passes

Take that, Southwest! Pass-a-matic answers the Webware call

Just in case I wasn't crystal clear in my earlier post about Southwest Airlines' new online boarding pass lottery, I despise the carrier's "cattle car" seat assignment scheme. There's at least one clever entrepreneur (and future Webware T-Shirt wearer) out there who feels the same way I do and is building Pass-a-matic. This service, still in closed beta, should do exactly what I want. First, it will act as my agent on Southwest's online check-in service, logging in at the precisely right time to "snipe" the coveted low-numbered "A" boarding … Read more

Forget your passwords with PassPack's auto-login

I'm a sucker for password tools. Since signing on with Webware late last year, I've since amassed a collection of site log-ins the size of a pulp romance novel, and despite my youthful brain, remembering all of them is clearly impossible. A solution I've been using for some months is Roboform, which is a small piece of software that will let you keep your user names and passwords safely tucked away, combined with a browser plug-in that will automatically log you in to each site. This morning I've been playing around with a new feature from … Read more

Driverless bus may hit the road

If you've ever ridden regularly on San Francisco's Muni system, you'd probably be willing to take your chances on a driverless bus. Safety is a relative thing.

A prototype of one such vehicle will soon be on display at the Science Museum in London, where it could be tested in the next few years. The bus, designed jointly by Capoco Design and the Royal College of Art, is an electric drive and bio-fuel hybrid that would be guided by satellite navigation, intelligent cruise control and magnets embedded in city streets, according to BornRich.

Best of all, passengers … Read more

Top 5 names for the alcohol-detecting ankle bracelet

A Colorado company called Alcohol Monitoring System has created an ankle bracelet that weighs only half a pound and makes hourly BAC checks. According to Gizmowatch, 4,000 people are already wearing these bracelets, one of whom may or may not be your cranky, Jim Beam-loving neighbor. This way, authorities can keep tabs on repeat offenders and make sure they aren't getting behind any steering wheels. It's being used as part of a program that goes by the fantastic acronym of SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitoring).

But there's one thing this gadget's missing: a cool … Read more