Tech Advances #9

The danger with streaming and driving

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35925773

Neil, a police officer and Twitter user, wants to end streaming while driving, and has started an unofficial campaign to do so, called #dontstreamanddrive. Neil has noticed the increasing amount of people who choose to stream and have even interacted with an app while driving. The campaign is focused on Twitter as Neil tries to ask these streaming drivers why they choose to risk their life to do something that is not all that important. Using mobile phones while driving is a notorious killer, as it was accounted the cause of 21 deaths in 2014, according to officials. 

Tech Advances #10

Does 'pay by app' mean an end to shopping queues?

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35933801

Current technology that allows you to pay for items through your phone are becoming all the rage. For example, Starbucks currently employs this technology by allowing a consumer to have their Starbucks card on the Starbucks app and pay for drinks and other items by scanning the bar code on the back of a virtual card. This trend leads people to believe that a digital wallet will soon become our reality, and we will be paying for everything through our phones. 

Big companies, such as WalMart and J.P. Morgan Chase have launched apps that allow you to pay for your items. As this trend continues to rise, in the next four years there may be a contactless way to pay.

But paying through apps has some consequences. People worry about the security of their information- passwords, bank accounts, purchase records. All of this could easily be stolen if someone were to steal the person's phone. As people create more apps similar to Starbucks', they have to keep in mind the security necessary to keep all information confidential.