Did you folks ever notice that at least the last 3 editions of your Street Atlas Programs will get a notion of what route should be used, and will take you 70 or 80 miles out of the way (West Virginia mountains versus Interstate Highway System).
In Iowa, it refuses to cross a bridge on highway 18 just east of I-35.
In California, by reversing a route, takes the Pacific Coast Highway (Cal Hiway 1) instead of Interstate 5, and prefers US 99 over Interstate 5.

I tried the Bill Gates Microsoft Streets & Trips, but handling the trip lay out with it was like changing a squirming dirty diapered baby while wearing boxing gloves. The Street Atlas series is, in my opinion, is way better, even with the quirks that are built in. I bought a Tom-Tom to use in the Carolinas with a rented car, and, although it is very good at what it does, it too gets an idea of what is the most direct route, no matter how much interstate highway it has to bypass to take me where it wants to go.

I believe my first SA 6 was easier to handle. It seemed to be more intuitive with routing. When a Start, Way Points and a Finish were set, I seems that it wanted to take the shortest if that’s what you asked for, or the fastest if that’s what we wanted and I don’t remember needing to check and make adjustments to keep from being taken off course. I’ve noticed that most of the new applications appear to be much more ‘feature oriented’ than being ‘ease of use oriented’. It seems most new software, is less user friendly than the older applications, and as we upgrade our equipment, we have little choice in these matters because the older software won’t work on the newer machines.

Please, Street Atlas Programmers, go back to see what made the earliest programs so much more intuitive to use. I know they didn’t have all the ‘features’ that the newer editions have, but I feel that most of us use these GPS programs and devices to get from Point Beginning to Point End with a stops at some attractions along the way, and to keep from getting lost in the ‘Valley of the Shadow of Trucks that obscure exit and route change signs.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like your products. I’ve been using them since the mid 90s, but feel that the user friendliness of them is getting less and less with each succeeding upgrade. I do like the new transponder. It is able to sense satellites inside my home as long as I’m close to a window, a feat that the older versions were unable to accomplish. We found it was on the spot for guidance in those Valleys of the Shadows of Trucks, in rain, ( our first one would loose contact with reality in the rain or heavy clouds), heavy clouds and mountainous terrain didn’t bother it either.

Thanks for the forum,

Dale