Topo ! (National Geographic software) compatibility ?

[Peakbagr]

Our Win 7 computer is getting on in age and loaded with TOPO ! New England states, CA, UT, AZ, CO state software.
Any information as to whether later versions of Windows will be compatible? Or with the new Win 10 ?

Thanks

 

[Jay H]

Worst case scenario is you can always try a Windows 7 Virtual Machine running in Windows 8.X

I'd google it though and see if you find instances of Topo in native Win8.1 or so...

Jay

 

[Chris K]

I'm running Topo! NY and NE on Windows 8.1. I had to uninstall it and reinstall it to go from Windows 8 to 8.1 (major upgrade) but otherwise it works fine.

 

[Peakbagr]

Jay and Chris - Thanks, if this gets put off a year or 18 months, would you got to Win 8.1 or wait to see if it works with the newly announced O.S.? Jay, does the Virtual Machine operate as if it's the earlier OS, sort of running Windows on a Mac?

 

[Remix]

Doesn't 8.1 have some compatibility features you can choose like Windows 7? (program compatibility wizard)

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Is Topo! even maintained any more? I thought it was abandoned a few years ago.

Tim

 

[Peakbagr]

Existing NG software still functions well. NG sold to All Trails about 18 months ago. https://alltrails.com/pro?ref=header-pro-ti&k=uff8ip7j

 

[Jay H]

Doesn't 8.1 have some compatibility features you can choose like Windows 7? (program compatibility wizard)

It's possible, I think windows 7 had an option in the preferences to run it in Windows XP Compatibility mode..

the VM is a worst case scenario cause it's like sort of booting up your machine (jn software) into a special VM simulating Windows 7.. then you'd have to install everything you need in that VM or make sure it is accessible by the default software.. I could look at it tonight if Win8.1 still has an option...

Chris K sounds like the VM isn't needed but it's Microsoft so YMMV...

Regarding Win10, if you machine is old enough to have Windows 7, I wouldn't even bother with Win10. Win10 is supposed to be MSs fix for Win8 and 8.1. it's supposed to integrate tablets, desktops, laptops etc into one OS. Since you have a desktop and a desktop only, the benefits is probably fairly minor. If you get a new desktop, then perhaps it might be more interesting.

Jay

 

[MichaelJ]

Note that if you do a new install you won't have any of the automatically-downloaded updated map tiles.

 

[Peakbagr]

Our Win 7 desktop is about 6 years old but both of it's HDs have been upgraded. Would never want to go to hassle of the upgrading the OS, just looking ahead a year or two. Also have a more modern laptop, also Win 7. Thanks for all the input.

 

[DougPaul]

the VM is a worst case scenario cause it's like sort of booting up your machine (jn software) into a special VM simulating Windows 7.. then you'd have to install everything you need in that VM or make sure it is accessible by the default software..

Since my host OS is Linux, I run TOPO! (and Garmin software) in emulators or virtual machines quite well. Since the underlying hardware is the same (i686) most of it runs directly on the hardware*. I use two kinds of emulators: an MS-windows environment emulator (Wine, http://www.winehq.com/) and a machine emulator (VirtualBox, http://www.virtualbox.org/).

* If you emulate a different kind of hardware from the host it is likely to be slow, but this doesn't generally seem to be a problem if you emulate the same hardware as the host hardware.

Wine is more convenient and most programs and features run perfectly well on it. (It is a work-in-progress--it currently covers most but not all of the features of a number of MS OSes.) VirtualBox emulates the hardware and requires one to load the OS (just like starting with bare hardware)--therefore it should emulate all OS features for its range of emulated hardware. It is a little less convenient to use than Wine, but it covers the features missing from Wine.

Both have several significant advantages over installing and running on the host:
1) Guest OSes can be different from the host OS so you can maintain older OSes even over an update of the host OS.
2) Wine environments and virtual machines can be transferred between host machines.
3) You can clone (copy) and delete virtual machines/environments at will so you can clone a machine/environment and install new software without risking damage to the original. If it doesn't work out, you can delete the new machine/environment.
4) Some people run risky software (eg web browsers, email, and other internet applications) in an emulator to protect the host from compromise. (One can make a clean version and run the application in a clone. If the clone is compromised, then it can be deleted and recopied from the clean version.)

IMO, an emulated machine may be a good long-term solution to the OP's problem.

Doug

 

[Peakbagr]

Now that Windows 10 is out I was hoping someone would know if Nat'l Geo TOPO! software will run on it. There is a lot of tech talent here and on this thread, but I'd much prefer to be able to run the software without the tech workarounds, only some of which I understand.
Nat'l Geo no longer supports the mapping software, but I have CD-installed maps for NY, NJ, NE and many of the US western mountain states. Even though my Win7 computer is coming on 6 years old, it's been upgraded along the way but starting to show its age. If I was certain I could run TOPO! on Windows 10 that might be the tipping point for a replacement.

 

[Jazzbo]

I have HP Pavilion desktop PC which I purchased 2008. My how time flies! It had one of those awful versions of Windows OS, but since upgraded many times. My son is pretty sharp with hardware issues and OS. We've replace motherboard, hard drives, power supplies over the years. It had Win 7, Win 8, and now Win 10 and Topo still runs on it. I'm pretty glad because I use Topo all the time. I'm about due for another mother board failure so I'm covered myself by purchasing an ASUS labtop with Win 8 on it. I hated the user interface and upgraded to Win 10 on that machine ASAP. I remember I had to do something creative to get Topo to run on that, but so long ago now I don't recall what it was. I think I got Topo to run on it, but couldn't find folders where Topo stored files right away. Topo automatically saves to a folder someplace in program files??? not readily accessible. Anyway it works fine on the laptop with Windows 10. So far Windows 10 looks like it will be nice to use. I hated the screen with all the big icons that Win 8 had.

 

[Remix]

I have HP Pavilion desktop PC which I purchased 2008. My how time flies! It had one of those awful versions of Windows OS, but since upgraded many times. My son is pretty sharp with hardware issues and OS. We've replace motherboard, hard drives, power supplies over the years. It had Win 7, Win 8, and now Win 10 and Topo still runs on it. I'm pretty glad because I use Topo all the time. I'm about due for another mother board failure so I'm covered myself by purchasing an ASUS labtop with Win 8 on it. I hated the user interface and upgraded to Win 10 on that machine ASAP. I remember I had to do something creative to get Topo to run on that, but so long ago now I don't recall what it was. I think I got Topo to run on it, but couldn't find folders where Topo stored files right away. Topo automatically saves to a folder someplace in program files??? not readily accessible. Anyway it works fine on the laptop with Windows 10. So far Windows 10 looks like it will be nice to use. I hated the screen with all the big icons that Win 8 had.

One alternative (if you are pressed for time) or cannot get it to work is to pickup a very old, very cheap working laptop or PC from Ebay. You probably dont want to go back further than XP service pack 3 if you want wireless.

I think the cost is justifiable since Topo was one of the only packages that lets you print maps. And you can add grid lines and legends to you liking.

If you have the first version that includes the Whites AND ADKs, and the addons for 3D, so much the better.

 

[Peakbagr]

It seems like Win10 will run TOPO program. A guy who runs a tech company loaded the program on his fast Win10 laptop and it works. I need to test fly it myself as he's not familiar with the program.
Looking ahead, I believe NG sold everything to AllTrails where you can pay the new company to use the equivalent but I don't know more about it. I wonder if AllTrails subscription allows you to do all the things you can do with TOPO on your home computer. Will likely hang onto the older computer as a backup, an alternative to picking up a used laptop.

 

[jniehof]

I believe NG sold everything to AllTrails where you can pay the new company to use the equivalent but I don't know more about it.

Be aware also (and perhaps this is a different thread) that NatGeo has sold all publications, including magazine, books, and maps, to Fox.

 

[Peakbagr]

Do you know if NG will still be running the paper mapping end of it for the new owner?

 

[jniehof]

Do you know if NG will still be running the paper mapping end of it for the new owner?

The work won't be done by the National Geographic Society; it will be by National Geographic Partners (the new joint partnership). Whether it will be the same people just under a different umbrella I don't know.

This hasn't been as covered as I would expect; the WaPro article seems the most comprehensive but according to this the 74-26 split is solely financial, with control being 50-50.

Personal speculation: I don't think you bring in a major media conglomerate as a partner to keep things the same; I'd expect greater emphasis on meeting the market and maintaining profitability. Whether that's good or bad depends on whether there's a truly robust market for quality printed hiking maps and mapping software of the sorts we'd like vs. something related but different.