Need to: 'Deploy MS Streets & Trips over a network'

Try to re-read a the last few postings on page #2 and the first couple on page #3 of the above mentioned thread. The user there I believe wanted exactly what you are after, and it worked for him.

rukstr - The unit I purchased is the Dell Inspiron (iM10-2895) from Wal-Mart ($298).

It takes a little getting used to going from a full blown 15" LCD display to a 10.1" display. The mini computer has a default display resolution of 1024x576. S&T likes 1024x768 thus it cuts some of the lower display off - if the GPS pane is selected it is cut off right under the words 'Route planner'. You can set the display to 1024x768 then everything will be displayed - just a little flat. The 1024x576 resolution may be a concern 'IF' you do a lot of recalculating while driving. I do not use that function (I never miss a turn! - where's those smily faces when you need one?) so I use the 1024x576 resolution. Other than that it works just fine with MS S&T 2009. For use at home and navigating around the screen I use a Logitech Trackball which doesn't require any mouse movement - just hand eye coordination with the thumb. The Dell mini touch pad has a lot of finger gestures to make navigating easier - actually almost too complicated for an old dog like me. The wife loves it because she doesn't have to hold the large laptop any more. I bought a small tripid from Target, adjusted the legs to allow the mini to sit over the center console - in front of the radio and above the shifter. For my application it works great. We have taken 2 side trips that took longer than anticipated (visiting friends - you know how that goes) and ended up driving in unknown territory (not risky) after dark. I like the new V2009 for that purpose. Switching to night mode makes for a pretty dark screen while still easy to read the map. The older V2006 did not blackout the tool bars or the GPS panel. When I say blackout I don't mean make invisible - V2009 has a dark background to reduce cockpit glare.

I still do my route planning on my full size desktop computer. I use the mini computer for navigational purposes in the car only. If you plan on using some older version trips or maps you might want to read up on the pushpin issues. You may already know about that if you already have S&T 2009.

I have not done it myself but I have seen people using a mini at coffee shops doing all kinds of typing on it with no external mouse attached. The mini is also a whole lot easier to carry and move around vs a large laptop.

You will need a USB type drive to load any other software you want to use with it. The mini does not have a DVD/CD rom drive which created my problem. If you are going to use it with S&T 2009 and download it from the MS web site then a USB drive is not required.

Overall - the mini works for me - solved my in car navigation problem - and it's fun to play with. S&T 2009 runs just fine on the Dell mini.

Marvin - Will do!

Marvin - I did it but it kinda sorta only worked. I didn't get what I wanted. When it converted my V2006 Populated.est it converted all of my small red circles to large red circles. Closed but that takes up a lot of map space. That's why I used the small dots. All of the other pushpins (small circles, triangle, and squares) converted to a regular black pushpin. Granted - it marks the spot where a pushpin was but I would have go in to properties for each one and change it to what it should be.

I have to think about what I want to do from here. It also seems like S&T 2009 now takes a lot longer to load. Maybe I'm just getting impatient.

Thanks to everybody for all the inputs !
MohawkAZ

...I think from this point all that you need to do is to right-click your pushpin set(s) in the Legend & Overview pane, and in the properties change to your desired symbol.

Hello Rukstr,

I don't have S&T but I have Mappoint 2009 on an Acer Aspire One netbook with 1GB RAM and it runs just fine. So do Garmin Mobile PC and Google Earth and iNav's iGuidance.

I'm used to a personal navigation device with a 4.3" screen in the vehicle so the 8.9" screen of the netbook is huge.

Those programs also all run fine on my 15" Acer laptop which is also 1GB RAM.

The netbook is running Win XT and the laptop is running Vista. The netbook is a single core Atom processor. The laptop is a Core Duo processor. The netbook is clocked at 1.6GHz and the laptop at 1.7GHz. There is absolutely no perceptable performance difference when running any of the programs on either computer.

...ken...

So, a solution to your problem, that no longer seems to be a problem:

First of all you will probably have a need for a CD/DVD drive sometime on your netbook. [Mine is an Acer Aspire One] Goto SlySoft and pickup a copy of Virtual Drive http://www.slysoft.com and install it on your netbook/mini. Then head over to IsoRecorder pick up ISO Recorder v 2 for your version of Windows for Desktop.

With these two tools you can overcome most problems with installing anything from a CD/DVD.
After installing the Clone Drive, you use the System Tray Icon to setup as many clone drives as you want. One for work in progress, one for music, one for data disks to supplement your running programs. On my system, I setup two clones. They will look just like idle drives in Windows Explorer.

With IsoRecorder on your desktop, after installation, you will find on your context menu, a selection to "create image from CD". Insert disk one of your 2006 Streets, and in Windows Xplorer, right click the drive, select Create Image, and a location to create an ISO of your CD1. Then do the same for your second disk. Copy these two ISO's onto a 2gb thumb drive and then copy those to your netbook/mini.

On your netbook/mini, find the ISO's you just copied, right click, and select "mount" "Virtual Clone Drive "x". Viola, you have now mounted a CD as if it was in a drive on the netbook. Depending on your netbook settings, it will auto start your install for MS Streets & Trips 2006 with GPS. Follow through on the Full install, and you will not have to "mount" your maps, they will be copied to your netbook's hard drive, and not be needed further. To make this easier, find the second ISO you made for the "Run" CD, and mount it in the second Virtual Clone Drive "y". Full install will find it and automatically copy your map data.

After it completes, you can unmount the ISO's, [right click virtual drive, unmount] and you should have now two free drives to mount other ISO's that you can make for other programs, or DVD's etc....

Please let me know if you have problems with this procedure. It worked for me, but I'm writing it from memory.

Or if you must: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/913189

Good luck....

Larry