Nobody enjoys being ignored. It is the worst, most loathsome feeling in the world. And being ignored via text message is the double worst, because your whole body is practically salivating for that familiar chime or buzz alert, and it just. never. comes. It’s like the worst, most emotionally fraught, prolonged sneeze. Have I made my point? More »
17-year-old Justin Bieber look-alike Austin Wierschke, of Rhinelander, Wisconsin (and a native of the United Kingdom?), is $50,000 richer today—thanks to his speedy-quick thumbs and unfailingly accurate dexterity. He’s a two-time prize-winning SMS champion, ladies and gents, the fastest in our great nation. More »
Sheepherding is a profession as ancient as civilization, but that doesn’t mean it can’t benefit from a little tech. New heart-monitoring collars let sheep shoot their shepherd a text whenever they’re in danger. More »
Despite our love of gadgets, we’re not willing to give any slack to people that text while driving, and for one good reason: it’s freaking dangerous. You’ve heard the grim stories before, but few incidents resonate to the heart of the matter like that of Chance Bothe from Texas. Despite his better judgment, the young man was texting a childhood friend while trying to bring the conversation to a close by saying, “I need to quit texting, because I could die in a car accident.” That message was followed by one more, an unfortunate, “b right there.” Regrettably, that final text caused him to miss a slight curve in the road and careen into a ravine. Chance is alive today — thanks in large part to the fact that the accident was witnessed — but the recovery hasn’t been easy. In addition to a broken neck, a number of fractures and severe head trauma, he’s already undergone two facial reconstructions. In the wake of the accident, Chance’s friends and family have founded UnSend, an organization that dedicates itself to raising awareness about the dangers of texting and driving. Chance, too, is using his experience to educate others: “They just need to understand, don’t do it. Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life.”
Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation
Texas man foretells dire outcome: messages ‘I need to quit texting,’ before driving into ravine originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 04 Aug 2012 06:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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With an opening ceremony celebrating social media and a guest appearance by the father of the world wide web, you would think the games are pretty Twitter-friendly. Well, not so much, as the hordes of London have been told to keep non-urgent texts and tweets to themselves to avoid disrupting TV coverage for those who weren’t lucky enough to score beach volleyball tickets. The recommendation comes after broadcasters bumbled through the men’s cycling road race due to a lack of available data from the cyclists’ GPS. The information bottleneck appears to be related to one specific network and sharing the data burden has been discussed, although probably not via Twitter. The IOC knows that telling the masses not to log on likely won’t have any impact — so, what’s next for the data haters.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Data-hungry crowds spoil Olympic TV coverage, archers alerted originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Jul 2012 03:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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A text message from a self-proclaimed hitman was sent to thousands of people in Australia. It warned them to not contact the police, under threat of death. So naturally they all called the cops and caused a mini-panic. More »
The kids are all about texting these days, right? So Hallmark—of all companies—has created these wristbands that allow young’uns to exchange simple ten character messages. But while they’re cheaper than a cellphone, they’re far less convenient to use. More »
Unprovoked nuclear attack. Incest. Cheating at Scrabble. Breaking up via text message. In the minds of many, that latter act is the greatest of all crimes—but is that fair? Is it ever justified to textually end things? Yes! More »
Ofcom’s annual report into the communications habits of Britons has revealed that it’s not just geeks who stare in annoyance when the phone rings. The general consumer is now abandoning voice calls is favor of texting in a big way, making five percent fewer calls than they did the previous year. The numbers also showed that on average, people send 50 texts a week, smartphone ownership was up 12 percent and tablet purchasing shot from 2 to 11 percent in a single year. The trend isn’t slowing, either, given that a whopping 96 percent of 16 to 24-year-olds prefer SMS and Facebook to talking — giving us hope that we’ll soon be spared having to listen to that guy’s conversation during our morning commute.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablet PCs, Wireless
Ofcom: Texting is more popular than talking originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Why do people leave voicemail? To annoy me? Us? There is absolutely no point, as far as I can tell. If you want to tell me something, and I’m not picking up my phone, send a text. At this point, voicemail is nothing more than an anxiety inducing surprise package. A red bubble of the unknown—that inevitably is left only because I was avoiding your call. More »
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