The Possibilities for the Future are Limitless

It’s fascinating how we always seem to get to a point in life where a great invention is made and it’s a wonder how that’ll ever be topped. Yet, there are people with amazing ideas, who strive for perfecting and creating that next gadget that will have everyone oooh’ing and aaah’ing only to be replaced by the next successor.

Well...for now, meet the io-Jacket!

I’m sure that at some point you’ve been to a department store and have noticed a particular pair of jeans and even sweatshirts that have been designed to accommodate iPods and cell phones. Backpacks especially have been doing this for quite sometime, even having added compartments some years ago for the long forgotten CD players.

The io-Jacket, which is obviously not on the market yet, might someday be on many Christmas lists in the future.

It’s not your everyday jacket.

Londenfrey is the German company we have to thank for this wonderful invention/apparel.

The jacket has a Bluetooth and MP3 player as well as touch sensitive control pads on the sleeve to control these devices.

Sure, this all sounds pretty nifty so far, but as usual the best is always saved for last.

The most clever and absolutely fascinating aspect about this jacket is its compatibility with GPSoverIP.

What in the world is GPSoverIP? (You may ask).

GPSoverIP stands for Global Positioning System over Internet Protocol. In other words, it is the transmission of GPS data via the internet. It provides geographical coordinates over the Internet. (http://www.gpsoverip.de/international/).

Now let’s just say that this could possibly hold the solution to some of the everyday critical problems, we as people tend to face.

GPSoverIP, in my opinion, should one day win the Noble Peace Prize for creating the possibility of making situations, like kidnapping, a thing of the past.

A person wearing this jacket will have the capability to make their every movement and present location known to friends and families with internet access. This could prove to be quite useful unless you have a psychotic ex-boyfriend/girlfriend you're trying to avoid.

Even inside buildings where signals tend to drop, the io-Jacket will have the ability to stay connected.

An interesting idea that was brought up by http://www.gizmophobe.co.uk/, was the fact that these jackets could serve to assist those who work in certain fields where it would be critical to know ones location. For instance those who might do undercover work and even the technology itself could be used for those working in Fire Departments.

Luckily the io-Jacket looks just as trendy enough to wear without looking ridiculously out of place. Sure enough these will probably be available in the color of your choosing.

No price has been provided for this item, but no doubt it will definitely come with a hefty price.

According to http://www.gizmophobe.co.uk/ only 10 of these io-Jackets have been produced and one has been sold to benefit a charity. I’m sure it will be quite awhile until these are made available to the public, at your nearest Nordstrom perhaps, but when they are this will definitely change the daily lifestyles of many.

The Pointless Cell Phone Law

As many Californians know by now, talking on the phone while driving is absolutely prohibited. Oh... that’s right, it’s not. Not completely anyway. If you’re lucky enough to be 18 or older then this law is for the most part, irrelevant to you. Talking on the cell phone while you’re going 50 or even 70 miles per hour is still a possibility, thanks to the wonderful contraption known as...a Bluetooth.

A thought that had crossed my mind initially was whether or not this cell phone law was just a scheme derived from companies, who manufacture Bluetooth devices, to get into the wallets of consumers. Remarkably enough the NPD Group just so happened to have a press release on July 23, 2008, (http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_080723a.html), explaining how "[s]ales of Bluetooth headset devices surged in the months prior to the new law going on the books." Also on that press release was an interesting quote from Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for NPD, "[l]egislation has given a helping hand to hands-free technologies." Well they didn’t get a dime from me because it just so happens that this law also allows you to use the speaker phone option.

In most cases with the speaker phone you would still have to hold onto your phone and place it just inches away from your ear. This doesn’t make all that much of a difference then just simply using your phone.

Although it may seem unlikely, this law has more options as to what you can do versus what you can’t. The most shocking of these, and to my disbelief, is still having the option to text message. Text messaging has become just as popular as, if not more so, making calls from your phone.

It was a month ago or so when my eyes caught sight of a vehicle making slow zig-zag motions from one lane into another. Luckily there was minimal traffic. It was early in the evening so there was a probability that this was a potential drunk driver, but not exactly the case in this situation. It was an older man who looked as though he were in his mid to late 50s. He had been glancing up and then down, but his eyes were for the most part diverted from the road. The top of the cell phone finally made its appearance. Although this law doesn’t necessarily encourage you to use the text messaging option, it doesn’t really discourage you either.

A slap on the wrist is all you’ll receive if you dare break this law. A mere $20 for the first offense and some court fees. Not even a violation point on your license according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Any offenses thereafter are $50, but yet again no violation points.

This law is not only pointless, it’s ineffective. It makes no sense having a law like this unless there are restrictions that could potentially make the roads even more safe from reckless drivers and would actually pertain to those who are 18 and over.

Why not make a cell phone law that would actually make sense? A law that would require people to turn off or leave their cell phones either at home or in the car before they step into a movie theatre. It’s bad enough having to sit through a movie you’ve been wanting to see with a baby screaming their lungs out just a few rows behind you, but to also have to hear somebody carrying a conversation with a person who isn’t physically present, is ridiculous.

We can all thank Senator Joe Simitian and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for providing the state of California with yet another pointless law to add to the list, right along with women not being able to drive in a house coat!