In the future cars will display maps with the car's current location shown. If you want that kind of ability now, it might cost you the best part of $1,000 Canadian.

But now for $150 Canadian you can buy a package for your laptop that includes the GPS hardware and the associated detailed maps of North America!

(GPS uses radio signals from overhead satellites to determine your position and there is no fee for its usage. While handheld GPS devices have been available for some time, their cost has been about $500.)

This new Microsoft package is available at Costco for about $150 and is also available at software stores as well as from Microsoft directly although the cost is usually more. Now the person who hates to ask directions (typically a male) can get a really cool gadget that will overcome that problem!

Just place the 2 inch square GPS receiver on your dashboard and connect the cable to your laptop's USB port and it will tell you where you are and even track your trip on the map. Amazing to watch this thing work.

If you don't want the GPS device, you can just get the map portion for about $40.

The product gives you complete maps of anywhere in North America down to the building address level. So, for example, you can lookup a street address and it will show you exactly where it is on the street and even which side of the street it is on and if the street is one-way, etc. By zooming in and out you can easily visualize where the street is relative to major roads in the area. It also shows hotels, restaurants, and points of interest.

If you have a PDA that runs the Microsoft software then you can create a map of your city or the cities you will visit for your PDA.

The full product name is "Microsoft Streets and Maps". As of September 2004, version 5 is current.

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