mapsource beta+5.4

[snave1]

HI all,i'm a bit confused(some say thats not difficult),ive been checking for updates for my mapsource and spIII, whats the difference between 'mapsource beta' and mapsource?On garmins site there's two different updates one for mapsource(5.4)which i have and beta 6.

Thanks in advance
Lyndon

 

[K2R]

beta

The beta is an advanced release. It is still undergoing testing and may/may not present problems. It doesn't carry support and you use at your own risk. If you click on the beta link you will see Garmin's conditions for use.

 

[AdamZ]

Mapsource Beta

The latest Beta corrects the problem of not downloading any routes to the SPII correctly. They would download but when you tried to use of the route on the SPII it indicated it was corrupt and recalculate.

The biggest benefit for me is that the search capability takes the first few characters of the Postcode though the Find function although it does still have a few problems in getting it to work.

For example if I want to find "Victoria Road" in Liverpool with the Postcode L23 5. The find function will not locate it in Liverpool if you enter Liverpool as the city because they have decided that "Crosby", which is a suburb in Liverpool, is in fact a city (even though I have given the postcode). If you know the postcode then leave city blank (province is OK) and it will find it.

You must of course have the Street Name.

Be warned don't forget to ensure that you are in the right country (England, Scotland, Wales etc...)

 

[Podger]

Re: Mapsource Beta

For example if I want to find "Victoria Road" in Liverpool with the Postcode L23 5. The find function will not locate it in Liverpool if you enter Liverpool as the city because they have decided that "Crosby", which is a suburb in Liverpool, is in fact a city
Be warned don't forget to ensure that you are in the right country (England, Scotland, Wales etc...)

Perhaps these colonials are not that stupid then! if they know no one wants to go to Liverpool , so why waste time and effort working on software ............ .......errrr... what country would Liverpool be in anyway ??

 

[PanEuropean]

Lyndon:

Many companies who produce software will release "public betas" before finalizing a new release of the program.

Public betas ('beta' software means test software) serve two purposes: First, they enable large scale testing of the program by a base of users who are both knowledgable about the previous version, and enthusiastic about the new release - this allows the developer to find defects or unwanted surprises before the final release is made.

Second, the public beta trail gives the enthusiastic users (those who download and use the beta software) a way of commenting and criticizing the proposed new program before it is finalized. It is much easier to make changes to a software program while it is still in the 'beta' stage (e.g. not finalized) than it is after the release has been finalized, translated into 12 different languages, etc.

In the case of Garmin's MapSource program, if you are not both entirely familiar with the program already, and willing to put up with the headaches that can sometimes come from testing beta software, stick with version 5.4, which is the most recent "final" release. Any of the 6.xx versions are test (developmental) releases.

For what it's worth - MapSource 6.xx introduces a number of new features, but if you are primarily using the program to move map segments to and from your GPSR, you won't really notice much difference.

PanEuropean