Monday, October 13, 2008

Google Goggles for Gmail

So it's Friday and you went out at the end of a long week and had a few drinks. What's on your mind? How much you miss your ex and you want to tell him/her how you really feel? You want to send your boss a nasty email and tell him what to do with your job?

Technology can save us from ourselves. A couple of years ago, LG introduced a phone with a built in breathalyzer. The phone would keep you from drunk dialing.

But people we not that easily deterred and would go home and get on the computer and send an email. "I will show that stupid phone!" seemed to be the prevailing attitude.

Now Google has introduced Mail Goggles to stop drunk emailing. You can set it up with your Gmail account. You tell it what hours of the day you want protection, and you will not be able to send email until you answer a series of math questions. Math! I have heard you can set the difficulty level. I don't use Gmail, but would love to go in and set it to the highest level to see if it really could stop me from emailing! (Maybe they should introduce a version for techies where we have to interpret a Tennyson poem or something instead...that would probably slow me down more than a math problem!)

I am not sure this is a good idea...you can't phone...you can't email, I fear that people will get in their cars and drive over there!

4 comments:

OrbsCorbs said...

(Psst, the link for Mail Goggles goes to the wrong place.)

I need something to stop me from making an ass of myself when I'm sober.

hale-bopp said...

Thanks, orbs. Should be fixed now.

I am not sure how to help you with your problem!

kkdither said...

I think some of my best emails come after a drink....

I saw this in action on the early show one morning. The lowest level of math was not that low, considering you had to complete it correctly in 43 seconds. It really wasn't that hard, but ohhhh the pressure!!!!!

I think you need to work on a *little* more self control if you find it necessary to set this up to protect yourself... from yourself.

Anonymous said...

This is terrific. My ex used to want to phone his boss at 2 in the am and I had all I could do to talk him out of it. Now I heard he doesn't do 'computer' but he also doesn't work. Do people really send wicked emails at 2 am? I have all I can do to find my bed!