Wednesday, February 02, 2005

I recently had an idea for a taxi calling service while standing in the cold at a bus stop hoping a cab would happen along and save me from a long wait. Here's how it would work: Taxis would have map displays with GPS systems, of the sort found in fancy personal vehicles. Someone needing a cab would make a phone call, or send an SMS message, or access a web site, and give their current location. A system at the service provider would then communicate with every nearby taxi, causing their map to display a red dot at the location indicating a waiting fare. Whichever taxi showed up first would get the fare. The central referral system would be run by an independent company, and any taxi company that wanted to could tie into the system. The company running the system could make money by charging a small fee to the callers, or to whichever taxi picked up the fare, or both. This would be feasible with current technology. The mapping and GPS system is fairly common now, and airport shuttle companies already have computerized systems that send pickup locations to displays on board their vehicles. It's just a matter of tying the two systems together. 9:50:02 PM    comment () # Vin Suprynowicz at The Las Vegas Review-Journal - But do we have enough freedom to export? - freedom begins at home. Great article from the man whose new novel I expect to receive any day now (some clairefiles folks have already gotten theirs). Actually, America was supposed to be the beacon of freedom of the world by example. If Mr. Bush or anyone else in Washington wants to advance the cause of freedom, they could start by ending the domestic "wars" on Americans' medical liberty (the war on drugs) and self-defense. Then they could follow Mr. Jefferson's advice not to "steal the bread from the mouth of labor" --- simultaneously restoring our financial liberty and privacy --- by repealing the income tax. The extent to which we have been trained to celebrate our bondage is demonstrated by the shrieks of terror (or instinct to ridicule) which even these modest suggestions now evoke among the self-anointed "freest people in the world." ... If Mr. Bush wants to set an example in the fight for freedom, when does he plan to disband all this nonsense at the airports, going back to allowing a free people to carry arms and defend themselves --- given that all this metal-detector nonsense did not do a thing to prevent the events of Sept. 11, 2001, in the first place? [End the War on Freedom] Name me one courthouse in America where an unarmed judge sits within arm's reach of his constituents, unafraid, as they sit waiting to speak with him on volatile matters, holding propped in their laps their well-maintained and presumably fully loaded Model 4 Enfield rifles. 2:27:05 PM    comment () New at Reason. When it comes to medical regulation, Kerry Howley says we could learn a lesson in liberty from... Myanmar? Yep, Myanmar.... [Hit and Run] The FDA is fielding a lot of criticism from pro-Plan B women, who say the organization is denying them the right to make basic health decisions. This is nothing new for the agency; it's something the FDA's decision-makers do every time they create costly barriers to medications. A doctor's advice is a wonderful resource, but it shouldn't be one Americans are compelled by law to seek. As long as the FDA offers a tiny minority of Americans control over what the rest of us put into our bodies, Myanmar will have something to teach us about human liberty. And that's scary. 11:48:44 AM    comment () Skype 1.0 for Mac and Linux. Skype for Mac and Linux are out of beta with the announcement of OS X Version 1.0 and Linux Version 1.0 We are glad to announce that Skype for Mac OS X 1.0 is now available for http://www.skype.com/products/skype/macosx . It marks an important milestone in development for us since the first Skype for Mac OS X public beta was released on August 31 last year. I would like to underline that "version 1.0" is not the end of the road for us. There is a lot to be done in both improving existing features and adding missing ones (for example group chat). Skype has announced a lot of new exciting features and services for 2005 - voicemail and SkypeIn, just to name a few - and these will obviously be supported in the Mac OS X version, alongside others. Skype Forum I think I prefer this view of the world. How can a phone company invest $16billion and not think about what Skype has set in motion so far. From CNet in relation to the announcement today. The number of new Skype users is increasing at rates not seen since the early days of instant messaging, and at no cost to Skype other than hosting a Web site to make the software available, and "making software tweaks," Skype CEO Niklas Zennstrom said in a recent interview. More than 140,000 new users register each day. It would cost phone companies still using traditional means untold billions in construction, marketing or merger costs to come close to matching Skype's growth rate. And they are running out of companies to buy. Recently, SBC said it plans to spend $16 billion to buy AT&T; while Sprint finds $31 billion to pay for Nextel Communications. Cingular Wireless vaulted to the top of the U.S. carrier heap last year when it bought AT&T Wireless. CNET News.com The claim is now 140000 new users per day, that up from 80000 the last time I saw the number. [Unbound Spiral] This is good news. I use the Windows version myself, but most of the people I know have Macs. 10:05:31 AM    comment () Last night I photographed a singer who used an iPod as a substitute drummer for a couple of songs. It was the first time I'd seen someone use an iPod in place of a live musician, but I suspect it won't be the last. 9:46:16 AM    comment ()

© Copyright 2006 Ken Hagler. Last update: 2/15/2006; 2:04:25 PM.