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Dr. Tom's Independent Software Reviewspresents:
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Features:
USGS
Topo Maps at full state coverage in 1:24,000 scale (7.5 minute) - 5-7
CDs each. Currently available: Alaska, Arizona California, Colorado, Idaho,
Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Map Academy Platinum is easy to use and comes with a user friendly interface.
You can quickly search a place, mark its location, or put a custom icon
for the location of phones, camping lots etc. and print a custom map of
just the area you need and take it with you in the field. The insufficient
resolution of maps in versions up to 3.0 are somehow compensated by a
free upgrade (for 3.0 users) containing a High Resolution Viewer to increase
map clarity. Also new is full map export as .tif or .bmp file.
Other features are: a coordinate cursor displays latitude/longitude or
UTM, enter and search a latitude/longitude coordinate, save and reference
waypoints in a waypoint list, straight and curved line distance tools
to mark and measure trails and roads, zoom in/out on the map from 12%
to 400% (empty resolution!).
Fig. 1: 100% view of a 1:24000 USGS Topomap of the older Map Academy versions
Please click on the image for a closer look!
System Requirements:
Windows
95 or higher, Windows N/T 4.0 or higher; 24 Meg RAM (64 Meg Suggested);
25 Meg hard drive space; 166 MHz Processor (266 MHz Suggested); 800 by
600 pixel screen size; 16 bit color or higher; CD ROM drive; Mouse
Map
Academy's Platinum Series offers the basics but not a lot special features
like altitude profiles or 3D views. In the versions up to 3.0, the resolution
of the topo maps was horrible. In version 3.1 the High Resolution Viewer
does the trick: contour lines and legends are much clearer. Unfortunately,
installation of the update did not work out twice on my WinME system.
After attempting to load the corresponding map to fig. 1 (above) the program
shut down with a runtime error.
However, compared to the high price of other state topo collections Map
Academy is only 89.95 $ per state. Therefore Map Academy's Platinum Series
is a good choice for anybody who just needs detailed state topo maps offering
basic functions.
Free demo download: http://www.mapacademy.com/explorer.htm
Company Information: King's Outdoor World, P.O. Box 307, Mt. Pleasant, UT 84647, USA; Phone: 800-447-6897; Fax: 435-462-7436; E-mail: support@kingsoutdoorworld.com; URL: http://www.mapacademy.com
- Alternatives:
DeLorme Topo USA: http://www.delorme.com - National Geographic Maps (formerly Wildflower Production's) TOPO! Interactive Maps: USGS Topographic Maps on CD-ROM: http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo/
- Maptech's Terrain Navigator; USGS Topographic Maps and NOAA Nautical Charts with Navigation Software, GPS: http://www.maptech.com
- Topo3D: http://www.topo3d.com
- Hanta Yo's Topoguide: http://www.hantayo.com
- ESRI's ARC/INFO and ARC/VIEW, the professional user's mapping program: http://www.esri.com
- iGage / All Topo Maps: Topo Maps on CD ROM: http://www.igage.com