Chile vs. Haiti (infographic)

Click for larger version.

Across the Olympic finish line

It’s great now that video replays are common we can all share in snippets of the wonderful Olympics (never mind the fact that the only US licensed provider of live streaming and video from the Olympics is NBC). I’ve come across the following that I’ve saved for future enjoyment (click for larger versions):

Nikita Kriukov and Alexander Panzhinskiy (right), both from Russia, stretch to cross the finish line first in the men’s individual sprint classic cross-country final.

Spain’s Rocio Delgado slides across the finish line after crashing hard landing in the last stretch of the first-ever women’s ski cross event.

Apolo Anton Ohno (US) crosses the finish line behind Charles Hamelin of Canada after both second and third place skaters crash just before the finish line in the 500m short track speed-skate event. Ohno was eventually disqualified for causing the crash.

Germany’s Anna Friesinger-Postma slides across the finish line in the women’s semifinals of team pursuit speedskating. Her skates crossed the line 0.23 seconds ahead of the last American, giving the Germans the chance to advance and eventually win their gold medals.

France’s Cyril Miranda (with skis up) and Japan’s Yuichi Onda (on the ground) collapse after finishing the men’s team sprint semi-final event. This was the same event at which Belarus’s Leanid Karneyenka was disqualified after took a wrong final turn despite having lead much of the way.

Google rolls out new UI

… but only for a few? Click on image for a screenshot.

Comparing Navigon, TomTom and Sygic iPhone GPS apps

It’s hard not to get lost and wonder how you could live life without GPS. While many people now have standalone GPS units or embedded systems within their cars, it helps to have GPS on a unit like the iPhone in order to keep tabs on parked car locations or simply navigating by foot. (And besides, who likes asking for directions, right?) I thought I’d give it a whirl and test the Navigon Mobile Navigator 1.4, the TomTom 1.2 and Sygic 7.71 and see how they compare.

Quick overview

	TomTom	Navigon	Sygic
Latest version	1.2	1.4	8.0.1
Startup Time (sec)	6.644	22.121	9.256
Cost	$79.99 (USA + Canada)	$69.99 (North America)	$59.99 (North America)
Size	1.30 GB	1.46 GB	1.80 GB
Text-to-Speech	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multiple languages	Yes	Based on iPhone operating language	Yes
Portrait/Landscape Views	Both	Both	Both

Navigon has a pretty sophisticated lane viewing system that allows you to visualize different exits

Real life scenario: I tested directions to a local restaurant, and interestingly I got three different paths. Sygic recommended taking an exit closest to the destination, as did Google and Navigon, doubling back just a bit. TomTom suggested taking an earlier exit.

For the same driver profile (take all tolls, avoid HOV lanes) on a longer trip to Philadelphia, TomTom suggested a route that takes 4:43 minutes (305 miles). Navigon suggested a 4:59 minute trip covering 304 miles, so basically very little difference there. Sygic suggested one that covered 304 miles with a trip time of 4:13. One notable peeve is that Navigon doesn’t show you the details of the route it suggested through instructions or a demo.

TomTom suggested taking an earlier exit and using smaller roads to get to the destination. Sygic suggests a road that hits just one light (and a right turn) while both TomTom and Navigon suggest a route that hits one right and one left turn light, which can result in a slower ride.

Sygic used a fairly direct approach, the same path that Google Maps suggested.

Navigon went rather complicated.

Strong and weak points:

Navigon

Simple user interface, most clear and natural text-to-speech engine. Has ability to add traffic for a one-time fee.

Takes ages to load, doesn’t remember last address entered, can’t change speaker. Can’t view route instructions or a demo.

TomTom

Rich interface with tons of options and fast to load. Most number of voices to choose from.
Expensive.

Sygic

Fast to load, lots of options, cheapest of the three GPS units
Doesn’t take advantage of the iPhone’s gestures to zoom in and out (this is available in the latest update). Doesn’t remember last entered address.

Conclusion

So here’s the problem. Each of the apps provide something the others don’t, so none of them are the best. If only we could get the text-to-speech from Navigon, the price of the Sygic, and the features of the TomTom, we’d be set. I was impressed by Sygic more so than the Navigon, but if you’re a frequent highway commuter and likely to miss exits, I would recommend Navigon for an intuitive view. I like being able to see in advance what roads I take in order to check up on traffic conditions, so Navigon’s lack of instructions can be frustrating unless you buy their traffic add-on. If you’re like me and want to have a bit of fun with different voices, TomTom is the way to go. If you’re looking for a budget solution, Sygic is right up there with the big guys (apparently their latest version also includes information on police traps).

The bottom line is that each of these applications are bound to improve, but it’s exciting to note that at least there’s an app for everyone’s tastes.

The self-righteousness of women

Mujer a la deriva / Woman adrift, private collection.

The more I think about it, the more angry I get. Just recently, a columnist for The Atlantic, Lori Gottlieb, published a book called “Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr. Good Enough”. It was based on the columns she had written, which began with The XY Files (September 2005) in which she described how she felt the need to become part of Single Mothers by Choice by breaking up with her boyfriend and becoming pregnant by artificial insemination. It only took her about 2 and a half years to come to the realization that it would be better just to settle for a partner with marriage, as she described in her March 2008 article. She writes:

My advice is this: Settle! That’s right. Don’t worry about passion or intense connection. Don’t nix a guy based on his annoying habit of yelling “Bravo!” in movie theaters. Overlook his halitosis or abysmal sense of aesthetics. Because if you want to have the infrastructure in place to have a family, settling is the way to go.

In her recent interview (see video), she mentioned how women in their 30s often pass up the “8s” in search of the “10s” only to realize when they’re older that they can only get “5s” and therefore the “8s” were a “catch”.

Naturally, this feminist perspective is rife with one-sided observations that sadly betray a rather (American, if I may say so) problematic approach to relationships. Were a man to suggest that a woman were to have some fault or another and therefore should discontinue the relationship, he would be considered a prick. In the inverse, the woman is considered a survivor of sorts who has deftly avoided the likes of a unfaithful, ugly or otherwise misshapen man. There’s the Everest to climb to for women, and none for men. There’s also a hint, an insinuation in Lori’s words that men never need to “settle” because they fall for anything that has, well, you know what I mean. Granted, it’s probably not too far from the truth, but the idea of “settling”, regardless of gender, for the sake of procreation and sustenance is horrifying to say the least.

Men have annoying habits. So do women. Women are picky. So are men. Call me naive, but I believe that above and beyond it all, passion and intense connection needs to be at least an element in a relationship, not something we imagine only happens to movie stars as they lock lips with a camera revolving around them. I don’t want to be considered a “safety”, like some leftover and forgotten item that’s just useful to have a semblance of a family and children.

The scary thing is that I think this has a lot to do with the current philosophies surrounding relationships and marriage. All too often it’s a lopsided equation where because women can be independent they almost then have to be, and to not be is then categorically to be submissive and backward and wrong. Men are given no such expectations - leave them be and they should fend for themselves.

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