The smartphone has become one of the world’s most powerful communications tools. That can be a bad thing if you are drunk. Ronnie Rocha learnt that the hard way after texting a profanity-laced tirade‚ while drunk‚ to his boss. In the missive‚ he demanded to be paid more and given more responsibilities at his job as a computer programmer.
Joshua Anton‚ a recent graduate of the University of Virginia‚ said he was moved to build an app after receiving a late-night drunken request for ice from a swooning female friend. She had no recollection of the call the following day.
His app‚ called Drunk Mode‚ temporarily discourages imbibers from texting and calling. Users must solve a maths problem involving triple-digit figures to turn it off‚ such as 824 + 651 + 61. “Some people think it’s too hard‚ like ‘I can’t even do this sober’,” said Anton‚ who majored in commerce.
“And some people say it’s not hard enough.” Subsequent experiences informed new features. Once‚ while camping‚ Anton and two friends walked several kilometres to the nearest bar – a path that might have been hard to retrace. After the excursion‚ they created a feature called Breadcrumbs‚ which allows users to trace their precise whereabouts the previous night.
The logic: it could come in handy when searching for items lost during a raucous outing.
Unless‚ of course‚ you lost your phone. Another feature‚ called Find My Drunk‚ allows groups of partygoers to share their locations with each other in real time.
“I look at it as a drunken man’s tool kit‚” said Anton‚ who added that he does not drink himself.
Drunk Mode is free and has more than 1 million downloads‚ about 25% of which used the app monthly‚ Anton said. Still‚ it cannot stop a user from sending e-mails while drunk and it cannot block access to sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The real solution to tipsy transmissions may require more than just slick software‚ said Michael Burke. He and a friend have created a breathalyser that connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and blocks social media posts if the user’s blood alcohol content exceeds a preset limit.
The duo received a US patent for the device‚ which they call the iDrunk. But the project has stalled.
Burke says they have a working prototype but need several hundred thousand dollars to begin manufacturing. The remedy‚ however‚ does not necessarily go down as easy as the booze – something Burke discovered while testing his own creation. “I hated it‚” he said. “Especially on the nights where I was really drunk and wanted to be able to post stuff.” — Wall Street Journal
Methods to block drunken messaging
Joshua Anton‚ a recent graduate of the University of Virginia‚ said he was moved to build an app after receiving a late-night drunken request for ice from a swooning female friend. She had no recollection of the call the following day.
His app‚ called Drunk Mode‚ temporarily discourages imbibers from texting and calling. Users must solve a maths problem involving triple-digit figures to turn it off‚ such as 824 + 651 + 61. “Some people think it’s too hard‚ like ‘I can’t even do this sober’,” said Anton‚ who majored in commerce.
“And some people say it’s not hard enough.” Subsequent experiences informed new features. Once‚ while camping‚ Anton and two friends walked several kilometres to the nearest bar – a path that might have been hard to retrace. After the excursion‚ they created a feature called Breadcrumbs‚ which allows users to trace their precise whereabouts the previous night.
The logic: it could come in handy when searching for items lost during a raucous outing.
Unless‚ of course‚ you lost your phone. Another feature‚ called Find My Drunk‚ allows groups of partygoers to share their locations with each other in real time.
“I look at it as a drunken man’s tool kit‚” said Anton‚ who added that he does not drink himself.
Drunk Mode is free and has more than 1 million downloads‚ about 25% of which used the app monthly‚ Anton said. Still‚ it cannot stop a user from sending e-mails while drunk and it cannot block access to sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
The real solution to tipsy transmissions may require more than just slick software‚ said Michael Burke. He and a friend have created a breathalyser that connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and blocks social media posts if the user’s blood alcohol content exceeds a preset limit.
The duo received a US patent for the device‚ which they call the iDrunk. But the project has stalled.
Burke says they have a working prototype but need several hundred thousand dollars to begin manufacturing. The remedy‚ however‚ does not necessarily go down as easy as the booze – something Burke discovered while testing his own creation. “I hated it‚” he said. “Especially on the nights where I was really drunk and wanted to be able to post stuff.” — Wall Street Journal
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