Hello all,
Bob here.
First post and all, just wanted to drop by, say hi, and differentiate myself from everybody else with the same dumbfounded look on our faces.

I'm seriously thinking of buying the wife (my personal navigator on our yearly vacation/driving expeditions) a new laptop. Neither one of us have owned, used, touched or even looked at a laptop. I'd also like to get her something a little more high tech than the free United States Atlas given by our auto insurance company to help guide us on our journey. Please don't tell her I said this, but it's been bugging the daylights out of me for over twenty years watching her flip the map upside down so north is now "up".
Again, neither one of us have owned, used, touched or even looked at any form of GPS unit. I concider myself a hightech kinda guy, but somehow technology has surpased me in a few areas, laptops and GPS being two of them. The two technologies together seem like a marraige made in heaven.

That being said, I think I'd like to donate $1,000 (or less) to some of this new, high falutin fancy stuff. Most of which would be going to Dell for the laptop, the rest to garmin for the <$100 GPS PC antenna thingy.

My lovely bride would then be able to access the laptop, GPS, etc...etc... at the touch of her fingertips while I blast down the highway.

A few random blatherings:

- I'm driving a 2002 YukonXL and think the dashboard is large and flat enough for her to 'toss' the unit up there when not in use.

- Battery life. Hmm.... Seems like a popular topic from what I've read.
I've looked, but have not found a DC charger for laptops. Would be nice to plug the unit into the 12volt DC outlet. Am I looking in the wrong place, or is there no such thing. Am I going to be forced to buy a huge monster battery pack for the laptop? Am I going to be forced into buying an inverter thingy to go from 12volt DC to 120volt AC only to have the laptop charger convert it back into DC?

- The ability to store an obscene amount of music (mp3 or FLAC) and somehow get it to the trucks factory audio system would be great. The first person who can tell me how to achieve this feat will be given my undying gratitude for the next several hours, at least. Maybe more. I somehow doubt it will be as simple as using an external USB drive and praying real hard the songs are magically recreated through the speakers in my door panels. As a self proclaimed "audiophile", it would be nice if the sound quality was decent, or above average.

- Ever year we clock between 2,000 and 3,500 miles on a summer driving trip. This July we'll be driving the family to Utah. The need for six maps in varying sizes, shapes, and specific local areas seems excessive. I'm at the point where I don't know the proper questions to ask, so it would be neat to hear all the other things to prevent me from ----->

Thank you very much for your time.
Bob, wife, and kids.

I wouldn't toss anylaptop on the dash when not in use. They are sensitive to heat as well as being a theft magnet. Put it under the seat at least.

Convertors for 12v to laptop power are available for any laptop you could name. Dell carries their own line and many varieties are available that will cover an assortment of common output (laptop input) voltages and current requirements in a variety of price ranges.

If you have any experience with a Garmin Nuvi, you will be able to use Garmin Mobile PC almost as soon as you install it. It is basically a Nuvi on a large screen with a similar layout and menu. However if you like planning your route beforehand, Streets&Trips 2010 might be more to your liking. Mobile PC has a more modern efficient diplay but S&T has better planning tools.

Terry

What Terry said. Pay particular attention to what he said regarding your expectations for the navigation experience. That is, do you just want the laptop equivalent of a Garmin Nuvi or TomTom or Magellan personal navigation device (also equivalent to in-car nav systems)? Or do you want something that has really strong pre-trip planning capabilities that also has realtime navigation features.

If you're not really sure what that all means, don't be shy to ask.

But he skipped the part where he could have earned your undying gratitude for the next hour or so.

If you have a good, modern audio system in the Yukon it should have a connection for auxiliary input from, say, an MP3 player, etc. If so, you just use the same cable you would use to connect an MP3 player.

Typically the AUX input on a vehicle audio system allows you to connect from the headphone jack of an MP3 player or laptop.

If you have an audio system in your Yukon with no way to cable external devices to the system (it might be old enough that this is the case), you can get an FM transmitter from most any electronics box store. This will jack into the headphone jack on your laptop and play your tunes through any empty FM frequency on your radio.

Y'er welcome.

...ken...

In my humble opinion, a netbook is the best choice for laptop GPS navigation. They are small and lightweight, and better than throwing it on the dashboard, your wife can just toss it in a totebag! Plus they are cheap and you don't have to worry about lugging around an expensive laptop. Pick up a good USB or Bluetooth GPS receiver and either Microsoft Streets & Trips or Garmin Mobile PC and you'll literally be good to go! If you and your wife like to plan trips then Streets & Trips is perfect. If you just want to get from point A to point B then, Mobile PC will do the job. (Routes CAN be planned in advance in Garmin's Mapsource app and then transferred to Mobile PC.) I have both and use them interchangeably depending on the situation. (Of course, if you want to use them both at the same time and use the same GPS unit, you will need a terrific cheap little program called GPSGate which will split the GPS data between more than one app.) I, too am the navigator!
Look at Marvin's software review at: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/37-list-laptop-gps-navigation-software-programs-reviews

Most netbooks have a 12V charger that can be purchased or just buy an inverter that you can just plug the AC power cord into. Netbooks will usually run for several hours on a full charge. A fully charged battery and a bluetooth GPS will keep you cord-free!

Netbook: $399
GPS recevier: $40
Navigation software and maps: varies, $40 - $150
Laptop mounting system (if desired): varies, about $200 This is the one I'm getting ready to purchase: http://www.laptopgpsworld.com/3247-manfrotto-netbook-mounting-system)

Oh, and I have about 5 gigs of music and iTunes that I run through the vehicle's sound system aux. port with an audio cable. Only problem with this is, you may want to turn off the nav software's voice prompts.

HUGE thanks for the great information to the three of you!!

I've linked my better half to this thread to get her input. There are a couple questions y'all have raised that only she (the official family navigator) can answer. Based on what I've read the MS S&T sounds like a better deal to [u]prepare[u] for the trip, but her and I do like pretty shiny things so the Garmin GUI might make her giggle more.

I'm VERY glad to hear we aren't going to need to tow a trailer containing enough batteries to power the laptop for extended periods of time. The 12volt adapter will be great.

Thanks Karen for the mount link, but I'm not quite sure I'm willing to spend $200 and drill holes in my truck just yet. Very cool, but my wifey just might have to suffer and hold it on her lap. haha
Of course all decisions are not final until she's made them final.

The Yukon doesn't have an aux input. Back in '02, I don't think too many vehicle had that yet. The FM transmitter idea is good. I prefer hard wired to the radio coax antenna, but FM would be fine (as long as it sounds decent(ish).
KEN IS THE MAN OF THE DAY!!

We'll do some research with our newfound education, and report back.
I'd like to link the items we're most serious about here and get your feedback about them. You folks have been more than helpful so far and I'm greatly appreciative.

Bob

I would vote for (actually I have it) a UMPC, specifically a Viliv S5. It is small enough to sucker-on to a windshield (even your wife won't have to hold it) and has GPS, bluetooth, and wifi built in. It is a neat package that runs conventionly Windows XP; it comes with a cigar-socket adapter. The screen is a bit small @ 4.8 inches but is fine for navigating. If that is too small, perhaps the 7" version would be more suitable. Even G3/4 is available on the 7" X70EX.

There is a direct connect alternative but it's not simple to find and it's not cheap. The vast majority of the FM direct adapters out there are XM radio specific and won't work with anything else. However, there are some alternatives.

If you contact the good folks at Crutchfield (www.crutchfield.com or www.crutchfield.ca) they will be happy to help you find the best solution for your individual situation. The prices will range from around $60 to $180, depending upon the most appropriate solution for your particular situation.

Here's an example of the max. solution for my Honda CR-V. (I don't need one because I've got an AUX input but it's the easiest example.) Although it's specifically to connect an iPod, it also has an AUX input for connection from MP3 players or whatever.

USA Spec iPod Interface Honda

Here's a min. priced solution that's more generic but might have problems with some vehicle antenna systems.

Scosche FMMOD02 FM Modulator w/RCA Inputs, On/Off Switch

Or for an in between price you could just replace your radio with one of theirs with front panel AUX input, starting at around $100. (If I did this right, the list should be for your 2002 YukonXL.)

Car Stereos & Car Components at Crutchfield.ca

At the higher end of their car stereo systems you can even get radios that have a USB connector on the front so you can just jack your USB flash drive straight into it and play your tunes directly from the USB drive.

These examples above are all from the Canadian site. As usual, there are even more choices available on the American site.

For those who want to phone and get help from a real human being for their specific make/model/year of vehicle Crutchfield has toll-free numbers. For Canadian customers it's 1-800-297-9469 (9am-10pm M-F, 10am-7pm Sat). For American customers it's 1-800-319-8264 (8am-midnite, 7days). Times are Eastern time zone (their call centre is in Virginia).

If this sounds a little like a commercial, it sort of is and no apology. After doing a fair bit of research and getting very frustrated coming up with nothing but XM radio solutions I phoned them and got some really useful information. This post is a tiny bit of payback for their patience and willingness to help out, even though I made it clear I was researching for others and not interested in buying anything myself.

Disclaimer: Neither I nor Laptop GPS World has any affiliation of any sort with Crutchfield. My contact with them was limited to one call to each of their American and Canadian toll-free lines and speaking with the person who answered the phone in each case. These are the same folks you will talk to if you call.

...ken...

Hey, that's a neat little device. I've never heard of it.

By the way....The title of this thread changed from what I had originally. Did I miss something??

Thanks Spadesflush,
Bob

Our friendly host and forum gremlin, Marvin Hlavac, probably did a little tuning on the title to make it easier for others to find if they are searching for similar information.

You will notice that, unlike many forums, Laptop GPS World does not have a huge number of thread titles like "Noobie ??" or "Having a problem" or similar informative titles. Partly that's because we have users who make useful titles most of the time. But it's also because Marvin constantly tunes things to make the forum much more useful as a knowledge base than it might otherwise be.

...ken...

Wow Ken, you actually called Crutchfield for me?
You ARE da' man.

That's is some fantastic information you've posted. Thank you.

I'd like to go with a direct physical connection to the factory radio coax antenna as opposed to having my very own radio transmitting station. The quality seems like it would be better. I'll look into this information. Thank you again.

Bob

Why don't you just upgrade the radio. It would probably be a less expensive proposition if you could do it yourself.

Terry

Yes, replacement of the factory radio is probably the best option for cost versus features. I can't answer for Bob in St.Louis but you would have to rip the factory radio from my dying hands to get me to replace it.

I know others love them and they are an inexpensive way to get a lot of features, but I've never seen an aftermarket radio that I thought was useful to me. I hate the user inteface on them. They usually consist of a gazillion tiny buttons that each have three or twelve functions, none of which are the least bit obvious.

The two main issues for me are 1) I have to actually look at the radio to do even basic things like changing the station or adjusting the volume, and 2) I've never seen an aftermarket radio that I could operate with my winter gloves on (that's about six months of the year around here).

Fortunately my car audio is new enough to have an AUX input on it. My next vehicle will have an audio system that has a USB jack.

...ken...

Well I would Terry.
However......
I "sold" this idea to my bride on the basis that for less than $1,000 we could have the laptop (she's been wanting for a long time) and the GPS "stuff" needed to make her navigation duties easier, plus have the ability to play with the WiFi in McDonalds parking lot on vacations. She likes the idea very much and wants me to see what's out there.

Now....To answer your question about me upgrading the radio in my truck.......
Need I say more? ha ha

Her and I have quite a bit of music (mostly FLAC) and would be nice to bring it with us on the trip. But honestly, e've gotten by using burnt CDs in the past. Having ALL of our music on the road with us isn't a necessity....just a perk.
If I could do it cheap, I will.

Bob

and everything that Ken said too!

Is that why I can never remember how to put the external CD player into random mode? I was wondering!

Terry

No drilling required! Simply unscrew the seat rail mount screw, slip on the bracket and put screw back on! (Get a second bracket for another car. The actual mounting device has a quick-release knob.)
I agonized over the price also, but my husband and I both decided it would be a good investment considering how much we will use it. Holding it in your lap gets really old on long trips. Also, if you are alone, the situation can get dangerous. The safety factor has to be considered also.

Google free trial download for streets and trips 2010. Use it free for 60 days. On a smaller notebook you'll need an external DVD drive to install software. By using the free edition you get it installed by the Internet. If you like this program simply buy Streets & Trips with GPS, then use the product key numbers in your box and do everything over the Internet. This is how I did it.

Using Streets & Trips is fun in a short time you can plan trips and be off running. Play with this program and if you have any questions you found the right website to get answers. When you are all setup and running please report back on this thread and tell us how you like. PS try using this program in your local town to get familiar with all the functions. Rukstr

Why? You get everything but the serial number with the download.

Hey SpadesFlush, I think rukstr was just thinking faster than typing.

Here's what I think was going on in the brain that didn't get precisely transfered to the keyboard:

The fact is that smaller notebooks and netbooks don't have built in DVD drives so you need to get an external drive if you want to install software onto them from DVDs.

However!!!

If you use the download free trial you can skip that and just download straight to your portable computer and install from the hard drive, which is a bonus of getting the free trial.

At least I think that's what was meant.

...ken...

There are other software packages you might use on a netbook that S&T. Some of them are not downloadable.

Terry

Of course.

If your point is that you might want to buy an external drive anyway, that's just another bonus point for S&T for not forcing the issue. That certainly makes it the preferred place to begin for those who want to get started using a laptop or netbook for trip planning and navigation and want to keep the initial investment to a minimum until they figure out what they really want to do. Other manufacturers with laptop navigation software might want to pay more attention.

...ken...

What makes it the go to navigation program for those starting out is the free downloadable 60 day fully working trial! Now that is what I would like to see more of.

Terry

Hello again folks,

Here's what we're interested in so far:
- The Gateway laptop (NV7915u) for $600 at Best Buy.
- The Globalsat BT359C Blutooth GPS receiver on Amazon for $43.
- The $40 version of Streets & Trips. Although we haven't ruled out the Garmin Mobile PC software. Not sure absolute trip planning is going to be used much. We tend to "get lost" (on purpose) during vacations. Feeling forced to follow a predetermined route would most likely just aggravate us.

We won't be going with the handheld mini/micro PCs as mentioned earlier. As sexy looking as they are, they just won't be practical for use the other 355 days of the year.

She isn't keen on the idea of the mount either. As neat as it is, she just doesn't want "that", there.

Haven't had a chance to research the FM transmitter at all. We're going to try to get to Best Buy this afternoon to do some looky/touch/feely stuff. Might ask the highly educated customer service associate his or her thoughts on FM tranmitters for tunes.

Can the bluetooth GPS recevier be thrown in the glovebox, or does that hurt reception? Should it be mounted somewhere so it can "see" the sats?

Bob

Just like any other GPS receiver, the 359C will work best when it has a good sky view.

Terry

I assume the laptops you are considering have hard disk memories.

IMHO, you should consider spending a bit more money and get something with a Solid State Drive because of the improved speed, lower operating temperatures, and better robustness. Because SSDs have no moving parts, they are much, much less vulnerable to physical shocks that can damage spinning hard disks.

This is the future of mobile computing. So if you get a laptop now with SSD, you are really buying into the next generation of laptops and you should get a longer life out of it.

Terry,
Thank you. So I assume whether we go with a USB dongle receiver or a remote bluetooth receiver, basically anywhere in the cabin that's "out in the open" should be fine. The glovebox and cubby holes would make its functionality suffer a bit. Terrain dependant of course.

Spades,
Thanks. Good point about the SS. I didn't check but I'm sure it's the good old fashion harddrive. I've not seen mention of SS for laptop use. I've heard of it for desktop, but nothing mobile. I'll do some digging, but my gut feeling is that the technology might be a little pricey right now?

Also, I forgot to mention......
If we decide to use the Garmin software, we would be using the 359C receiver mentioned previously. The laptop is NOT bluetooth. I found Bluetooth USB 2.0 Micro Adapter Dongle for $1.76 that will make the laptop Bluetooth. Is this too good to be true?

Thanks!
Bob

I think you will find that Gateway laptop looks larger in your car or truck than it does in the computer store. And the more time it spends in the car, the larger it seems to get. Finding a happy place for it can be a real problem if you have two people in the front of the car, as it sounds you would.

OK, I can see that the Viliv S5 might be too small for some but you might consider the Viliv S10 which has SSD and a proper keyboard but I do not think it has built-in GPS. It is price competitive with the Gateway: see Dynamism - viliv S10 Blade.

I have a BT dongle about that size and price and it works fine, I wouldn't think this "too good to be true."

I have several mini BT USB dongles (not that one though) and they work great for GPS if they support the native Windows Bluetooth stack. That appears to be the standard nowadays so you should be ok.

Solid state drives are still quite pricey and you will not find a laptop in that price range with one. You should be ok with a normal drive under most conditions as they are a lot more robust than they used to be.

Another consideration might be screen brightness in outdoor conditions. LED backlighting is probably better however as it will be used on a lap, the navigator can always position the screen for best results. Note, some laptops have vents on the bottom and are not lap friendly though.

Terry

Terry, I mentioned the heat issue to the wifey. That she might not enjoy getting a sunburn on her legs due to the unit, plus the issue of damaging it due to blocking the vents. If memory serves, I've seen lap"pads" designed with this specifically in mind? Not sure, but will look for them when we go shopping.

Spades, I LOVE that little unit you showed. The S10 Blade is VERY cool with the swivel screen and keyboard. But.....a 64GB SSD?
Wow. That's so.......so........1990's ha ha
Sorry, but it would take a while to get used to having a computer on a diet. I'm used to not having to worry about the size of the software I load. I think I've got songs bigger than 64GB. :rofl"

It definitely takes a different mindset to use smaller SSD drives, however it is easily doable. The tablet would not be your main computer so you just have to be more selective on how you use space. I have a Benq MID with an 8G SSD and an 8G micro SD card. It runs Mobile PC quite well and I can play with other programs as long as I am careful.

A lot of the stuff I do on my main computers is wasteful because I don't have to be careful of space, not because programs are hogs (comparatively speaking). I bet I could clear 30 gigs off this computer if I needed to without even breathing deeply. When you have lots of space to waste, you do just that.

Still, anything from Viliv is out of my price range unfortunately. The cost/ benefit ratio just doesn't work.

Terry

Good point about being wasteful, simply because we can. Very true.
The Viliv is amazingly cool. I'll present it to the wifey since the choice is hers. Personally, I'd love to have one. Would work great with some of my other toys (in home). But yea, the cost/benefit ratio is heavily tilted to the "cool factor" side of the equation.

But it wouldn't be the first time I spent money on something simply because it's shiny. haha

Bob

If they had a Canadian distributor back in the days of the V5, I would have been tempted by the 'cool' factor. However dealing with a single distributor in another country even with the dollar at par is not my idea of fun.

Terry

Agreed Terry. 100%. That occured to me as well.

The wifey and I came home from best Buy with a 15" version of the same unit I posted above. Spades was correct when he said the 17" was large. Yea buddy it's large. So we got the 15" instead. I'll spend the next few hours with "Revo Uninstaller" removing the Norton, Best Buy, Gateway stuff, and all the other free garbage. ha ha ha

Next, I'll spend some time searching for the GPS tools (hardware and software) and FM music stuff. Best buy had nothing we've been talking about. Office Depot (or was it Office Max) had Streets & Trips for $50 and the version with the receiver for $70. That's $10 more than I've found via the link this site has directed me to. Thank you ALL for that.

more soon......
Bob

Good luck, Bro...

Hey, thanks Spades!!
Or is it Mr. Flush? hehe

A 15" laptop for a vehicle,especially without a mounting system, is HUGE!!! I, personally would never go above 11" if I'm holding one in my lap for more than a few miles. It will get unmanageable quickly.

Especially if you are driving!!

Terry

Especially.
Mike likes Mobile PC when he's by himself and inevitably the netbook ends up in the floor. I have seriously considered solid state.

I'm getting the Manfrotto system for my birthday! Sad...no roses or jewelry for me...I just want more gadgets!

Seriously, I found out very quickly what a pain a larger laptop (not even 15") can be, especially if you are also tangled up in cables! The laptop, instead of the trip, becomes your focus. I bought the 10" netbook after a long trip to Yellowstone last summer.

The wifey will be the sole navigator and Laptop user. Also, the unit is her "toy" for every other day of the year at home when she doesn't want to be tied down to a desktop. She's willing to suffer with the 15" during the drive. Also, for those long extended driving times (like through Kansas) there's no real need for directions. If we know we need to head west from St. Louis on highway 70 to Denver, then the GPS won't be needed for quite a long time. She (we) don't expect the unit to be perched on her legs the entire time.

Although, I did find a BUNCH of new $100 7" mini laptops on ebay. They've got a 2GB SSD (RAM more like it). There's no optical drive, there's only an SD card slot and some USB ports and WiFi. Looks like fun to play with for $100. Might be very useful for GPS, although I'd be conserned with memory. Not sure how big of an SD you can buy??? I can link if you'd like to see them, but from what I found there's a bunch of vendors selling very simular units.

I also bought the USB Blutooth thingy for $2 shipped. A guy at work says he has a GPS receiver he'll give me if he can find it.
more later.......
Bob

With only a 2G 'SSD', they probably don't run Windows.

Terry

Yea, you're correct. It runs "WinCE". I've never heard of it.
Even though we've already bought a laptop for general use and GPS use, NEW 2GB HD 7" Mini Netbook [expired link removed] Looks like it might be fun to play with. Sorry for the off topic.

My coworker gave me a GPS receiver. It's a Microsoft "GPS-360".
Any thoughts on this piece?

Bob

Older generation; USB tethered; I thought you wanted to go BT where this won't work. But, if it's free, it's free.

Yes, we'd prefer to have wireless but like you say, "free is free". Last night I downloaded the 60 day trial version of MS Streets & Trips. We'll do a few "dry runs" planning trips around town and running the equipment through it's paces. If it turns out there are too many cords, then I'll get a wireless one.

I can't express enough how much it means to me that you folks are helping me through this. I thank you all.

Bob

Now that you have Streets & Trips, I would test that out in the backyard b4 going mobile.

Oh yea!! If all goes well, this weekend I'd like to drive around town driving the "trips" we've planned to run the equipment through it's paces. Looks like fun, I'm getting excited. Bob

After spending "too much" time messing with it, I find out that the trial version of Streets & Trips isn't compatible with Windows 7.
Nice.

Of course it is. What kind of problem are you having?

Terry

Yes, I also have Streets&Trips 2010 on my laptop with Windows 7 and it seems fine. As Terry said, more details about the problem and perhaps we can help you get it going.

...ken...

Plenty of people are using Streets & Trips on Win 7.

I have Streets & Trips on 2 PC's, both Windows 7 Home Premium. (One 32-bit and one 64-bit.) Both started out as downloaded trial version. No problems. Why do you say it isn't compatible? What sort of problem are you having? Keep in mind that Streets & Trips has a bit of a steep learning curve as it is so feature-rich. Not that you are dumb , it just takes a little while to get used to.

Wow, thanks to all for the speedy reply!!

I said that for two reasons.

#1 - I downloaded several Gig of "Microsoft goodness" that took over five hours with a highspeed internet connection. Yet, all I received was Microsoft "Works". Nowhere within "Works" could I find Streets & Trips. I searched through all the pretty icons, but never found anything that was called Street and Trips. I even searched on the computer for the work "Street" and the word "Trip", neither found. I started a second download to see what Microsoft called the file. They called it; "ST_2010". I did a search on the laptop for that, nothing found.

#2 Here's the system requirements for Street and Trips 2010:
Windows Vista® with 1 GB RAM, Windows® XP with 256 MB RAM, Windows Server® 2008 with 512 MB RAM or Windows Server 2003 with 256 MB RAM (64-bit versions of Windows XP and Windows Server excluded); service packs for operating systems recommended. .

It doesn't mention Windows 7.

The underlined requirements and download both came from the Microsoft website.

Is it me?

Bob

File size is about 1.3G so download time is dependent on your internet connection. If you feel you might have problems as to where it is downloaded to, set up a folder and direct it there. Then you will know where to look for ST_2010.exe. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with Works. Maybe that was something you already had.

terry

Start the download and go to bed; it should be finished by breakfast. It is a big file that gets downloaded and it is easy to get discouraged.

Terry, I can't thank you enough. The Microsoft file I downloaded was almost 5GB. Yours seems much more reasonable.
If you click the link I posted, you can see it's a MS website, and that it's "supposed to be" for Streets & Trips 2010.

Oh well, I'll download it tonight. Thank you again Terry!!

Bob

No problem. However, when I went to the website location you linked and clicked 'Download', it took me to the page I linked.

If 5G took you 5 hours, you should be able to download that one in less than 2 hours! Good luck.

Terry

The d/l was successful. Although, during the install process, it sends me into this "loop" that asks me odd questions, the strangest of which is if I want to reinstall the software or remove it entirely. WHen I'm finished answering silly question and launch the program, the "loop" starts all over.
I'm done.
I'll just flip a coin and buy one of the software products (Streets & Trips or the Garmin).
I didn't mean for this to be a blog/saga of my software troubles. :rofl"

Bob

Try temporarily disabling UAC. Some people have reported issues with S&T and UAC.

Terry

You may be quite right. I'd not heard of that, but found a wiki on it. I'll check tonight. Thank you again.
Bob

I know people who think you shouldn't disable UAC, but I did it as fast as possible as soon as I found out I could! It constantly nagged me when I ran a few of my older apps.

This sounds like a problem I read about on this forum a few months ago. Try going to the Streets & Trips application directory and putting a shortcut to the Streets.exe icon on your desktop.
It's at C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Streets & Trips 2010\Streets.exe
For some reason your icon is executing the install process.

Right GG, that is another good possibility that has been discussed before. The icon on the desktop doesn't actually point to the executable so it is a good idea to find streets.exe and drag a shortcut to the desktop.

Terry

SUCCESS!!!!
Thanks Karen. I created a shortcut to the .exe like you mentioned and it works great!!
We went to the Ihop restaraunt yesterday morning and used the laptop, the free USB receiver, and Streets & Trips.
It gave great directions for the 20 mile drive. I think it even made the pancakes taste better.
I can see the wires are going to be a hassle, and we've only got one so far. With music and charger wires too, that's going to be too much. The USB Bluetooth dongle came in the mail today, I can see us getting the Bluetooth receiver for the big trip. Nice to have the freebe as a backup though.

Now all that's needed is my our music.

Bob

Glad it worked!

You'll love the BT receiver!

I'm too looking at another machine, a netbook specifically. I came across this deal today with free shipping from Tigerdirect, may make the purchase.

$299.99

MSI Wind U123-025US 9S7-N03332-025 Netbook - Intel Atom N280 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, 10.2" WSVGA, Windows 7 Starter, 9-Cell, Red at TigerDirect.com

Sounds good and battery looks to be big enough but red!!

Terry

Forgot to mention it qualified for $36.90 Bing cash back bringing the total to $263.09. Also only available in Red and Blue so it seems.

Blue is good!

I don't care what colour the outside is. If I hate it I can always buy one of those giant stickers to cover the outside and become a hero to my granddaughter when I let her put it on.

What I absolutely insist on is a white keyboard.

...ken...

I wouldn't think there are too many white keyboards.
Unless.....That's a veiled 'poke' to Windows users and your'e a MAC guy. <wink>

Bob

Nope. I'm pretty much operating system and brand agnostic. I build all my own desktop systems so I could put anything I want on them. I would build my own laptops, too, if the components were as affordable and readily available.

I happen to be a Windows user simply because I've been doing it that way for so long (still have a copy of Compaq's MS-DOS 2.12 on the original 5 ¼" floppies and a complete original distribution set of Windows for Workgroups 3.11). Windows does everything I need so learning a new operating system simply doesn't give me a positive on the benefit side of the cost/benefit equation. But I've pointed friends and relations toward both Macs and Linux for various reasons.

My Microsoft Natural keyboards (if you don't use them, do your wrists a favour and get one!) both have white keys with black lettering, as does my Acer netbook. I had to buy a white netbook to get the white keyboard. All the other colours had black keyboards. So much harder to see with my aging eyeballs, especially in less than perfect lighting conditions.

...ken...

We build our own desktops too, so as to avoid all of the proprietary crap. Mike is VERY specific about his gaming PCs. (And it has to be a PC, not Mac. There is no Mac version of Call of Duty.) I would love to build my own laptop!

I never thought about a white keyboard. It really does help?

I can't see how it would for a touch typist which I'm not. Otherwise, good lighting is the 'key' in my case. But then I have never used a white keyboard. The HP tablet is silver but I have to look at the keys anyway so it doesn't make any difference.

Terry