Just as The New York Times did back in February, MSNBC published a new report that adds fuel to the fire about whether in-car technology is a benefit or a bane to today's drivers. The answer, as you'd probably imagine, lies somewhere in between those two extremes—but which technologies fall on which side of the line?

Most folks agree that talking on a cell phone or fiddling with the radio is distracting. In contrast, in-car navigation systems help you keep your eye on the road, since they speak the directions out loud, and eliminate those huge, messy paper maps and the need for map lights at night. But configuring them is another matter; while most contain warnings about messing with them while on the road, it's not clear how many people actually heed them.

And the article brings up a good point: Unlike the drug-approval process governed by the Food and Drug Administration, many car systems are sold independent of the vehicles. That complicates the ability of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to monitor their safety.

"So from a regulatory side, there's some gaps in terms of who's responsible," said John Lee, Director of Human Factors Research at the National Advanced Driving Simulator at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, in the article. "Also, there hasn't been a really well-stated or well-defined arrangement for assessing how new technology is changing driving for the better or the worse."

As one example of debatable improvements, the article mentions the Nav N Go iGO 8, a software system that lets GPS devices show elevation, terrain, nearby buildings, and more in addition to 3D road maps. A cursory look at the above screenshot makes me think it's even more complicated to look at, not less, but it's possible my impression would change after seeing it animated.

Unfortunately, the jury is still out on this one. But as time moves on, the progress will mirror desktop PCs: now that devices like in-car GPS and MP3 audio systems work for the most part, car tech vendors will change their focus to improving user interfaces (see: Ford Sync).