Al-Qaida videos now on cell phones

Al-Qaida video messages of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri can now be downloaded to cell phones, the terror network announced as part of its attempts to extend its influence. The Associated Press reports.

"The announcement was posted late Friday by al-Qaida's media wing, al-Sahab, on Web sites commonly used by Islamic militants. As of Saturday, eight previously recorded videos were made available including a recent tribute to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the former al-Qaida in Iraq leader killed by U.S. forces in Iraq in June 2006.

In a written message introducing the new cell phone videos, al-Zawahri, al-Qaida's No. 2 figure, asked followers to spread the terror group's messages.

... The eight videos currently available to download to cell phones by al-Sahab range in size from 17 megabytes to 120 megabytes, requiring phones to have large amounts of free data capacity. Al-Sahab has promised to release more of its previous video messages in cell-phone quality formats.

The Times travel photo competition

The Times' Online Travel section has launched a citizen traveler photography competition. In their own words:

Citizen journalism has transformed the news - it's not just being pumped out to us from a screen in our living rooms, we're part of it.

Camera phones and pocket-sized technology make us all witnesses in a world that watches itself more and more.

What the Times' Travel section wants now are citizen travellers. Show us the over looked and the never looked-at: details; big pictures; unexpected glimpses.

Travel is changing, and we want to guide you around the world in print and online and show you what you could do with your leisure, your work, your play - but with the growing sophistication of tour operators and the burgeoning of independent travel, we're hungry for snapshots of your experiences.

We want amateur pictures from passionate travellers. Take our breath away, surprise us or amuse us and you could win a holiday and see your picture in print in the Travel section.

To wn our first prize of a weekend for two in Lisbon, we must receive entries by February 25.

The winning photograph will be published in The Times and on Times Online on Saturday Mar 1.

Send us your best shot with no more than 50 words telling us when, where and why to travelpictures@timesonline.co.uk

Kenyan bloggers and mobile phones keep world informed

With news blackouts in force in Kenya it is up to the bloggers to keep the world, and indeed many of the media, informed of the terrible atrocities being perpetrated in what was just a week ago a relatively peaceful country in Africa. Mobile phones are being used to update Kenyan blogs and video shot of the violence in Kenya via mobile phone is being disseminated by mainstream news media.

Kenya has one of the most vibrant blogging communities in Africa according to the Internet and Democracy project team at Harvard in the United States in this blog entry on the impact of ‘Blogs, SMS and the Kenyan Election': “Blogs and mobile phones have played critical roles since violence erupted,” according to the blog post which is hosted at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

... According to the Internet and Democracy blog, only 3.2% of Kenyans have internet access, so mobile phones are a far more useful tool in disseminating information.

[via BizCommunity. Image from The Telegraph]

Mobile phone photos rescue lost hikers

Images sent to park rangers from a mobile phone were instrumental in rescuing three people lost in rugged country in a Victorian national park, reports News.com.au.

"A 46-year-old man was hiking with his son and niece, both aged 14, in the Grampians National Park in western Victoria yesterday when they became disoriented.

The man, identified as Mark Valentine, called emergency services about 5.30pm last night and later sent photos of the area to Parks Victoria staff from his mobile phone.

Grampians National Park ranger Andrew Dennis said after scrutinising the photos he identified the mountain range in the background as Redman's Bluff.

Staff looked at other photos of the area to confirm the mountain range and used mapping software to home in on the trio's likely location.

They were able to concentrate the search area to about one square kilometre."

Astrophotography with an Apple iPhone

An advanced amateur astronomer, Michael Weasner, took a photograph of the full moon on Christmas Eve, 2007 with a Meade ETX telescope and an Apple iPhone.

This photograph, which is not the first instance of an astronomical photo with an Apple iPhone, nevertheless shows what an experienced amateur astronomer can do with a small telescope and the camera in Apple's mobile phone.

[via The MacObserver]