Jason Golod Blogs » Car PC

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006

Jason — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 17:44:35 +0000

Ok, so yesterday my new little USB GPS receiver shows up and of course I go into full geek mode. I pulled out the IBM X20 (the best thin-client laptop platform ever made IMHO) and plugged it in. I fired up MS AutoRoute 2006 and once I configured the GPS receiver with the software I saw a red bullseye on San Francisco. Cool! So, I click the zoom in button and no love. WTF? Well, apparently AutoRoute 2006 can tell you that you are in San Francisco, but it is not going to tell you any more than that. So, I jumped on line and found that for $30, after $10 rebate, I can pick up MS Streets and Trips 2006 at Best Buy. So, I gathered up all of my stuff (laptop, GPS receiver, etc) and hopped into the Tahoe for the trip down to Best Buy. Yes, I did say that AutoRoute 2006 did not show me much street-level detail, but that wasn’t going to stop me from seeing what it would show me!
Here is a picture (from my Nokia 6620) of what the AutoRoute 2006 screen looked inside my Tahoe when stopped at Bush and Van Ness. Not the best picture, but if you look close enough, you can see that it only is showing a big bullseye on San Francisco. Of course, I had to fire up the Bluetooth connection to the Nokia 6620 and see what my blog looked like while on the road. So the second picture is of this place. Yes, I am a dork.

So, I make it to Best Buy, and get in line to purchase MS Streets and Trips 2006. Best Buy is pretty messed up for one simple reason. Of the four people checking people out, two only take debit or credit cards. Now, I was going to pay cash, but after letting 4 people go by (actually, three and one donkey who didn’t actually listen to why he was passing me standing at the front of the line) I just ended up paying with a debit card. What the hell is that all about? Stores don’t accept dollars anymore? So, anyway, I hop into the Tahoe and load the new Streets and Trips 2006 software via the docking station that I brought along. After about 5 minutes, the software was loaded up, the little security guard in the parking lot had walked by 3 times and I had a big smile on my face. I fired it up, config’d the GPS receiver and boom there I was on the screen. Of course, I did not get a pic of this screen because I was too ADD, but I will get some good pics with the Rebel to put up here.

There were a couple of issues right off the bat. First, I am running Windows 2000 Pro on the X20 and apparently there is no Text-to-Speech component that gets installed by default like in Windows XP. That was not a big deal as I found one when I got home for free on the Microsoft Reader website. But, that did mean that Streets and Trips 2006 would not be able to bark driving commands at me while en route. Second, I could not figure out how to get the system to go back to my current location. I punched in my home address and then I could not get back. I ended up figuring out that if you turn on the GPS tracking, it automatically takes you back. But, there should be a button to do that in one step so that I can make routes more easily. There must be an easier way to do this that I have not figured out yet. Aside from that, things worked right out of the box.

Some Features I Like

Some of the things I like in MS Streets and Trips 2006 are the “Find Nearby Places” function and the Driving Guidance feature (voice). The Find Nearby Places function allows you to select the types of places you would like to see displayed with a colored icon on your routes and maps. Restaurants are broken down by cuisine type, although there is no way to differentiate fast-food type places other that selecting “other” as a restaurant type. I need to figure out how to find and plot all of the In ‘n Out Burger locations and set them up as a restaurant type. Everything from hospitals to wineries come stock in MS Streets and Trips 2006…very cool. The other feature I really like is the Driving Guidance feature. Visual as well as voice prompts are available to you, as long as you have a Text to Speech engine that is speech API (SAPI) 5.1 compliant. I downloaded the free Microsoft Reader TTS engine and it worked right out of the gates. I did try to add some more voices (there are much better ones that you can buy for around $30 a piece) that I found in some MS SAPI 5.1 SDK, but it made the Voice Guidance say “blah” for every word…pretty funny. For now, I am using the “Michelle” voice and she sounds pretty good if you speed her up a bit.

Things I Don’t Like About Streets and Trips 2006

Well, I have not used it much, but there are a couple of things I have noticed about S&T 2006 that I am not fond of. First, there should be a button to add my current location (if GPS enabled) to any route planning I do. That seems like common sense to me. Second, if you don’t use the route S&T plots for you, it does not seem to want to re-route itself to get you to your location. I know most in-car GPS (if not all) does this, not sure why MS Streets and Trips does not do that also. I may have to read more on this, but it doesn’t seem to re-route on its own or prompt me.

System Requirements for Streets and Trips 2006

Here are the basic system requirements for a full install (which means you don’t have to use the CD ROM discs for anything):

1.1GB of free disc space
At least 256MB of RAM – (my x20 currently has 192MB of RAM in it and Task Manager showed the system was using 208MB during normal use at home). In a simulated route from San Francisco to Lake Tahoe, the system took some time to display “points of interest” along the way due to the lack of RAM. I have some more on order, so I will see how that goes.
Min 1024×768 resolution display (or you won’t get a lot of the buttons to display)

Not required, but I think the bigger the screen the better for this program. There are a few panes that can be displayed at any given time. But, if you want it to be like a normal in-car GPS system, then you are going to want to have 3 running at once (at least two). I have a 14.1″ screen running at 1024×768 resolution and it is pretty good. I would not want to go any smaller.

Conclusion

At this point, I don’t think you can beat this setup for the money. The USB GPS receiver cost $70 delivered and MS Streets and Trips is $30 after rebate. I don’t know how you can beat that deal for a hundo. What this has made me realize that the CarPC deal is really where it is at. Just not sure how you get a large screen up in the front of the car without having to do some serious modification to the dash.

Additional Resources

Microsoft Reader Text to Speech Engine – Free. Get voice for people not running XP. Note: You have to use IE to activate it (FireFox won’t work…shocker)

Microsoft SAPI 5.1 API – May help you add more voices and does have some cool text-to-speech functionality as well as voice recognition.

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 Website

Streets and Trips 2006 Tips and Tricks – Great tips and tricks and setup options

Tuscany GPS Waypoints

Jason — Wed, 15 Mar 2006 23:27:59 +0000

Life is grand when you are a geek. So, in planning out some of our travels for the honeymoon in Tuscany, I have been fortunate enough to receive advice from many different sources on places to eat and drink at. Everything from wineries to hit in Montalcino and Montepulciano to restaurants in the surrounding areas. But, using the Michelin map of Italy to find the hotels we are staying at, navigating out of Rome and figuring out where the hell we are going, doesn’t seem like a good idea. So, of course I figured I could use Google Earth and some kind of GPS receiver to map things out and help us to navigate our way around Italy’s finest winemaking region.

So, I picked up a copy of Microsoft AutoRoute 2006, which is like Microsoft Street Altas, but for the entire world. I have a small, USB GPS receiver coming today and my Thinkpad X20 laptop (3.3lbs baby) that are going to serve as my homegrown in-car GPS system. At first I thought I was too much of a dork to do this, but then I figured we would probably never be too lost. Plus, this is something that other geeks who are really into wine will likely enjoy having when traveling to Tuscany in the future.

So far I have run in to a few snags. For one, the Italians format their addresses funny. That was easy enough to figure out, but some of the roads that these wineries and estates are on, are probably not known to anyone that lives outside of the small towns they reside in. So, the AutoRoute2006 software is really not a perfect deal. But, it does know about 50% of them. I have been using the Michelin map, AutoRoute 2006 and Google Earth to figure out where a lot of these places are (kinda). Of course, I just opened our latest Wine Enthusiast magazine and they just happen to be covering the latest Brunellos. So, it looks like I have my work cut out for me.

The whole point of this post was to see if anyone has some GPS waypoints for Tuscany that I can take a look at. If you have some or know of a good resource online, let me know. I have been looking for a few days now and figured I would appeal to the geek squad to see what I can come up with. Also, any ideas on navigation in Italy is welcomed as well.

Sony Installs Rootkits – Sweet

Jason — Tue, 01 Nov 2005 17:29:25 +0000

Apparently the folks at Sony have decided that their preferred method of implementing DRM software is to install a rootkit without anyone knowing. I just read an article over at ZD Net that details a few testers’ accounts of discovering the Sony DRM scheme. Worse, the software/rootkit apparently prevents songs from being copied to iPods. Goog job Sony BMG. Glad to see you are shoving software down people’s throats without letting them know. I am sure this will last long.

Movielink Pricing

Jason — Fri, 21 Oct 2005 16:28:34 +0000

Many of you know that I am a total electronics geek and one of my latest projects is the home media center pc running Windows Media Center Edition 2005. Basically, the thing is a Tivo on crack. This is the 2nd generation of Windows MCE and they have improved a lot of the functionality over the 2004 version from what I understand, but there is still a long way to go. One of the cool features that MCE does have is the ability to rent movies online directly from the MCE menus from companies like Movie Link. Unfortunately, Movie Link doesn’t seem to understand that people are not really into paying $5 to download a movie. Last time I checked, I could rent a movie on a satellite dish for $3 and I would guess that it is about the same via digital cable. So, what is the deal Movie Link? Do you guys want to rent movies or what? Get with the program and drop your prices. I bet you see a 300% increase in the number of rentals in the first month.

Enabling Multiple Remote Desktop Sessions in Windows XP Professional and Media Center Edition 2005

Jason — Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:45:59 +0000

If you have ever used a real remote computer system like Citrix, then you have probably been craving multiple Remote Desktop sessions since you first fired up Windows XP Professional and/or Media Center Edition. Here is a HACK (translated: USE AT YOUR OWN RISK), to enable multiple Remote Desktop sessions on your XP Pro or MCE 2005 box:

NOTE: You will have to have knowledge of the Windows operating system and more specifically the Windows Registry. If you have no experience with the registry, then I would recommend you find someone who does or leave these alone. I do not make any kind of warranty that this will work for you or your friends. This is provided for entertainment purposes only. Don’t call me if your computer stops working. Got it?

Print these directions so that you have them to work from.
Restart your computer in Safe Mode – Follow this link to learn how to restart Windows XP in Safe Mode
Turn off/disable Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) and Terminal Services

Right click My Computer
Select Properties
Click on the Remote tab at the top of the window
UNCHECK the box next to, “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer“
Click OK
Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services
Find Terminal Services in the list
Right click on Terminal Services and click Properties
In the Startup Type box, select Disabled
Click OK to close the window

Next you will replace the current version of the Terminal Services DLL (termsrv.dll) with an unrestricted version from a previous release of Terminal Services.

Here is a copy of the Terminal Services DLL – Save it to your Desktop or other suitable location
Using a file manager like Windows Explorer open C:\Windows\system32\dllcache
Rename the file termsrv.dll to termsrv_dll.bak or whatever you would like.
Copy the downloaded termsrv.dll file (the one you just downloaded from the web) to C:\Windows\system32\dllcache
Open the C:\Windows\system32 folder
Delete the file termsrv.dll in C:\Windows\system32

Now we can edit the Windows Registry to enable more than one RDP connection. Go to Start -> Run and type regedit – Hopefully you knew that already

Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\Licensing Core

Add a DWORD Key named EnableConcurrentSessions and give it a value of 1

Close the Registry Editor window

Go to Start -> Run and type gpedit.msc to run the Group Policy Editor

Browse to Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Terminal Services and double click Limit number of connections

Select the Enabled button and enter the number of connections you would like to enable….at least 2.

Restart Windows

Right click My Computer and select Properties.

Click on the Remote tab at the top of the window

CHECK the box next to, “Allow users to connect remotely to this computer“

Click OK

Go to Start -> Control Panel ->Administrative Tools -> Services. Select Terminal Services from the list and double click it or right-click -> Properties. Set the Startup Type to Manual.

Restart Windows/Computer

You should be good to go.

5th Gen. IPod Plays Videos and Music

Jason — Thu, 13 Oct 2005 15:51:31 +0000

In case you are living under a rock, or other similar location, Apple released the 5th generation of the IPod yesterday. The new IPod is smaller and lighter and allows users to play videos in addition to music on a small color screen. Retailing for $399 the new IPod can hold 15,000 songs or you can get one that holds half that amount for $299. If you are planning on holding any amount of video on there, get yourself the bigger one, you can never have enough storage space. In an interesting move, Apple will not be supporting the DivX format, apparently because it is commonly used for illegal video file swapping. How about all of the legit people out there who want to put a DVD from their collection onto their computer or iPod without filling up their hard drive in 2 seconds? Sorry, got a litle distracted. The unit supports a couple of video formats apparently, including mpeg4. Yippeeee. Who cares really. Personally, I will be interested to see how this new iPod sells and how many people use the video functionality it offers. Personal video players have been around for a while, and the screen on the new iPod doesn’t cut it when compared to the others. But, the iPod does have a small form factor, great user interface and oh yeah, everyone loves to have one.

Microsoft Windows MCE 2005 Extenders and Suggestions

Jason — Wed, 12 Oct 2005 00:23:04 +0000

Last night i was pretty fired up on the concept of the Windows MCE Extender, but after reading a few reviews that I found, I am not at all. The media extender boxes allow you to grab all of the content (in theory) from your home media PC running Windows Media Center Edition 2005. However, what Microsoft does not tell you right up front is that the extender boxes cannot run any DivX encoded movies or videos. DivX for those of you who do not know is probably the biggest movie encoding/compression format out there. You need a little piece of software called a Codec to play the videos once they are DivX encoded. The codec is free, but there is no way of installing it on any of the MCE extender boxes including the Xbox (you can get some $40 software to use your Xbox as an extender box). This is just plain silly, and it is something that I can see MS and the vendors like Linksys that make extender boxes rectify in the second round. Being able to gain access to all of your television that you have recorded is sweet and to your music too, but not for $250…I don’t think. Maybe it is worth $100 to do something like that, but not $250 guys.

I think that Windows MCE is a really great and promising product, but Microsoft needs to keep improving it. I think that the vast majority of people using MCE 2005 at this point are Tivo converts or soon-to-be Tivo converts, who are looking for the next best thing. Most of us can see the potential that MCE has, but I would really like to hear Microsoft say that they are working on integrating a slew of improvements that will make the entire platform better. So, if you work on the MCE team at Microsoft, here are a few things I would like to see you guys clear up for MCE 2005 with an update:

More Tivo like functionality

Better program and guide searching/filtering – I want to be able to find shows that I like much more easily. See the Tivo keyword searching.
Better organization and layout of recorded television shows. I like the color schemes and clean look of MCE, but the display and organization of the shows leaves something to be desired.

How about a DVD carousel interface for MCE? I would like to be able to have access to all of the DVDs in a DVD carousel that I can buy at Circut City. You want people to use MCE to play all of their media…then let them.

You should be able to setup MCE to record television with a 30 minute trail, like Tivo. This is something that you can turn on and off, but it is nice when you turn on the tv and you happen to catch something you are interested in, to be able to rewind it for 20 minutes to the beginning because you have the trail. Again, see a Tivo for help on this one.

Make the extenders work with the big codecs like DivX. People use this stuff a lot. Integrate them.

How about an internet radio deal in the More Programs section? I would love to be able to see all of the radio stations in and around a certain city.

Ok, I have to get back to actually doing some work, but this is a good start. Let me know if you need me to come up to Washington and help you guys out with this stuff.

Free Divx 6 Create Software

Jason — Thu, 29 Sep 2005 04:04:02 +0000

If you are reading this, then follow this link to get a Free copy of Divx 6 Create software. If you don’t know what it is, don’t worry. It is something that you will be using soon enough. It is good for one day only to commemorate DivX’s fifth anniversary.

Smoking Deal on a Sony Dual Layer DVD RW Drive

Jason — Fri, 23 Sep 2005 02:07:50 +0000

Thanks to Deppy for pointing this one out. Here is a smoking deal on a Sony DRU-720A DVD RW drive for $20 after rebate. It even comes with a black face plate (for those of us with black cases) and a copy of Nero Burning ROM 6.6. I bought a similar drive this year for $53 and that was a great deal. This is a silly deal. Pick one up even if you don’t need it.

UPDATE:

I just wanted to update this post because Sony just sent me a $20 off coupon for any Sony purchase. You are only allowed one of those DVD drive purchases (with the rebate) per address, but for those of you out there with more than one address, you might be able to get another drive for $20 less….

Connection Manager Pro – Cool

Jason — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 20:26:58 +0000

Ok, so we are getting to the point where us dorks have multiple data networks that we use on a regular basis and some that we use on a less frequent basis. If you have a laptop and a wireless network card (WiFi / 802.xx), then you know that this means you have to configure multiple networks and hope that you can get them all working under Windows’ wireless network management software. Now, this is really not a big deal, but what if you mix in a bluetooth connection via your mobile phone and a hard-wired LAN connection. Now, let’s say that you want to use the wired connection whenever possible and then the 802.xx connection and then the Bluetooth connection? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do that automatically? Yeah, well now you can, and it will only cost you $30. There is a cool program called Connection Manager PRO that can take care of all of your connections for you according to your rules. The software will also give dorks like me some cool stats on connection speed, amount of data sent and received and connection time. This is handy for people that are paying for usage on a time or data basis. You can even download a free trial and check Connection Manager Pro out for frizee. How about dem apples?

This is really a perfect complement to my Car PC idea, that I have not done anything on yet. But, you can have this software running on your car pc and when you come in range of your house or office, it can automatically connect your computer to that network without you knowing. It can also find other wireless networks for you to connect to when you are out and about or use your mobile phone for internet access seamlessly via bluetooth. Very cool.

Jason Golod Blogs » Car PC

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006

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Tuscany GPS Waypoints

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Sony Installs Rootkits – Sweet

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Free Divx 6 Create Software

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