Up next on your dashboard: The web

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Don't have enough going on in your car with the satellite radio, phone calls, texting, and the occasional feature film? If automakers have their way, soon you'll be able to pull up the internet right on your dash.Carmakers at CES 2010 showed off numerous systems that integrate a web browser with the car's dashboard electronics display, letting passengers hop online while they're mobile.

The worry, of course, is what happens when drivers get involved.

Observers and critics are offering mixed opinions on this trend. While there's certainly an argument that having Internet in the front seat of your car can make it convenient to pull up a map or find a nearby restaurant, critics are far more concerned that having the wild wild web in a place where drivers can reach it at any time can end in nothing but misery -- and by that I mean a whole lot of car crashes.

The so-called "infotainment systems" are destined to be used for more than just telling a lost driver how to find his way out of the Mission, but for shopping, Facebooking, and YouTube watching, all at 65 miles an hour.

Carmakers say they're sensitive to this issue of course, and allow their in-dash web browsers to operate only when the car is parked. But certain functions do operate while the vehicle's in motion, including, as the New York Times notes, restaurant reviews and music album covers. Audi lets drivers scribble a word on the screen with a fingertip; the system then looks up information and relevant directions automatically. One also wonders how long it will take for hackers to figure out a way to disable the "car must be in park" limitations.

In fairness, you can do virtually all of this stuff with your average smart phone, but having these functions as part of the car itself is potentially a much larger problem. With screens of up to 10 inches in size, the likelihood of seriously distracting the driver is huge -- and there's no telling who might be held liable for accidents caused by use of these devices.

Either way, you better get ready for it. As chipmaker Nvidia puts it, "Cars are going to become probably the most immersive consumer electronics device we have." And soon.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/null/159092/up...hboard-the-web/

[SuperDuper! 230]

And up until now, we thought talking on a cell phone while driving made for a distracted driver. Great, Now Gall can post on VJ while speeding down the interstate!

[natty bumppo 297]

And up until now, we thought talking on a cell phone while driving made for a distracted driver. Great, Now Gall can post on VJ while speeding down the interstate!

he lives in southern ca with all the traffic issues. lets just hope he didn't eat a bran muffin and drink 5 cups of coffee before getting on the freeway. otherwise he will be observed on the side of the road depositing natural (green) byproducts...

[SuperDuper! 230]

he lives in southern ca with all the traffic issues. lets just hope he didn't eat a bran muffin and drink 5 cups of coffee before getting on the freeway. otherwise he will be observed on the side of the road depositing natural (green) byproducts...

Such a pleasant thought during the dinner hour. Hopefully, they will include a GPS equipped pooper scooper to find his byproducts and dispose of them properly so they don't leech into the groundwater.

[natty bumppo 297]

Such a pleasant thought during the dinner hour. Hopefully, they will include a GPS equipped pooper scooper to find his byproducts and dispose of them properly so they don't leech into the groundwater.

sorry

they have rules in southern ca and signs warning people that a storm drain goes into the ocean. hopefully he will be near a cso drain ...

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

He wears Birkenstocks made from reprocessed granola, that way anything deposited on the side of the road can be quickly stomped on. thus adding to the soul of his shoes.

[SuperDuper! 230]

He wears Birkenstocks made from reprocessed granola, that way anything deposited on the side of the road can be quickly stomped on. thus adding to the soul of his shoes.

Hmmm, doesn't this also describe what that cool guy ={Rogue}= does? Afterall, great minds think alike!