Glenn Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 I am considering purchasing the IWM Trench Map CD Rom and asking whether other forum users believe it to be a good purchase? Regards, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 I have this resource and , yes, I think it is good value. The clarity of the digitisation is good and it's pretty much unique and irreplaceable. Some computer operating systems seem to have problems loading it - perhaps something to do with the copy protection sytem used ? With all these expensive CD Roms , I would consider joining the Friends of the Imp. War Museum and then buy it at the IWM shop with the Friends discount applied. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 I agree with what Ian has to say. The problems (mainly on XP)have now been solved using a patch available from the N&MP website. I'm not sure,but I think the latest version of this CD is now available.This encorporates the patch already. One of the beauties of this CD that I have found is the ability to print enlargements/reductions of certain areas.These,I've printed onto acetate sheets and use as overlays on modern maps of differing scales. Dave. PS. I think the German map CD,soon available, would be a good buy also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Poilu Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 I too have the CD rom and consider it a superb product. Most 1-10 000 original maps are around £80 now so in value terms it is not too expensive. The ability to zoom in and print a very detailed section is very handy indeed for researching and field walking. I have Windows 98 SE and it works perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 IanW suggests joining the Friends of the IWM as a route to obtaining the Trench Map CD at a discount. I am a friend of the IWM and have taken advantage of the discount but have found recently that they may not have and may not be prepared to obtain items you want. A recent enquiry about the IWM/Naval & Military CD of Official History Maps (the non Western Front one) met with the response that they did not stock it and did not expect to for the forseeable future. I hope this will be rectified in due course but would caution anyone contemplating joining just for the discount to check that the items they want will be stocked. Regardless of this I would point out that membership is well worth while for other reasons - the regular magazine; the two-yearly IWM review and the free access to the sites (not Lambeth) which still charge (Duxford; Cabinet War Rooms and HMS Belfast plus the programme of events. I would add the usual disclaimer of having no association with the IWM other than as a satisfied member of the Friends and regular visitor. The trench CD rom is an excellent and well worth while resource. On a final note I would add that WFA members can also make use of the WFA trench map service which can provide useful monochrome copies of maps which are not on the CD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 I would also add that this, and all the other CD Roms produced by N&MP are excellent resources for the historian and researcher. They are to be congratulated on making them available. I know we have had this debate before, but personally I consider all these products to be more than worth the money, and far from expensive when you consider what you are getting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Carter Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 To see the quality of the trench map CD Rom, look in the "Soldier" topic of this forum and check out the section of map from the CD Rom that Chris put on for me. It is with the query regarding Pte Albert Wilson, Cuthbert Crater. This CD Rom is, in my opinion, value for money Cheers Terry Wow, when I posted this reply, I got commissioned....I am now a temporary gentleman!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 Is any British residing chap out there, who could explore at IWM/Naval & Military Press the possibility to get a rebate for a collective buy of multiple cd roms? I am very sure that many users and friends of this forum would indeed committ to buy the cd rom at reasonable rebate prize! Of course it takes certain effort to collect the money and later distribute the cd's to buyers. Any chance??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 Yes, I agree with Paul that these CD Roms are good value even at full price but I just love to get a discount - must be something to do with marrying a lady from Yorkshire ! I also agree that IWM Friends membership is good value in its own right. I find it strange that the IWM shop is reticent to stock CD ROMs that the IWM has had a hand in developing - or at the very least order any such CD ROM for a Friend. Perhaps the shop manager is concerned about his stock values. I once was horrified to see the Trench Map CD ROM on open display (i.e not locked in a cupboard) in the IWM shop. I presume someone thought them to be ordinary CD's and just put them out. I dread to think how many went walkabout ! Perhaps this explains why they now don't stock them ! Egbert, I think to get a discount you would need to guarantee to buy a significant number - no doubt Chris has time to spare to organise such a purchasing scheme (!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
egbert Posted 15 February , 2003 Share Posted 15 February , 2003 Ian, if we can decide democratically Chris to organize: I will definitely take one. But I fear Chris still doesn't know yet about his overwhelming election as chief organizer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kate Wills Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Tentative suggestion: Naval & Military gets much free publicity from the site. Why don't we all e-mail this thread to them so that they can see our product endorsements. In the subect heading box type 'QUID pro quo' (with the emphasis on the quid!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryn_Hammond Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 At the risk of producing a negative comment about something the IWM has been involved in, I think it's important to point out that the Trench Map CD 'does exactly what it says on the tin' (as they say in the advert). It is a CD of TRENCH maps. Not all 'trench maps' - by which most people mean 'maps used by the British Army in the First World War.' I've found it is less helpful for the battles of the Hundred Days in 1918 (even 8th August) and so I'd give it a '9'. (Oh, yes, I DID buy it and I DID get a discount...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annette Burgoyne Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Hi all I have been looking at this thread with interest, I have been thinking of buying the Trench Map CD Rom but the price had put me off but after reading the good comments on it I my break my piggy bank open and buy it. Bryn your signing at the bottom of your post, "They can say what they bloody well like ... but we're a ******* fine mob" its from The Middle Parts of Fortune is it not, the 7th K.S.L.I. were a fine mob but their casualty rate was high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Tentative suggestion: Naval & Military gets much free publicity from the site. Why don't we all e-mail this thread to them so that they can see our product endorsements. In the subect heading box type 'QUID pro quo' (with the emphasis on the quid!!) Hmmm... can we all remember N&MP are a business and not a charity; what sort of discount are you expecting? They might offer you a small reduction if you bought 50+ - but there are only just under 600 registered users of this forum; many already have the CD and I would venture they represent less than 1% of N&MP client base. I have had my own name used as an endorsement for the SWD CD Rom - they neither paid me nor gave me a discount. I did not expect or ask for one; personally I am grateful they invest much of their profit in producing more CD products and reprinting unit histories which have long since been unavailable to the majority. We all like a discount, but let's get real on this issue, please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Ditto all the positive comments made about the Trench Maps. Expensive but well worth it. For me it worked fine on Windows 98SE but I had a problem on Windows ME. However an e-mail to N&MP and they offered to send a free replacement upgrade which arrived within a few days. Excellent service. All the best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 I think the thing to keep in mind about discounts are that they generally come out of the retailer's margin so in the case of N&MP would not directly affect their revenues. Indeed , the ability of a buyer to obtain a discount may encourage them actually make a purchase that otherwise would simply not occur. It would probably be best for all forum members who want a copy of an expensive resource like the Trench Maps CD ROM to pool their purchasing power and make a discreet approach to a retailer with an offer to split the profit margin on a multiple purchase basis. Personally , I do not think this sort of approach takes the bread out of anyone's mouth. Most of us have only a limited amount to spend on our hobbies/interests and if I save a fiver there will always be another book,video etc coming along behind to soak up that cash very quickly. I find attempts at retail price maintenance by any method profoundly offensive - as has been recognised in law. My WW1 bookshelf would be a lot less better occupied if I had been forced to pay full retail prices for books in recent years. I am aware of the arguments about the demise of small businesses due to the freeing up of prices but IMHO they just dont wash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 I think it would make more sense to ask Chris if he is prepared to approach the publisher to see if they would give him trade discount (they supply trade with single copies) he could then sell them on to us the profit going to help support this excellant web site JOhn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Reed Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 I find attempts at retail price maintenance by any method profoundly offensive - as has been recognised in law. My WW1 bookshelf would be a lot less better occupied if I had been forced to pay full retail prices for books in recent years. I am aware of the arguments about the demise of small businesses due to the freeing up of prices but IMHO they just dont wash. Ian, we could argue about whether this CD is "expensive" or not (given the price of original trench maps) for ever, but I think you had better clarify what you mean by this statement; if you are accusing N&MP of this, then I suspect that contradicts the terms of our user agreement, and I would certainly like to see your evidence for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinWills Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Folks, Maintaining a retail price has its pros and cons. Some small retailers cannot afford to cut their margins in the way larger ones do and there is some benefit in being able to visit a local shop and "see before you buy" - certainly for books. I do not think the trade outlets that NM&P have would welcome NM&P directly undercutting them, whereas there are routes through which discounted NM&P CDs can be obtained - the discount available to Friends of the IWM (for their own use) in the museum shops being one. That is where I got my discounted trench map CD. I believe at least one WFA branch (not my own) negotiated a discount on a single bulk purchase on the Official History (Western Front) maps so these things are possible. I suspect that if Ian digs around he will find that the CDs can be obtained for less than the "normal" retail price but the difficulty in doing this probably reflects the fact that discounting tends to be the prerogative of large retailers with a large turnover and a bigger buying power. I see no reason to suggest that NM&P are artificially maintaining the retail price and I am sure this is not what Ian is suggesting. It is also worth noting that publishers/wholesalers also get caught out by outlets that go into liquidation. Their stock is often passed on to whoever takes on the business at minimal or no cost and these can easily be discounted below the normal trade price. For a small or private publisher this can mean a successful volume makes a loss due to bad debts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robwilliams Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 All, Don't know if this helps anyone, but I have the CD as well as some French CD maps. The French equivalent to the OS, is the IGN. If you got to their website, if I remember rightly www.ign.fr you can buy CD versions of their maps. I bought '62 Est', which covers most of the Somme. The scale is virtually the same as most British trench maps. The two together make an invaluable resource in fixing actions. The site is in French, but is easy to negotiate and, thanks to credit cards, ordering could not be easier. Mine arrived in just a few days. Far, far cheaper to buy the CD than the individual maps, so excellent value. Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Hesketh Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Couple of points made with sincerity: 1. Let's not argue about discounts 2. Let's not (please) ask Chris to take on negotiating with publishers on our behalf - he does plenty as it is and would probably like to see his family once in a while 3. How much discount is anyone expecting? A couple of quid here and there is not much and it's all you're likely to get 4. N&MP are hardly a multinational corporation - I've no idea of their profits but I suspect they are not awesome. They produce some tremendous resources for us - just think how influential SDGW has been - and continue to reprint stuff that has a very limited market. Support our specialist publishers and booksellers (Ray Westlake et al) and we will all benefit. All the best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CROONAERT Posted 16 February , 2003 Share Posted 16 February , 2003 Well said Andrew! As well as the CDs, I think the N&MP do an excellent job at making impossible to find/extremely expensive resources available to us at affordable prices.Their "special offers" are also second to none. The CDs are expensive,but they are invaluable archives which we can now peruse at our leisure. OK, the trench map CD is not a complete catalogue of all trench maps,but you won't find them all in one place anywhere else either. I'm very happy with my copy. It's like anything else - if you're not happy with the price,then don't buy it. Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John W Posted 17 February , 2003 Share Posted 17 February , 2003 Ok after a quick email correspondance with N&MP I have agreed TRade terms with them, for my buisness. If there are enough people wanting the CDs I can get them at a discount which I will pass on some to the buyer and some to Chris to help pay for this site. Not sure of the mechanics yet or the actual prices ( I havn't looked yet) the requirement is to purchase 3 copies of any CD so the ball is in your court now. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now