Parking Meter iPhone App Is Broken
I don’t think that anyone, from the old-time American Legion guy to the most Zen new-age type, would disagree that the world is loaded, almost to the point of constipation, with a wide array of unresolved problems. Take your pick, we can worry and obsess over everything from the terrorism threat to the economy, to the H1N1 virus and starvation in Africa. The list goes on, and on…a tireless and relentless (dirty) laundry list of issues, concerns and frights.
But, and rather than attempt to legitimately deal with any of the items that really matter, we’re instead staying safe by concentrating on the trivial. And by that I mean the drivel that passes for technology today. For example, the New York newspapers recently wrote about how a driver could, by using an iPhone, detect where a broken parking meter is located. So, and by barreling at full speed to this space, the driver would not have to pay for the first hour of parking. The thinking is that this great news will provide subscribers with the riches, yes, the veritable bonanza, that saving anywhere from 25 cents to a dollar, entails.
The way the process will supposedly work is that (eventually) the driver will be able to upload the list of broken meters from the city data base, and that the application will then use the phone’s GPS position to indicate where the broken meter is located. Of course, and like with so many other ‘inventions’, this is not anywhere near ready, nor has it even been approved. But when did such a small detail ever stop some cheap hustler from trying to peddle his wares. Or for the local media not to aid and abet this crap.
What’s most ironic is the fact that this techno-trivia is being hyped at the same time that New York, like many other cities, has finally begun cracking down on inconsiderate and unsafe drivers who persist in using their cell phones and Blackberrys while driving. They have correctly found that these are more than just distractions. Such drivers are dangerous, and routinely wreak havoc and carnage on our roads and streets. So, and to compound the felony by adding yet another piece of what passes for technology so as to save the driver a few cents is at best irresponsible and at worst-and far more likely-almost criminal.
Coming Soon: Counter-point!
What do you think?