Today’s Big Story

Going Low-Tech at Work

Dumbphones and fax machines are the new boss flex

It started with smartphones. More and more people were feeling exhausted from the constant stream of information at their fingertips, the addictive draw of social media and relentless pings and beeps and buzzes of alerts popping up. So they switched. Out with the power smartphones and in with the pared down “feature phones”, otherwise known as dumbphones.

Gen Z is growing up with the latest technology in every facet of life. But, it seems the wired generation wants to step out of the blue light a little as more and more young people are easing up on smartphone usage with wellness in mind. It seems that many make the switch after recognizing the mental health problems caused by too much screen time.

And now the movement is transitioning into the workplace. And Ben Crudo is leading the way. The tech CEO said that “there was some withdrawal at first, but I soon learned to adapt. Without a smartphone, I carried around a notebook and pen, I got a GPS for my bike, and I brought a book on the subway to occupy my time.” He wasn’t always successful, but he says it did make him a better boss.

He’s now the founder of Diff, which makes a popular minimalist dumbphone, the $300 Punkt MP02, which he says helps him “treat technology as a tool instead of a distraction.” And, as the Wall Street Journal reports, many executives—even those getting rich from high tech—have found using stuff from the past can double as a power move. “Junior employees may chafe at jumping through hoops to get hold of them, not to mention having to be reachable at all times themselves. But one of the perks of calling the shots is being able to make others wait or rely on assistants to alert them to truly urgent matters.”

Throwback bosses say eschewing smartphones or other state-of-the-art gizmos makes them better leaders. They can focus on deep work and be fully present in meetings. Sure, glancing at your old school watch (which has a face that never goes to sleep) in a meeting is a classic boss move. The bigger point is one-function tools can remain useful long after they’re supposedly outmoded. Just ask Snap Chairman Michael Lynton, who still relies on fax machines. He says an important email can get buried in someone’s inbox. A message delivered via fax might be the only one a person receives this month …or decade. The only catch? The number of business contacts who still have fax machines is shrinking fast.

Wild Fires Threaten the American West

The flames torch dozens of homes and force thousands to evacuate

Officials in Southern California are urging residents to “heed all evacuation orders” as firefighters battle three massive wildfires—among 65 burning across the American West. California Gov. Gavin Newsom proclaimed a state of emergency in response to the Bridge Fire and in Orange and Riverside counties in response to the Airport Fire Wednesday evening.

The wildfires have been endangering tens of thousands of homes and other structures across the region after they sprung to life during a triple-digit heat wave over the weekend. Other major fires were burning in Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, where about 20,000 people had to flee a blaze outside Reno. Meanwhile, the National Weather Service issued red flag warnings and fire weather watches throughout 10 states between California and Nebraska.

California is only now heading into the teeth of the wildfire season but already has seen nearly three times as much acreage burn than during all of 2023. However, cooler temperatures were expected to potentially start tempering fire activity as the week progresses.

The Long-Awaited New Mail Truck Is Here

The streamlined vechile made its debut to rave reviews from carriers

The United States Postal Service truck is a lot of things: iconic, dependable and durable as hell. But it’s never been particularly good-looking. Except for the navy blue Jeeps that were used in the mid-1970s—let’s bring those babies back, huh?

But the long-awaited update to the USPS fleet has finally hit the streets. According to the Associated Press, the first handful of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles that rolled onto postal routes in August in Athens are getting rave reviews from letter carriers accustomed to cantankerous older vehicles that lack modern safety features and are prone to breaking down (and even catching fire).

Once fully deployed—from Maine to Hawaii—they’ll represent one of the most visible signs of the agency’s 10-year, $40 billion transformation led by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, who’s also renovating aging facilities, overhauling the processing and transportation network, and instituting other changes. Of course, the Postal Service has been wanting to upgrade for years. With more than 220,000 vehicles, the USPS operates about one-third of all vehicles in the U.S. government fleet, which is the largest in the world. It’s also the oldest federal fleet. Its iconic workhorse, the Grumman LLV, went out of production in 1994 yet continues to fill thousands of mail routes across the country.

Should Your Car Slow You Down?

Road safety advocates say urgent beeps or gas-pedal resistance would save thousands of lives

The freedom of the open road is ingrained in American car culture, right? And as someone who fought a reputation for always being late in my younger years, I can tell you that going five to 10 MPH over the speed limit can really help you out sometimes. But how far is too far? Because our habitual speeding costs thousands of lives a year.

In fact, about 41,000 people died in traffic crashes last year, according to preliminary data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And most of those crashes involved speeding. Now, road safety advocates are calling for a fairly simple fix: onboard technology that can warn lead-footed drivers to slow down. According to the Washington Post, the approach got a major boost on August 31 when lawmakers in California passed a bill requiring speed warnings on new vehicles starting in 2030. State Sen. Scott Wiener, the bill’s sponsor, said the number of people dying in crashes is a state and national crisis.

It does make sense. Your car probably tells you when you’re running out of gas. It might alert you when you drift out of your lane. And it certainly buzzes like crazy if you don’t buckle your seatbelt. Of course, the proposals are getting push-back from industry and driving groups, but this new legislation seems realistic. The bill just approved by the California legislature would require warnings only if drivers speed more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. That still gives us some room to play catch up.

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