JOEL JOHNSON -- The AP wire has a touching story about a woman who
convinced a thief to return her car via text messages. He left the
vehicle in an abandoned lot, but still made off with her son's mobile
(which is how she contacted him in the first place)...
World's tiniest fish identified07/24/2004 03:07 AM The smallest, lightest animal with a backbone - a fish from
Australia's Great Barrier Reef - is described for the first time by
scientists.
Scales tip with tiniest mass yet03/30/2005 05:47 PM Scientists weigh a cluster of xenon atoms at just a few billionths of
a trillionth of a gram, or a few zeptograms.
Texting teens use SMS for help09/08/2004 05:29 AM Talking to youngsters in the language of text could increase their
access to services.
Texting to help SA HIV patients
Texting to help SA HIV patients04/13/2005 05:46 AM Mobile phone text messaging in South Africa is used to help HIV
patients with the complicated process of taking drugs.
Texting classes for over 50s
Texting classes for over 50s07/23/2004 08:12 AM Lessons in sending mobile phone text messages are held for a group of
over 50s in Glasgow.
Texting without the hassle
Texting without the hassle09/04/2004 03:21 AM The launch of Z-text by NTS Telecom bridges the gap between email and
mobile to mobile texting. [PRWEB Sep 4, 2004]
"Setting a world speed record for the one skill that we hope will
become obsolete in the very near future, James Trusler has emerged as
the world’s fastest text messager, tapping out, 'The
razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are
the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they
seldom attack a human' on his cellphone in a mere 67 seconds, shaving
nearly a minute off of the previous record. [Via TechDirt]" [Engadget]
World texting record06/29/2004 05:48 AM A Singaporean woman has set a world record for mobile-phone texting,
keying in the benchmark phrase (below) in 43.24 seconds, without the
benefit of any predictive text utilities.
The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus
are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they
seldom attack a human.
"In just two decades, the mobile phone has become the
fastest-selling, most loved - and hated - consumer product. Britain is
the world's most mature mobile market, with more mobiles per head of
population and higher bills than any other country. Almost all adults
now have at least one mobile phone, one in two teenagers has a 'moby'
and a new British firm, Communic8, has just launched MyMo, a simple
phone for four- to eight-year-olds. Some 23 billion texts have been
sent this year and more than 20 billion calls made. The total value of
this electronic white noise is £15 billion....
Perhaps the biggest change mobiles have wrought is in the language
of communication we all use. Textsperanto - the amalgam of abbreviated
words, acronyms and coded punctuation that teenagers developed so that
they can fit more words into their space-limited SMS messages - was
designed to be impenetrable to adults but most of us have a grasp of
it now. When a pupil at a Scottish secondary school handed in an essay
entirely written 'in txt', her teacher gave her a 'C+ 4 e4t'....
For the refuseniks, however, the battle against the tiny power
tools is about to get a lot tougher. Twenty years after Ernie Wise
first pressed the green 'call send' button on a brick-sized Motorola
handset, the latest tiny, third-generation - 3G - phones are about to
hit the market. Today, thousands of teenagers and adults are poring
over geeky phone manuals, configuring their new handsets so that they
can surf the internet, download real-time TV and video clips, take
photographs, make video calls and play MP3 music files." [The Guardian, via textually.org]
I had to call Sprint today to find out why I haven't been able to
access any data services at home on my Treo for the last 10 days or
so. The new recording that you hear - first thing - is a message
noting that activations may take up to 24 hours because so many people
are revving up their new phones.
I find the following overheard conversation to be pretty
typical:
"College Girl: Yeah, I called mom and dad
and left a message on their machine. I've been calling their cell
phones too but they never pick up. They just don't understand.
(pause....) Yeah, they don't get it -- cell phones are supposed to be
carried around with them." [CamWorld]
World Record Texting
World Record Texting05/06/2004 12:55 PM
It's amazing the sort of stuff they keep track of for world records
these days. However, for the "thumb generation" there's a new
standard to aspire to. Already considered the world's fastest text
message writer, James Trusler, has set a new world
record for speed texting on his mobile phone by tapping out "The
razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are
the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they
seldom attack a human." in 67 seconds. The article doesn't get into
the (oh so important) details like what type of phone he used and
whether it had helpful software like T9 to make texting faster. Of
course, how do you judge such records when the technology is always
changing? Is it fair to compare someone texting on a regular keypad
against someone using a full Treo keyboard? What about the new DigitWireless phones with
letter keys spaced between the number keys? There are going to be a
lot of sub-categories for this record set.
Germans addicted to texting (Reuters)
Germans addicted to texting (Reuters)07/09/2004 12:10 PM Reuters - Growing numbers of Germans are becoming addicted to
text-messaging, a
German doctor has warned, estimating there are some 380,000 sufferers
nationwide.
Good And Bad Reasons For Texting Behind The Wheel
Good And Bad Reasons For Texting Behind The Wheel08/02/2004 06:16 AM Ever wanted to communicate with a driver in another car? There are
plenty of legitimate reasons why you might. They could have a faulty
light, you may have accidentally scratched their car while parking
(and are honest enough to admit it) or they may be double-parked and
blocking you. Textuall
y points out a new service (which sounds very familiar) in
Malaysia that would let someone send a text message to the
owner of another car, simply by knowing their license plate. You
send a text message to a specific number with the plate number in the
message, and the service matches it up and forwards the message -- but
only if (and it's quite an "only if") the other car owner has
registered with the same service. Of course, while there may be good
reasons for this service, it's likely many might want to use it for
less than friendly reasons as well, such as stalking or yelling at a
bad driver. Of course, the biggest reason this might be a bad idea is
suggested in differen
t Textually post: an increasing number of fatal car accidents from
idiots texting while driving.
New Year's texting breaks record
New Year's texting breaks record01/05/2005 11:52 AM A record 133m text message were set on New Year's Eve, bringing the
total for 2004 to over 25bn.
education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,5500,1378951,00.ht
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Kids Understand The Difference Between Texting And Writing
Kids Understand The Difference Between Texting And Writing12/24/2004 12:18 PM For years, now, we've been hearing horror stories about how kids who
are growing up learning "txt spk" on instant messenger programs and
via phone SMS messages are hurting their ability to write proper
English. There was never actually any evidence of this --
other than some anecdotal horror stories. Also, as we pointed out,
there's nothing wrong with understanding txt abbreviations as long as
the person knows
what is appropriate at the right time. It's like knowing two
different languages -- which most parents and teachers consider to be
a good thing. Thus, the focus shouldn't be on freaking out
about kids learning to tap away in abbreviated format, but in making
sure they know what's appropriate for what venues. Supporting this
theory is a new study suggesting that kids who text have comparable writing skills to those who
don't. The study was quite small, and the methodology could clearly
be questioned -- but it is some initial evidence that kids are smart
enough to understand when text talk is appropriate and when it's not.
Much more interesting, though, was the finding that those who used
messaging regularly also wrote more concisely. While the article
suggests this is a downside, being able to write concisely is a useful
talent. If text messaging helps people better organize their thoughts
this way, perhaps it's a benefit.
Fixed-line texting is the next big thing, says report
Philippine telcos lead world in texting profits (AFP)
Philippine telcos lead world in texting profits (AFP)09/21/2004 02:43 AM AFP - Philippine carriers Smart Communications and Globe Telecom lead
telcos worldwide in reaping revenues from cellular data transfers,
according to a report in Business World.
BT brings texting to fixed-line phones with Text launch
All the world's an SOA07/02/2004 11:42 AM With Sun and Oracle falling into line, every major systems vendor now
has an SOA strategy, although most of them are ...
ok-cancel.com/archives/features/2004/02/worlds_first_hci_rap_we_
got_it.html track this
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U.S. is the world's Scrooge
U.S. is the world's Scrooge12/28/2004 07:32 PM "The United States is not stingy," Colin Powell said on CNN this
morning. "We are the greatest contributor to international relief
efforts in the world."
World's richest
World's richest09/27/2004 04:41 AM CNET Asia Sep 27 2004 8:46AM GMT
World's best bathrooms09/14/2004 02:49 PM Cory Doctorow:
The Discovery Channel's got a cool web-slide-show up highlighting the
world's 10 Best Bathrooms. Gosh, but I've got to pee.
Link
(via ftrain)
World's Best Toilets
World's Best Toilets09/14/2004 08:18 PM The world's best toilets, according to the Travel Channel. Time to redeocrate the toilet
in your own castle? :-)
Cabinet minister by day, mover of souls by night. At total ease
bouncing from baritone to falsetto and back again. As nimble on stage
as those half his age. Master of a crowd and, in person, friendly as
can be. Gold-selling and Creative
Commons-adopting. Is Gilberto Gil the world's
coolest man?
Minister Gil with assistant director Neeru Paharia, CC video
director Danny Passman, cinematographer Andrew Sachs, and
me.
More on the world's smallest PDA
More on the world's smallest PDA10/29/2003 11:23 AM Some more details and a photo of that new business card-sized PDA from
Citizen, which is designed mainly for doing email and has a black and
white screen, an SDIO expansion card slot for adding a WiFi or
Bluetooth wireless adapter, and USB for synching with a PC. Read...
World's smallest PDA
World's smallest PDA10/29/2003 01:14 AM Citizen, which is best known for its wristwatches, says it's coming
out with the "world's smallest, thinnest, and lightest personal
digital assistant." About the size of a credit card, this might
actually be the world's smallest PDA since it appears that Fossil has
all but abandoned its planned WristPDA. Read...
World's Finest
World's Finest07/24/2004 09:29 PM World's
Finest, Sandy Collora's new "trailer" featuring the the
Man of Steel and the Dark Knight. (Quicktime required) Also check out
his previous fan flick Batman: Dead End. Grok Description matches for The World's Tiniest Violin Texting You GrokA matches for The World's Tiniest Violin Texting You
The World's Tiniest Violin Texting You
The following phrases have been identified by the grok system as matching this entry:
The Discovery Channel's got a cool web-slide-show up highlighting the
world's 10 Best Bathrooms. Gosh, but I've got to pee.
