Microsoft MapPoint 2002

Microsoft seems to want to encourage use of the MapPoint.NET web service, their first available (pay-per-use) public web service.

However, that web service does not (yet ?) provide data overlay capabilities which many businesses require.

[ P.S. ... as a developer, how am I supposed to test this in a secure test environment which doesn't permit internet connectivity ? ]

Summary/Conclusion: MapPoint 2002 is a great product, but if you want to use it with Microsoft's latest and best .NET framework, it still has some serious gaps.
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Good for business, fine for home   April 12, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

This product has proven itself to be very accessible at my office. Importing of data is extremely easy, and the ability to portray the data in a variety of ways is nice. I have used it to plot out office buildings by square footage, and by the number of businesses located in a group of buildings.

At home, my wife and I use this program to help us plan routes for road trips, and even trips across town (we're relatively new to the St. Louis area). MapPoint updates construction information to help you avoid potential traffic snarls along your route. We like to use this in conjunction with our Rand McNally Streetfinder map. Sometimes we can find a better route by looking at the Streetfinder map, but MapPoint has yet to get us lost.

One project we did as a family was to plot the addresses of all of the places we frequent on a regular basis. Then, we identified a list of homes that we were interested in purchasing. We were able to see which homes were most conveniently located to schools, doctor's offices, favorite stores, work, favorite hangouts (like Dave and Buster's), etc. Being able to do this type of analysis helped us rank the homes in order of best physical location. Kind of dorky, but it was useful nonetheless!

The program installed easily on my Windows 2000 computer at work, and on my Windows 98 SE computer at home. I first got to use this at work, and I liked it so much, that I couldn't resist buying a copy for home. It is somewhat pricey, but it is so simple to use, and it has lots of uses, that I found it a good value.


Wonderful mapping abilities, GPS stinks!   April 4, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I will have to say that first and foremost the streets are exactly correct here in southeastern Wisconsin whereas StreetAtlas does a horrific job in that department, MapPoint is just as bad with GPS functionality. The vehicle cursor only updates every 15 seconds and on the highway that's more than enough time to miss an exit. StreetAtlas does a superb job with GPS but in a subdivision less than three years old you can turn it off and guess your way better.

Fix the GPS functionality and MapPoint is the best mapping software on the market, hands down.


missing and / or bad data   February 17, 2002
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

As with Microsoft's other trip planning software the data supporting places is both missing in many cases or just bad data. I had hoped that in their high end product that they would have improved the data supporting their product. They should leave the mapping software to Rand McNally and similar professionals.

As a business professional I can't afford to use Microsoft's product and arrive at the wrong site.


MapPoint 2002 Documentation Poor   October 18, 2001
 12 out of 14 found this review helpful

The program is a good idea and has potential but the documentation is very poor. Don't expect to get help from the Microsoft web page. When you call Microsoft for assistance they tell you that because you didn't buy the program as part of the office suite, they don't support it.

I still manage to get great maps but I always feel like I'm only using about 25% of the programs potential but then again, how would I know? The program also has Microsoft's goofy new validation scheme on it. You can find better software at lower prices that are easier to use.