Sunday, July 24, 2011

Ordering Food by Phone, Without Saying a Word

Recently, several new applications have hit the Android and Apple online marketplaces. These apps allow the user to order food without having to touch the dialer or email. Restaurants in partnership with these apps post their menu online, and the user can simply select the items they wish to eat, have it delivered, and pay for it directly from a credit card. Applications, such as GrubHub or Seamless, also have a database of reviews and recommendations for certain dishes at the featured restaurants.

It continues to amaze me just how much technology is changing, at least in the U.S., we live. Ten years ago the idea of an iPhone would have been unheard of. Whether or not these changes are for the best, they continue to simplify previously laborious tasks, like having to walk to the restaurant, to an extreme degree. I look forward to the future and what technological innovations come with it.




http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/nyregion/food-ordering-steps-into-the-app-age.html?ref=technology
Posted by Eric at 7:51 AM

3 comments:

Khaalis said...

i agree technological innovations can be amazing. think about the cliche future imagination. flying cars and teleportation like Star Trek. i think in 10 more years we will be golden. or at least wont be killing ourselves in the figurative sense. i for one would love to be able to order chinese food on the fly without so much as a word of description. And that soon maybe involved with the iphone. Or maybe it is already, i havent noticed much. i wonder what tech can do for humans in 10-20 years from now...

July 24, 2011 at 10:08 AM
Lexy said...

Reading the title of this post, I had assumed the article to be about fraud or how people are able to abuse this sort of technology. To my surprise, It was not. However, I feel like the author may have shared in my negative feelings towards this technological advance. "It is all terrifyingly easy", he writes. I would have to agree. The first half of what these applications do-provide menus from multiple restaurants-I think is great and I would probably download them for that if that was all they did. Call me old fashioned, but I always feel a little nervous when ordering things online using a credit card. When technology advances, it advances for everyone, including those trying to get at personal information. This sort of application is great because it makes our lives easier, but really, how difficult is it to order over the phone?

July 24, 2011 at 6:47 PM
amanda Wheeler said...

Every time a technological advancement hits the market, it comes along with a long-winded list of reasons (or excuses) why everyone should own this new item. Advertisers claim that these things will improve our lives in one way or another, and sometimes that we will be happier and better people because of them.
Although I am in awe of many gadgets that people think up, most of them seem completely destructive to our bodies and minds.
Obviously I am not the first person to make this observation, but so many modern day inventions seem to be clear threats to the well beings of our bodies and minds. Creations that allow us to go further without taking a step, communicate at the touch of a button, and (like this one) order food without saying a word, just contribute to the sedentary lifestyles of our generation. As obesity is on the rise, we are introduced to more products that allow us to stay seated and gain weight.
I am not one to complain about the inventions of cellphones, texting, and computers, but I also cannot overlook the detrimental affects of "artificial" communication on our generation's social skills. Why go visit a friend when you can so simply send them a quick text rather than go to the trouble of face-to-face interaction?
Is it just me, or are many of these advancements more harmful than they are helpful?

July 24, 2011 at 7:29 PM

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