Taxis don't care that you're texting

Now, whether it’s on the streets of New York City or down the aisle of a local Walmart, its commonplace to see someone paying more attention to the tiny screen of their phone than to to the sights and sounds around them.

There has been, finally, a lot of forward progress in the world of augmented reality, and more importantly, the futuristic hardware that will drive it. Up to this point, virtual reality has required goofy looking eye-gear to perform its duties. Usually the viewer would be given an image made from small LCD screens that would “project” an image of 45-90 inches in front of them. Nothing behind these images were visible and because of the close actual proximity of the screens a eyestrain-induced headache was sure to follow.

Few people would be caught dead wearing such a contraption. In a society where bluetooth headsets have a certain amount of douchiness associated with them (at least according to The Daily Show), a Geordi LaForge piece of eyewear would be sure to cause one’s chase from town from an angry torch-wielding mob. The thing about those bluetooth headsets though is that there weren’t really necessary. In fact, they were often more trouble than convenience. The batteries on them had to be charged, they had to be readily accessible (or permanently attached to your ear), and you had to have already figured out how to pair it with your phone – usually not an obvious task. It’s was just easier to hold the phone up to your head when the phone rang, phone radiation be damned.

Google Project Glass headset

Bluetooth headsets will have its place though, but not exactly as we know them now. In the movie Minority Report, two of the main characters use cell phones that are not much more than earbuds. If I’m not mistaken the props used in that movie were actually Bang & Olufsen earphones that had the cords cut off. The technology to implement phone like this is right around the corner. Hardware has become smaller, and the idea of real voice recognition technology has become more mainstream thanks to Apple’s Siri technology. Who wants to bet that Apple has a screenless cell phone using Siri technology sitting in its prototype lab right now? It depends on the task, but a visual interface isn’t always the most efficient way to go.

But back to the screens. When you look down at the screen of your smartphone, are you truly aware of anything else around you? Do an experiment: pick a pedestrian-heavy street or a shopping mall on a Saturday afternoon. Walk towards your destination while sending a long text message to a friend. When you send the message, stop for a second and see if you can remember what you passed while you were doing that. Did you almost walk into anybody? Did you see that two-for-one sale at that store along the way? Probably not.

The distraction of cell phones, especially smart phones is well documented, especially in driving situations. Driving a car requires a lot of multi-tasking even though its second nature to most people. When you look away from the road though, a lot of those multiple tasks fall by the wayside. Why? In order to interact with something you need to pay attention to it.

A fighter jet HUD

Fighter jet pilots have this problem as well. It’s information overload. We drive a car and have to worry about our speed and whether the light up ahead is red or green. A fighter pilot has an insane number of decisions to make in a combat situation. It’s all important, but looking down at an altimeter in the heat of a mission could be the difference between life and death.

To counteract this information overload, fighter jets have HUDs (heads up displays) installed. They are basically small pieces of glass tilted at a 45 degree angle that will have primary information projected on such as speed, altitude, pitch and targeting information. The key factor in the HUD is the glass – the pilot can see this projected information while still seeing the terrain directly in front of them. Instead of having to look down to gather technical information, the pilot can process it concurrently with the environment around him.

Heads up technology has made its way into a few cars over recent years. Okay, so perhaps driving a car isn’t quite the same challenge as delivering a smart bomb through an open window, bit its no doubt safer to keep the driver’s eyes focused on the road. Along with the basic information that can be given to a driver, a HUD can also supply secondary information such as navigation, radio preferences or even additional safety features such as obstacle avoidance. Pretty neat.

Uber sexy!

What would happen if we applied the same idea to our smartphones? Set aside the geeky look of the gear for a second. If you could process secondary information about the world around you as you traverse through it, how much of an advantage could you potentially gain? In addition to navigational items and location-based information, your entire daily information stream could be presented without you having to take your complete focus off of your environment. Wow, imagine being able to see that cute puppy being walked by the even cuter girl down the street as you are reading the latest tweet from your friend. I mean really – if you saw both, which one would you want to pay attention to?

A few years from now we’re going to look back at these smartphones and realize how dumb they were. Certainly portable small devices with screens will always have a place, at least for the foreseeable future. As the technology to reduce the size of projected-screen devices continues to improve you’ll see more and more people using them as their primary device. Information is a huge part of our society, and those willing to embrace and utilize it will lead the way. Hey, they laughed at the concept of a television too. And a microwave. And a – oh, you get the point!

What’s also interesting is that Dart code runs in Javascript right now – so no plug-ins necessary if I understand it correctly.

I’ve been looking at a lot of different languages and how to apply them lately and i think my next big project is going to be done in Python. That said, I’d love to take a peek at Dart and see what it can do. I’d be hesitant to use it for anything large-scale right now (it has been out less than a day) but I’d love to see if there is a groundswell of curiosity around it in the next few weeks.

Take a look at Dart for yourself.

In a move that might stun those who believe that capitalism exists merely to ensure that the majority of workers end up unemployed, Albertsons, the very fine grocery chain, has reportedly decided that self-checkouts are just not so good for business. It is removing all the self-checkout lanes from its 217 stores.

The way The Seattle Times tells it, Albertsons felt that the machines took away from employee/customer interaction.

Please pause to consider the depth of that one while I offer you the thought that, even though companies might offer many reasons, one just might be that people don’t enjoy using the self-checkouts. In my own regular wanderings through Safeway, I see the self-checkout lanes routinely empty while the lanes manned by stressed human beings are full of customers.

In support of my entirely unscientific observation, my regular reading of Storefront Backtalk reveals to me that Kroger’s, another fine chain, is also experimenting with removing self-checkout lanes from one of their Texas stores.

The simple truth is surely that self-checkout machines are a lot harder to operate than an iPhone and a lot less fun. Which doesn’t mean that technology and retail are enduring a permanent falling out. The Seattle Times reports that Home Depot is trying out 30,000 First Phones, which allow its staff to check customers out anywhere in the store. (That last sentence might have a double meaning, but it is entirely unintentional.)

In retail, the customer experience isn’t merely about speed. It’s about something that makes you feel good (or at least doesn’t make you feel bad) every time you do it.

Produced using a grant from State Farm, the GHSA report, titled Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What States Can Do [PDF] looks at the main external driver distractions. Not surprisingly, talking on cellphones, fiddling with gadgets and texting while driving are some of the most common driver distractions.

After reading the 50-page document, it’s clear that this study contains as many certainties as uncertainties. As GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha says in a statement, “Much of the research is incomplete or contradictory. Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it.”

Still, one certainty is that cellphone usage increases the risk of crashing and texting is likely more dangerous than using a cellphone.

What is the Solution?

Understanding that drivers who text or talk on the phone are more likely to get into car crashes than those who don’t, what can be done to decrease these distractions?

Unfortunately, the GHSA study is inconclusive on the effects of both texting bans and public service announcement campaigns for distracted driving.

From the report:

• Laws banning hand-held cellphone use reduced use by about half when they were first implemented. Hand-held cellphone use increased subsequently but the laws appear to have had some long-term effect.
• A high-visibility cellphone and texting law enforcement campaign reduced cellphone use immediately after the campaign. Longer term effects are not yet known.
• There is no evidence that cellphone or texting bans have reduced crashes.

Still, the GHSA encourages states to pass more bans of driving while texting and while talking on cellphones — hands-free or not.

via Reuters on Yahoo! News

Though playing video games is often called a child’s activity, a new study from the Entertainment Software Association has found that that perception couldn’t be further from the truth.

According to the organization, which represents the game industry, the average gamer today is 37 years old. Moreover, the average game buyer is 41 years old. Because of that, a greater number of parents are playing games with their children. The ESA said that 45 percent of parents play games with their kids "at least weekly."

Those statistics are quite important to the ESA and the industry as a whole. Over the last several years, the gaming business has been targeted by critics and lawmakers who say that mature-rated titles, like the Grand Theft Auto franchise, among many others, are too easy for children to buy.

However, in April, the Federal Trade Commission released the results of an "undercover shopper survey" that found just 13 percent of underage teenagers were able to buy mature-rated games that are designated as only suitable for those 17 and older. When children attempted to buy R-rated DVDs, on the other hand, 38 percent of them were successful.

To add to that and further make its case that the majority of kids are being kept away from violent or sexually explicit games, the ESA revealed today that parents are involved in the purchase or rental of games in 91 percent of cases. In addition, 90 percent of parents said that they are aware of the content in the games their children are playing.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board, which assigns ratings to video games based on their content, was also highly touted by parents. The ESA said that 86 percent of parents are aware of game ratings, and out of that group, 98 percent believe they are accurate.

Even so, that hasn’t stopped critics from taking aim at the industry and its ratings system. In September, James Steyer, the CEO and founder of Common Sense Media, an organization that touts legislating the gaming industry, pointed to his own firm’s study that found 72 percent of parents would support a law that bans the sale of "ultraviolent or sexually violent" video games.

"The results of this poll clearly show that not only do the effects of ultraviolent or sexually violent games weigh heavily on the minds of parents but also that parents feel that the video game industry isn’t doing nearly enough to protect kids from accessing the most ultraviolent games," Steyer said.

Regardless, the gaming industry continues to be big business. According to the ESA’s study, the industry generated $25.1 billion in revenue last year. Digital game revenue, including mobile apps and social games, hit $5.9 billion last year.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will announce later Tuesday that the prototype Enterprise shuttle has been awarded to the Intrepid, sources said.

The decision follows months of aggressive lobbying from Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Bolden, a four-time astronaut and retired Marine major general, will also announce where the retiring Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour shuttles will go on display Tuesday afternoon.

The Intrepid plans to house the shuttle in a glass enclosure – and hopes that the exhibit will bring in more than 1 million visitors. NASA estimates the cost of preparing and delivering the shuttles at $42 million each – cash the Intrepid hopes to raise through fund-raising efforts. The shuttles are slated to be delivered sometime next year.

The Enterprise shuttle was a test model that flew, but never orbited space. Built in 1976, the Enterprise was initially set to be named the Constitution. Star Trek fans inundated then-President Gerald Ford, pleading for a change to the Enterprise.
Ford, who served aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise supply ship during World War II, never mentioned the Trekkie effort in overriding NASA officials.

The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum on the Hudson’s Pier 86 was up against tough competition from 20 other cities and institutions, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

But "as the cultural and economic capital of our nation, New York City has the right stuff to best exhibit the shuttle," Gillibrand said.

via the NY Daily News

Adobe and Zend Technologies, the PHP distribution company, are announcing Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP software, a new integrated product aimed at helping PHP developers create rich Internet applications for mobile, Web and desktop leveraging the Flash Platform.

Zend, which has been working with Adobe since 2008, offers its own distribution of PHP, the popular open-source scripting language for Web applications, and sells software and support services around the language.

The Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP gives developers a single code base for applications for Android, Blackberry Tablet OS and iOS while sharing code from Web applications. Adobe Flash Builder 4.5 for PHP includes an integrated copy of Zend Studio 8, which allows developers to develop Flash based applications within a single environment. Specifically, the integrated software offers a single UI framework to create Flex and PHP projects for desktop and mobile and the ability to connect to PHP services and generate ActionScript value objects.

The combination of the two frameworks in one suite is powerful, says Zend CEO Andi Gutmans. Adobe says that more than 131 million smartphones are expected to have Flash Player installed by the end of the year. And PHP is the leading language for public facing web applications, says Gutmans.

This could be interesting… I still think Adobe sat on it’s dominance with Flash far too long and let other companies / technologies catch up.

VCA 2010 RACE RUN from changoman on Vimeo.

This video comes from a helmet cam of a rider the The Valparaiso Cerro Abajo Race held in Chile each year. I thought watching first person perspective of a rally race was heart pounding but this video might actually beat it!