Did A Google Earth Mistake Cause A Couple's Brutal Murder?
Skydiver Passes Out At 13,000 Feet, Plummets To Ground In Terrifying…
Google's 'Open Spot' App Shares Open Parking Spots, Awards Much-Needed Karma
When it comes to finding prime parking spots in the middle of dense, concrete jungles, even the most mild-mannered of drivers can revert to their more primitive, animalistic roots. As summer road warriors jockey with each other for curbside position, tempers flare, heart rates rise, and torrents of expletives gush out of driver-side windows. That inherently cutthroat atmosphere, however, may be softening up a bit, thanks to Google. The company has just released a new app called 'Open Spot,' which takes a page from Brooklyn's 'Roadify' and allows smartphone users to instantly notify other drivers when they're vacating their parking spaces. Once an open spot is marked, other users can pinpoint it on Google Maps, and can hunt for any other tagged vacancies within the area, as well. As Google explains, 'Open Spot' is geared toward helping drivers "save time, save gas, and reduce pollution." The competitive altruist can even accrue so-called 'karma points' every time he or she shares a spot, effectively giving self-righteous do-gooders an easy way to quantify their goodwill.
If you want to try Open Spot, it requires Android 2.0 or higher, and is currently available only in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands. It's an interesting idea, and if drivers resist the temptation to divert their competitors by falsely marking empty spots, it could actually work. But if you want to avoid the headache altogether, you can still slum it on the subway, with us. [From: Google]
Victim's Sister To Arias: 'Our Minds Are Permanently Stained'
Live from Google I/O's 2013 opening keynote!
Waitress Surprised With HUGE Tip On Tiny Bill
Chili's Waitress Fired Over Facebook Post Insulting 'Stupid Cops'
Billboard Music Awards: Worst Dressed (or Most Daring?) From Past Red Carpets
LOOK: There's Something Wrong With This Picture
HSBC Plans 14,000 More Job Cuts
Save on Spring Cleaning With a New Vacuum -- Savings Experiment
Former OJ Attorney Gives Shocking Testimony
Forbidden America: Cold War-Era Map Shows No-Go Zones For Soviet Tourists
BBC Host Paula White Pulled Off Air After Sounding Drunk
These American Companies Refused To Sign The Bangladesh Safety Accord
Man Takes Dump In Background Of Instructional Workout Video
Tenants: Stench of Death Makes St. Louis Complex 'Unlivable'
New Leads In Case Of Missing British Girl
Famous Roadside Attractions
PREGNANT!
And Your New 'American Idol' Is ...
The Afterlife Of Andy Kaufman
Pictures Showing Pregnant Teens' Bumps Banned From Yearbook
Jodi Arias' Lawyers Want Out
Will Smith, Jaden Smith Get Photobombed
LOOK: Khloe K Shows Curves In SKIN TIGHT Dress
Chef Allegedly Killed Over Noodle Dinner Gone Wrong
Hero Hitchhiker Arrested For Allegedly Beating Man To Death
Televangelist Claims It's The Wife's Job To Keep Men Faithful
LeAnn Rimes, Brandi Glanville Feud Reignites
LOOK: The Worst Twitter Responses To Angelina Jolie's Preventative Mastectomy
Victoria Lost 96 Pounds: 'It Was All Or Nothing'
Jury: Arias Should Face Death Penalty
LOOK: Mind-Blowing Optical Illusions
WATCH: How Moms Inadvertently Sabotage Their Sons
Comments
1
Subscribe to commentsfefe laruJul 13th 2010 10:01AM
this is going to be a disaster and there will be a few car crashes from people racing to the vacant parking spot