[NTLK] Map books

From: Edward Humes (ehumes_at_mac.com)
Date: Sat May 17 2003 - 08:49:23 PDT


I haven't really explored the newton books capabilities yet (beyond
dropping some plain text gutenberg.net files into paperback), so I'd
like to ask the opinion of list members knowledgeable in this area:
Has anyone constructed a useful/readable map book for personal use out
of something like the Thomas Brothers map books? Here in the Los
Angeles area, we live by these things, and the idea of having a backlit
scrollable map on my newton as an alternative to my dog-eared spiral
bound map book is an attractive one.

  For the uninitiated, the map book itself begins with a single map of
the LA Basin divided into a grid of numbered squares. Each square
corresponds to a separate page, and each page is a highly detailed
street map, also divided into squares; the pages are about 10 by 10
inches, if memory serves (I don't have it in front of me now -- it's in
my car). A key part of the map's usability is the street index, which
refers to page number and coordinates for every street in LA. A hundred
or so pages in all. There is a CD version, but I have never actually
used it.

My question: How daunting a task would it be to render this into a
Newton Book? Would the product be useful and readable on the Newton?
And which program would be best to accomplish the task if it is,
indeed, doable. (I would probably get the CD version to avoid having to
scan so many pages).

Disclaimer: This would just be for my personal use, and since I
purchased a copy of the map book itself, this would fall well within
the fair-use doctrine.

Thanks, all.
Ed Humes

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