Thirty states have banned texting while driving, but the bans are tough to enforce. So two companies, WebSafety Inc. in Texas and Manage Mobility in Georgia are partnering to provide software to government agencies and businesses" for disabling texting, email, and Web browsers on cellphones while cars are in motion, USATODAY reports. For people who want to impose a little self-discipline on … [Read more...] about Software that blocks texting while driving
geolocation
Video Barbie tight with fast-growing Foursquare
Foursquare, the service that allows people to text to the world when they've arrived at the corner donut shop (that's called a "checkin") just passed the 100 million checkin mark, Mashable reports. That's not registered users – more like 100 million Facebook updates – but it says something about the growth in geolocation apps' and games' popularity. "Foursquare has experienced massive growth in … [Read more...] about Video Barbie tight with fast-growing Foursquare
Digital social basics for parents (or grandparents)
Is anyone in your (extended) family needing a primer on (Web- and phone-based) social networking, maybe to understand what his great-granddaughter finds so compelling about "this Facebook thing?" If so, David Pogue at the New York Times gets really, really basic – in both a cute little video and brief written explanations on this page – of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, FourSquare, and Yelp. The … [Read more...] about Digital social basics for parents (or grandparents)
iPhone’s safety, privacy extras
Kudos to Apple for building extra layers of privacy and safety right into the iPhones of users who use apps that reveal their physical location. "Apple has long provided pop-ups that ask users to approve an app's use of location information before that app can get access," reports New York Times computer security blogger Riva Richmond, but there will be more in the iPhone's new operating system … [Read more...] about iPhone’s safety, privacy extras
Foursquare & other geolocation apps: For young adults, not kids
More and more, I'm seeing tweets about people becoming mayors of coffee shops in my Twitter stream. They're playing Foursquare on their phones, which pushes their "checkins" or location disclosures out to their Twitter followers. Foursquare is part cellphone social-mapping game, part Yelp (another way to find food, drink, or friends using your phone's geolocation technology). "A large number of … [Read more...] about Foursquare & other geolocation apps: For young adults, not kids