Home › Microsoft Streets and Trips › Wish List for Microsoft Streets and Trips › Enable NOAA weather overlays for Streets & Trips
I wish they would ENABLE NOAA weather overlays for Streets & Trips.
w/ an AIRCARD (or tethered blackberry) it should be EASY !
w/ an AIRCARD (or tethered blackberry) it should be EASY !
Streets & Trips has never had raster overlays of that sort.
Bing Maps does have radar overlays, but only in the Silverlight beta. Bing Maps
Bing Maps does have radar overlays, but only in the Silverlight beta. Bing Maps
I know they haven't ever, but they could sure as hell add it. The data is easily obtained from the internet <no XM weather subscription required> !
While they're doing that they can "get w/ the times" and add live traffic feeds for metro areas <when an internet connection is detected>. A couple of user selectable radio buttons to turn on "weather" & "traffic" could expensive kill XM subscription / revenue.
While they're doing that they can "get w/ the times" and add live traffic feeds for metro areas <when an internet connection is detected>. A couple of user selectable radio buttons to turn on "weather" & "traffic" could expensive kill XM subscription / revenue.
There are all sorts of features that can be added to Streets & Trips. However, anything requiring a significant infrastructure changes is a long shot. That includes radar images, since there is no infrastructure for raster layers in Streets & Trips at present.
In fact, with Bing Maps getting more features all the time -- I wish Microsoft would just package up the Silverlight client with the mapping data and sell it for offline use .
Traffic is different, because it can be implemented using paths. In fact, traffic has previously been implemented in S&T in the Connected Services edition. See, e.g., Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 Connected Services However, Microsoft was not able to sell this feature at a premium, and the feature was removed.
In fact, with Bing Maps getting more features all the time -- I wish Microsoft would just package up the Silverlight client with the mapping data and sell it for offline use .
Traffic is different, because it can be implemented using paths. In fact, traffic has previously been implemented in S&T in the Connected Services edition. See, e.g., Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 Connected Services However, Microsoft was not able to sell this feature at a premium, and the feature was removed.
Oh, I see your point. If its not EASY &/or you can't CHARGE for it then why bother? Sheesh whatda you work for MS?
You sound like your STILL pissed off that MSN traffic feeds weren't accepted over XM !
Why do you think people don't buy MORE traffic & weather overlay data from XM for their GPS? Could it be it's too expensive?
I remember when MS S&T didn't have CONSTRUCTION data (not that it's ever proved useful), but they ADDED that, AND they added GPS tracking too. Amazing, they gained market share <from GPS sales>. Kinda funny, add features, increase your INSTALL base <and LICENSE revenue> !
You sound like your STILL pissed off that MSN traffic feeds weren't accepted over XM !
Why do you think people don't buy MORE traffic & weather overlay data from XM for their GPS? Could it be it's too expensive?
I remember when MS S&T didn't have CONSTRUCTION data (not that it's ever proved useful), but they ADDED that, AND they added GPS tracking too. Amazing, they gained market share <from GPS sales>. Kinda funny, add features, increase your INSTALL base <and LICENSE revenue> !
I am sure Microsoft is waiting with bated breath your pronouncements on how they can make more money.
Terry
Terry
No kidding.
Well, in case you haven't noticed, companies improve their product offerings by listening to actual clients who use their products! Microsoft often proves to be the exception to this "rule", which might explain why they experience such a high distaste from their customer base, too!
There's always room for improvement, I agree. But it wouldn't be fair, in the case of this product, to say that Microsoft experiences "a high distaste from their customer base". The opposite is true on this forum. Larry & Gladwin, both of Microsoft, participate here regularly. They both do listen, and several product improvements have been implemented thanks to them listening to users. Microsoft attends various shows to promote this trip planning software and to listen to users so they can bring ideas of improvement back to the product group.
I agree, and I'm thankful for their work and open ear.
When I spoke of "distaste" I was not talking about S&T, I was speaking of my experience and listening from the LARGEST enterprise customers.
When I spoke of "distaste" I was not talking about S&T, I was speaking of my experience and listening from the LARGEST enterprise customers.
Even with large and powerful companies, I have found it to be counterproductive to generalize; with Microsoft it is easy to see that product performance and company responsiveness varies greatly from product to product.
As happy as I am with the MSFT navigation products, I have been greatly frustrated with other products. For instance, I used and love Microsoft Money for about ten years and then about a year ago, MSFT announced that not only were they no longer offer the product in further developments but that they were going to render customers' installed applications inoperative. Therefore, I have had to switch to Intuit's Quicken which has been a bummer.
And then there is Microsoft Office. I recently 'upgraded' from Office 2000 to Office 2010. One would expect the latter to be a little better and, at least, more robust. Wrong. The simple, clean, easily-configured apps in the 2000 suite have been replaced by complexity I have not yet fathomed. Worst of all is Outlook 2010, which should be called "Crash-o-matic." It crashes almost every time I want to do things like change from Inbox to Contacts. Fortunately, it automatically restarts itself every 3 out of 4 times or so. Looking at the internet on this subject, I see a large number of reports of this same performance from other users with various proposed work-arounds, none of which work for me. I think I am fried on this issue: I believe it is impossible to un-install Office 2010 and re-install Office 2000 because 2010 has ruined my files for use in 2000. Great.
Please excuse my non-S&T rant, I just mean to say there is good reason not lump the Microsoft navigation products in with other Microsoft products that may very well deserve it.
As happy as I am with the MSFT navigation products, I have been greatly frustrated with other products. For instance, I used and love Microsoft Money for about ten years and then about a year ago, MSFT announced that not only were they no longer offer the product in further developments but that they were going to render customers' installed applications inoperative. Therefore, I have had to switch to Intuit's Quicken which has been a bummer.
And then there is Microsoft Office. I recently 'upgraded' from Office 2000 to Office 2010. One would expect the latter to be a little better and, at least, more robust. Wrong. The simple, clean, easily-configured apps in the 2000 suite have been replaced by complexity I have not yet fathomed. Worst of all is Outlook 2010, which should be called "Crash-o-matic." It crashes almost every time I want to do things like change from Inbox to Contacts. Fortunately, it automatically restarts itself every 3 out of 4 times or so. Looking at the internet on this subject, I see a large number of reports of this same performance from other users with various proposed work-arounds, none of which work for me. I think I am fried on this issue: I believe it is impossible to un-install Office 2010 and re-install Office 2000 because 2010 has ruined my files for use in 2000. Great.
Please excuse my non-S&T rant, I just mean to say there is good reason not lump the Microsoft navigation products in with other Microsoft products that may very well deserve it.
You mean you didn't save a copy of your 2000 data files before allowing 2010 to convert them? Shame on you.
Seriously, can't you do a "Save As" and save them as an older version? Saving to RTF files should work fine for Word documents.
I don't know about 2000 but 2003 wasn't very different from 2000 and it has converters available to allow you to open documents from newer versions in 2003. I open .docx files all the time in Word 2003. If I want to save them in 2003 format, I get a standard disclaimer that I might lose some formating but I never lose anything that matters to me.
If the necessary Save As format is not immediately available in the 2010 apps, you can check online to see if they have extra converter packs, as they do for the older versions, that allowed for saving in other formats, including older versions of the Office apps.
Let me know what docs you are concerned about and perhaps I can suggest ways to get them back to the older version if a useful Save As format is not available.
...ken...
Seriously, can't you do a "Save As" and save them as an older version? Saving to RTF files should work fine for Word documents.
I don't know about 2000 but 2003 wasn't very different from 2000 and it has converters available to allow you to open documents from newer versions in 2003. I open .docx files all the time in Word 2003. If I want to save them in 2003 format, I get a standard disclaimer that I might lose some formating but I never lose anything that matters to me.
If the necessary Save As format is not immediately available in the 2010 apps, you can check online to see if they have extra converter packs, as they do for the older versions, that allowed for saving in other formats, including older versions of the Office apps.
Let me know what docs you are concerned about and perhaps I can suggest ways to get them back to the older version if a useful Save As format is not available.
...ken...
I really did not intend to turn this into an "off-topic" MS Office 2010 remediation thread, but no there does not seem to be a Save-As option for an entire PST file and shame of me for not doing a back-up. I really would just like Outlook 2010 to "work" and be worthy of its price. It is sort of the antithesis of Streets & Trips or AutoRoute in that regard. I find it amusing how many people come onto this Forum and quibble about S&T/AR's prices after having shelled out long for Office without a second thought.
I think Marvin needs to come in and split off the thread.
So far as I'm aware, Outlook does not change your PST if you open it. If your files started life as pre-2003 PST, then they will remain in pre-2003 format even after you open them in Outlook 2010.
Outlook has no "Save" feature because it treats the PST as a database rather than a file. The "x" file formats were introduced in Office 2007, but the PST file format changed in Office 2003 and has stayed the same since then.
So far as I'm aware, Outlook does not change your PST if you open it. If your files started life as pre-2003 PST, then they will remain in pre-2003 format even after you open them in Outlook 2010.
Outlook has no "Save" feature because it treats the PST as a database rather than a file. The "x" file formats were introduced in Office 2007, but the PST file format changed in Office 2003 and has stayed the same since then.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bushpilot
Well, in case you haven't noticed, companies improve their product offerings by listening to actual clients who use their products! Microsoft often proves to be the exception to this "rule", which might explain why they experience such a high distaste from their customer base, too!