AutoRoute 5.0 GPS Compatible Moving Map Software System
        Review  by Joe Mehaffey      Revised: 4/23/97

Microsoft  AutoRoute 5.0 (AR5) for Europe (separate  version  for 
the  UK) has a number of interesting features.  It has  maps  for 
most  of  Europe.   In addition,   it  provides  automated  route 
planning,   an  interface  for GPS input,  and a  "find  a  town" 
feature  among  others.  It provides  information  on  campsites,  
museums,   and other points of interest.  It even has  a  foreign 
language  phrase  book and photos of a number  of  landmarks  and 
tourist attractions.  

The  Graphical  User  Interface  (GUI)  is  a  VERY  accomplished 
version.   It has sliiide out menus with smooothe  sound  effects 
associated with the menu's roll out process.  The GUI and all  of 
the associated operations worked very well.  Exception:  When the 
G-12 lost lock as a result of going into a long tunnel (There are 
lots  of  these in the alps),  AR5 would think its  location  was 
Lon=0, Lat=0 and the map would go to large scale and jump  there.   
Sometimes  when this happened,  the GPS pointer would not  resume 
normal operation and the mouse pointer would also malfunction and 
re-boot was necessary to resume normal operation.
  
The major missing item with AR5 is GOOD MAPS.  My wife and I rode 
through the countryside between Munich and Hannover then back  to 
Konstanz,  to Garmisch,  and to Austria,  back to Switzerland and 
then  to  France.  We took a lot of side roads.  Those  who  know 
Europe  will remember that there is a village or town every 5  km 
or  so  along  almost every road.  AR5 shows most  of  the  rural 
roads,   but  only  perhaps ten percent of the  small  towns  and 
villages are marked and named.  It seemed to us that a very small 
percentage of the tourist attractions were covered as well.   The 
AR5's  vector maps in addition to being incomplete,  are  inaccu-
rate  to more than a half KM in many places.  This caused  us  to 
miss  some turns and turn too early in other instances.  We  have 
not had this problem with SA4, ME2,  or PM3 in the USA.  

The city maps were even worse.  Unlike Map-N-GO (USA),  there are 
no  auxiliary city maps provided.  Only the major highway  routes 
and a few other streets are shown on the AR5 city maps.  Even the 
city  streets  shown are not usually named.  Cities are  where  I 
find computerized maps most useful.  With AR5,  the city maps are 
virtually useless.

By  comparison  with  the AR5,  the  Delorme SA4  and  ME2,   and 
Precision  Mapping  products have almost every town with  a  name 
shown if you expand the map enough. 

The  AR5's  "Find a route from city A to City B"  feature  worked 
very well.  It will call your attention to tourist attractions  a 
specified  maximum distance off your track which will be  a  nice 
feature  for  first time visitors to Europe.  The  route  feature 
permits  a from/to with any number of intermediate cities so  you 
can plan your itinerary with personal interests in mind. 

         AUTOROUTE 5 (EUROPE) COVERAGE

Several people have asked us to let them know where 
to buy AutoRoute 5 for Europe (and the UK) in the USA.  
First of all,  these are TWO DIFFERENT programs.  AR5 (UK) 
and AR5 (Europe).  MicroSoft says that their copyright 
agreements prevent their selling copies in the USA.  We 
have been furnished copies to review for Internet posting 
and I am in the process.   I should have something put 
together in the next few weeks.

The program is provided on a single CDROM disk.   
Note:  This program ONLY works on Windows 95.  Also,  the 
map detail is NOT as complete as Delorme Street Atlas 4.  
For instance,  in cities,  all major "routes" are shown,  
but not most residential streets.  However,  lists of 
hotels,  restaurants,  and tourist attractions are provided.  
My first impression is that it works as advertised,  but 
it is somewhat slower than ME2 or SA4 but works fine on 
my 486dx-75 laptop.  Stay tuned.

Meanwhile,  below is a list of countries covered by the 
MicroSoft AR5 for EUROPE version.  
=======================================================
Albania
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Leichtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of
Moldova
Monaco
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
United Kingdom
Ukraine
Vatican City
Yugoslavia 

In  summary,  the AR5 program is a nice US$100 toy,  but  if  you 
buy  it,  you should plan to have fun with it and use paper  maps 
for serious navigation.

Joe Mehaffey