Try again when you get the Wife’s new unit up and going. Seriously, a human as cartographically curious as you needs this tool.

Just my opinion.

I finally gave up. I haven’t got the time or the patience any more to waste either debugging my tools. When I was working I spent more time solving computer problems than I did using the computer to help me solve my problems. And I spent way too much time learning how to do stuff that used to be routine and simple before my systems were “upgraded”.

I don’t have to do that any more. In fact, if my wife wasn’t so much into the technology, I’d throw the damned computers away and save myself the hookup fees and the aggravation. I keep on getting the nagging feeling we work for the machines, not the other way round. It used to be a thrill keeping on top of the new shit and figuring it all out, but now its just a chore.

Or at least, I tell myself that.

Or Uninstall and start over again, but use Ccleaner, or something else to scrub your registry, the bug might be there. But caution, always set a restore point before altering, because it’s the registry.

It used to be a large part of the cartographer’s job was determining what needed to be put on a map, and what was best left out so as not to clutter the document and to keep things clear for the user, to guide his eye to what he needed to know while still providing him sufficient additional information for context. Much of that responsibility is now transferred to the map user, and it assumes he has the sophistication to exploit it. It takes the mapmaker further out of the loop, the map reader now accesses the geographical data directly and designs his own chart to fill his needs.

Meanwhile, my own Google Earth suddenly and inexplicably quit working.
I keep up with all my updates, and have even tried downloading the software anew from scratch, but it keeps on failing to work, giving me cryptic messages about “ActiveX Controls” (Yes, I downloaded that too.)
and how my graphics card is inadequate. Nothing else seems to be affected. I’ve given up, I’m retired, I don’t need Google Earth anymore anyway.

O, wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t!
W.S. — The Tempest

About 7 years ago I was getting ready to hike the length of Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail. I had larger scale maps, a good GPS, and still there wasn’t enough detail to be truly useful. Only the biggest bodies of water and only the larger changes in elevation were clear, and many little creeks could have been trails and vice versa.

And then I discovered in an obscure magazine that the entire trail was available CDs from the Forest Service maps. I bought those in a hot flash, printed out my path and marked appropriate spots. I got about 7 miles on each page, and packed them with my re-supply materials. What a sense of security it was.

The next year I was headed from the Oregon-California border south. I had done the same things for that trip. I was resting on my first day and a fellow came from the opposite direction and sat down with me. Turns out he was the fellow who had put those maps on CDs. Something he just decided to do one day, and had access to the Forest Service stuff. Unfortunately, he was a rather dour type, didn’t like hiking, didn’t know why he was on the trail and had no idea where he was going to find any mosquito repellent. (There was a lot of that at the border, where people had shed that of which they had too much.)

Enough reminiscences. A good map at the right time and place is a joy forever!