Garmin Road Trip on a Mac

Roger Chatterton

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All I have got to say is which particular team of cretins at Garmin wasted their lunch hour devising the half finished software they call "Garmin Road Trip".
They should have taken more drugs and got it right.
What a half baked, incomplete, totally frustrating and ultimately useless piece of garbage.

Spent most of the day trying to get a couple of simple 100 mile routes organised ( that already know, but wanted to use to try it out), and using about 10 Way Points. There isn't even a "Rubber" tool to erase any aspects of your route, and not even a floating toolbox. :eek:
thanks Garmin for wasting a day of my life, and for helping me waste a load of dosh, trusting that a company like Garmin would be able to release finished and functional and professional software. Fat F'ing chance.
Back to the drawing board guys, and try looking at some decent Mac software first, before you release any other junk !

For gawds sake, even trying to save a Route is a nightmare, and then when you open it in the Zumo, it's a load of dis-jointed waypoints, that aren't even joined up !!!
What's all that about then. :blast:blast:blast

Guess you could say I am totally underwhelmed.
 
I'm using Road Trip on my Mac, and used it to organise the Croatia 09 trip routing, and the route for those of us that went up through to Poland...

Its different from Mapsource, but having spent a few evenings messing with it I got it spot on... no false turns and no ending up somewhere we shouldn't have been , so on the whole I'm happy with it :thumb

Persevere and it hopefully will get less frustrating :blagblah
 
Once I'd got got the maps converted on my work PC I've had no problems with Road Trip. Planned and uploaded a number of routes on A and B roads, one from Havant to Nott's, and downloaded and displayed all the tracks without problem. My only complaint would be it's a little slower than Mapsource, but worth remembering it's still a beta release
 
Once I'd got got the maps converted on my work PC I've had no problems with Road Trip. Planned and uploaded a number of routes on A and B roads, one from Havant to Nott's, and downloaded and displayed all the tracks without problem. My only complaint would be it's a little slower than Mapsource, but worth remembering it's still a beta release
That's fine, but my point is that I'm trying to use the new Mac software, and I suggest that it is clunky and badly thought-out. Why don't they just ask a few bikers what they need, and then implement the suggestions ?
I use loads of software to earn my living, mostly far more complex the RoadTrip, so I'm not a computer numpty ( well, I am on some days !!),
However, I will be giving it more of my attentions, and see how it goes.
I think maybe that by "manually" loading the RoadTrip maps, as opposed to Importing them might help, ie drag across from my hard drive to a suitable folder on my Zumo's SD memory card ?
Also, my Zumo doesn't seem to want to store WayPoints on a route that I organise from within the Zumo , so got to work on that too. Why doesn't the Zumo just ask if you want to store/save something like a route, and allow you to give that route a suitable name eg " Cambridge to Derby Country Route" ?
But, encouraging to hear that others on here have managed OK, but Garmin do not make things straightforward. Maybe I'm just spoilt by normally using well designed Mac software ...oh oh, no Mac v PC slanging please ....:D
 
Roger,

There's no doubt that RoadTrip is at a much earlier stage of development than Mapsource (which you can still use on your Mac with Bootcamp). It is, after all, still in Beta - perhaps they'd have attracted less criticism by not releasing it at all. I'm disappointed too that updates are rare - I hope they haven't given up.
However, having migrated from Mapsource, I haven't gone back which must say something. The method of storing/organising routes/waypoint/files is alien to the Mapsource (PC) 'way', but is similar to other Mac software. There are those of us who are using the software quite successfully so, perhaps, your suggestion that RoadTrip is 'junk' is wide of the mark. It also seems, going by your last post, that some of your problems & frustrations lie more with the Zumo rather than your planning software.
My biggest gripes are the inability to cut & paste between routes, and the overall speed of the program.
I would suggest you persevere, or revert to Mapsource. Moreover, you should use more waypoints (using the route dragging tool) rather than relying on the routing algorithms (faster, direct, avoids, etc). It's a good idea to overzoom & cycle through each waypoint to ensure it's not been deposited 'off route' (a problem also with Mapsource).
It's been a constant theme over the years that when we acquire new toys, such as GPS units & mapping software, the initial frustrations with complex manuals & controls can lead to endless slagging off the manufacturer/software & hardware on internet forums. To those that have come out of the other side of the learning process (with sanity intact), it's disheartening to be met with waves of such criticisms. We used to benefit from PanEuropean's help & insight - he did a lot of work as a tester with Garmin in the early days - but, apart from a brief re-visit not so long ago, he doesn't seem to be around anymore. I'm quite sure that continual moaning on this forum hasn't helped.
By the way, this post isn't specifically aimed at you - the introduction of the 660 seems to have produced a lot of negative posting. You should have all listened to Arsey & me, saved your money & bought Nuvi 550s :)
atb :thumb
 
Hi Chasr,
I appreciate your comments, and would not disagree with a lot of what you say -not come across PanEuropean, so can't comment. This is not a personal rant, so if he's reading this, that's not my intention at all, just that if Garmin is promoting its software, and making a point of suddenly awakening to the ever increasing potential Mac market, then they must try harder, and maybe ask a few users out there what they want and expect from such software. Also not noticed it being made clear that this is in fact Beta stage of development.
Can't see the word junk in my post, which I think was pretty fair all things considered.
I am very much of the school of thinking that most software, if it has been properly developed should, to a large extent be straightforward to use right out of the box, and without having to resort to help pages for even the most basic of functions. So where's the "Save" function in "Road Trip" -how basic is that then ? !!!
I wont go on, as I shall be persisting with Road Trip, and certainly hope that Garmin put some more effort and resources into furthering it's development; however, I shouldn't have to brace myself before using Road Trip.
Much of the numerous bits of software I use on a daily basis (Pro Tools for one) is, in the mostpart a joy to use, and never fails to impress me, and if it goes wrong, then 99% of the time it's me that's wrong, and not the software.
Can't say the same for Road Trip though -it IS slow and clunky, it IS hard to negotiate around, its menus ARE unfriendly and the whole package reminds me of something from a way back in the history of the Mac, say version 7.x !!
If Mr Garmin wants to give me a call, I'll happily discuss a few places for improvement, but not being a software programmer, that's the best I could offer.
In the meantime, I will try to come out the other side with my sanity intact, but I just hate bad design -be it on a motorcycle, or be it with a mobile 'phone, or be it with a piece of software.
OK- I'm off for a while , and a lie down.:Motomartin
 
the Save function in Road Trip seems to be Export under File :eek

i rather agree with most of what you say roger, but despite my criticism of the program in another thread, i find myself still using it.
i can also run Mapsource on my mac using VMware Fusion, but tend not to even though Road Trip is desperately slow in comparison.

you have to wonder at garmin though. didn't anyone tell them that the first rule for mac applications is that they must work, look, feel etc like apple apps :confused:
 
Why don't you guys register on this https://forums.garmin.com/ , and you can pass on your comments, suggestions, complaints directly to Garmin? There is a section on RoadTrip, and they do seem to listen to criticism. Your normal Garmin log-in should work.

Cookie, as a Mod perhaps you could highlight this new Garmin forum. It seems that Garmin staff will spend less time trawling the other on-line forums, & will concentrate on their own.

atb
 
Why don't you guys register on this https://forums.garmin.com/ , and you can pass on your comments, suggestions, complaints directly to Garmin? There is a section on RoadTrip, and they do seem to listen to criticism. Your normal Garmin log-in should work.

Cookie, as a Mod perhaps you could highlight this new Garmin forum. It seems that Garmin staff will spend less time trawling the other on-line forums, & will concentrate on their own.

atb

i only found the garmin forum a couple of days ago myself, and have not had time to look at it. took me a link from adv rider to get there though. i put Forum into garmin site seach engine and it and got "nothing found" :blast


anyway, i shall be joining when i have time, and will link to it in any relevant posts.
 
Hi Chasr,
I did join the garmin Forum, which is handy, and good to read that there are both positive and negative comments there. I was thinking of posting my Road Trip Comments on there, as , even though I am wingeing, I would like to be helpful in the improvement of Road Trip.
Incidentally, this months Ride Mag (Sept issue) has a revue of the Zumo 660, which tey like (apart from price !!), but even they say of the Raod Trip software "slow and clunky". !!
And I didn't write their review , think they must have read mine !!!
I'll persevere though, but doubt I'll grow to love it.....
 


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