I downloaded the trial version of APIC map and I like what I see.  I tried the different features in sim mode and I especially like the approach plates.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to connect a GPS with a reliable connection.  I have a Magellan Explorist 500 GPS with a USB connection.  When connected the Explorist shows up  under "modems" in the device manager instead of "ports" as suggested by the APIC GPS connection information.  The Explorist "modem" is mapped to COM4.  However, when I try to establish a connection on COM4 in APIC on my Fujitsu lifebook 1610 tablet PC, nothing happens.  I am running Windows XP on the 1610.  I verified the Explorist was sending NMEA data to the 1610 by using the Mapsend software that came with the Explorist.  I also tried the connect on my Dell laptop running Windows XP and I was able to establish a connection by the GPS data only updated every 1 to 3 minutes which would not be useful in flight.  I also tried connecting my Garmin GPSmap 396, but I only have a USB cable for the Garmin and the NMEA data requires a serial cable.  In addition, the lifebook 1610 has not serial port, so I would need another cable to convert serial to USB.  Rather than go out and spend $ on cables, etc. trying to get things to work, I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how to connect the Explorist to APIC.