gmoney90

iTrader: (1)

i love yahoo/google/mapquest maps and i wanna know if there is any way to download them so u can use them on ur laptop in the car.. i know most of u are gnona say get a navi.. but we have a ****load of cars and i also know some are gonna say get a portable one.. lmao i just want to know if there is anywhere / any program i can get w/ interactive maps ..

thx guys
greg

2K6G35

You can get the Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 w/GPS locator for your laptop.

Spike100

Accessing maps and driving directions on Google, Yahoo, and Mapquest requires an Internet connection. You cannot download the entire map database and application software from these sites to store and use independently on your laptop. I suppose if you knew where you were going ahead of time, you could download specific maps and store these pages for later use.

One way to do live access is subscribing to a cellular service that provides a card for your laptop that connects to a cell network. That allows you to go onto Internet anywhere you have cellular service and get the maps and driving directions from your preferred sites. This is not a GPS implementation since you can only get maps and driving instructions but no positioning of where you are on the maps.

If you are looking for a GPS implementation on your laptop, you can purchase software containing maps and an application that shows your position on the maps. You connect a GPS receiver to a USB port on the laptop, and the application software shows your position in real time on a map. 2K6G35 links you to one of the better applications.

--Spike

NGZ

iTrader: (1)

That'd be a cool feature if Google allowed it. Unfortunately they probably have no interest in allowing people to download maps from them.

When I drove cross country, I just downloaded the driving maps of each state. I agree with Spike about one of the solutions being getting that internet card for your laptop from your cellphone provider. That way you can zoom in and out of maps, and browse the web too.

gmoney90

iTrader: (1)

Pretty cool, is the speed decent?

Spike100

^^ It works very well. Your laptop has a much more powerful processor and its screen is larger than the 6-7” LCD’s that display dedicated car GPS devices. The problem is mounting your laptop in a position allowing you to safely view its screen. You can buy laptop mounts, but they are big and ugly, and designed for large vehicles. That means when using this in a small car, you either place your laptop on the passenger seat (dangerous); or if you have a passenger, that person holds the laptop and does the navigating (much safer).

Marine applications are where this solution is really great. You can buy digital charts and a GPS receiver (some handheld GPS devices with a USB connector will work as the receiver). The charts show depths (with many disclaimers from the chart company), channels, etc. allowing you to safely navigate in unknown waters. Good charting applications show you marinas and the available services, safe places where you can drop anchor, and other useful information.

--Spike