You have read about the latest version of Microsoft Streets & Trips 2009 and now you can give it a try!

Many of you have asked in the past for a trial download.  We heard your request and have made the trial download available (even before the full boxed product has made it to the stores!).

I am amazed and how fast the news has traveled around.  Already, 100's of folks have downloaded S&T 2009 and are asking questions.

Here is a quick FAQ:

Q: What is the difference between the Trial Edition and the final edition?  Have any features been withheld?

A: Other than the 60-day trial limit,  there is no difference between the trial and the final version.  It is a fully functioning version of the product.

Q: When does my trial begin?

A: You will begin your trial on your first launch of the application.  You will have 60-days to try it out (regardless of how many times you use the application).

Q: I have a previous version of Streets & Trips installed - do I need to uninstall it first?

A: No, both versions can be installed at the same time.  Be sure to check the "Keep Previous Version" checkbox while installing.

Q: How do I convert my trail to a full edition without the 60-day limit?

A: Purchase the product from your favorite retailer and choose "Activate now" and follow the instructions to enter the Product key that came with your purchased product.  Note: there is no need to uninstall the trial edition and re-install from the purchased edition.

Q:  Can I just buy a Product key online?

A: Currently, this option is not yet available.

Q: Where can I download it?

A: Streets & Trips 2009 Trial Edition can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download Center:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=56ccd694-4df8-4602-abfc-aea24c1dbf45&DisplayLang=en

Use comments for further Q&As.

Several years ago I took a 2000 mile road trip in my 1984 car.  But Tim clearly has me beat :-)

Tim sent me a PM last week to let me know about his adventure.  Here is an excerpt:

"The whole trip was planned in Streets and Trips 2008.
I wanted to do this, and part of it was just a challenge to see if Streets and Trips would crash when I put in all 48 and used "optimize stops" -- It didn't crash. The distance is about 15,000 miles. There are a lot of detours for friend's houses, points of interest, and all that.
I've been using my computer to post updates to my blog at www.timbotrip.com -- Just thought somebody on the Streets and Trips team should know - I appreciate this software so much - it's simply the best at this sort of thing."

He is already halfway done and should be heading up the West coast at the time of this posting.

Go! Timbo! Go!

He's got some great stories to tell and many photos to share.  I think my favorite part is the hood of his car.  He's got this great big map of the US with pushpins showing his stops and string connecting them.  

You've gotta check out his blog! Timbotrip.com  He's accepting donations on this website to help cover costs of the trip. Give him your support if you are so inclined.

I recently received a mail from a Streets & Trips user who was having difficulty finding their mouse cursor while on the road.  With the daylight glare on the screen it can be a challenge.

Here is the solution that I use and I thought I'd pass it along:

1. Open your Control Panel

2. Click on "Hardware and Sound"

3. Click on "Mouse" and go to the "Pointer Options" tab

4. Check the "Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key" checkbox.

5. Click "OK" button.

Now when you press the CTRL key - you'll see a quick animation of concentric circles that will draw your attention to the location to your mouse cursor.

Note: this is a system wide setting and not only for Streets & Trips.

Streets & Trips contains almost 1.6 million POI (Points of Interest) and while that is helpful and very useful it never enough to satisfy every users need.

So where can a user go to find specific POI databases to import into Streets & Trips?  As it turns out there are several sources - if you have additional POI sources please add them in the comments.

One of the great features of Streets & Trips is the import data wizard.  It allows you to easily import data in many different formats and file types.  

For example, here are the supportee data sources for S&T 2009:

Here are a few sources for POI data - some charge, but many are free to download.  There is a huge community of POI enthusiasts who join together at a grassroots level with other members of these forums and they collect POIs to share on these sites.  Maybe you'd like to contribute? 

• http://www.poi-factory.com
• http://www.RVdirections.com
• http://www.poigenie.co.uk/
• http://www.lowbridges.com/
• http://www.truckstopsplus.com
• http://www.gps-data-team.com/poi/
• http://discoveryowners.com/cginfolinks.htm
• http://www.poiplaza.com
• http://www.poifriend.com

The most common format is *.CSV files (comma separated values).  If Streets & Trips is not specifically mentioned as a supported application just download whichever is available in the *.csv format.