The case comes on an appeal from the Superior Court of Fresno County. Last year, Steven Spriggs was cited for violating section 23123, which bans the use of wireless technologies while driving.

Specifically:

Section 23123, subdivision (a) provides: A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.

Spriggs argued that the statute was only enacted to limit talking on a cellphone, and didn’t originally apply to any other use of the device. Also, since the state had to amend the rules later to add language banning texting while driving, it supports his claim that the original intent of the law only applied to conversing while driving.

But the court rejected that claim.

“Our review of the statute‟s plain language leads us to conclude that the primary evil sought to be avoided is the distraction the driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone. That distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails,” said judge Kent Hamlin.

Furthermore:

Neither the plain language of the statute nor the legislative history support the conclusion that section 23123, subdivision(a), was designed to prohibit hands-on use of a wireless telephone for conversation only. Notably, the legislative history acknowledges that the statute as worded does not eliminate a “potentially more significant” distraction of carrying on a conversation while driving. The statute instead focuses on the distraction a driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone, specifically including “the physical distraction a motorist encounters when either picking up the phone, punching the number keypad, holding the phone up to his or her ear to converse, or pushing a button to end a call.” That distraction would be present whether the phone is used for carrying on a conversation or for some other purpose.

Basically, the law in vague enough to cover any sort of hands-on use of the wireless device. This includes mapping in any form.

Of course, if someone wanted to program their route into Google Maps and then never touch it again while driving, that would be ok. If they wanted to make alterations to the route, they would presumably have to pull over first.

In the end, the court ruled that the law may have been enacted arbitrarily and could very well need retooling – but that’s a job for the legislature, not the court.

“It may be argued that the Legislature acted arbitrarily when it outlawed all ‘hands-on’ use of a wireless telephone while driving, even though the legal use of one‟s hands to operate myriad other devices poses just as great a risk to the safety of other motorists. It may also be argued that prohibiting driving while using ‘electronic wireless communications devices’ for texting and emailing, while acknowledging and failing to prohibit perhaps even more distracting uses of the same devices, is equally illogical and arbitrary. Both arguments should be addressed to the Legislature in support of additional legislation barring any use of those other devices in other than a hands-free manner, or in support of a repeal or amendment of section 23123 to allow the ‘hands-on’ use of wireless telephones for other purposes while driving,” says Hamlin.

As of today, 39 states ban texting while driving for all drivers, and another 6 ban the practice for novice drivers. But a recent survey from AT&T found that nearly 50% of people do it anyway – even though 98% acknowledged that it is indeed wrong to do so. A rule like this banning mapping will likely be ignored by even more people than that.

[California v. Steven R. Spriggs via Digital Trends]
[Photo via ~W~, Flickr]

Event Fee: Free
Web site: http://web.meetup.com/49/
Event date: Tuesday February 19, 2008 @ 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Event location: Menlo Park, CA

Description: We are thrilled to present a very special group from NASA Ames Research Center – World Wind! Our Meetup group is about sharing, teaching, learning, and networking around current and future web-based geospatial and social networking technology.

You belong if you are an entrepreneur, VC, developer, social-networker, programmer, visionary, geographer, geologist, explorer, Internet-user, voyeur, or anyone else interested in Web 2.0 mapping and social networks. We welcome all and exclude no one.

The format of this Meetup is as follows: introductions, discussion of current events or current technology as it relates to web 2.0 mapping and social networks, presentation(s), 60-second audience announcements, and of course, networking.

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Wonderful. Kudos to any company that wants its customers’ feedback and offers a participatory approach. So, here’s my feedback…

Microsoft added a LOT of whizbang features to its maps.live.com maps (3D, lots of photos, and such) but they didn’t focus on the basics.

First off, you need a redesign. Google is kicking your ass on simplicity. Microsoft’s UIs always seem to get more clutter. Your team should hire Ev Williams to come and give his talk that he just gave at LeWeb3. Get rid of stuff, don’t add it.

2. Mobile. Make it killer and do whatever it takes to get it on the iPhone.

3. Show examples of how to do great searches. Google does, you don’t (at least not before you get into a search box). Google is easier to use because of it.

4. Make it work for what people use maps for. Today I picked up Patrick at his school. I forgot how to get there. Patrick said “just search Google Maps for Petaluma Jr. High.” When I saw this note I tried the same on Microsoft’s system. Hint: Google worked, Microsoft didn’t.

5. Speed. Google is always faster everytime I try it. That doesn’t give me confidence that Microsoft is working on the right things.

6. When I search for “Mavericks, Half Moon Bay, CA” Google finds me a result, Microsoft doesn’t.

7. Split all the different views into different URLs. Have a page where I can select between them. If I wasn’t a former MSFTie I’d have no clue what the difference between “Aerial” and “Bird’s Eye View” is.

8. I still have no clue what “collections” are. “Saved Locations” explains what they are much better.

9. Don’t be pedantic. When I asked it to give me directions to PodTech’s offices it tried to correct my zip code from 94304 to 94304-1216. Google wasn’t annoying like that.

10. Microsoft’s maps look cooler (they show mountain terrain, etc) but are harder to read, particularly on laptop screens in bright sunlight. I find I actually switch to Google for this reason. Most of the time I really don’t need terrain, or pretty pictures, but just want a simplistic, easy to see in bright sunlight, map.

11. DO continue to kick Microsoft’s behind with Traffic data (I’m sure there’s other data you could overlay on the map the way you do with accident data, right?)

12. Redesign your directions results. Google got nine items in the same space that you only got six. I often look up maps on my laptop and that DOES make a difference!

13. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. My Location. That’s the best feature on ANY software I’ve used this year. I was showing it to Patrick today and it made him go “wow.” Not available on iPhone, but only on Google’s Mobile Maps version. This was a MAGICAL feature over in Europe!

14. You don’t understand the magic of the word “link.” I can always figure out Google Maps and how to embed it into my blog. It’s tough for me to figure out how to link to a Microsoft Map. Yeah, I’m an idiot so you might write that off as idiotic behavior but, remember, I worked the Microsoft customer support lines so I know there are other idiots out there like me. Some of them even blog. Every blog brings you traffic, even if the only reader that blog has is mom and dad. Call it a f***ing permalink and call it a day, will you please?

15. I’m surprised no one has used their photo trucks to put little pictures next to driving directions. Instead on both maps I get “turn right onto SR-92.” Why don’t you put a little picture of what the sign looks like? I’d love it if you said “you’ll see a sign that looks like this right before you need to turn right.”

16. Amazing that NEITHER Google or Microsoft have a link that says “using GPS.” I’d love to have a page that explains all about how GPS works, which models are the coolest to use with these mapping systems, and what I need to get and how I need to hook it up. This could even be a profit center. If Microsoft linked over to Amazon’s store they’d get a kickback for each GPS sold.

17. Google Maps remember my default location. Microsoft Maps don’t seem to remember anything.

18. Google has more viewing area horizontally. For some reason my eye likes that.

Well, that’s enough. I’m not sure why I like Google Maps more, but they keep being my default and nothing I saw on this little jaunt tonight made me question that decision. I have never needed 3D imagery to get around, preferring the simple approach (although those features are impressive).

What do you think? What would you work on if you were on the Microsoft Mapping team? I haven’t even attempted to look up anything international, either. But Google was very accurate in Paris and London and told me instantly where I was thanks to its My Location feature. That really is the killer feature for me and it’s one that now gets me to use my Nokia N95 to look at maps instead of my iPhone (the iPhone is better for viewing and navigating around maps, though, but that one feature has proven much more important to me than anything else in the mapping experience).

Anyway, good luck!

Oh, and has anyone built a map mashup yet for Facebook? I’d love to see where all my friends are located around the world.

Comments

You only need ArcGIS and the HTML ImageMapper extension to publish maps online. Users do all the cartography in ArcGIS. You don’t need to be a system or server administrator or a programmer to publish your maps online. No software needs to be installed on the server.

No plug-ins are needed on the client’s browser.

The latest release offersa feature rich HTML Map Client. The following is just some of the funtionality that’s provided:

Overview map (naviagable)
Zoom in and out
Advanced search function: search and compare values
Display attribute tables
Legend
Object lists grouped by layer
Print
Dashboard: collect and store results temporarly
Gamestyle navigation: Navigate with the overview map
Click and identify objects
Let the attributes be displayed dynamically within the map
Collect attribute data on the dashboard
Navigation by compass rose
Zoom to objects from a list
Export a legend from ArcGIS
Link to a database (programming required)
Search for objects over all attribute data
Scale bar, legend, customizable overview map, display coordinates
Print attribute data and search result lists
Include copyright and author information

Fast, simple web mapping at your fingertips! See http://www.alta4.com

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“Local.com’s latest maps take advantage of state-of-the-art mapping technology with maps that are larger and easier to read with more clearly defined boundary delineations and magnified names on major roads and freeways,” the company stated in a press release.

That sounds promising, but further details reveal that Local.com is largely playing catch-up with its competitors.  As for calling this “interesting,” well, that’s not the same as calling it “fantastic.”

“[B]usiness information and driving directions are accessible directly on the interactive map screen,” the release continues.  “The maps present a more user-friendly interface that enables users to utilize scroll zoom and ‘click-and-drag’ capabilities.  The site’s new and improved driving directions also offer more detailed data, ‘reverse directions’ and more printer friendly formats.”

I can’t remember a time (though I’m sure there was one) when Google, Yahoo, and Mapquest didn’t offer reverse directions.  And given the nature of Google’s latest map-related release, Local.com’s latest move has not established it as a leader in this field.

That’s all right, though – Local.com still describes itself as a “local search engine,” not a mapping whiz.  Fans of the service can take the mapping upgrades as an added bonus.

Hat tip to 901am’s Minic Rivera.

The site offers users point-to-point directions and covers all forms of transportation. It also offers directions to a city’s main attractions such as restaurants, sporting venues and nightlife spots along with the option to book hotels and flight reservations.

"The public transportation in London, much like New York, has grown to
a point that it becomes congested and confusing to the average resident or tourist who is trying to travel quickly and efficiently,"said Marc Sellouk, CEO of PublicRoutes.com.

"London is a major globalcity with tremendous tourist appeal and it was a natural choice to begin our international presence there."

Key features of the site include Local Guides, which provides users access to a directory of local businesses, maps and directions. Their Web site directions are available in 14 languages from Spanish to Chinese.

The MyPublicRoutes feature stores the locations a user has entered and can be referenced at a later time.

Currently PublicRoutes covers 9 cities in the U.S. and plans to add more cities both domestically and internationally.

The site will be helpful for people who frequently travel, but the downside is the limited number of cities PublicRoutes has in their database. Once they increase the amount of cites they cover than the site will hold more value. Right now it’s just an ok resource that has plenty of room to grow.

Wandering a big city looking for a credible microbrewery or a selection of non-big name refreshments could be an exercise in frustration for the person who prefers pints to Pinot Noir. One person has been working on a mashup of Google Maps and the tastes of beer-drinkers to create a useful online destination.

The Beer Mapping Project seeks out the recommendations of beer aficionados in building its database. Site visitors can find breweries by looking at a US map and scrolling and zooming in and out of locations.

There are plenty of destinations to find. We were pleased to see several pushpins in Kentucky for locations of both breweries and brewpubs. Since BeerMapping is a project that started with someone from Chicago, that city’s beer establishments are well-represented on the map.

Other features on BeerMapping include the use of menus that can be toggled to show a legend of links for brewpubs/breweries on the map, and quick links to city or brewery maps in regions in the US, as well as Canada and New Zealand.

Drilling down to one of the 26 cities currently available in the city map menu reveals a more granular look at the beer sites available. The map’s legend shows different color pushpins for beer bars, beer stores, and homebrew stores along with the brewery and brewpub maps.

The reader may consider this an exercise in a more casual, "Friday" style of writing. However, the BeerMapping site demonstrates how working within a niche and building a site to meet the needs of users within that niche can take advantage of web technology to enhance the experience.

Seriously.

Hat tip to Thrillist for passing this site along in their morning mailing.

McAfee’s report, Mapping the Mal Web, documents the results of their study and sheds some light on the riskiest domains across the globe. According to McAfee, the results revealed some surprising discrepancies in security across international domains. McAfee estimates that Internet users make more than 550 million clicks to risky Web sites on a monthly basis and that even relatively safe domains like Germany (.de) or the United Kingdom (.uk) account for millions of risky clicks.

“With this report, McAfee has created a guide book to the Web’s most dangerous top level domains,” said Mark Maxwell, Senior Product Manager, McAfee Consumer and Small Business.

“When it comes to safety, it turns out that the Web is no different than the physical world. There are safe neighborhoods and safe Web domains, and then there are places no one should ever visit.”

McAfee rated the sites on a coloring system, with green sites representing those that are free of any malicious content. Yellow sites contain nuisance such as popups and red sites are the worst of the lot, often containing spyware, viruses, exploits and other harmful content.

More on the grading system from the report: 

4.1% of all sites tested by SiteAdvisor are rated red or yellow. But the incidence of red and yellow sites varies dramatically across top-level domains, ranging from a low of 0.1% for Finland (.fi) to a high of 10.1% for the tiny island of Tokelau (.tk). We find that Tokelauan domains, discussed later, offer some advantages to scammers.

"For administrators of top-level domains, this study should serve as a wake-up call. Clearly, some countries are getting it right. And the more risky top level domains now have the role models they need to improve," added Maxwell.

"For consumers, this study is a stark reminder that they need help navigating the Web safely. Tools like McAfee SiteAdvisor give consumers the information they need, when they need it, to make safer Web decisions." 

However, this thing’s overzealous. Quite often I want to cut and paste some contents of an email, but the underlined text wants to fire up a map instead of behave.

Just now, I exchanged some French emails with a friend. This email included the word "maisons," and Yahoo’s app underlined this extremely common word, leading me to a map of "Maisons-en-Champagne," a town not too far from Paris, with a population of 414, according the the ‘pedia.

Do I really want to go there? Well, sure, but not now, I’m busy.

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This patent would prove highly reliable to filter duplicate contents in the Web. The patent ‘Methods and apparatus for estimating similarity.’ has been invented by Moses Samson Charikar. Google has applied for it on December 31,2001.

The second patent is Digital mapping system. This patent would provide a framework for digital mapping system including searches for locations, local searches and driving directions. The digital mapping patent will further glorify Google Maps services. The inventors of digital mapping system are Bret Steven Taylor, Jens Eilstrup Ramussen, Lars Eilstrup, James Christopher Norris, Seth Michael Laforge, Noel Phillip Gordon, Andrew Robert Kirmse and Stephen Ma. Google has filed for the patent on February 5, 2005.

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