Hasta La Gadget!

You know those signs that tell you not to joke about bomb threats in airport security lines? They’re no laughing matter. And apparently they extend into the Twittersphere–at least in the UK, where a 27-year-old accountant posted the following upon discovering that airport was closed,

Crap! Robin Hood airport is closed. You’ve got a week and a bit to get your shit together otherwise I’m blowing the airport sky high!!

Whoops.

The accountant, one Paul Chambers, was arrested back in January following his “foolish prank.” He was convicted for the perceived bomb threat and fined £1,000 ($1,615) over the summer.

In an followup hearing held this week, Judge Jacqueline Davies upheld the original ruling on all accounts. The judge read the offending tweet aloud, adding that Chambers surely knew that the joke might have been taken as a serious threat.

According to a recent study of Cleveland-area teens, “hyper texters” and “hyper networkers” are more likely to indulge in fighting, drugs, binge drinking, and sex than their peers. 

“Hyper texters” are defined as teens who send more than 120 (!) text messages in a day. “Hyper networkers” are those who spend more than three hours a day on social networks. Hyper texters are three and a half times more likely than their peers to engage in sexual activity. Hyper networkers, are apparently more into the whole drinking and fighting thing.

The authors of the study, which looked at more than 20 high schools in the Cleveland area, stated that one in every five teens is a hyper texter and one in every nine is a hyper networker.

Joby, the makers of the instantly recognizable GorillaPod, have announced their most recent product, the GorillaMobile for iPhone 4. The new product brings the versatility of the GorillaPod tripod to the iPhone 4, allowing users to do more with their phones.

Where previous GorillaMobile iPhone accessories made use of a full case and an integrated mounting clip on the back of the case, the iPhone 4 model uses a snap-on bumper case. The hard plastic bumper case allows unimpeded use of both front and back facing cameras and the camera flash.

It’s perhaps still a bit early to call Microsoft’s latest mobile operating system an out and out success, but Windows Phone 7 has certainly come out of the gate strong. The earliest sign of the OS’s warm reception? The HTC HD7 has been selling out. Good news on that front, however–the handset will likely be in stock again the week.

Heck, the whole thing is good news for Microsoft–much-needed news, in fact. The company has suffered a huge loss of market share in the space, thanks to both stagnation on its part and the runaway success of more recent entrants like Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android.

According to predictions by tech analyst firm Gartner, Microsoft is set to increase its market share in the space from 4.7- to 5.2-percent next year–though the firm does expect things to sink down quite a bit in the following years. According to the firm’s predictions, Microsoft will be at around 3.9-percent by 2014.

Case-Mate already allows people to design their own custom device cases. Now you can win $1,000 by designing a great one. Case-Mate is partnering with BlackBooks for “The City Is Your Canvas Contest.” The winner will have their work incorporated into a suite of creative assets, which shoppers can then use to create their own unique case. You need to make a finished design, it seems, but also tools for mash-ups.

To win the contest, you’ll need to think about what “the city” means to a modern artist. The winner will need to provide 20 to 25 vector assets (of which 2 to 4 are “spray can elements,” 2 to 4 are predesigned cases, 4 to 6 are background colors, and 4 to 6 are colorize colors. To enter, however, you’ll only need to submit 1 to 3 pieces of visual art. The contest ends December 31, and the winner gets $1,000, plus an unspecified percentage of the revenue for cases sold. It could be a good way to get your work noticed.