Ramanisblog

Tag: cell phones

  • Wailing mobiles could deter thieves

    Mobiles.
    Story:
    A mobile phone alarm which emits a high-pitched wail if the handset travels more than 10 metres from its owner could stop thieves in their tracks, the Home Office has said.

    Every hour 228 mobiles are reported stolen in the UK and the i-migo mobile alarm was one of three designs to win a Government backed challenge aimed at tackling phone crime through technological innovation.
    http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/latest/2010/02/11/wailing-mobiles-could-deter-thieves-115875-22034689/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed

  • Report: Google phone $5 less to make than iPhone

    Associated Press
    By JORDAN ROBERTSON , 01.11.10, 11:10 AM EST

    SAN FRANCISCO — A research firm estimates that Google’s new Nexus One phone costs about $5 less to make than Apple Inc.’s iPhone. That’s partly because Google’s device has far less memory.

    ISuppli Corp. has examined the components inside Google ( GOOG – news – people )’s phone and estimates in a new report that the phone costs $174.15 to make. The firm estimates that a $30.50 Qualcomm Inc. ( QCOM – news – people ) processor is the most expensive part.

    By contrast, iSuppli estimates the iPhone 3GS’s cost at nearly $179.

    That version has 16 gigabytes of memory, compared with just 4 giagbytes in the Nexus One.

    Google’s Nexus One sells for $529 without a wireless contract, and $179 with a two-year wireless contract.
    http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/01/11/technology-telecommunications-equipment-us-tec-techbit-google-phone-cost_7264425.html?partner=alerts

  • Mobile phone radiation ‘protects’ against Alzheimer’s

    After all the concern over possible damage to health from using mobile phones, scientists have found a potential benefit from radiation.
    Their work has been carried out on mice, but it suggests mobiles might protect against Alzheimer’s.
    Florida scientists found that phone radiation actually protected the memories of mice programmed to get Alzheimer’s disease.
    They are now testing more frequencies to see if they can get better results.
    The study by the Florida Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centre is published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.
    Genetically altered mice

    We don’t recommend spending 24 hours a day on a mobile phone – we don’t know the long-term effects, and bills could go through the roof
    Rebecca Wood
    Alzheimer’s Research Trust
    It involved 96 mice, most of which had been genetically altered to develop beta-amyloid plaques in their brains, which are a marker of Alzheimer’s disease, as they aged.
    The rest of the mice were non-demented.
    All the mice were exposed to the electro-magnetic field generated by a standard phone for two one-hour periods each day for seven to nine months.
    Their cages were arranged at the same distance around a centrally located antenna generating the phone signal.
    The researchers, led by Professor Gary Arendash, said that if the phone exposure was started when the Alzheimer’s mice were young adults, before signs of memory impairment were apparent, their cognitive ability was protected.
    In fact, the Alzheimer’s mice performed as well on tests measuring memory and thinking skills as aged mice without dementia.
    If older Alzheimer’s mice already showing memory problems were exposed to the electro-magnetic waves, their memory impairment disappeared.
    Professor Arendash was the author of a previous study that said coffee could protect against Alzheimer’s.
    He said: “It will take some time to determine the exact mechanisms involved in these beneficial memory effects.
    “One thing is clear, however – the cognitive benefits of long-term electro-magnetic exposure are real, because we saw them in both protection and treatment-based experiments involving Alzheimer’s mice, as well as in normal mice.”
    Memory benefits
    The memory benefits of phone exposure took months to show up, suggesting that a similar effect in humans would take years.
    The researchers conclude that electro-magnetic field exposure could be an effective, non-invasive and drug-free way to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
    They are currently testing whether different sets of frequencies and strengths might produce a more rapid and greater cognitive benefit.
    Chuanhai Cao, another author of the study, said: “Since production and aggregation of beta-amyloid occurs in traumatic brain injury, particularly in soldiers during war, the therapeutic impact of our findings may extend beyond Alzheimer’s disease.”
    The authors say previous studies have linked a possible increased risk of Alzheimer’s with “low-frequency” electro-magnetic exposure like the energy waves generated by power and telephone lines.
    They say mobile phones emit “high frequency” electro-magnetic waves that are very different because they can have beneficial effects on brain function, such as increasing brain cell activity.
    Organs normal
    They did carry out autopsies on the mice and found no evidence of abnormal growth in the brains of the Alzheimer’s mice following months of exposure to the electro-magnetic waves.
    They also found all the major peripheral organs, such as the liver and lungs, were normal.
    Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, said: “This research has been carried out in mice that mimic some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s in people, so we don’t know if any similar effects will be seen in humans.
    “Although the researchers hope their findings will translate to people, much more research is needed to find out if there could be any beneficial effects of long-term exposure to electro-magnetism, and to guarantee its safety.
    “We don’t recommend spending 24 hours a day on a mobile phone – we don’t know the long-term effects, and bills could go through the roof.”
    Dr Susanne Sorensen, head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society, said the results were “exciting and quite convincing”.
    “However, this research in mice is at an early stage and a lot more work is needed before we can say anything about the possible preventative or treatment effects of this type of radiation on people with Alzheimer’s disease.”

  • Teen Racks Up $21,917 Cell Phone Bill, Dad Flabbergasted

    One of the less harmful side effects technology?
    Ted Estarija’s Verizon cell phone bill last month might not reach the astronomical heft of the $85,000 charge we reported about a while back, but $21,917 isn’t anything to scoff at, especially in these lean times.

    According to CBS News, the Hayward, California resident was surprised with a bill for more than 20 grand after he added his son to their mobile plan. He thought it would cost a mere $50 more a month, and just in case, he also had the phone company restrict his son’s calls and texts.

    What Estarija forgot about, though, was data usage. In a month, the boy managed to download about 1.33 gigabytes of data — of what exactly, we’d like to know — and since Dad’s plan did not include coverage, he was charged by the megabyte.

    “I was completely caught off guard,” he told KTVU-TV in Oakland. “There’s no way I can pay this, so [I’ll do] whatever I can to get this resolved.”

    Though Verizon comped the guy’s bill after word of his financial woes leaked to the media, Estarija’s son, apparently “despondent” over the trouble he’d caused, was not so lucky: Dad suspended the teen’s account indefinitely. [From: CBS News and USA Today]

    http://www.switched.com/2009/12/14/teen-racks-up-21-917-cell-phone-bill-dad-flabbergasted/

  • A Practical Guide To Sexting (For Men Over 30)

    Well, the media is ablaze with stories about a new teen phenomenon known as “sexting.” Apparently, kids today are using their cell phones to take sexy pictures of themselves and then sending them to friends–sometimes with sexy text messages. I have to confess, as someone who went to high school in the 90s, I was a little taken aback by today’s technologically advanced and sexually retarded teens. But as I read these sexting stories (over and over again) I kept thinking one thing: Why just sassy teens? Surely, grown-ups can get on this sexting bandwagon.

    So for the last month, I’ve been learning all I can about sexting from today’s youth in the hopes of applying what I call my “Sexting Technique”™ to every aspect of life. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my young and nubile Facebook friends who were a huge help. For example, did you know that you don’t need to type the word “breasts” or even “boobs” because you can substitute “(.)(.)” Isn’t that sexy? Sure it is, and the world of sexting is filled with fun and wonderful surprises just like that!

    But for those of you brave enough, sexting offers more than mere graphic, written and photographic titillation. And it doesn’t have to be limited to high school buddies or significant others, either. As I will show you, there is hardly an interaction in our daily lives that could not be made better with the addition of sexting.

    JOB INTERVIEWS
    In today’s economy, job applicants need every advantage they can get to secure a job. That means learning everything you can about your interviewer: his experiences with the company, his accomplishments and, of course, his cell phone number. An applicant serious about securing a job through my Sexting Technique™ will do whatever necessary–including going through the interviewer’s old discarded billing statements–to get this vital information. Only then can you have experiences such as these:

    INTERVIEWER
    So I see you’ve freelanced at Cracked.com for almost three years. Tell me, what part of that qualifies you to work here at Union Carbide?

    GLADSTONE
    Well, hmm… I wrote an article about Jessica Simpson being fat that got a lot of Diggs.

    INTERVIEWER
    Yeah, that’s not really what we’re looking for in an industrial chemist. I’m sorry, I just-

    Interviewer’s cell phone vibrates

    INTERVIEWER
    Excuse me, I’m expecting a call from the EPA. Hello? Oh, it’s not a phone call. It’s just a text. That’s odd.

    GLADSTONE
    What is?

    INTERVIEWER
    Oh nothing. Just a weird emoticon type thing from some unknown caller.

    GLADSTONE
    Is it breasts?

    INTERVIEWER
    Excuse me?

    GLADSTONE
    The text. Is it breasts? I bet it’s breasts, isn’t it?

    Interviewer looks at cell phone.

    INTERVIEWER
    Well, it’s an open paren, period, closed paren, and then the series of symbols is repeated again. Oh hey! I guess that does look like breasts. Neat… But how did you know that?

    GLADSTONE
    Perhaps, I could answer you best in this way….

    Gladstone pushes a few buttons on his cell phone. Interviewer’s cell phone vibrates.

    INTERVIEWER
    Why did you just forward me a picture of a dude in a shower? Wait. Is that you? And if so, you might want to consider waxing….

    GLADSTONE
    (coyly)
    I don’t know. Is it me? It could be….

    INTERVIEWER
    You realize I’m not gay, right? And even if I were, what you’re doing is wildly inappropriate.

    GLADSTONE
    Sir, I assure you. I’m not gay either. But that’s how serious I am about working here at Union Carbide.

    INTERVIEWER
    So serious that you’d pretend to be gay to straight man in a way that is unacceptable regardless of sexual orientation?

    GLADSTONE
    That’s one way to say it. Here’s another.

    Gladstone sexts furiously on his cell. Interviewer’s phone vibrates again.

    INTERVIEWER
    (reading)
    U R Hawt? What does that even mean?

    GLADSTONE
    It’s text-speak or sext-speak. All the kids are doing it, old timer! So do I get the job?

    INTERVIEWER
    Mr. Gladstone, I want you to listen closely. I’m going to do two things: First I’m going to drop my phone into the vat of hydrochloric acid we keep in Sector C. And then, I’m going to call security.

    GLADSTONE
    Security? I would think my job orientation would start with Human Resources?

    INTERVIEWER
    I didn’t offer you the job.

    GLADSTONE
    OK. Not yet. But call me. I know you have the number. . .

    Gladstone texts. Interviewer’s phone buzzes.

    INTERVIEWER
    (reading text)
    A semi colon followed by a closed parenthetical? You’re standing right there. Why didn’t you just wink at me for real?!

    GLADSTONE
    Would you like me to wink at you, sir? Is that what you’re saying? Sssh. Don’t answer. I’ll go. I’ll wait for your offer… by text message.

    ORDERING AT McDONALD’S
    Ever notice how hard it is to get good service at a McDonald’s drive-thru? To the minimum wage employee inside, you’re just another faceless customer, soliciting the fast food conglomerate’s pre-molded culinary wares. A cold impersonal experience. But it doesn’t have to be. After all, a drive-thru menu is actually a lot like a cell phone! I mean, it has a camera, a microphone for talking and a speaker for listening. And when Apple unrolls its Big Mac application in 2010, there will hardly be any difference between the devices at all. So why not apply my Sexting Technique™ to your advantage?

    EMPLOYEE
    Welcome to McDonald’s. May I take your order?

    GLADSTONE
    Can you see me?

    EMPLOYEE
    What?

    GLADSTONE
    Can you see me?

    EMPLOYEE
    Yes?

    GLADSTONE
    Good then let me open my car door and ask you a question: What kind of pants am I wearing?

    EMPLOYEE
    What kind of pants? I don’t- oh, dear God! You’re not wearing pants.

    GLADSTONE
    That’s right, baby. Why don’t you take off that headset and come supersize me?

    EMPLOYEE
    Please sir, I’ll be forced to get my manager.

    GLADSTONE
    Oh, no can do, baby. I want you all to myself… unless–how sexist of me–is your manager… a lady?

    EMPLOYEE
    Please just order something, sir. You must see something you want.

    GLADSTONE
    Oh, I do. What’s your cell phone number?

    EMPLOYEE
    Look, if I just give you a Big Mac, will you please go away?

    GLADSTONE
    I think you’ve already given me a Big Mac, if you know what I mean.

    EMPLOYEE
    Ugh. Gross.

    GLADSTONE
    I mean my penis.

    EMPLOYEE
    I know what you mean. Please, just drive up, take your free food and get out of here.

    AT CONFESSION
    If you’re anything like me, you’re surely going to Hell. Yes, fire and brimstone await you for a lifetime of sins all of which have only increased exponentially in this technological age. That’s why the need for Catholicism and its “get out of eternal damnation free” cards are more important than ever. But as about half the congregants in those confessionals are likely owning up to sins they committed online–from illegal downloads, to eBay scams, to harassing old flames on Facebook even after being defriended–it occurred to me that the confessional could use a 21st century update. That’s right, you’re way ahead of me: sexting!

    GLADSTONE
    Forgive me Father for I have sinned. It’s been forever since my last confession.

    PRIEST
    Why is that my son?

    GLADSTONE
    I’m not a Catholic.

    PRIEST
    I see. Well, would you like a personal relationship with Jesus?

    GLADSTONE
    I would, but I don’t have his cell.

    Priest’s cell vibrates.

    PRIEST
    I’m sorry, son. I forgot to shut off my phone

    GLADSTONE
    No, that’s OK, Father. Please. Answer it.

    PRIEST
    No, now is not the time.

    GLADSTONE
    It’s from me. I’m shy. Please read it.

    PRIEST
    Oh very well. (reading) “I’ve been a naughty boy?”

    GLADSTONE
    Very.

    PRIEST
    How, my son?

    Priest’s cell vibrates.

    PRIEST
    Again with the text? Very well. (looks at cell) Why did you just send me a picture of a man in a shower? Wait. Is that you? And if so, you might want to consider waxing….

    GLADSTONE
    I think I’m addicted to sexting, Father. Ya see, sexting is…

    PRIEST
    I know what sexting is, my son. And no good can come from it.

    GLADSTONE
    Well, I did just get a free Big Mac on the way over here so…

    PRIEST
    What do you say in your sexts?

    GLADSTONE
    Well sometimes, I do sexts like this:

    Priest’s phone buzzes

    PRIEST
    The boobs graphic? That’s not really a sext. That’s… well that’s just a retarded emoticon. Are you sure you really know what you’re doing?

    GLADSTONE
    Hey, how do you know so much about sexting? Aren’t you supposed to be a priest?

    PRIEST
    Um, they had a course… at seminary.

    GLADSTONE
    You sext, don’t you!

    PRIEST
    I do not. Stop this nonsense or-

    GLADSTONE
    Or what? You’ll take me to the rectory?

    PRIEST
    That’s kind of a long way to go for a joke, don’t you think?

    GLADSTONE
    Yeah, I know. I’m sorry, Father. I’m kind of lost here.

    PRIEST
    How so?

    GLADSTONE
    This whole sext column seemed like a good idea, at first, and now well, I don’t really have an ending.

    PRIEST
    Yeah, most Internet columns are like that. Many skits too.

    GLADSTONE
    Yeah.

    PRIEST
    Wanna make a joke about me being a pedophile?

    GLADSTONE
    Nah. Too easy. Besides, you seem like a nice enough priest. I mean, for a fictional character.

    PRIEST
    Thanks. I try.

    GLADSTONE
    I should probably just do some penance or something.

    PRIEST
    For the sexting?

    GLADSTONE
    No. For starting a column I couldn’t finish.

    PRIEST
    OK, tell you what. For penance, why don’t you send me the other half of that shower pic and we’ll call it a day?

    GLADSTONE
    I thought we agreed that joke’s too easy.

    PRIEST
    It is, but you’re in a bind, and being compassionate is part of my job.

    GLADSTONE
    Gee thanks, Father!

    PRIEST
    Besides, you didn’t make the joke. I did.

    GLADSTONE
    Well, yeah, sorta, but…

    PRIEST
    Don’t sweat it, Gladstone. It’s just the Internet.
    http://digg.com/d31C5bp