safety

What happens when you get hit by space junk

There are those who believe you should be fully prepared for anything.

You know, the sort of folks who put chocolate, torches, and other items into a bag you normally use for workout clothing and leave it near the back door. For luck.

But how can you prepare for the entirely infinitesimal possibility that you will be hit by a piece of space junk in a couple of days?

Wait, perhaps you have been away fishing with an NBA player. So let me catch you up. NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite will be falling to earth probably on Friday. … Read more

Obama's jobs bill includes something for wireless

President Obama included authorization for incentive wireless spectrum auctions and spectrum reallocation for public safety as part of his American Jobs Act.

On Monday, the White House released a fact-sheet detailing President Obama's jobs bill, which he first talked about last week in his address to Congress. As part of this legislation, he is calling for wireless auctions that would help reduce the deficit and would also provide wireless broadband services for at least 98 percent of Americans. These are goals that his administration has also outlined in the National Broadband Plan.

Specifically, the American Jobs Bill would authorize … Read more

A decade later, public safety still lacks national network

Ten years after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. is still without a nationwide network that would let first responders from different agencies and jurisdictions communicate with each other over emergency radios.

In late August, the National Security Preparedness Group pointed to the lack of the national interoperable radio network recommended by the 9/11 Commission. And the commission itself recently issued a report card that expressed concern over communications capabilities.

One of the biggest problems immediately following the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City was that firefighters and police were unable to … Read more

Cell phone networks unscathed by Hurricane Irene

Hurricane Irene has come and gone, and despite widespread power losses up and down the Eastern U.S., wireless networks performed well.

Cell phone operators said they had been preparing for days for the hurricane, which hit North Carolina on Saturday and hugged the Atlantic coastline up to New York City where it turned into a tropical storm before making landfall early Sunday morning. The preparation paid off as all four major operators reported that their equipment for the most part held up well in the storm.

While some customers may have experienced some disruption, for the most part, the … Read more

CNET Roadside Assistance 026: Show and tell (podcast)

Welcome to Car Tech Live, the show where the car tech guys take a moment to answer your email and voicemail... only today, that's not what we're doing at all. We've got a few products to showcase today and a preview of a showdown between tech giants... and of course, LOL Cars.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 026 SHOW NOTES

• LOLcars (photos)

On the road with iOnRoad collision warning app for Android

Recently, we took a look at an app for Android that could help save your life. iOnRoad is a driver safety app that uses a combination of GPS data and augmented reality to monitor the road ahead for potential collisions. By warning distracted drivers that they're too close to the vehicle ahead, iOnRoad could save money on low-speed fender benders or save lives when speeds get higher. I hit the road with this app to see how it performs.

After downloading and installing the beta version of the app (version 0.99.5), I used a suction-cup cradle provided … Read more

Steer Safe car kit doesn't seem like a good idea

I think that we can universally agree that fiddling with a smartphone while driving is a bad idea, but is fiddling with a phone attached to your steering wheel any safer? The makers of the Steer Safe universal hands-free kit would like you to think so, but I'm not sure that I agree.

The video and description that accompany the Steer Safe's KickStarter page say that the smartphone mounts to the user's steering wheel, putting the phone close by for easy hands-free calling, navigation, and whatever else you want to do while behind the wheel. It all … Read more

IIHS: Volvo's collision avoidance system most effective

Many cars are equipped with crash avoidance technology, but the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says the Volvo's City Safety is the most effective at reducing low speed crashes.

By examining property damage liability claims, the IIHS determined drivers of Volvo XC60s outfitted with City Safety file 27 percent fewer at-fault driver claims than owners of comparable midsize SUVs without that technology. That means that XC60 owners are less likely to be involved in low-speed crashes in which they are at fault, namely rear-ending the car in front of them in traffic.

City Safety is standard feature on … Read more

Arizona lawmen hit a third time by hackers

For the third time in a week, hackers have released information pilfered from compromised online accounts of Arizona law enforcement officers.

Under the "AntiSec" umbrella, the combined Anonymous-LulzSec hacker group is targeting government agencies, financial institutions, and other high-profile targets. AntiSec first released e-mails, phone numbers, passwords, and other information belonging to the Arizona Department of Public Safety on June 23. The hackers said they are targeting the police organization to protest "racial-profiling anti-immigrant" policies, specifically SB1070, which makes it a crime to be in Arizona without documentation proving United States residency.

Earlier this week, AntiSec … Read more