Should mobile phones be banned in cars?

                                     Should mobile phones be banned in cars?

    We all know that mobile phone that mobile phones are a distraction in cars. It is annoying and frightening to see people taking on their hand-held mobile phones while driving, especially, when their behavior creates a hazardous situation for everyone on the road. However, banning mobile phones use in cars is like stuffing a Genie into the bottle. There are certain obvious cases were mobile phone use truly should be banned, such as teenage drivers and bus drivers but there are a lot of people who depend on communicating while driving.

    Below we show the results of two recent studies:

AAA study

    This study showed the rank of distraction and gave the distraction level a score from 1.0 to 5.0. Here are the results:

No distractions	1.00
Radio on	1.21
Audio book	1.75
Hands-free mobile phone	2.27 (talking only, not looking at the mobile phone)
Talking to passenger	2.33 (passenger unaware of surroundings)
Hand-held mobile phone	2.45
Speech to text	3.06
Operational span task	5.00 (solving a math problem while trying to remember a fact)

Virginia Tech & NHTSA study

    This study found that the risk of an accident depended on the specific task associated with mobile phones. Here are the results:

Task	Risk  Range (with 95% confidence)
Hand held mobile phone use	1.20-2.49
Portable Hands-free mobile phone use	0.49-2.30
Integrated Hands-free mobile phone use	0.25-1.31
Visual and manual subtask	1.91-4.51

Putting things in perspective, accident risk depends on a number of other factors:

• ·         Speed              

Driving (MPH)	Risk
1	5%
10	1.62%
20	2.65%

• ·         Choice of roads

There is a huge variation in accident risk depending on the choice of road. The accident rate on a complex urban arterial road is about 10 times higher than a motorway.

• ·         Age

Drivers under 25 years old are at 3x risk of having an accident. Old age is not a big problem until the driver gets quite old around 70 years old.

• ·         Gender

Men get in more fatal accidents. Women get in slightly more fender benders.

• ·         Alcohol

In California State, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 is the legal limit but any amount of alcohol is dangerous. A legal drunk driver, about two drinks for most people, is about equal to teenage driver.

Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC)	Relative Risk
0.00	1.0
0.05	1.8
0.08	3.2
0.12	7.1
0.21	30.5

• ·         More factors

•              All drivers think they are better drivers than they                        really are.
•              Some drivers have mental deficits anger issues that                     make them far more dangerous than the rest of                           population.
•               Citations for moving violations predict how likely                     you will be to get in an accident.

These studies are ones of many that show that any form of talking puts a cognitive load on the brain and causes a degree of distraction. Also, anything that puts a load on the brain also tends to narrow our peripheral vision. That is, we literally see less when we are distracted. Without a doubt, handheld mobile phone use, any task involves touching the mobile phone, talking to passenger in the front seat and taking your eyes off the road will increase your risk of an accident.

These studies show that driver judgement is a big factor but even with typical drive judgement, visual and manual task will cause more accidents. Until we have self-driving cars, it is reasonable to ban the worst offenders: handheld mobile and texting.

Here is what we know:

                    Pros                    vs                       Cons

• ·         Talking with

Hands free mobile	Hand held mobile
Better for driving	Worst for driving
It is not illegal/It is not easy to enforce	It is easy to enforce/That should be banned
It is not risk-free, Risk Range : 0.25-2.30	Highest risk of accident, Risk Range : 1.20-2.49
It is not as safe as driving without distractions	It is totally unsafe

• ·         Texting

Speech to text is dangerous	Touching to text is dangerous
Worse that driving drunk	The worst of all
That should be banned (speech to text, score: 3.06 distraction level, where MIN is 1.0 & MAX is 5.0)	That should be banned (visual and manual subtask, Risk Range: 1.91-4.51)

• ·         Trying to find your mobile

No problem at all

Dangerous, but if the driver uses good judgement, then it is a limited hazardous

When you look at the risk and the carnage on the roads, it is questionable whether humans should be driving cars at all.

Talking on mobile is about the same cognitive load                    as talking to someone/passenger in the front seat.          Should talking to a passenger be banned? , yet                          nobody is suggesting banning passengers from                          talking to driver.

Listening to Audio-book is less cognitive load as a                    conversation or talking but the driver might be                          listening to the Audio-book close to 100% of the time.          Should Audio-books be banned from cars?

A teenage driver is about the same risk as a legally drunk         driver. Yet, a teenage driver has to actually drive in order         to learn how or know-how.          Should teenage driver and/or drunk driver be banned                from cars?

Contaminacion o desintoxicacion del Wi-Fi y Campos Electromagneticos

Amigos sin rostro, hoy quiero compartir la siguiente reflexion:

A continuacion te comento una reflexion que me parece bueno transmitirla a todos los amigos, me parece una buena labor lo del apagon tecnologico, aun voy mas alla, me refiero con la desintoxicacion de Wi-Fi y de los campos electromagneticos, estos no esta haciendo daño a algunas personas que sufren de hipersensibilidad a los campos electremagneticos, por ejemplo, sufre de dolores de reuma, envejecimiento de la piel de tu cuerpo a pasos agigantados, se te reseca la piel de la cara y de las manos que son los que estan mas cerca de estos dispositivos, afecta a la circulacion de la sangre, ya que la polariza, y por supuesto afecta a los latidos del corazon.

Por ejemplo en Suecia hay zonas donde estan libres de Wi-Fi, y por lo tanto te desintoxicas, pero la cantidad de dispositivos que comparten nuestro habitat del hogar, para hacer una vida mas ordenada, comunicativa, facil y rapida, nos esta sometiendo a campos magneticos invisibles que erosionan nuestra salud sin darnos cuenta, y la comision de salud de la comunidad europea en bruselas, emitio un alerta de esto, pero la modernidad, la tecnologia tiene mucho respaldo en todos los sentidos, incluso son millones de euros o dolares que estan invertidos y que se deben pagar a los bancos que dieron el dinero en prestamo para lograr este avance tecnologico que estamos viviendo tu y yo actualmente.

No se puede hacer nada, sino controlarlo uno mismo, cuantos menos dispositivos tengas en tu casa, es mejor, pero lo mas im portante es alejarlo del cuarto y de la mesita de noche, ya que los moviles, las tabletas, los computadores personales estan y van con nosotros a todas partes, incluso hasta la cama. Esto nos acerca mas y mas a los campos electromagneticos que mientras dormimos hacen daño a nuestra salud, en conjunto con el Wi-Fi que esta en todas partes en nuestra casa, sin que nosotros los estemos utilizando los dispositivos, es mejor alejarlos de la cama y de la mesita noche mientras dormimos, ponerlos a recargar sus baterias, pero lejos de la cama, por ejemplo, se pueden dejar en la sala de la casa. Tu suma los dispositivos que tienes en tu cuarto, el campo electromagnetico generado por la television, mas el movil, mas el portatil, muchos personas tienen mas de un movil, la radio, en fin siempre tenemos una gaveta llena de dispositivos electronicos que en su dia nos fueron utiles, pero ahora pasaron al olvido por que ya no son smartphone o ya no son tan modernos como los de hoy en dia.

Asi que cuidate la salud y aleja todos los dispositivos electronicos de tu cuerpo, mas aun cuando no los utilizas, como por ejemplo cuando duermes. No te olvides del cuarto de tus hijos, a veces ellos duermen o se quedan dormidos con la tableta y el movil mientras estan en la cama antes de quedarse dormidos, y esto lo hacen sin querer, pero estos dispositivos pegados a la piel de nosotros o de nuestros hijos todo el dia mas la noche, hace mucho mas daño, que si solo estan cerca de nostros durante el dia.

Alexander Rojas

23 August 2014 Last updated at 00:47

Evan Blass: King of the leakers

WATCH: The man who shares the industry's secrets

Continue reading the main story

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Can you keep a secret? The technology industry sure can't.

As new products are being prepared for launch, there is no shortage of leaked material spoiling the surprise.
Sometimes it comes from a production line in China, or maybe a warehouse worker who opens a box and takes a quick snap.
And sometimes an Apple executive will leave a new device in a bar.
Whoops.
Whatever the source, a good, accurate leaked image of new technology travels the world in moments.
And throughout the years, one man has emerged as the king of leakers. In a world of hoaxes, his leaks are the ones that made technology journalists and enthusiasts take notice.
He is Evan Blass - @evleaks - and he is calling it a day, retiring from the cut-throat leaking game. He's never done an on-camera interview - that is, until the BBC's technology programme Click went to visit him at home in Philadelphia.
For BBC News Online, we asked Evan to share what he felt were the most significant leaks he brought to the public's attention.

Nokia Lumia 820/920 - August 2012
Evan: "Little known fact: I leaked six to eight devices in July of 2012 before taking my Twitter account offline for nearly the entire month of August.
"When I returned to leaking at the end of August, these Nokia leaks really jump-started my career - putting the feed on the map, so to speak."

LG G2 - May 2013
"At the time, no-one was sure that this device would eventually become the G2, but due to the epic thinness of the side bezels, suspicions ran high.
"I've never seen a mystery device capture the interest of an audience the way that blue-screened, in-the-wild shot did, several months before launch."

HTC M8 Prime - May 2014
"As it turns out, the M8 Prime was seemingly killed in utero by HTC, even though it had promised to be HTC's best-ever handset.
"But what really appeals to me in this leak isn't the phone itself, but the quality of the 3D-rendered image.
"I still find myself staring at sometimes, completely hypnotised."

HTC First - April 2013
"Leaks are always more rewarding when the devices are heavily anticipated.
"Although not many people ended up buying the so-called Facebook phone, the fact that HTC designed it to the social media giant's specification ensured that the HTC First got more than its fair share of coverage and buzz."

Moto X - July 2013
"What interests me about this story is the fact that, despite its (accurately-) rumoured, non-flagship specs, the Moto X from Motorola saw even greater engagement than its quad-core, full-HD rivals of the same year.
"It takes a pretty special phone to generate that kind of anticipation with less-than-category-besting specifications."

Sony Xperia Z1s - October 2013
"This 'mini' version of the Xperia Z1 was a somewhat unique case in that its specs were not severely hamstrung like most of the 'mini' takes on flagship handsets.
"Sony discovered that there was actually quite a large niche of people who wanted the same power as full-size devices, but with more single-handed capabilities."

Asus Padfone 2 - October 2012
"For me, the Padfone 2 itself wasn't as special as the fact that I'd already leaked the original Padfone the previous year when employed at Pocketnow.
"And the next year, I was able to leak the Padfone mini, as well."

Logitech Powershell for iPhone - October 2013
"Before leaking this gamepad, I had no idea that accessories could draw as much or even more interest than many actual phones.
"As this tweet inched past 200 and then 300 retweets, I realised that certain phones are so popular that even their dedicated accessories can cause quite a stir."

Google Nexus 7 - July 2013
"Nexus devices have a huge following - which is particularly evident when you have the misfortune of revealing a planned demise for the product range.
"So naturally the follow-up to a popular Nexus tablet was going to see a lot of engagement.
"At the time, it was my most retweeted tweet ever, and even after a heavily-engaged retirement post, still remains among the most popular of all time."

Nokia X - December 2013
"No-one could believe that Microsoft-affiliated (and then -owned) Nokia would actually go to market with a Google Android handset.
"But there are some pundits who believe that the threat of the mobile maker fleeing Windows Phone for its arch rival in green was actually the main impetus behind Microsoft pushing so hard for the acquisition of Nokia earlier that year.
"It made for great theatre."

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Google’s New Modular Phone May Be the Last You’ll Need to Buy.

Google’s New Modular Phone May Be the Last You’ll Need to Buy

• By Mat Honan  
• 04.16.14  
• 6:30 am   

The Ara prototype. Photo: Norman Chan/Tested.com

At the Project Ara Developer’s Conference in Santa Clara, California, the moment of unveiling was a bit of a letdown. When project lead Paul Eremenko got ready for the big reveal — finally showing off Google’s vision for a modular phone with working, user-interchangeable components — he had to dampen expectations from the enthusiastic crowd. “You should temper your applause,” he warned, explaining that the device had been damaged the previous day. “We did crack the screen, and the phone doesn’t quite boot.” A disappointment, sure, but it did little to actually temper anything.
Project Ara is Google’s attempt to reinvent the cellphone as we know it. Instead of a slab of glass and metal that you have no ability to upgrade, save for buying a new device, it’s an attempt to launch a phone where all of the main components are interchangeable via modules that click in and out, attaching via electro-permanent magnets. Despite being highly customizable, it will only come in three main sizes, helping to eliminate the kind of device fragmentation that currently plagues Android. Google plans to roll out a “gray model,” a very basic device that costs as little as $50, as well as higher-end handsets that could go for as much as $500 and up. The former will be released first — around this time next year if all goes according to plan — and will likely be a smaller, Wi-Fi-only version. This bare-bones model will be followed by the higher-end ones eventually. But Google’s initial objective is to ramp up a hardware ecosystem that moves at the same pace as the software it runs.
It’s ambitious, to say the least.

Image: Courtesy of Google

There’s a certain prescience to the damaged prototype. It bears one of the most common injuries you’ll see on a smartphone: a cracked screen. In theory, this is just the kind of issue Ara will solve. But because it came directly from Germany, and because there is no way to replace the module here in the United States, it’s just another broken phone.
It also drives home another point: When Ara devices do hit the streets, they will only be as good as their support network. For the support to work, you’ve got to have a lot of modules, and a lot of access to those modules. Project Ara needs a network of retail stores where people can do things like pick up a new screen. It also needs enough developers making modules to sustain that kind of retail presence — and it needs it globally.
Google is working to make things easy for programmers and hardware manufacturers to work with the Ara standards, but for many items — anything that uses radio frequencies and thus requires FCC approval for example — it’s going to need buy-in from consumers too.

Google’s willingness to try something so ambitious in public is energizing, particularly in the era of the get-rich-quick smartphone app.

All of this makes for a heady and optimistic yet extremely uncertain future. Ara is a project from Google’s ATAP (advances technology and projects) group. ATAP is philosophically and structurally based on DARPA; it was one of the few things Google kept from Motorola when it sold the company to Lenovo.
And honestly Ara, at least as a concept, is fantastic. Who wouldn’t want the ability to some day print out new parts for their smartphone at home, expanding its life expectancy to six years and beyond? Google’s willingness to try something so ambitious in public is energizing, particularly in the era of the get-rich-quick smartphone app. Project Ara’s goals could transform the industry, give people greater control over their own devices, and free them from the annual cycles of obsolescence. It’s flexible platform suitable for everyone, everywhere, from every walk of life.
Or, it could be a catastrophic and very public failure. A huge embarrassment. This is what Google does best. Its willingness to take big risks and make big bets knowing they may not pan out is a remarkable attribute in a publicly traded company.
The Project Ara conference is an important first step for the initiative. It’s the first time Google is looping in developers and laying out the technical groundwork. There will be two more conferences this year, where presumably we’ll see more modules and hopefully working prototypes. Whether or not Google can pull this off remains to be seen. But it will be one of the most exciting stories to watch in technology during the next year.

Image: Courtesy of Google

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Using Electronics Before Bed May Hamper Sleep.

Health

 

Using Electronics Before Bed May Hamper Sleep

TVs, cell phones, computers appear to be affecting quality slumber time, survey says

HealthDay March 7, 2011 Leave a Comment SHARE

By Randy Dotinga
HealthDay Reporter
MONDAY, March 7 (HealthDay News) -- Sleep tight, but not right after looking at something bright.
That's the message of a new survey that suggests many Americans might be losing valuable shut-eye because they spend the hour before bedtime in front of the electronic glow of a television, cell phone or computer.
The survey doesn't prove that exposure to bright light before bed disrupts sleep. But some experts recommend an "electronic curfew" an hour before bedtime, when people should dim lamps and avoid checking their e-mail or watching late-night TV.
"Falling asleep isn't like flicking a switch. We don't put our heads on the pillow and fall off to sleep," said Allison G. Harvey, a sleep specialist and professor of psychology at the University of California at Berkeley. "We take time to wind down at night. If we've got bright light conditions, we're not giving ourselves a chance to get off to sleep and stay asleep."
The National Sleep Foundation's annual Sleep in America poll, whose results were released Monday, surveyed 1,508 people between the ages of 13 and 64.
Overall, the survey suggests that a majority of Americans aren't getting enough sleep: 63 percent said their needs aren't being met during the week.
Ninety-five percent of those surveyed said they'd used an electronic device -- such as a television, computer, video game or cell phone -- within the hour before bed at least a few nights a week. About two-thirds of people aged 30 to 64 frequently watch TV in the hour before bed, but only about half of younger people do. Not surprisingly, those under 30 are much more likely than older people to send or receive text messages on their cell phones in the hour before bed.
The problem is that light exposure before sleep can disrupt body rhythms and suppress the release of the hormone melatonin, which promotes sleep, Harvey explained.
But does it actually hurt sleep? Harvey said the survey doesn't prove that. Still, she suspects exposure to light is a problem. "No one's proven it yet, but it seems more than tempting to speculate fairly strongly," she noted.
Dr. Matt Travis Bianchi, a sleep specialist at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said the issue of light before sleep is complicated: not all kinds of light activate body cycles in the same way, and a little bit of light -- such as from a TV at a distance -- might still cause a problem.
Also, "we are very different in our sensitivity to light," he added. "I have on rare occasions had patients who were 'light-toxic,' in that if they got bright light late at night they couldn't sleep at all. Contrast that with patients I have who sleep with the light and TV on routinely, and don't have much problems that they can feel."
What can people try to do to sleep better?
Harvey recommends an electronic curfew. Also, "try to stick to a fairly regular wake time, get bright light in the morning and dim light at night, exercise regularly and have a bedtime routine of 30 to 60 minutes when you're letting yourself wind down," she suggested.
If you don't sleep well but can't bear to tear yourself away from the TV or computer before going to bed, Bianchi recommends trying a pair of "dampening glasses," which will filter out the most damaging light. You can try them, he said, and see if they make a difference.
He also said people should be aware that it may not be the light of a cell phone or computer that triggers sleep problems. It could be the anxiety produced when you, say, read an e-mail that makes you angry.
More information
For more about understanding sleep, try the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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