Autoroute express (GB)

V5 For years, AutoRoute has been the ultimate way of planning a trip from A to B, and the newest version continues to add to the flexibility and power of this excellent package. As always, itÆs simply a matter of setting up your departure and arrival points and adding any stop-offs to produce a clear itinerary and a beautiful map. But now the AutoRoute CD has more personalisation and more information. The pushpin feature lets you identify a location by a sensible name, then use it as if it were part of the program. Instead of typing your home postcode every time, or finding it on the map, you can stick in a pushpin, label it Home and make life easy. ThereÆs a wealth of information about locations now in a fair travel guide, incorporating pictures and a few of the exciting 360 degree panoramas first seen in the new MSN online service. Occasionally thereÆs some odd gaps - IÆd have liked Les Routiers backed up by something broader like the Good Pub Guide, and the world-class ancient site at Avebury is omitted where many less significant get in, but itÆs a neat feature, especially as you can ask to see everything within a certain range of your destination. ThereÆs backup too from the web, with links to find more on a location. ItÆs the business.

Overall - The only way to navigate in the UK (unless youÆre in Northern Ireland, when youÆll need the Europe version). Priced around ú60 in the UK. Win95 CD. Distributed by Microsoft, web site: http://www.microsoft.com