The Original GPS Voice

Users of the early version of GPS were haunted by the word "recalculating," which instantly told us we screwed up and didn't follow directions properly. That voice belongs to Karen Jacobsen, an Australian singer and voiceover artist who became the voice of the Global Positioning System navigational application in 2002. The minute Jacobsen says that word in this video, the memories come flooding back. It's just a word, delivered oh-so neutrally, but over time it seemed to take on a judgmental tone, even though it wasn't my fault I didn't have time to get into the proper lane! Jacobsen had to say the word "approximately" 168 times, but drivers have heard "recalculating" exponentially more. Still, after all this time, it's nice to be able to put a face with that voice. (via Laughing Squid)