Near city no-longer works

[stochastic]

When I first got the tomtom 920T I could put in a close by city and the tomtom would correct it once I entered the address.

In many parts of the US this in incredibly important. People tell you their business is in San Jose, but they really, technically, live in Santa Clara.

Everyone is grousing about the VR no-longer working, but this is a much bigger issue!

Not to mention that the HOME software basically no-longer works on a Mac.

-I did finally get both sets of maps updated however. It's easy, just don't use the US support. The EU support teams are the opposite of the US. They are kind, friendly, responsive, and most importantly KNOWLEDGEABLE!

All in all, the major problem here is simple. LINUX. I am in software and if there is one thing that is for sure, you get what you pay for. Garmin et. al. developed world class software to run their devices. TomTom took what they could get for free, followed a broken paradigm, and ended up with a mashed up set of crap software.

Bugs and frustration may be common place in Open Source communities, but when the device is important for your business, and the bottom line is dependent on the software working properly, you go with something you can trust.

TomTom's software update is the most resent in a long list of open source failures. Open Source is software you get from programmers who are not professional enough to get paid for what they deliver.

 

[infama]

When I first got the tomtom 920T I could put in a close by city and the tomtom would correct it once I entered the address.

In many parts of the US this in incredibly important. People tell you their business is in San Jose, but they really, technically, live in Santa Clara.

Everyone is grousing about the VR no-longer working, but this is a much bigger issue!

Not to mention that the HOME software basically no-longer works on a Mac.

-I did finally get both sets of maps updated however. It's easy, just don't use the US support. The EU support teams are the opposite of the US. They are kind, friendly, responsive, and most importantly KNOWLEDGEABLE!

All in all, the major problem here is simple. LINUX. I am in software and if there is one thing that is for sure, you get what you pay for. Garmin et. al. developed world class software to run their devices. TomTom took what they could get for free, followed a broken paradigm, and ended up with a mashed up set of crap software.

Bugs and frustration may be common place in Open Source communities, but when the device is important for your business, and the bottom line is dependent on the software working properly, you go with something you can trust.

TomTom's software update is the most resent in a long list of open source failures. Open Source is software you get from programmers who are not professional enough to get paid for what they deliver.

How is Linux worse than Windows CE and Mobile, which Garmin is based on?

In any case, TT uses a MODIFIED version of Linux and is way more stable than Windows CE based machines like Navigon and Mio.

As for the near city locator, I guess you upgraded maps from 710 to 715? If so and that is wher the problem lies, then simply buy and SD card and reinstall 710 for the US from backup. That way, you can switch maps if you have such a problem locating an addy. I have 3 versions of Europe and 2 North America on my unit with a 16gb SD card.

 

[dhn]

When I first got the tomtom 920T I could put in a close by city and the tomtom would correct it once I entered the address.

In many parts of the US this in incredibly important. People tell you their business is in San Jose, but they really, technically, live in Santa Clara.

Everyone is grousing about the VR no-longer working, but this is a much bigger issue!

Not to mention that the HOME software basically no-longer works on a Mac.

-I did finally get both sets of maps updated however. It's easy, just don't use the US support. The EU support teams are the opposite of the US. They are kind, friendly, responsive, and most importantly KNOWLEDGEABLE!

All in all, the major problem here is simple. LINUX. I am in software and if there is one thing that is for sure, you get what you pay for. Garmin et. al. developed world class software to run their devices. TomTom took what they could get for free, followed a broken paradigm, and ended up with a mashed up set of crap software.

Bugs and frustration may be common place in Open Source communities, but when the device is important for your business, and the bottom line is dependent on the software working properly, you go with something you can trust.

TomTom's software update is the most resent in a long list of open source failures. Open Source is software you get from programmers who are not professional enough to get paid for what they deliver.

This may be a case of the grass is greener on the other side of the fence with regards to your comment about how TT Support is so good in EU compared to NA. If you go to the British TomTom forum, almost to a person, they refer to TT Support in a totally negative tone whereas most users here have a positive experience with NA support. That is NOT to say that their aren't customer support people here who don't know what they are talking about or that there aren't CS people in Europe who DO know what they're talking about.

Further, if you go to some GPS boards that cover more than just TomTom, you will find many complaints about the Garmin brand which you seem to think so highly about.

I agree that much of TT's software is poorly written and not tested properly (I test software for a living) prior to release. But tell me what product that truly is without bugs these days? Perhaps, a sad commentary but there it is.

 

[danzeb]

Linux has some benefits

The TT user experience is based on the written applications not the operating system.

I've had no prior experience with Linux and have no opinion on whether it is good or bad. I do know that there are programmers that don't mind working with it and as a result I now watch full length movies, watch slide shows, create routes with Tyre and play games with my $149 TT One, all with free software. I don't know if I would have that ability if the TT was not using LINUX.

Also I have never had a problem with downloading or backing up using TT Home. I'm sure there are some bugs in my TT software but I haven't noticed any yet. I've used other operating systems such as MS DOS and Windows and have experienced bugs with their operating systems and application programs for 20 years so most if not all software has its problems.

 

[stochastic]

Hi i just read your post and was wondering how you were able to contact EU support? I'm also having problems getting TT to give me the 7.15 EU maps. They said i'm only allowed the NA update. I'm also located in San Jose. Thanks.

Go to their website and change your country to UK (or whichever country you frequent, in my case Ireland)

Call the numbers that come up for support during their hours of operation. You can use skype or another internet phone to lessen the cost.

They reps on the other side of the Atlantic are very helpful. They are kind and knowledgeable. I don't even bother with the US number as they have never helped me resolve any issue, and they are nasty people to converse with.

I told them the truth, I need the unit for business on both continents. They took care of it right away. (required a manager's approval)

TT seems to have an attitude that EU residents will have a legitimate need for US maps, but not the other way around. That and TT US seems to be woefully mismanaged.

There are 2 possible reasons that TT may not want to give both sets of maps as the promised.

(1) US users may be tempted to sell the EU maps, and vice-versa. If you ask me, that is a problem (once again) with the TT & open source software. And it is their own doing. They made an agreement at time of sell, and they should keep it!

(2) Both maps will not fit on one device without at least a 2GB SD card. Maps work fine from the card though with no noticeable speed difference.

Oh, and the latest update works fine with the new maps. Including the near city search (it now even shows you that it is doing that, cool). The only issue is you have to speak numbers very quickly, or as quantities rather than a string of digits. (Ala UK English). But hay, while you are at it, why not switch to metric and become a world citizen?

As far as OSS goes, it isn't about 1 >operating system< over another, it is about people getting paid for their profession. (I admit I prefer Linux to Windows ...but Mac to Linux)

Free Software (often open source) puts people out of work, and it is often inferior to business products because no one is accountable for it. THe company that releases it doesn't have to support it, so they can put out whatever crap they want.

And before you go off on how much this or that software from this or that company is just as bad, realize that most OSS is written by some of those same companies, and released to undercut other companies. In turn the programmers employed have to release way too much, way too early to compete with free crap.

OSS is bad for competition, it's bad for capitalism, and it's bad for the economy!