[ot] Alternatives to AutoRoute?

["Stephen" <yahoo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

What software do you recommend for route planning. A month or so ago I
looked at MS AutoRoute which people say is the best, but I was told:
1. Autoroute 2004 does not have up-to-date maps (e.g. no M6 toll opened
in 2003) and
2. Autoroute 2005 will be out very shortly.

Well AR 2005 is out now and reading the reviews, they say that AR 2005
does not have up-to-date maps (e.g. no M6 toll still!) and that there
is not much difference between the 04 and 05 versions.

So, what can you recommend?

BTW, I have got TomTom but I find it takes me silly ways. The problem
is that since I use it on-the-fly, I don't know where it is taking me
until it's too late. I really ought to check its route before hand. I
thought a pc based solution would give me a second opinion on the
route, and allow me to print out and check the route the night before,
using a bigger screen than that of an ipaq!

I understand that AR and others can be installed on a laptop and used
with a gps, like TomTom. I think there are one or two that even give
voice directions... but if I knew which those were, I wouldn't be
asking ;)