http://www.textually.org/ en-us emily@netsurf.ch 2009-11-09T07:54:54+01:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024876.htm Within two years Israel's Defense Forces (IDF) will install a text message rocket alert system. The Jerusalem Post">The Jerusalem Post reports. According to Col. Dr. Chilik Soffer, head of the Population Department at the Home Front Command, the advanced rocket sensors would soon have the ability to calculate the projectile's exact trajectory. The alert will take four forms: A cellphone vibration, audio alert, light flash, or text message. Currently, air raid sirens are programmed to identify and alert cities that are at risk of rocket attacks following a hostile launch. The more specific the alert, the more ready people will be," Soffer added. Related: SMS (Solidarity Message For Sederot) - The National Council of Young Israel has set up a service called SMS Sderot. When the Tzeva Adom (Code Red) siren in sounded in Sederot, SMSSEDEROT will send you a text message that will read: A Kassam Rocket has just been launched at Sderot. You have: 15 seconds to read Psalm 130. 15 seconds to give to charity 15 seconds to call the UN, the White House, your Senators and Congressman. 15 Seconds to pause and pray for the people of Sderot. ]]> 24876@http://www.textually.org/ 2009-11-09T07:54:54+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024875.htm Spotted on PCWorld, a Motorola DROID commercial which was to start airing Friday. ]]> 24875@http://www.textually.org/ News, Buzz 2009-11-07T09:09:55+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024870.htm A very useful app for anyone who doesn't remember where they parked their. Augmented reality Car Finder sees the iPhone's camera to overlay the direction of your car and how far away it is. The app relies on the camera and a digital compass, and is compatible only with the iPhone 3GS running 3.1 or later. [via boingboing] ]]> 24870@http://www.textually.org/ Cell Phone Apps Reviews 2009-11-05T08:56:20+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024869.htm Mobile phone operator Orange has launched a gadget recycling scheme, reports the BBC. Under the Recycle and Reward scheme, members of the public can bring their electronic goods to an Orange store and will receive a range of cash rewards. A recycled Nokia N95 can fetch up to £85 ($140) while a Sony Ericsson C905 could make £95 ($157). ]]> 24869@http://www.textually.org/ Cell Phone Recycling 2009-11-05T08:46:39+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024868.htm Yesterday Apple officially announced it hit a milestone, soaring past 100,000 applications available for download in the App Store. [via Bits] IPhone and iPod Touch owners have downloaded more than 2 billion applications since the storefront opened in July 2008. By comparison, it took more than two years for Apple to announce the sale of its billionth song through iTunes. ]]> 24868@http://www.textually.org/ Cell Phone Apps Random Stats 2009-11-05T08:40:28+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024862.htm According to The Sydney Morning Herald, men have become so openly affectionate with each other using mobile technology they've taken to signing off text messages to male friends with a kiss (x), that they have given rise to a new generation dubbed "Metrotextuals." Read full article. New research from mobile phone firm T-Mobile reveals nearly a quarter of men (22 per cent) regularly include a kiss on texts to their male mates, T-Mobile said in an emailed statement. ]]> 24862@http://www.textually.org/ 2009-11-04T08:28:36+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024860.htm In the age of digital communications, there now are three sides to every divorce story: His, hers, and what's being stored by the phone company. Reuters reports. Many people who text often will message their spouse, friends or even a lover with whom they're having an affair, revealing intentions, intimate details and negotiation strategies. Such conversations can become evidence in the mediation or courtroom setting. Yet, hitting "Delete" isn't enough to erase the conversation. The phone company often retains records of text conversations for up to 30 days. In a divorce scenario, those records can be requested or subpoenaed into evidence. Image from The Chronicle. Related: -- French Courts to Admit Text Messages in Divorce Cases -- SMS as evidence in Polish divorce court ]]> 24860@http://www.textually.org/ News, Buzz 2009-11-04T07:55:12+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024859.htm Quite an attention grabbing headline from the WSJ, claiming text messages are good for savings. A new study by a group of economists looking at why people save money found that simply sending out cellphone reminders increased savings balances by 6%. The study challenges the idea that people simply don't have enough self-control to save. Instead, the problem may be they just aren't paying attention, said Dartmouth University economics professor Jonathan Zinman, one of the study's four authors. "Savings isn't at the top of their mind," said Zinman. "Basically all we did was remind them." ... In three cases conducted in the Philippines, Peru and Bolivia, the economists teamed up with local banks to send reminders to people randomly selected from those who had recently opened a savings account. The banks sent several different types of messages, including letters in Peru and text messages in Bolivia and the Philippines. Some used negative language to stress the consequences of not saving money. "If you don't frequently deposit into the Gihandom Savings account, your dream will not come true," warned one message in the Philippines. While positive or negative language did not have a significant effect on the savings rate, mentioning a customer's specific goal did. When reminders mentioned incentives offered by the bank for consistent deposits, bank savings increased by almost 16%. ]]> 24859@http://www.textually.org/ New SMS Services 2009-11-04T07:49:47+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024858.htm Blackbetty, a mobile book publisher, presented mobile books at this year's book fair at Frankfurt a couple of weeks ago. Blackbetty's books may be downloaded free of charge via Bluetooth. Samples of well known authors and complete books are available for download. Visitors may select their favorite book at a touch screen terminal. Afterwards they simply download their chosen content to their mobile phone by ubiquitously available Bluetooth. No additional hardware or software is needed to read the mobile book. The Bluetooth terminal has been developed by Bluetooth marketing specialist Haase & Martin, Germany. The terminal is a leading software solution, completing other technologies like hotspot enabled city light posters for single file transmissions. Web resources of Blackbetty's mobile books are available at www.mobilebooks.com Press release ]]> 24858@http://www.textually.org/ SMS and Litterature 2009-11-03T15:59:14+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024854.htm Spotted on TechRadar, a new mobile device that gives driect access to Twitter - and nothing else. Dubbed the 'affordable alternative' to a smartphone, the TwitterPeek is a full QWERTY-enabled device exclusively used for sending and receiving Tweets. The TwitterPeek has been designed by Arnol Sarva, founder of Peek, which specialises in low-cost email devices for those that don't want to pay for a smartphone. ]]> 24854@http://www.textually.org/ Twitter 2009-11-03T14:27:18+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024852.htm When their useful lifespan is over, just over 6 percent of mobile handsets are refurbished, and about 2 percent are ethically disposed of. But those numbers are predicted to rise over the next five years, according to a study on Green Mobile Phones from ABI Research. [via environmental Leader] ]]> 24852@http://www.textually.org/ Cell Phone Recycling 2009-11-03T13:24:52+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024853.htm According to The Register, a Dutch hacker threatened iPhone jailbreakers to abuse their unlocked handsets unless they pay him €5 ($7.30) The hack was possible because jailbreaking an iPhone involves enabling an SSH (Secure Shell) service on the handset, and users who then failed to change the default password left their device open to anyone with a modicum of technical knowledge and time on their hands. The hacker obviously had a change of heart as he posted instructions on how to remove the security hole. ]]> 24853@http://www.textually.org/ Spam, Viruses and Hoaxes 2009-11-03T13:13:35+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024851.htm Carol Realini, CEO of Calif.-based Obopay, recently spoke with Investors Business Daily (IBD) about mobile banking and how she got the idea for her four-year-old company while in Kenya in 2002. I walked into a prepaid cell phone store in Kinshasa, and it looked exactly like a bank. People were standing in line with bags of money. The currency had been devalued, so it took basically a shopping bag of money to buy your prepaid minutes. I said, "This is interesting. What if we generalized the value that was being loaded on the phone?" If we did that, we could have a banking system, and people could have mobile bank accounts. IBD: So, you were in Kenya ... ? Realini:... It turns out that the mobile phone is inherently more secure than traditional banking products, like (debit) cards. Here's the reason: You know within six minutes if you've lost your mobile phone. It takes you (an average of about) 18 hours to know that you've lost your debit card. IBD: What's different about mobile banking in emerging markets vs. developed nations? One of the big differences is the application that's going to drive the initial adoption, because it's got to start somewhere. In the Philippines, it was prepaid "top off" — a better way to prepay to top off your phone. In Kenya, it was domestic remittances (a family member working in a remote location sending money to family members at home) because there's a lot of urban migration going on. Read full article. Image from CGAP "Mobile Banking: From Concept to Reality" - June 2009 ]]> 24851@http://www.textually.org/ SMS and Banking 2009-11-03T08:50:34+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024848.htm In what sounds like gross overkill and attention seeking, Oklahoma City Representative Anastasia Pittman is planning on introducing legislation to prosecute teenager sexting offenders. Cellular News reports. Teenagers may think it's harmless, but sending sexually explicit pictures and messages over cell phones can lead to emotional problems and criminal charges that will affect them for the rest of their lives, criminal justice officials said. Sexting alone just by itself will land a kid in jail," Rep. Anastasia Pittman, D-Oklahoma City, said. "They are not aware of the implications, the consequences. It's their future that we're trying to save." Pittman said she hopes to craft a bill for the Legislature to consider next year that will clarify language in existing criminal statutes that could be used to prosecute teens who send or receive naughty images of themselves or others. ]]> 24848@http://www.textually.org/ 2009-11-03T07:51:39+01:00 http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2009/11/024846.htm Thinking of a tummy tuck? Need bigger breasts? There's now an App for that, reports The Los Angeles Times. In fact, there are now two plastic surgery applications for Apple's iPhone that offer users information, games and the chance for people to envisage what they would look like with a new nose, face lift or many other procedures. /p> The Shafer Plastic Surgery App was launched in October as the first such product among. /p> Created by New York-based Dr. David Shafer, it is aimed at modern patients who are "sophisticated, inquisitive and information seeking," and it taps into a database of more than 1,000 questions and answers about specific cosmetic surgery procedures. /p> Interesting, the app comes with a warning: "You must be at least 17 years old to download this application". And coming soon, the iSurgeon app which combines a game mode allowing users to try their hand at surgery with a feature that gives people the chance to instantly modify images of themselves -- or their friends -- through lip enhancements, breast augmentations and dozens of other improvements. ]]> 24846@http://www.textually.org/ Cell Phone Apps Reviews 2009-11-03T07:24:23+01:00