Tweet-aholics are most likely applauding today’s announcement from Ford Motor Company at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Vegas. Ford plans to help people drive under the influence — the influence of Twitter, that is. Ford plans to put new technology in its cars to enable people to hear their Twitter feeds read aloud while they are driving. It’s expected that drivers also will be able to post tweets verbally in the next 12 to 18 months even though that capability wasn’t formally announced today.
MyFord, a new computer in the dashboard of new Ford vehicles, will make it all possible. The system features a voice-controlled interface with an 8-inch touchscreen display, USB ports, Wi-Fi capabilities, and support for smartphone applications like Pandora, Twitter, and Stitcher. In addition, drivers can use voice commands to control everything from their stereo to A/C to phone. When parked, you can use the touchscreen display to surf the web, but once you start driving, it is disabled for safety. Ford will roll out the new system in its new Edge and Focus models first, but the company expects the technology to be installed in 80% of its vehicles within five years.
Some safety groups are criticizing the new technology saying it’s too big of a distraction for drivers, but I disagree. How is listening to a Twitter feed any different than listening to a radio broadcast? Furthermore, it’s much safer than someone fumbling with a mobile device and taking their eyes off the road to read the screen while driving. With the rise in deadly accidents caused from texting while driving, I think the verbal prompts are a much safer alternative. Personally, I’m a big fan. Anything that doesn’t force a driver to take his eyes off the road is a positive in my book.
The only downside: becoming even more addicted to Twitter.
Want to increase your vocabulary and stay hip at the same time? Check out the newly named “word of the year” and the finalists recently announced by Oxford American Dictionary researchers. Oxford annually tracks how the English language is changing. They review newly birthed terms and ultimately select one word every year that “reflects the ethos of the year and its lasting potential as a word of cultural significance and use.” Word of the year finalists included:
Netbook: a small portable laptop
Hashtag: The symbol (#) used on Twitter posts to allow them to be found more easily by other users
Sexting: The act of sending sexually explicit texts or photos on a mobile phone
Paywall: Blocking parts of a Web site to all but paying customers
Intexicated: Being distracted while driving because of sending a text message.
Zombie bank: A financial institution still operating even though its liabilities are greater than its assets,
Birther: A conspiracy theorist who challenges President Obama’s U.S. birth certificate
…and the winner (for all of you Facebook and social media fans) is:
Unfriend: To remove someone as a ‘friend’ on a social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace
According to Christine Lindberg, a language researcher at Oxford, “Unfriend has both currency and potential longevity. In the online social networking context, its meaning is understood, so its adoption as a modern verb form makes this an interesting choice for Word of the Year.”
Now that you know the new word of the year, put it in use. Experts say that’s the best way to add a word to your vocabulary. Take each one of these words and use them in a sentence over the next few days, and you’ll be speaking the new lingo in no time!
It’s a sad day for Texas and the military. I’ll never understand why some people think it’s a good idea to walk into a building and start shooting at innocent people. Never. It makes no sense at all. This man has received way too much publicity already for his heinous act, so I’m not going to further promote his cowardice. However, I will say that my prayers go out to the friends and families of those involved. May God’s peace and comfort rain down on them during this time of grief and confusion.
On a lighter note, Improv Anywhere has staged another spontaneous musical. This time it happened during lunch at the Trump Tower atrium in New York City. Check it out.
The term “a weekend away” may take on a different meaning in the near future. For most people, it’s a quick drive or flight out of town, but for guests of the Galactic Suite Space Resort, it will be a quick trip off the planet. During this 3-night “get away,” guests will travel around the world every 80 minutes and watch the sun rise 15 times a day. Slated to open in 2012, the trip will cost a measly $4.4 million, which includes an 8-week training course on a tropical island.
According to Galactic Suite Ltd’s CEO, Xavier Claramunt, “It’s very normal to think that your children, possibly within 15 years, could spend a weekend in space.”
The future space resort will house four guests and two astronaut-pilots approximately 280 miles in orbit above the earth. Travelers will depart on a Russian rocket from a spaceport built on a Caribbean island.
More than 200 people have already expressed interest, and a whopping 43 have already reserved a spot. Those are impressive numbers considering the price tag!
Galactic Suite isn’t the only company hoping to cash in on the emerging space travel industry. Virgin Galactic, owned by Virgin Airlines’ Richard Branson, plans to propel tourists into suborbital space from New Mexico where the world’s first spaceport is being built for commercial customers and fee-paying passengers. Since there’s no overnight stay on Virgin Galactic’s trip, the price is less costly: $200,000 per ride.
The grand opening celebration for the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas’ Arts District has been in full swing all week and will culminate with an “open house” festival on Sunday, Oct. 18 from 11 am - 8 pm.
Free and open to the public, the day will include family-friendly activities, venue tours, and indoor and outdoor “spotlight” performances by the Center’s resident companies and national, regional and local talent spanning dance, music and theatre. It will also feature free admission to exhibitions at Arts District museums and other venues, giving access to special programming they created just for this occasion. The grand finale will be a fireworks show at 7:45 pm.
If you are in the area and have an interest in the arts, it’s a great opportunity to get a sampling of what’s to come at the new PAC…best of all, it’s entirely free. So join in the excitement and check it out on Sunday. For more info, visit: attpac.org/grandopening.
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