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科技新聞
第4季
2008/10/14
NEW YORK (AP) -- When David Teater's 12-year-old son, Joe, was killed in 2004 by a driver who was talking on a cell phone, he tried to cut back on his own habit of driving and talking. It turned out to be very difficult.
New software can detect whether a cell phone is moving at car speeds and hold calls until the drive is over.
"You have to remember to turn the phone off ... which you never remember to do. Or you have to ignore a ringing phone, which is incredibly hard," Teater said. "We've been conditioned our entire lives to answer ringing phones."
Teater became an advocate for curbing what he calls "driving while distracted," and now, he's part of a company with a technology that can help.
Aegis Mobility, a Canadian software company, announced Monday that it has developed software called DriveAssistT that will detect whether a cell phone is moving at car speeds. When that happens, the software will alert the cellular network, telling it to hold calls and text messages until the drive is over.
The software doesn't completely block incoming calls. Callers will hear a message saying the person they're calling appears to be driving. They can hit a button to leave an emergency voice mail, which is put through immediately.
Several states, including New York and California, have introduced laws against talking on a cell phone while driving, but they still allow the use of hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets. However, studies have shown that hands-free devices may not help. It appears that it is the distraction of dialing or talking that is dangerous, rather than the act of taking a hand off the wheel.
A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2006 found that dialing or talking on the phone was the cause in 7 percent of crashes and near-crashes. For the study, drivers had onboard "black boxes" that recorded their actions.
Last year, 41,059 people died in traffic accidents.
Aegis' software will work on phones with Windows Mobile software, popular for "smart" phones, or Symbian software, used in phones from Nokia and Sony Ericsson. It uses the phone's Global Positioning System chip to detect motion, aided by the cell-tower signal. If the phone has a Wi-Fi antenna, that can be used as well, said Dave Hattey, Aegis' CEO.
To work, the software has to be supported by the cellular carrier. Aegis has no deals in place yet, but is in discussions with the big U.S. networks, said Teater, who is a vice president at Aegis. The company hopes to be able to announce early next year that the software is available through a carrier, probably for $10 to $20 per month for a family.
The software can be managed remotely through a Web site. For instance, parents will get alerts if their kids override the motion-sensing feature to indicate that they're riding in car rather than driving. A corporation that buys the software for their employees can do the same.
Unusually for the world of cell phone software, Aegis is bringing out DriveAssistT in partnership with an insurance company. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. said it plans to offer a discount of 3 percent to 10 percent on family policies for people who use DriveAssistT.
2008/10/15/
5 Million photograph cell phone introduction and analysis
2008/10/28
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【經濟日報╱記者蕭君暉／台北報導】 |
2008.10.28 02:43 am |
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友達（2409）昨（27）日發表全球第一款2.8吋可掃描指紋及影像圖形的雙重功能手機面板，以及全球首款24吋的2D/3D混合雙模式面板，由於日本橫濱顯示器展將在本周舉行，友達發表一系列新技術面板，提供產品更多附加價值，以利日後接單。
日本橫濱顯示器展將在本周舉行，包括日本夏普、南韓的三星與樂金顯示器（LGD），台灣的友達、奇美電（3009）、華映（2475）與勝華（2384）等業者均將參展，除將同台競技最新面板技術外，也將對景氣發表新的看法。
友達指出，由於3D影像擁有優越的目光吸引力，未來更可多元應用於各式商場廣告、電動遊戲機、醫學影像、工業設計及教育訓練展示等不同領域。友達此次發表全球首款24吋2D/3D混合雙模式面板，在無需配掛特殊眼鏡的情況下，可在同一個畫面觀看2D與3D影像。
在手機面板方面，友達將展出全球首創，2.8吋可同時掃描指紋及影像圖型的手機面板，掃描感測解析度可達288 dpi，使得未來帶手機即可利用指紋辨識，進行購物消費的夢想又往前跨了一大步。另外，新款2.2吋無邊框手機面板，可讓未來手機與時尚接軌，呈現出手機美學從未達到的新境界。
同時，友達繼上半年發表全球首款曲面面板後，再開發出8.9吋的曲面面板，曲度可達120mm，未來將可以應用在包括博弈遊戲機或是汽車儀表板等多項產品。
在內嵌式多點觸控面板方面，友達推出15吋內嵌式多點觸控面板，可同時使用手指或是光筆觸控，體驗者可以在面板呈現的黑白琴鍵上，利用手指輕滑彈出悠揚的樂章。或是利用光筆感應的方式，體會遠距離操控遊戲指令的快感，還可以多人同樂，充分享受多點觸控所帶來的驚奇。未來還可以應用在電視的遙控功能，增加人機使用界面的便利性。
【2008/10/28 經濟日報】
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曲度可達120mm的8.9吋曲面面板。
友達／提供 |
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2.8吋指紋掃描與影像圖形的手機面板。
友達／提供 |
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