Thursday, December 28, 2006

It's not Sue-Sue

The Partner gave me a Tom-Tom GPS navigation system for Christmas. This is a great gift for me because it resolves my "always getting lost" problem and also tickles the geek in me.

When setting it up and selecting options, I decide I want it to have an Australian accent because that is the hottest accent on the planet.

The Tom-Tom came equipped with maps and satellite imagery for the "US and Canada", and "Guam". I had to think about this for a bit. I could understand if it came with "and Mexico", but Guam? To confirm my understanding that Guam is an island in the Pacific (and not reachable via ferry from Cape Cod), I consult with Google Earth (which rocks). I confirm my understanding of Guam and I decide to uninstall the maps for Guam, as I will rarely be driving there. I mean, even if I fly there, take the Tom-Tom and rent a car, it is a pretty small island. I also do not really see myself going there.

Anyway, enough of Guam. My Australian navigation assistant (Ken) has a real attitude. If I opt to go out of the predetermined path he selects, he gets all in my face - "what are you doing, mate - turn around! you're going the wrong way!" This was amusing the first few times. Now I am annoyed. I am wondering if the British accent voice is the same way (Todd). I expect such behavior of the American accent voice (Rich).

So far I have only used it to find an LL Bean outlet store near me and it worked perfectly. Other than that I have just been playing around with it and getting it mad at me or watching me on the map moving around Boston (it has a pretty cool 3D display).

Remember, it's not Sue-Sue, its Tom-Tom.

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