Hundreds of people arrested in Xinjiang for spreading rumours through texts February 27, 2010
Beijing, Feb. 26 (ANI): Chinese authorities have punished hundreds of people in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for spreading rumours and separatist content through text messages during the Spring Festival holiday.
Two persons were detained on Feb 20, while the rest received administrative punishments for sending illegal text messages, according to a statement released by the regional police.
More than half of those punished are students and self-employed people. A number of people who sent the messages meant them as jokes, China Daily reports.
Text messaging services were suspended in the provincial capital of Urumqi last year because it was said to be …
Email This PostThe Bank in your pocket February 24, 2010
Mobile money applications are emerging as potent financial tools in rural and remote areas of the globe, allowing people with no bank accounts to get paid, send remittances or settle their bill.
At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Gavin Krugel, the director of mobile banking strategy at GSM Association said “We see it as a very big oppurtunity” and “one billion consumers in the world have a mobile phone but no access to a bank account,”.
Today, 40 million people worldwide use mobile money, and the industry is growing, according to the GSMA. “Africa and Asia are the most active …
Email This PostLearning English through SMS. February 17, 2010
How many of us had thought of this before—learning a language through sms! The BBC World Service Trust, an international charity arm of the broadcaster is running this service in Bangladesh one of Asia’s poorest nations. Mobile phone services began in Bangladesh just over a decade ago and there are more than 50.4million users.
The service offers 250 audio and SMS lessons at different levels. Each lesson is a three-minute phone call, costing about 3 taka. Basic lessons involve listening to and repeating simple dialogue like: “What do you do?” “I work in IT, what about you?” “I’m a student.” “That’s …
Teens Text 10 Times per Hour: Nielsen February 13, 2010
American teenagers send an average of 10 text messages per hour they are not in school or sleeping, according to research by The Nielsen Company.
By analyzing more than 40,000 monthly U.S. mobile bills, Nielsen determined American teens sent an average of 3,146 texts a month each during Q3 2009. Their tween counterparts (ages 9-12) sent an average of 1,146 monthly texts each, or four per hour not spent asleep or in school. In comparison, the average number of monthly texts sent by all mobile users combined was a little more than 500, writes Marketing Charts.
In Q4 2009, 9-12s …
Email This PostChina cracks down on text messaging in Xinjiang February 3, 2010
Authorities in China’s troubled north-western region of Xinjiang have punished residents for spreading rumours and “splittist” content via text messages, within days of turning services back on, according to local media.Officials cut off the internet and short message services across the region after inter-ethnic violence in the capital, Urumqi, left almost 200 dead and 1,700 injured last July. At least 26 people have since been sentenced to death over the riots.Despite the restoration of text messaging two weeks ago, and the decision to make some internet sites …
Email This PostStudy of cell-phone bans just doesn’t cut it February 1, 2010
A new study out today irresponsibly suggests that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation’s roadways.At this early stage in our work against distracted driving, no one should be discouraging strong nationwide efforts to make our roadways safer. When it comes to distracted driving, we are only at the starting gate.
Unfortunately, a study released by the Highway Loss Data Institute casts doubt on the reality of this epidemic. Not explaining likely reasons for the surprising data encourages people to wrongly conclude that talking on cell …
Allergy text service goes live January 29, 2010
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has set up an email and SMS text service which will directly inform food allergy sufferers of the presence of allergens in inappropriately labelled foods.
People with allergies or parents of children with allergies can subscribe to receive these alerts via the authority’s website www.fsai.ie.
Food allergen alerts will be issued by the authority upon receipt of information that a food product poses a risk to certain consumers’ health, due to missing or incorrect allergen labelling. Food allergen alerts will also be issued to enforcement officers and food businesses. This service went live earlier today.
The Food …
Email This PostTexts, Tweets Saving Haitians From the Rubble January 24, 2010
Relief workers in Haiti received an emergency text message Tuesday about a collapsed school, with children still alive in the rubble. A search-and-rescue team on the scene, however, couldn’t find the right location.
Haiti Donations Through SMS Surpass $10 Million January 17, 2010
We have reported about a couple of big companies who have donated money and their services toward the Haiti Earthquake relief efforts. Just like big companies, individuals across the United States have been helping out the cause by donating money through text messages [SMS]. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that the donations to Haiti have surpassed $10 million, and still counting.Unfortunately, it was being reported yesterday that the money donated through SMS wouldn’t be available until after 90 days due to standard practices in the mobile industry. Luckily and thankfully, many companies have pledged to give the …
Email This PostHaiti Earthquake Info Tells Story of SMS That Saved a Woman January 14, 2010
A Canadian woman trapped under rubble after the recent earthquake in Haiti managed to send out a text message to the Foreign Affairs Department in Ottawa, a place nearly 3,000 miles away. And it saved her life.Once received, the text message was “relayed to Canadian diplomats back in Haiti” who then provided aid in the search for the woman. There’s not much more information beyond that, but it’s simply good to hear even the tiniest bit of encouraging and happy news in regards to this devastating event—particularly when it shows …
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