Minor rant: Streets and Trips 2009

I picked up a copy of Streets and Trips 2009 on my last trip to the Microsoft Company Store yesterday. I know that Google Maps and Live Maps have pretty much eliminated the need for such software, but considering how much I rely on maps in my life, it can be critical to have maps at times when an internet connection is flaky. I was also thinking that with my new laptop it could be very useful on road trips where cell coverage is sparse.

I've been using Streets and Trips for about 8 years now. The last version I installed was circa 2005. It's sad to see that the new features that have been added to online mapping applications have missed S&T completely: no satellite view, no terrain view, no street view, no ability to modify a route by dragging on a section of it... in fact, the only thing that appears to have changed in the latest version is the UI: the color scheme is now black/grey and the button symbols have changed. And there's a navigation pane which I think is new, but still...

On the whole I'm disappointed. I know that we're moving more and more to constantly-connected machines. But you'd think that this standalone app would have integrated more features that are available in the online world. And in 4 years, I'd expect at least something new and exciting for a long-time user like myself.