Smart phones = Dumb people

[dale mck]

[quote="Poindexter"]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-wtKU2ef_S4

Is the proliferation social media and constant web connection benefiting or hurting us?
When is the last time you made an effort to memorize a phone number?
Are we raising a generation of social idiots?
Or does writing your thoughts by posting them cause you to realize the gaps in your opinions, forcing you to research and form a more thoughtful response, make us more enlightened?
Or does the ability to communicate with like minded people who may be just as wrong as you only entrench ignorance?
Thoughts.[/quote]

Some good questions raised. Although there are many angles to address these varies questions I am just going to comment by saying it is very important for all people to exercise there brain on a regular basis,,that is to work at solving a problem,,issue,,riddle,,,assembling something. If the time saved by all the tech advances we've found ourselves with in the last say 25yrs is being used to do things that contribute to you exercising your brain,,"great". I strongly suspect that a lot of that time is not utilized to further are intellectual, emotional, social, educational, physical, mental and common sense well-being. Myself being guilty of all of those things a lot of the time,,,but at least being aware of this and putting at least some effort in to off setting the lazy brain syndrome is better then doing nothing.

[Jlabute]

Smart phones are becoming feature rich, with higher performance, better cameras, more storage, etc... a larger number of models are breaking the $1000 barrier, even as high as $1500. Then you get your accessories, phone plan... you have no money left over for real social events.

[Queen K]

This is why I've put off getting a good smartphone, but if getting one, why get low end? I've always bought middle of the road, not low or high, but why go low on these things?

[unclemarty]

Helpful and Free ...

Pioneering Israeli app helps visually impaired find their way

A pioneering smartphone accessibility application launched this week seeks to help orient the visually impaired through crowded indoor spaces, such as malls, hospitals and universities.

Raanana-based RightHear was founded by Idan Meir and Gil Elgrably and is billed as an app that "offers an innovative indoor orientation and mobility solution for people who are blind or visually impaired."

According to a Tuesday report on the Israel21c website, the RightHear app was developed almost accidentally, as Meir and Elgrably had originally developed technology meant to offer virtual on-the-spot coupons to shoppers.

They soon realized, however, that rather than marketing the application to end users, they could pitch it to the venues as a way of making their space accessible to the visually impaired.

"We didn't even know if blind people used smartphones or apps since they're so visual," Meir told the website, adding that once the prototype was designed -- during a 2015 hackathon in Raanana -- the municipality put them in touch with several blind people in the city to try it.

"They were blown away. They were so excited about it, even though we didn't have a product yet," he said.

The two spent the last two years developing RightHear, which currently includes 200 venues. The app is free for users and RightHear charges the venues a fee based on the number of access spots deployed.

The app mimics a venue's directory board, such as a sign in a mall, hospital or a university. When users approach the virtual sign, the app tells them what is nearby, for example, "The admissions office is 100 feet ahead to the right."

The app also allows users to point their phone in a certain direction to better orient to their surroundings. It includes a call button so users can get a person on the line quickly, and it is also integrated with transportation applications such as Gett and Uber.

RightHear is currently available in Israel and the United States. To date, 90% of the venues made accessible by the app are in Israel, but according to Meir, the goal for 2017 is to expand further into the U.S.

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newslet ... p?id=45029

... and smart.