not happy with it.

Anyway, so I was very happy this morning to find out that not only was the new version of Microsoft Streets and Trips with GPS available now, but was at such a great price at Staples. I rented a car from Avis after buying the product, and drove around Harvard Square on this rainy day to test it.

Before I share with you my quick test results, let me say a few things about the software and the GPS receiver. The mapping software is Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006, which is the consumer version of Microsoft’s industrial-strength Mappoint system. While not as well known as Mapquest, Mappoint is actually the most accurate and comprehensive mapping data software on the market today. Microsoft combined mapping data from several sources to create Mappoint, as opposed to other vendors’ relying on only one source — this explains why, when you read through GPS reviews, you’ll often see people discussing the pros and cons of Navteq data vs. GDT vs. other companies. No single mapping data vendor has all the coverage a user might need, so combining multiple sources as Microsoft does is a good thing.

Even though it’s the cheap, consumer-oriented version, Streets and Trips is nonetheless very complete, detailed and powerful. The new version covers 5.9 million miles of streets and highways and 1.8 million POIs (points of interest) in the U.S. and Canada. While street-detail coverage and turn-by-turn routing are both second to none, the number of POIs is a little disappointing, considering other GPS vendors go up as high as 5 million. At least, in my experience, Streets and Trips’ POI database is up-to-date, so you are unlikely to run into a POI that turns out to have vanished a long time ago. There is an Internet update feature in the program whereby you can get road construction (but not street name or POI) updates from Microsoft when you are connected to the Internet.

(BTW, POIs are such things as restaurants, service stations, gas stations, rest areas, banks, ATMs, hotels, bars, camp grounds, rental car agencies, attractions, etc., etc.)

The software’s interface has remained largely unchanged from the last version I used, the 2002 version. (That one has been a lifesaver in quite a few situations for me, even without a GPS receiver.) The interface feels a little cluttered, as is the case with most Microsoft software titles. It’s not something you can pick up and become comfortable with right away. You should absolutely spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the interface at home before venturing out on the road. In the user-interface department, stand-alone products from TomTom and Garmin win hands-down.

In terms of routing, you can save as many routes as you hard disk space allows. You can also reroute on the fly. One really cool feature is, when you plan your route (before the trip), you can tell Streets and Trips (by dragging and dropping the routing line) whatever wayward points you’d like to hit between starting and end points. For example, say you are driving from Point A to B, but want to stop at C, which is not on the calculated route, for a quick bite. You can easily add C to the trip, and later if you change your mind and want to stop by D instead, you can just drag the route line from C to D. It’s hard to describe how this is done in words; but it’s very easy and intuitive in action.

At last, this new version has voice output, using Microsoft’s synthetic text-to-speech technology. I’ll be honest: the synthesized voice just sounds silly, unnatural. But, all considered, it’s actually tolerable and makes GPS-guide driving a lot easier — and safer.

Unfortunately, we still do not get the 3D overhead view that’s now common on stand-alone GPS locators. Since I wanted that feature, I deduct at least half a star in the rating for this being absent from this otherwise feature-rich product. Microsoft does allow you to rotate the map so the direction you are traveling in points up. There are also other map view options.

The small GPS receiver is made by, I believe, Pharos, a Microsoft technology partner. It’s a small, square receiver with a blue LED that lights when connected to the USB port. This receiver (or its predecessor) has received rave reviews from users. It connects to a regular USB port. The USB cable, which detaches from the receiver, stands at 6 ft. long. There’s a little flimsy plastic suction cup that slides along the cable; needless to say (but I’ll still say it) it’s for attaching to a windshield or dashboard.

(The package includes mapping software for Pocket PC and Microsoft Smartphone, but you’ll need to buy a separate Pocket PC-compatible GPS receiver in order to use GPS on your Pocket PC.)

The biggest problem with using a GPS-equipped laptop is you can’t readily mount it on the dashboard (or windshield). There are rigs available, or you can make your own, that allow you to do it, but since I drive rentals only, I’ll have to make do with leaving the laptop in the passenger seat. I’ll just rely mostly on the voice prompts to get around. Another inherent shortcoming with using a laptop is, because the screen is not touch-sensitive (I do not know whether this product supports Microsoft Tablet PC fully), everything is by keyboard and mouse. While entering addresses on the keyboard cannot be beat, certain operations become hard or unsafe, or both, when you are driving. So it’s probably best to have a companion traveling with you when you use this product on a laptop. Or at least memorize the Fn key shortcuts, e.g., F3 to reroute, F7 to toggle voice prompt on/off.

Now my quick impressions from today. As I drove around Harvard Square navigating streets reminiscent of country-side winding paths, I found the GPS receiver pretty fast in acquiring a signal and maintaining it. Even though it was raining and the clouds were thick, the receiver found a signal in about a minute. And it was very good at maintaining the signal, even when I drove between tall buildings. The software accurately located where I was all the time. I did a few routes and everything worked beautifully. I was really impressed with the quality of the (supposedly) Pharos receiver. It did not disappoint, period.

In summary: Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 with GPS Locator combines a powerful, detailed mapping program with a high-quality receiver and features a few driver-friendly amenities such as rotating map and voice guidance and night view (greenish view that’s easier to read when driving at night). It puts full-featured GPS capability in the hands of the poor (assuming the poor can afford a laptop; (…)). The software has a fair learning curve, but the big screen GPS display is just great. I wish the interface were cleaner, there were more POIs, and the voice more attractive and natural-sounding. But let’s face it: no matter what vendors do, we can always find fault with a product. The bottomline here is, this is a great, cheap GPS bundle that will please its audience crowd: those looking for a very affordable way to get on the GPS bandwagon.

Hope you’ve found my long review helpful. (…) BTW, my Sharp Actius MM20 laptop is terrific and can be purchased at sharpsystems dot com — (….)

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Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps Image

Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps Picture

Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps Pic

Microsoft Streets And Trips 2006 With Gps Photo