Archive for the ‘Gadgets’ Category
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Nothing's guaranteed yet, but if there's enough interest in the machine GM and Segway hope they can put a two-seat transportation device on the market one day. It's not the answer to all of our transportation issues, but it could help a lot of people.
Posted in Design, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Green, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, February 5th, 2009
By using the Microsoft-designed Sync system, Ford says, drivers can do more of the multi-tasking with voice controls, leaving their hands free to steer. Check out Ford's press release below for the full details.
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Parts, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, January 19th, 2009
An examination by a tech writer at the Washington Post makes it clear that the new technologies meant to stop people from being able to use cell phones in cars aren't as infallible as many people, but particularly the parents of teenagers, had hoped.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Saturday, January 17th, 2009
The days of having nothing but a few gauges that most people didn't understand are behind the instrument panel, which is historically known as the dashboard. Soon enough they will be considerably more adaptive and interactive than you could possibly imagine.
Posted in Advice, Children, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Marketing, Product News, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
The in-car Sync system was mostly about portable entertainment at first, but now Microsoft has upgraded it to include traffic news, directions, personalized news and more. So far, Sync has been extremely successful and looks like it might become a much bigger feature in vehicles from Ford and, in time, ...
Posted in Driving Matters, Gadgets, Marketing, Product News, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, January 8th, 2009
Detroit Free Press auto critic Mark Phelan says new sedans from Ford and Mercury have leapt to the top of the hybrid car sweepstakes.
Posted in Buying Tips, Design, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Gas Issues, Green, Marketing, Product News, Program For Change | No Comments »
Wednesday, January 7th, 2009
The OnStar system that GM offers on most of its cars is one of the greatest safety/security/convenience features in the world, and at long last Toyota is set to offer its own system. As the following press release makes clear, there'll be separate iterations for Toyota (Safety Connect) and Lexus ...
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Law Enforcement, Product News, Program For Change, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
There are also several interesting and useful new devices to put into your car at the giant Consumer Electronics Show, and this year's upcoming show is no exception. Entertainment is still a priority (TV in the car is getting easier), as is navigational aid, but there are also some attempts ...
Posted in Advice, Gadgets, Gas Issues, Parts, Product News, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
This column explores some of the issues involved in producing cars that take on some of the responsibilities that are currently restricted to the driver. Not everyone is in favor of technologies that help drivers cope with the problems and challenges that come up on a regular basis.
Posted in Accidents, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
This story is almost too good to be true, but it actually happened. If only it happened any time someone tried to steal someone else's stuff. Now that's a gadget we could get behind.
Posted in Cute stories, Gadgets, Law Enforcement, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Except for maybe having the sound on your iPod turned up too high, no one thing is responsible for the growth in hearing loss, but there are many ways to help lessen the problem.
Posted in Advice, Children, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Warnings | No Comments »
Monday, December 1st, 2008
We can't comment on how well these things work and how unlikely it is you'll need any or all of them, but if you're one of those folks who likes to go the extra step for personal protection, this device might make you feel more secure.
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Gadgets, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, November 14th, 2008
This isn't as self-indulgent a service as you might think, since it might be able to get you somewhere important (a roadside cafe with a clean restroom and a broad coffee selection) without you having to drive around looking for one, or pulling over to search the web the old-fashioned ...
Posted in Driving Matters, Gadgets, Product News, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Unbeknownst to most women, there's a vast army of people creating an endless array of aftermarket products for cars of all types. Every fall they gather in Las Vegas to display their new wares, and this year's show features a bunch of helpful stuff that would appeal to both sexes.
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Marketing, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Technology that wasn't even dreamed of a decade ago is starting to show up in modern cars, and instead of being restricted to upscale models it can often be found in low-priced cars as well.
Posted in Gadgets, Marketing, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, October 24th, 2008
For a while now various firms have been offering parents the chance to keep an eye on what their teens are doing in the family car, which is supposed to reduce the risk of crashes and deaths. But there's also been considerable generational angst, and that has caused other problems.
Posted in Accidents, Children, Gadgets, Insurance, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Sunday, October 19th, 2008
The Tire Pressure Monitoring System that your car might have is indeed helpful for keeping you safer and even getting better mileage, but it is NOT a crisis alert signal. This article gives you some idea of the situation, but read your owner's manual for exact details.
Posted in Gadgets, Gas Issues, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety, Warnings | No Comments »
Friday, October 17th, 2008
It was only about a decade ago that GM introduced built-in VCRs (remember them?) to its minivans to meet what they thought would be a tiny market segment. Well since the Oldsmobile Silhouette Premiere's debut the market for in-car entertainment has exploded and it's sometimes hard to keep up with ...
Posted in Children, Cute stories, Gadgets, Product News, Technology | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 15th, 2008
There are two safety risks associated with loose items in your car -- they can become a small but dangerous missile in the event of a crash or rollover, and the driver can become dangerously distracted while looking for something that's rolled away. So this organizational tutor has come up with five ...
Posted in Accidents, Children, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Product News, Safety | No Comments »
Monday, October 13th, 2008
In an effort to break away from the regular advertising arc for cars, Honda actually built something into a stretch of road north of Los Angeles that played a few notes of music every time a car drove over it. This amused some drivers but also annoyed many of the ...
Posted in Advertising, Cute stories, Gadgets, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
Hovercrafts actually make some sense if you have rough terrain or water to traverse, and one that lifts six feet off the ground might have additional uses. And it's less money than you might think. Imagine how the man in your life would love it, or some of the other ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Cute stories, Gadgets, Lists, Technology | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 10th, 2008
It's always nice to get a chance to expose a neologism as good as "podestrians", but more importantly it's also nice to have an opportunity to remind people that the noise a car makes is its first safety feature. So cutting yourself off from it by cranking the iPod to ...
Posted in Accidents, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Safety | No Comments »
Thursday, October 9th, 2008
If you have an iPod this will be good news, if you don't have an iPod it doesn't really matter in the everyday world of owning a car.
Posted in Buying Tips, Gadgets, Marketing, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Sure, you can get some surprisingly hypnotic video of your drive down the Pacific Coast Highway with a video camera inside the car (we've done it). But the race-freak man in your life will appreciate a camera that attaches to the outside of the car (or on his motorcycle helmet) ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Gadgets, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, September 21st, 2008
Texting is the hottest new example of the danger of distraction, particularly with regard to people doing it while driving. But the NY Times has taken a wider look to discover where else it might be risky, and annoying.
Posted in Accidents, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Law Enforcement, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Unless you have someone else to drive a minivan while you sit in the back at a built-in desk hooked up to the web and surrounded by printers and whatever else, there's really no such thing as being able to work on the road. But there are a couple of ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, September 1st, 2008
The ability to tell your car what song you want or what precise address you want to go rather than keying that information into a keypad should help with auto safety, a European study claims. The benefit of course is the reduction in the level of distraction for the driver. ...
Posted in Accidents, Gadgets, Safety, Technology | 1 Comment »
Monday, September 1st, 2008
You have to read it yourself to fully understand the drama that resulted when a woman tried to move a Toyota Prius (which she calls a "travesty of an automobile") for her friend in LA, but it's certainly worth the time.
Posted in Cute stories, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Green, Is There A Lesson Here?, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
With more places making it illegal to hold a phone while driving to cut down on the driver distraction that results in crahses, it's probably not a surprise that companies that make headsets have been busy coming up with new models. As a result, the quality of such devices has ...
Posted in Accidents, Buying Tips, Gadgets, Law Enforcement, Safety | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
A writer from England takes a long and entertaining look at the way technologies (including some you probably never heard of) make it hard to have an affair without leaving traces wherever you go.
Posted in Buying Tips, Cute stories, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Is There A Lesson Here?, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Monday, August 25th, 2008
If you're one of those people who spends her off-hours driving around looking for a new home to buy, there's now a service that will transmit the latest real estate developments in your neighborhood to your cell phone.
Posted in Driving Matters, Gadgets, Technology | No Comments »
Tuesday, August 19th, 2008
Before the gas prices went up, the people who bought compact cars generally wanted them for their low price and high fuel economy and nothing else. But with other buyers coming into the market, there's a push for higher levels of comfort and convenience in a small package.
Posted in Buying Tips, Driving Matters, Gadgets, Marketing, Save Money | No Comments »
Monday, August 18th, 2008
If you're one of those folks who carries as many as seven (??) portable devices, this clever little device you can buy online can do away with many of those electrical cords.
Posted in Buying Tips, Gadgets, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
Pretty soon you'll be able to have the same kind of infotainment access in your car as you do in your house, minus the big-screen TV of course. A web geek describes the near future of this in language most lay people can figure out, but just in case -- ...
Posted in Buying Tips, Gadgets, Program For Change, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, August 14th, 2008
To help avoid what it calls the "one-second naps" by drivers that can cause crashes, Mercedes-Benz has created a system that watches your driving technique and yells at you if it thinks you're going to nod off.
Posted in Gadgets, Safety, Technology | No Comments »
