(originally posted Sept. 25, 2004) 
Let’s Ban This Now: An article in today’s Schenectady (NY) Daily Gazette (subscript. only) raves about CarXPC, which is developing a “computer which has been designed specifically for in-vehicle use. ” The monitor mounts right next to the dashboard and all Windows XP applications are supported, along with GPS navigation, wireless Internet access, and support for virtually all digital media formats. Knowing my opposition to car phoning, you can imagine how thrilled I am to learn that my region may be the first test area for the next must-have technology. Am I being too negative? According to the article:
the computer “turns on with the car,” and is “aimed at people whose jobs keep them in a car . . . by allowing them to bring their work with them on the road.”
“Think about . . . stopping suddenly and the laptop goes flying, ” says owner David Bonynge.
“They say the benefits of the device range from its wireless keyboard (complete with indentations contoured for the legs) to an elegant interface.”
“. . . the dashboard computer was conceived out of frustration.” [Bonynge was driving to Boston but couldn’t use his new GPS software while he drove.] “Unless someone else was in the car who was interested,” he said, “it was worthless.”
“Of course, it’s not expected the driver will be searching the Web or writing e-mail while driving.”