Given my daily work commute, I am interested in using my iPhone’s built-in GPS capabilities to alert me to traffic jams, accidents, or other problems I might encounter driving to or from work. I’ve been trying out two iPhone apps in particular for this purpose: Google Maps and Waze.

Both apps are freely available, which is a requirement for me. Both make effective use of the iPhone interface and GPS. Both provide real-time traffic information and have good coverage in the areas of my commute. There are quite a few differences, however.

Waze is a relatively new service that is built upon the idea that the more people who participate and contribute information to the service, the better the information it distributes to everyone. In other words, it’s a crowdsourcing app in its purest form. Google claims its map application is also crowdsourced, but it is a different shade of crowdsourcing altogether, one that is far more passive than Waze’s approach. I like Waze’s approach better than Google’s, and I think it is more effective and informative to users.

Another difference is the way each app operates. My iPhone is the 16 Gb 3G model running the latest OS version. My settings are set to auto-dim after a certain period of time. This means that with Google Maps, in order to keep it visible I have to keep touching the screen every once in a while or else the screen will go blank. Not so with Waze, which nicely keeps the screen active throughout operation. Another plus for Waze.

Waze uses a completely different map source than Google Maps, at least for here in the U.S. It uses the United States Census Bureau TIGER map which, by its own admission, has many faults which Waze hopes will be gradually corrected using its crowdsourcing approach. In addition to its map source, I find Waze’s visual map representation to be very mediocre. For example, although you have choices between a 2d and 3d view, as well as day and night views, there is no option for satellite view or some hybrid view, like Google Maps offers. This is a huge negative, although in daily driving it isn’t a big deal. One small gripe I have about Waze’s implementation, though: Somehow it can sense when it’s nighttime and it will automatically switch to nighttime view. However, at the moment it doesn’t seem to be capable of auto-switching to daytime view when it’s light out. (Note: this bug has justed been fixed in the newest app version.)

I really like the popup notifications of traffic problems that Waze has in its interface. In contrast, Google Maps currently offers only a visual alert by means of the coloring shown on a particular road (e.g. if a road section is shown in red, that means there are traffic problems). In addition, Waze offers a might greater variety of feedback or detail about traffic.

At the moment, Google Maps’ data is far more accurate and reliable than Waze’s. The good thing about Waze, though, is that it will “learn” over time, and it also provides users with the ability to easily correct problems within the interface.

One outstanding feature that Waze has and Google Maps for the iPhone doesn’t have, is free — yes, free — turn-by-turn voice directions. The directions don’t include street names yet but I’ve found this to be a minor annoyance so far.

Things will get much more interesting when the new Google Maps Navigation functionality, currently available only on Android phones, is ported to the iPhone. But for now, Waze is the clear winner in this comparison, at least for me.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought again to the question, first posed in a blog post last year, of what I want to be when I grow up. I’m being more than a little facetious here, but what I mean is that I’ve been on a particular (although somewhat varied) career path for almost 18 years. I am at the stage now where I wonder about a new career altogether. I want to do something that I feel passionate about again.

If I had the chance to choose a different career, what would it be? The truth is, I still don’t really know. It’s also true that I don’t really have the chance to choose a different career at the moment. I’ve got a family to support and debts to pay. I don’t have the luxury of freedom of choice right now. I also am fortunate to even have a job at all in these challenging times.

Here are some ideas, some true blue-sky possibilities (don’t laugh when you read these, even though most of them are pretty laughable):

• Nature photographer (inspiration: Jim Brandenburg)
• Writer/novelist (inspiration: James Herriot)
• Teacher
• Gardener
• Social media or emerging technologies evangelist

As part of the package deal of a new career, I’d like to be able to work from home. I’d also like to live in the country in Wisconsin, or maybe Minnesota, and run a boutique farm of some sort.

Hmmmm…What else? Well, I’d like to have the opportunity to travel the world with my wife and children. Is that too much to ask?!

As noted in an earlier post, the team I am on was recently moved out of the library group and into the central IT group at my company. I thought it might be good to take stock of the positives and negatives of this move after about six weeks.

First, the positives:

• We are in a much newer building with better accommodations and amenities, including a cafeteria with better service and food.
• There is easier access to my cubicle with parking that is close to the building. It helps that at this location, I no longer have to park far away and then walk past BMWs, Porsches, Jaguars, Lexuses and other fancy cars belonging to senior managers who get reserved parking near the buildings where they work.
• I have a desk and cubicle arrangement that are much more to my liking. I no longer have to have my back to the cubicle opening and this means I no longer jump nervously whenever someone enters my cubicle.
• Meeting rooms have reservation information posted on the door, thereby alleviating any confrontations with others over who really has a particular room reserved, and for what time.
• This building is close to shops and restaurants, making it easier for me to pop out during lunch to do some quick shopping if I want to.
• Support from our department’s administrative assistant is great.
• Sometimes when I am working on a particular piece of enterprise software and need assistance with it, I can walk over and talk with the person who supports it and get an answer right away.
• I no longer have to cope with the weird, hyper-frenetic, hyper-sensitive aura that permeates the building where senior executives are located.
• There are so-called “informal collaboration areas” with comfy chairs that allow for impromptu or informal meetings with co-workers in a neutral space.
• My schedule has magically become much less jam-packed with meetings.

Now for the negatives:

• I really miss particular colleagues from the library. Lack of proximity and just being able to “shout over the cubicle walls” to them has been a huge downside.
• The inevitable “limbo” associated with a major organizational move can be quite demoralizing.
• It’s quieter in the new digs than in the library, believe it or not. And it kind of gets on my nerves.
• There is a palpable sense of isolation, of siloed teams in the new space, and a sense of being far removed from the user or customer. You really have to go out of your way to interact with others, and almost everyone around us is a stranger.
• It is often hard to exit the property by car onto the main north/south road because there isn’t a traffic light at the main exit point.
• Being part of the new organization means that we have had to complete a ton (30-40) of additional, required computer-based training modules.
• Meeting rooms are incredibly difficult to book because there is so much demand. And oddly enough, most of the meeting rooms in the new building are less well-equipped compared to our previous building.

Most of the negatives are short-term, at least I hope so.

Late yesterday afternoon I got home from an overnight stay in the hospital. I hate being in hospitals after having spent several days in one about five years ago.

Fortunately I am feeling a whole lot better than when I was admitted Thursday evening. However, I don’t really know what caused me to feel so unwell. I had a lot of pain pressure in my chest, dizzyness, lots of tiredness, and some nausea. They put me in the hospital for observation and to run a full gamut of heart tests, which all came back normal.

I’m glad there was no heart issue as far as the tests were concerned. I’m also very glad that I am back at home and feeling better. I’m not sure what is/was going on, healthwise, but oh well. I just need to stay healthy. This is the second health issue I’ve had in as many weeks. (Last week I had a major tooth infection that caused a lot of problems.)