Texting can b gd 4 ur kids February 24, 2009
Concerns have been raised that an explosion in the use of “textisms” like “CUL8R” and “wot u doin 2nite?” could be damaging children’s reading and spelling ability. From New Scientist.To investigate, Beverly Plester and her colleagues at Coventry University in the UK asked 88 children aged 10 to 12 to write text messages describing 10 different scenarios. When they compared the number of textisms used to a separate study of the children’s reading ability, they found that those who used more textisms were better readers (British Journal of Developmental Psychology, DOI: 10.1348/026151008X320507).But do textisms improve literacy, or …
Email This Post‘Mobile health’ campaign launched February 19, 2009
Three foundations have announced their intention to join in a “mobile health” effort to use mobile technology to provide better healthcare worldwide.The UN, Vodafone, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s mHealth Alliance aims to unite existing projects to improve healthcare using mobile technology.The alliance will guide governments, NGOs, and mobile firms on how they can save lives in the developing world.The partnership is now calling for more members to help in mHealth initiatives. The groundbreaking “mHealth for Development” study produced by the UN/Vodafone Foundation Partnership lists more than 50 mHealth programmes from around the world, showing the benefits that mobile technology can …
Email This PostDivorce by text messaging and e-mail on the rise among Muslim men February 17, 2009
A study on “Marriage and divorce amongst Muslim women in India”, undertaken by Sahiba Hussain, highlights that more and more men are divorcing via SMS and e-mail. adnkronos Interntional reports.
Where women do not have access to mobile phones or computers, men use landline phones to pronounce the divorce declaration. “From 15 divorces that we looked at in 2008, eight were pronounced via SMS, e-mail and over the phone,” said Husssain.The phenomenon is taking place despite a decree by the All-India Muslim Women Personal Law Board’s which forbids men from divorcing by electronic means.
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Email This PostHasbro Announces Its First Board Game to Include Live Clues via Text February 15, 2009
mEt agnt mtard in Moscow w microcs! (Translation: Meet Agent Mustard in Moscow with the microchips!) This fall, Hasbro’s classic game of murderous mayhem will take an international twist as the iconic characters from CLUE embark on a globetrotting adventure to foil the plans of the Criminal League for Ultimate Espionage (C.L.U.E.) in CLUE: Secrets & Spies Edition. Intrigue begets intrigue as the new optional …
Email This PostFake Text app February 10, 2009
Fake Text allows iPhone users to show off text messages on their iPhone screen seemingly sent from someone (famous or not) who didn’t actually send it.In their own words: “Type in someone’s name and a message, and Fake Text will show a realistic-looking SMS text message from that person.- Pretend to get texts from your favorite celebrities and show off to your friends- Spook friends by pretending to get texts from their parents or girlfriend/boyfriendVia Textually
Email This PostCity of London Police Accepting SMS Requests for Help February 8, 2009
The police force covering the UK’s City of London has launched an SMS service, which will allow people in the City to use their mobile phones to contact the police in non-emergency situations. The SMS service is aimed mainly at people that have hearing or speech impediments but it is available to all City residents.
The new service will replace the existing typetalk and textphone services.
Chief Inspector Anthony Cairney said: “We hope that people will find this service useful, particularly those who have hearing or speech difficulties. People should find it a lot easier to use than typetalk and textphone services.”
To …
Email This PostThe gr8 strm & texting February 3, 2009
It was Britain’s first digital big freeze. Mobile phone networks reported a huge leap in text and picture messages yesterday as Britons contacted bosses, family and friends to tell them they had been snowed in/failed to catch that train/been unable to start the car.
Vodafone saw a 58% leap in texts to well over 30m, with the peak of activity between 7am and 9am. More than half a million texts were sent in the five minutes after 8am alone.
It also saw a dramatic rise in the number of picture messages sent, as people went out to enjoy the snow. Rival network …
