Thanks to the News-Sentinel staff for this overview of the new law coming July 1.
New cell phone laws at a glance
The countdown to New Year’s came and went this week, and now a new clock is ticking: In six months, it will become illegal to drive while holding a cell phone to the ear.
In other words, you have until July 1 to buy a hands-free device, or buy a whole new phone if it doesn’t work with such devices. Teenagers cannot use any communication device, even with hands-free devices.
The July 1 date has been widely publicized since the law was passed a year ago, but law enforcement officials say they are still being deluged by calls from people who think the law started this week. Some thought it started in July 2007, and some even thought it went into effect a year ago.
The bottom line is that, after July 1, if a cop sees you holding a cell phone while driving, you can be ticketed. You must use a hands-free device so that you do not have to hold the phone while driving.
Most phones have a place to plug in an earpiece, and many now use Bluetooth technology, which does not require wires. Headphones won’t work, as California law does not allow drivers to use headphones on both ears.
But teenagers don’t need to bother investing in hands-free equipment — on July 1 it will become illegal for those under age 18 to use any kind of communication device while driving.
The only exception to both laws is during an emergency.
The base fine for each offense starts at $20, which doesn’t sound too steep, but that doesn’t count various state and court fees. Once they are tacked on, the total fine will be well over $50. For subsequent violations, the fine will more than double.
— News-Sentinel staff.
New study came out that our commutes are extended 10-15min on average due to people talking on their phones.
Remember that you must use a hands free device starting July 1, 2008, at least in the California.
Here’s a link to the various stories on the topic.
Over the weekend, there was another street race in Hollywood. One killed, and multiple injuries.
Witnesses ; Firey street racing crash in Hollywood
One person died and another seriously burned in a collision at a Hollywood intersection. In all, four people were involved in the 3-car crash. Authorities on the scene suspect street racing is to blame. (Dec. 29)
John Bisnar has a good blog post about this topic. This type of behavior needs to end. The roads are dangerous enough without having people racing!
https://www.californiainjuryblog.com/2007/12/two_killed_in_fiery_hollywood.html
Here’s the video:
The next CalTech enterprise forum is coming up next Saturday.
Looks like a good one.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
at the California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California
Registration and Continental Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. Baxter Hall
Program: 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Networking: 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Cost: $40 on-line registration fee. $50 at-the-door. $10 for students with full-time student ID (must show at door); free to Caltech students. Registrations are taken on-line up to 12:00 noon the day prior to the event. There are no refunds for no-shows.
As a business and investment vehicle, is it farfetched to credit social networking with value and staying power? The rise and demise of Friendster begs the question whether MySpace will be similarly dethroned by FaceBook. Meanwhile, might LinkedIn emerge as “tortoise” in the race? And might one of today’s many soc-net startup alternatives emerge to be the Google of the genre? Whatever you thought were answers, the appearance of OpenSocial as a platform giving common access between entrepreneurs and network members adds a dimension threatening to squelch the skeptics. For example, by adopting this model (long ago used by dBase-Lotus), Facebook has cultivated thousands of third party applications.
Our keynote speakers and panelists will look at the soc-net paradigm from the vantage point of successful entrepreneurs and investors in this arena. They will wrestle with the many-faceted answers to these and related questions.
Keynote Speaker
Jason Feffer
Chief Executive Officer/Founder
SodaHead.com
Former Vice President of Operations and founding team member
MySpace
Former Vice President of Operations
Fox Interactive
Entrepreneurial Venture
Mark Jeffrey
Chief Technical Officer
Maholo.com
Author of “Max Quick Book One: The Pocket and the Pendant”
Co-founder
ZeroDegrees, Inc., a Variety “50 to Watch”
Panelists
Joe Jasin
Vice President, Corporate Development
SK Telecom International
Policy Advisor to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce
and key mobile wireless insider
Tony Karrer, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer/Chief Technical Officer
TechEmpower
Founding Chief Technical Officer
eHarmony
Award winning elearning blogger
Stuart MacFarlane
Managing Director
Momentum Venture Management
Former Chief Executive Officer
Insider Pages
Former Vice President, New Ventures
Idealab
Andrew Shaindlin
Executive Director
Caltech Alumni Association
Board Member of Higher Education Experts
Noted blogger/commentator on social
networking and alumni relations
Moderator and Producer
Michael M. Krieger Ph.D.
Attorney at Law
Willenken Wilson Loh & Stris L.L.P.
Co-Producers
Lynn Foster
Emerging Technologies Director
Greenberg Traurig L.L.P.
Stephanie Yanchinski
Executive Director
Entretech
Richard Hsu
Partner
Townsend and Townsend and Crew L.L.P.
Date
Saturday morning, January 12, 2008
Location
Registration and Continental Breakfast:
8:00 a.m. at Baxter Hall, Caltech
Program:
9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Baxter Lecture Hall
Networking:
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon at Baxter Hall, Caltech
Cost
$40 on-line registration fee. $50 at-the-door. $10 for students with full-time student ID (must show at door); free to Caltech students. Registrations are taken on-line up to 12:00 noon the day prior to the event. There are no refunds for no-shows.
Register here:
https://secure.entretech.org/com/register/o/events/oid/52
How many of you have tried to stop spam? Most likely many of you.
I am working on one of my accounts that does get emails that I don’t want. So I am making an attempt to unsubscribe to as many of the emails as possible in an attempt to reduce all the unwanted emails.
I’ll report back…..
A cool tool would be one that would flag the emails as spam/junk email and also make all attempts to unsubscribe you from the list. If you can do this with one click that would be great.
I’m watching the news this morning. Two street racers going through South Pasadena at high speeds at the intersection of Freemont and Monterey crashed into a innocent driver.
What are the authorities doing to catch these people and punish this sort behavior? Not enough, because the behavior continues. I hear about this daily in the news.
I say if you are caught street racing your license and car should be taken away for life.
There are places like the Irwindale Speedway that offer people a chance to race against others in a safer environment.
The streets is not the place for racing of any type.
More details at:
https://cbs2.com/local/South.Pasadena.crash.2.622242.html
Old PC in the closet? Here’s a way to get rid of it: Sell it to Costco.
Costco, has partnered with Greensight to recondition or recycle your old, but still working, PC. They’ll pick up the tab on shipping the PC to them and pay you for the computer.
They take notebooks, MP3 players, LCD monitors, camcorders, digital cameras, game consoles, and phones.
It’s gets better yet: There’s no trade-in value, but if you have an old CRT, printer, or fax machine, Greensight will recycle it for you and pay to ship the item to them.
The catch: You get “paid” with a Costco cash card. If you’re not a Costco member, you can use the cash card towards the membership fee; members can use the card to buy merchandise.
Are you looking for a job? Do you have a position you are looking to fill?
Monster’s Post-a-Job(s) service allow companies to reach millions of quality candidates and represents the best hiring solution for small businesses. Resume Search allows employers to search the world’s largest talent pool of Resumes and quickly zero in on the exact candidates they will need. Job Posts and Resume Search Bundle combine Monster’s two most popular products for one low price. Resume Job seekers can store their Monster Resume online to apply for jobs. Register to MyMonster and gain access to Monster’s custom tools.
Richard Morales who owns and operates Hothouse Studios(rehearsal studios) in Santa Fe Springs has been doing some very cool stuff on his site. Check it out: www.hothousestudios.com.
Recently an interview with the band Chiodos went live. Chiodos has a big following.
Stay tuned as we talk more about what is happening at Hothouse Studios.
Hothouse is centrally located in Santa Fe Springs, between LA and OC.
We are getting reports that the Mac Tablet we heard about last year is finally available.
The Axiotron™ Modbook™
The Modbook is the first and only tablet Mac® computer solution! Ideal for: Mobile Users, Business Professionals, Artists, Students, and Technology Leaders.
• Write and draw directly on screen!
• True pen & handwriting recognition
• The ONLY Mac solution with WAAS enabled GPS Built-In
• Aircraft grade magnesium alloy for all terrain use
Designed in California, the Modbook’s condensed form factor and integrated pen-based user experience makes it the ultimate solution for applications and situations where a keyboard only gets in the way.
Now it appears that the official site for Modbook is down, probably getting hit pretty hard with people wanting to order.
Error!
Warning: mysql_pconnect() [function.mysql-pconnect]: Link to server lost, unable to reconnect in /home/axiotron/axiotron.com/t3lib/class.t3lib_db.php on …www.axiotron.com/ – 2k – Cached – Similar pages – Note this
Axiotron : ModBook
With its condensed form factor and integrated pen-based user experience the Axiotron ModBook is the ultimate companion for applications and situations where …www.axiotron.com/index.php?id=modbook – 36k – Cached – Similar pages – Note this[ More results from www.axiotron.com ]
Use this site link to order:
https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Modbook