Fire-Wired Blog

This article was first published by  dmcityview.com Why is it so many cool technologies force you to break the law? Force might be a little much, but at the very least, cloud storage, social GPS, web-based DVR, web video platforms and many, many more new technologies put users in situations to make illegal choices, and so many of us do. Last year, one of the hottest applications on the market was the social navigation application Waze. Using a smartphone’s GPS technology, real-time user shared traffic updates and gamification, Waze practically demands users to become distracted drivers. Beyond giving turn-by-turn navigation, Waze users can share police sightings, traffic jams, accidents, road hazards, gas prices and detours all while behind the wheel. While these updates are extremely useful to commuters, users reporting them are most certainly not giving the road their undivided attention. Thankfully, breaking and bending the law via technology today doesn’t carry the punish...

This article was first published by dmcityview.com Road trips are a hard prospect for the tech addicted. With a digital world of friends and information only a few smartphone clicks away, it’s difficult to resist the temptations of distracted driving. Most of us have peaked at a text or checked a Facebook notification behind the wheel, but if you’re currently in the throes of a text-and-driving fixation, know that there is a way out. Just as smokers kick their habit with nicotine gum or e-cigarettes, the easiest way to keep your eyes on the road is to replace one distraction with another. My personal treatment is podcasts. Distracted driving is nothing new. When car stereos were first introduced in the 1930s, many decried drivers fiddling with their radio dials instead of keeping their hands at 10-and-two. Over the years, eight-tracks, cassette tapes, CDs and mp3s all augmented the way drivers enjoy audio on the road, but few have truly replaced the original AM/FM radio establishme...