You can use a variety of software to extract the information from the GPS - what you've seen mostly here is the garmin software. I use Garmin Roads and Recreation. It has detailed maps of streets throughout the the US and most waterway navigation marks. Obviously this is a big benefit if your gps can display mapping information because you can download it to the GPS unit. If you don't have a GPS with mapping capability, this software will still extract track history and place it on the map.

There are a lot of options out there once you have the communication cable. See this website for a list of a lot of various software options. I really like the ability to put the track over a Terraserver image (satellite picture).

http://www.iron-horse.us/mtb/gps_software_guide.shtml