                            Global Explorer
                           CD-ROM for Windows

                             by Tony Curro


    DeLorme, a company with a long history of producing top-quality
    computer and printed maps and atlases, and the publisher of Street
    Atlas USA, a top selling CD-ROM throughout the country, has released
    Global Explorer.

    Global Explorer requires 4MB RAM and 3MB hard disk space, MS Windows
    3.1, DOS 4.1 or higher, VGA, and a CD-ROM drive.

    Once started you are presented with a map. Click anywhere to zoom
    into a location, or use the option in the upper right of screen to
    search for a specific city or other location. You can zoom in and
    out through 15 levels of magnification. Most commands are mouse
    driven, or you can use F keys. As with any map, you have a map key
    option. Click on the icon or press F8 to see the legend for your
    current location.

    The map is sprinkled with various symbols, boxes, and other items
    most of which are landmarks or historical sites. Passing over these
    with the pointer will tell you what it is. Clicking on it will
    present you with historical information about the selected item. If
    you are presented with what looks like a big red box with a white
    cross in it (see picture), it means there are multiple things at
    this location. When you click on the box, information is placed in
    the lower right corner of the screen. From there you select the
    item(s) of interest and read about them. For example, clicking on a
    box in New York City, the list included: Chinatown, Financial
    District, Little Italy, etc., Highlight Chinatown, and clicking it,
    will give you the information about it.

    There is also a street search feature in Global Explorer. You can
    search for a street in all the major world cities. When you ask the
    program to locate a street, the map is centered with the street
    having a blue line to show its location.

    Many people wish to fly to various locations. Global Explorer should
    be considered a serious travel reference tool. Choosing the Air
    option you are presented with a starting point designated by you
    current location on the map. You can, however, choose another
    starting point. The same applies for you destination. The program
    shows you 2 different routes (some places only have one), and the
    travel miles in both miles and kilometers.

    For example I wanted to travel from Rome, Italy, to Newark, NJ.
    Route 1, which is a direct flight from Rome to Newark is 4298 miles
    or 6916 km. Route 2, which has a stopover in, Frankfurt, Germany, is
    4471 miles or 7193 km. Global Explorer contains travel information
    for the whole world. In addition, you can send this map, with the
    route, to the clipboard. Then print it out, or bring it into you
    word processor or other application. It saves the map to the
    clipboard in BMP format, and is in full color, with city and country
    names, as well as the flight route.

    Highlights of the program include:

    * Beautiful, seamless, full-color maps of the whole world.

    * Indexed references to more than 120,000 places.

    * Street maps of major world cities.

    * Detailed topographic maps of the entire planet.

    * Network of world air routes.

    * Country profiles with up-to-date economic, social, and cultural
    statistics.

    * Fascinating descriptions of 20,000 historical, cultural, and
    geographical features.

    All of this power and features should not deter you from buying this
    CD-ROM. Global Explorer is designed around an easy-to-use software
    engine. Nevertheless, while it is simple to use, it contains an
    unprecedented database of geographical information. The program is
    also excellent as an educational tool, or just for the fun of
    learning things about places you may not have known.


                          Product Information

                          Global Explorer v1.0
                           CD-ROM for Windows

                              SRP  $169.

                            DeLorme Mapping
                              P.O. Box 298
                              Main Street
                           Freeport, ME 04032
                              207-865-1234
                           207-865-9291 (FAX)
