| ![Microsoft Streets and Trips 2008 [OLD VERSION]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51zy7WmApkL._SL500_.jpg)
| From: Microsoft Software
List Price: $39.95
Buy New: $29.95
You Save: $10.00 (25%)
New (3) Used (6) from $21.99
Rating:  109 reviews
Sales Rank: 1003
Format: Dvd-rom
Platforms: Windows Xp, Windows Xp Professional, Windows Xp Home Edition
Media: DVD-ROM
Edition: Standard
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.2 x 1.3
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: 882224462938
Model: B17-00389
UPC: 882224462938
EAN: 0882224462938
ASIN: B000OV5L40
Release Date: August 20, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 109
Still pretty lame, and now it has #%$^%& activation August 29, 2007
Keith (Las Vegas NV)
20 out of 24 found this review helpful
I didn't think much of the 2007 version of Streets & Trips (see review). It had a lot of mapping errors and a disappointingly low number of POIs.
Well, the 2008 version is basically more of the same. OK, some errors are now fixed, and they now claim 1.6 million POIs. Folks, this is still a LAME number. To even have a chance of claiming "full" coverage of the US requires a minimum of 5-6 million, which is what you will find in any real navigation system.
So, while it will plot a course that will get you there, it won't even begin to show you all the places along the way.
The final insult is that now it has the onerous Microsoft activation scheme added. I change computers more often than most people, so this is a real nuisance to me.
So, I'm still waiting for something with a user interface like this, but with 4 or 5 times the POIs. I'm not holding my breath.
 Still great, but BORING August 30, 2007
R. Schneider (Nevada)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
New maps but not much else new since 2007. They added an unpolished 3D view and MSN Traffic. Traffic is a paid subscription addon that requires an antenna purchase.
Still the best trip planner out there.
 STICK WITH THE 2007 EDITION September 11, 2007
James A. Cronin
18 out of 18 found this review helpful
The 2008 edition of Microsoft Streets and Trips with traffic updates is next to worthless. I have purchased both Micrsoft Streets and Trips and Delorme Street Atlas USA each year for several years. I much prefer Streets and Trips for ease of use.
I paid $175 for the 2008 edition with the FM traffic reciever. I've had nothing but problems with it. I normally keep a copy on my office desktop computer, one on my portable laptop, and one on my laptop which is installed/mounted in my business vehicle. This arrangement allowed me to plot and plan routes and save the maps onto a memory stick for use in my vehicle.
I've had nothing but problems with this new program. I've uninstalled it and will revert back to the 2007 edition and the old hardware. Sign me
Disgusted in Seattle.
Microsoft Streets & Trips 2008 October 21, 2007
Rusty (Winston-Salem, NC USA)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
I have installed this software every year for the last 6 years.
However, this is the first upgrade requiring activation. I could not activate it, either on-line or by phone despite numerous attempts over four hours.
So I just chucked it and went back to using Streets & Trips 2007!
A complete waste of money!
 A+ for software, F- for support June 10, 2008
Paul Mayer (Maine)
18 out of 20 found this review helpful
Streets & Trips program scores A+
Tech Support scores F-
I have been using Streets & Trips for several years. I am a professional person, now retired and leading a full time RV lifestyle. I change locations frequently and use Streets & Trips daily. I am mature, mild mannered, kind, thoughtful, and very patient. I am not a computer expert, but I have been using computers since the days of DOS. I use and maintain two computers and a network.
I purchased and installed Streets & Trips 2008 in October 2007. In April 2008, for no apparent reason, it quit working. It would not load. With any other program, I would suspect that a file had become corrupted; I could uninstall and reinstall the program, insert the product ID, and be up and running again in a few minutes. I uninstalled and reinstalled Streets & Trips twice; oddly, it did not ask for product ID and it still would not load. [ONE HOUR] I went online to Microsoft Help, found my problem clearly defined with advice to call tech support at [800] 936-5700 5AM to 9PM Pacific Time Monday through Friday.
I called Tech Support; it appears to be OUTSOURCED. Over the years I have had consistently poor to disastrous (computer crashes) results from outsourced support and will not knowingly buy a program with outsourced support if there is an alternative.
MICROSOFT IS NOT AN IMPOVERISHED COMPANY AND COULD WELL AFFORD 24/7 AMERICAN TECH SUPPORT.
I was assigned a case number, 1066295656, and began a tortuous journey. The task was to go to www.support.microsoft.com/ea which would access a Microsoft program called Easy Assist which would allow tech support to take control of my computer and secretively solve the problem without allowing me to know how it was done.
Following technician's instructions, I was not able to access Easy Assist. Technician frequently put me on hold, then returned to give additional instructions to disable programs running on my computer until only Microsoft programs were running. We worked this way for 2 hours on the first day, 2 hours on the second day, and 2 hours on the third day. [SIX HOURS] Technician then declared that he had exhausted all options and that he would need to refer me to a Microsoft Server tech support. I related my sad story to the clerk who answered the phone; she transferred me to the Server tech where I related the sad story again. Server tech then informed me that there was nothing wrong with my computer. THE SERVER IS DOWN - ITS JUST SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS - THERE IS NOTHING TO DO BUT WAIT.
MICROSOFT IS NOT AN IMPOVERISHED COMPANY AND COULD WELL AFFORD TO FIELD RELIABLE SERVERS AS GOOGLE DOES.
IT ALSO SEEMS TO ME THAT THE SUPPORT TECH SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT THE SERVER WAS DOWN BEFORE THE HOURS OF UNSUCCESSFUL REPEATED ATTEMPTS TO REACH THE SERVER.
A Microsoft representative then telephoned me to inquire whether I was satisfied with the tech support; I complained energetically. I was informed that my complaint was being given "Red Alert" status and that a Microsoft executive would call me within two business days - didn't happen.
After several days recuperation I made another call to tech support, got a new case number, 1068747744, and a new technician. This time the process proceeded as planned and the problem was solved; my phone timer revealed that the uncomplicated and successful process had still consumed 48 minutes! I was then transferred to the technician's supervisor who inquired about my level of satisfaction; I replied that I was satisfied with that particular technician but that I was extremely angry with the Microsoft policies and procedures and servers that had wasted many hours of my time. I was again informed that a Microsoft executive would call me within two business days - I did get a call from a Team Manager for Microsoft Home Products.
I was then faced with the task of enabling all the programs that had been disabled. [TWO HOURS]
So Microsoft squandered 9 HOURS of my time and caused me to suffer overwhelming stress and frustration. In my professional life I bill $100 an hour, so Microsoft owes me $900 in compensatory damages for wasting my time, and $500,000 for punitive damages to compensate for my newly acquired Tech Support Phobia which will haunt me until the end of my days. I suffer extreme anxiety by just contemplating Microsoft Tech Support.
My take on this (which may be biased) is that Microsoft responded to its paranoia about persons misusing Streets & Trips by attempting to thwart dishonest persons, utilizing a combination of the worst characteristics of the Gestapo, the KGB, the CIA, the IRS, and the Bush White House to field a complicated, clandestine, circuitous tech support process which punishes and tortures both honest and dishonest persons.
READERS MAY BE ABLE TO DISCERN THAT I AM REALLY MAD ABOUT THIS.
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