Atlanta's future sidekick... (White: cities, maps, driving)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Rand McNallys are really cheap at WalMart. As I can't carry my computer in my car, I still love a printed map.

I've switched to using a program called Maemo Mapper on my Nokia 770 web tablet for mapping. It lets me download Yahoo, Virtual Earth, and/or Google Map images to a local flash card, and then either display them to use as an electronic atlas or use them as a background for GPS tracking.

The actual screen is 800x480 ... these shots have been uploaded and downloaded so many times they're getting worn out.

In other words, you*can* carry a computer in your car. This particular one runs Linux, has a palm emulator, connects via WiFi, and supports bluetooth keyboards if required. As well as my little bluetooth GPS receiver.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Well, I have been a map geek since I was five when we got a Britannica set with a world atlas about as big as I was, so I am probably guilty as charged. But it is also a practical need to get around in an area. Here in DFW, the whole page shows my suburb of McKinney which is as far north of Dallas as Cumming is to Atlanta. Someone traveling to Atlanta would have many reasons to get to Alpharetta or Gwinnett or Kennesaw. None of these areas are on the Atlanta map.

Wow, St. Marks...we do think alike. I've always thought the same thing about Atlanta Metro when it comes to "national" atlas books...they always only show the immediate area around the perimeter...

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by aries4118

Wow, St. Marks...we do think alike. I've always thought the same thing about Atlanta Metro when it comes to "national" atlas books...they always only show the immediate area around the perimeter...

I've noticed this, too...it is especially aggravating when the dinky Atlanta map is juxtaposed with a map of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metroplex that practically runs off the page.

[JoeP]

Atlanta doesn't have a true city of any size that is in proximity to warrent "large map."

This is silly - this demonstrates what this thread is really about - EGO.

Is Miami more important because it's the core of a large region referred to as South Florida with not only Ft Lauderdale, but really West Palm Beach (which is still its own metro)?

No, but they are comparable as with Dallas Ft Worth and Houston (which has sidekick as far as the rest of the country is concerned).

Who cares? Atlanta is a large metro these days.

You really really don't want the bickering that comes with a sidekick anyway.

You really don't want your Rand McNally map to be that colorful because that means intra metro war on development issues even more so that what might be happening on county levels now.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Atlanta doesn't have a true city of any size that is in proximity to warrent "large map."

This is silly - this demonstrates what this thread is really about - EGO.

Is Miami more important because it's the core of a large region referred to as South Florida with not only Ft Lauderdale, but really West Palm Beach (which is still its own metro)?

No, but they are comparable as with Dallas Ft Worth and Houston (which has sidekick as far as the rest of the country is concerned).

Who cares? Atlanta is a large metro these days.

You really really don't want the bickering that comes with a sidekick anyway.

You really don't want your Rand McNally map to be that colorful because that means intra metro war on development issues even more so that what might be happening on county levels now.

Um, try googling "tongue in cheek" and relax.

[grindin]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Do you agree with me that the Atlanta is totally underserved in Rand McNally? Barely a quarter page for the metro area, doesn't show any of North Fulton north of the river, only a sliver of Gwinnett and only a small portion of Cobb.

Several comparable metro areas like DFW, Houston, Detroit, the Twin Cities all have full pages, several smaller metro areas (Kansas City, St. Louis, Phoenix, Pittsburgh) have half pages. The Norfolk/Hampton Roads area of Virginia has better coverage.

Just a beef of mine. Let's start a petition!

OMG, I2I. I've ALWAYS thought that Atlanta has got the shaft on Rand McNally atlas coverage. This is a much larger metro area than what is portrayed on there. The Michelin Atlas covers it a bit better. I'm a map geek myself, so whenever I see the new Rand McNally atlases, I'm always hoping that they've upgraded the Atlanta maps (they've updated North Jersey and Long Island for example), and come away disappointed every time.

I've always thought the DC map could have more Northern VA coverage too, RMcN did this for a few years and just stopped.

My iPhone w/Google Maps and Streetview is great, but there is nothing like flipping a printed map sometimes.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by JoeP

Atlanta doesn't have a true city of any size that is in proximity to warrent "large map."

This is silly - this demonstrates what this thread is really about - EGO.

Is Miami more important because it's the core of a large region referred to as South Florida with not only Ft Lauderdale, but really West Palm Beach (which is still its own metro)?

No, but they are comparable as with Dallas Ft Worth and Houston (which has sidekick as far as the rest of the country is concerned).

Who cares? Atlanta is a large metro these days.

You really really don't want the bickering that comes with a sidekick anyway.

You really don't want your Rand McNally map to be that colorful because that means intra metro war on development issues even more so that what might be happening on county levels now.

You can say its about ego and maybe for us geeks here it is. But what about the person traveling to Atlanta with their Rand McNally to visit family in Woodstock, want to stop by a corporate office in Alpharetta and then make a trek over to Discover Mills in Gwinnett? You can't do it on the Rand McNally.

So what if a majority of the area isn't incorporated? It is a jumble of small counties that have "intra" competition as well. This is the 9th largest metro area, maps are primarily for travel on roads, not for local boosterism. The same development occurs whether it is in the white unincoporated county or a colored in city. Why should that matter?

There are constant complaints about sprawl. Sprawl dictates more than anything the need for a good map.

You are obviously not well versed on Atlanta and its environs. Cast aspersions if you must but you show a lack of character when you do.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

I've switched to using a program called Maemo Mapper on my Nokia 770 web tablet for mapping. It lets me download Yahoo, Virtual Earth, and/or Google Map images to a local flash card, and then either display them to use as an electronic atlas or use them as a background for GPS tracking.

The actual screen is 800x480 ... these shots have been uploaded and downloaded so many times they're getting worn out.

In other words, you*can* carry a computer in your car. This particular one runs Linux, has a palm emulator, connects via WiFi, and supports bluetooth keyboards if required. As well as my little bluetooth GPS receiver.

Not quite the techno geek as some. I do sell Hondas and Honda has one of the highest rated navigation systems available in cars today. Most GPS systems are good when you zoom in on a specific area, but overall larger views are lacking, IMO.

Won't go into the cost of those kinds of things and my current budget

There is nothing better to me than a good printed map. I especially like a good wall map. There is an excellent fold out map of the Atlanta region that shows all major roads and a good bit of the secondary roads as well as current city limits, stretches all the way to Calhoun to Griffin to Carrollton to Athens. Love that map. Believe it is Rand McNally too, available at your big bookstores.

[grindin]

Who has better Atlanta region wall maps? ADC or Rand McNally? While I like ADC maps, I think they depend on the same colors too much, so it can be confusing. I like when cities are labeled with separate colors rather than the Yellow-White-Green scheme that ADC depends on.

I'd kill for a Thomas-Guide style map down here. Those were the best in California.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Not quite the techno geek as some. I do sell Hondas and Honda has one of the highest rated navigation systems available in cars today. Most GPS systems are good when you zoom in on a specific area, but overall larger views are lacking, IMO.

Won't go into the cost of those kinds of things and my current budget

There is nothing better to me than a good printed map. I especially like a good wall map. There is an excellent fold out map of the Atlanta region that shows all major roads and a good bit of the secondary roads as well as current city limits, stretches all the way to Calhoun to Griffin to Carrollton to Athens. Love that map. Believe it is Rand McNally too, available at your big bookstores.

Yep, nothing beats a good printed map/wall map. Whenever I move to a new city, I always post the map somewhere in my abode...helps me get around...and to know the city/area very quickly.