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Around the Web 7.1.08: Hands-free cellphones, password problems and Netflix backtrack

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-- Can you hear me now? Take your hand off that cellphone! Today marks the beginning of California’s ‘hands-free-cellphone-while-driving’ law. Cities differ in how they will enforce the new law; some will give motorists a 30-day grace period while others will start handing out tickets today, according to this story in today’s LAT. As for whether the law will make roads safer, the jury is out, Steve Hymon says. Visit our hands-free guide for everything you need to know about the new law.

-- Texting while driving, of course, isn’t cool. NYT’s David Pogue has a video on some voice-activated services to help ease the transition.

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-- Was it Fifi or Fluffy? Fall-back questions meant to goose password-challenged website users are often no easier to remember. A Palo Alto Research Center scientist thinks he has the answer: Just be yourself. NYT

-- Forget Fifi. Social hacking works without passwords and with scary reliability, says Joshua Perrymon of PacketFocus Security. Be very afraid. DarkReading

-- Are we in for a bubble bath? IPOs and VC deals were down in the first six months of the year, says CNet.

-- Netflix to angry customers: Oops! After an outcry, the movie service retracted plans to kill a feature that lets one account have multiple profiles for each person in a household. Ars Technica

-- Wall-E gets no love from Wall Street. LAT

-- Want to help a friend quit smoking? Get ‘em an iPhone. Paul Kedrosky

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-- Our YouTube pick of the day features a guy who took 14 months off to travel to 42 countries to produce ‘Where the Hell Is Matt?’ Full disclosure: A personal friend, composer Garry Schyman, scored the music.

-- Alex Pham

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