Street Atlas: Stay in the Fast Lane

Americans' love of the automobile and the freedom of independent travel is not unconditional: It requires roads, highways, and byways--and lots of them. To keep the flame alive, orange-vested crews work virtually around the clock laying asphalt that will take us in new directions--faster. How can you keep up with the progress? There's no way the printed maps you get at gas stations can stay current with the miles of new roads being put in place each day in the United States.

But version 6.0 of DeLorme's Street Atlas USA ($55) does a pretty good job of keeping up with all these changes. This incarnation of the long-running mapping tool covers 600,000 new streets in cities and towns across America. What's more, DeLorme's Web site lets you download even more current information on the nation's highways and byways, including news of road construction and weather conditions.

The software lets you print out full-color minimaps--complete with driving directions--to take with you on the road. Or you can download a single route map with directions to a Windows CE or 3Com Palm Computing handheld by using the Solus Basic application included with Street Atlas. By upgrading to Solus Pro ($40, available for purchase at the DeLorme Web site), you can download multiple maps and routing directions.

If you want to go all the way, you can connect your handheld or notebook PC to DeLorme's Earthmate GPS Receiver or a similar position-tracking device. The Earthmate will guide you along your chosen route and give you visual or auditory clues for upcoming turns, depending on your hardware. (You can purchase the Earthmate in a bundle with Street Atlas USA and a power adapter for $200.)

Street Atlas 6.0 also has added exit alerts to help you find gas stations, restaurants, medical facilities, and other exit services. The software comes with a large database of exit information, so you can plan your route confident of never running out of gas or fast food.