NatGeo Topo! Explorer
Posted: Apr 14 2008 11:35 pm
Since I've touched on this in a couple of other threads, I thought I'd put a bit more information out there for those interested HAZers.
I encountered a blog/review of a Topo! Explorer beta written by Stephen W. Hinch posted on Amazon. I'll give him all the credit here while copy/pasting a chunk of what he wrote as related to the new version of Topo!
extract:
The big news out of National Geographic Maps is that they will be introducing a new version of their TOPO! software, called TOPO! Explorer, this coming May. It's a completely new web-based approach to mapping, and although not all features were working yet, it looked to be very impressive. Since it is web-based, you will have access to a lot of capability at no charge. NG will provide full access to complete 24k topo maps of the entire US, along with aerial photographic images (think Google Earth, but with a different satellite image database that is claimed to have better resolution and is updated annually). There's also a neat hybrid presentation mode in which the topo map contour lines are displayed on top of the aerial photos, giving you exceptional insight into the topography of the land. You can view the maps and aerial photos online for free, but to do things like print the maps or interface to a GPS receiver, you'll need to buy the new TOPO! Explorer software package. NG hasn't overlooked their existing customer base, though. If you already own a current State-Series software package, you can download the Explorer interface for free.
Once you have the Explorer software package, you then need the maps (Explorer is an interface and navigation tool, but doesn't come with detailed maps). Again, if you already own State-Series software, your existing maps will still work. And you'll probably want to use Explorer instead of your legacy viewer, as the new user interface is much improved. It's now a lot easier to scroll the map across the screen, and the interface to your GPS has been updated. In the past, when you wanted to import waypoints from your GPS into TOPO!, you had to import every one, even if your GPS had hundreds of waypoints that you didn't care about. You would then have to laboriously go through the list and delete all the ones you didn't want. In the new program, you can easily select only those waypoints you want to import.
If you don't already have the maps for your region of interest, NG has made it easy to get them. You don have to buy an entire state, you can download individual topo quads for $1.00 each. It is billed as the "iTunes approach," although I'm not sure why they didn't complete the analogy by pricing them at 99 cents (a lesson you learn in Marketing 101). NG calls these "Superquads" because in addition to the 1:24,000 USGS map, you also get additional data including the appropriate aerial photography and Tele Atlas roads. So if you're planning a once-in-a-lifetime trek across Alaska, rather than spending $100 for the Alaska state-series software, you can download only those few quads you really want for just a few dollars.
Note that on a per-quad basis, this is a more expensive approach than buying the State-Series software, so if you want a significant portion of a state, you should still purchase the State-Series software (NG will continue to sell these products). The only things you won't get by doing this are the aerial photographs. At this time, licensing restrictions on the photography prevent NG from including these in the State-Series products.
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Above Review Posted Jan. 26, 2008
I encountered a blog/review of a Topo! Explorer beta written by Stephen W. Hinch posted on Amazon. I'll give him all the credit here while copy/pasting a chunk of what he wrote as related to the new version of Topo!
extract:
The big news out of National Geographic Maps is that they will be introducing a new version of their TOPO! software, called TOPO! Explorer, this coming May. It's a completely new web-based approach to mapping, and although not all features were working yet, it looked to be very impressive. Since it is web-based, you will have access to a lot of capability at no charge. NG will provide full access to complete 24k topo maps of the entire US, along with aerial photographic images (think Google Earth, but with a different satellite image database that is claimed to have better resolution and is updated annually). There's also a neat hybrid presentation mode in which the topo map contour lines are displayed on top of the aerial photos, giving you exceptional insight into the topography of the land. You can view the maps and aerial photos online for free, but to do things like print the maps or interface to a GPS receiver, you'll need to buy the new TOPO! Explorer software package. NG hasn't overlooked their existing customer base, though. If you already own a current State-Series software package, you can download the Explorer interface for free.
Once you have the Explorer software package, you then need the maps (Explorer is an interface and navigation tool, but doesn't come with detailed maps). Again, if you already own State-Series software, your existing maps will still work. And you'll probably want to use Explorer instead of your legacy viewer, as the new user interface is much improved. It's now a lot easier to scroll the map across the screen, and the interface to your GPS has been updated. In the past, when you wanted to import waypoints from your GPS into TOPO!, you had to import every one, even if your GPS had hundreds of waypoints that you didn't care about. You would then have to laboriously go through the list and delete all the ones you didn't want. In the new program, you can easily select only those waypoints you want to import.
If you don't already have the maps for your region of interest, NG has made it easy to get them. You don have to buy an entire state, you can download individual topo quads for $1.00 each. It is billed as the "iTunes approach," although I'm not sure why they didn't complete the analogy by pricing them at 99 cents (a lesson you learn in Marketing 101). NG calls these "Superquads" because in addition to the 1:24,000 USGS map, you also get additional data including the appropriate aerial photography and Tele Atlas roads. So if you're planning a once-in-a-lifetime trek across Alaska, rather than spending $100 for the Alaska state-series software, you can download only those few quads you really want for just a few dollars.
Note that on a per-quad basis, this is a more expensive approach than buying the State-Series software, so if you want a significant portion of a state, you should still purchase the State-Series software (NG will continue to sell these products). The only things you won't get by doing this are the aerial photographs. At this time, licensing restrictions on the photography prevent NG from including these in the State-Series products.
---
Above Review Posted Jan. 26, 2008
