Switched

The Internet turned the big 4-0 this year, and the commercially available wireless phone celebrated its own quarter-century milestone. After all of that time, it seems that state and national governments are finally ready to accept the crazy notion that both modes of communication can be used to instantly disseminate urgent information during times of strife.

Japan introduced a cell phone earthquake notification system two years ago, an Iowa county recently launched the first 911-via-text service in the U.S., and Israel is currently developing a text-based rocket alert system. New York is now taking a huge leap forward with the announcement of the statewide 'Empire 2.0' program, which seeks to employ technology in creating a more "transparent, participatory, and collaborative" government.

According to Information Week, one of the most ingenious, yet seemingly obvious, aspects of the program is the recently announced Emergency Management Office's plan to release alerts through online gaming networks. The office would transmit the notifications through Xbox Live and the similar networks of Nintendo and Playstation 3, enabling a generation that listens to very little radio and rarely watches live television to be instantly notified in times of emergency.

With 'Empire 2.0,' New York definitely appears to be distancing itself significantly from the rest of the lagging U.S. pack, so let's hope the other 49 states can wake up and quickly close the technology gap. It is about time, after all. [From: Information Week]

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• It was only a matter of time before all of those irritating and ridiculous games got Facebook in trouble. The social networking site has reportedly been named in a $5 million class-action lawsuit, together with gaming firm Zynga, for allowing scam ads to appear during games like 'Mafia Wars' and 'Farmville.' [From: Business Insider]
• Oprah's Twitter entrance created an instant and massive surge of activity on the site back in April. Yesterday, Oprah was once again the focus of a tweeting frenzy (over 8,000 in just one hour), but this flurry centered on the anticipated, solemn end of her 23-year-old television show. [From: Mashable]
• The four-year-old acquisition drama between Skype and eBay has officially come to a close. eBay once claimed that it paid about $1 billion more than it should have with its $2.6 billion purchase of the VoIP service in 2005. Skype, though, has actually now been valued at a whopping $2.75 billion. [From: Mashable]
• Despite a 19-percent plummet in console and video game sales in October, 'Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2' earned a staggering $550 million during its first five days on the market. The numbers have topped the record-breaking $500 million that 'Grand Theft Auto IV' generated during its first week last year. So, if manufacturers want to make money during the recession, they apparently just need to let consumers virtually take out their frustrations by annihilating everything in sight. [From: Reuters]
• While some already exist, Google is hoping to steadily and automatically add captions to the bottom of every YouTube video. The site will utilize speech-recognition software to generate captions in order to aid deaf and hearing-impaired viewers. [From: USA Today]
• Rupert Murdoch's recent threat to remove News Corp. stories from Google has prompted a response from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone. Stone attested that the childish and antiquated return to a "ridiculously closed" approach would "fail fast." Harumph. What would that impudent whippersnapper possibly know about integrating the media and the Internets? [From: Mashable]

For over a year, France has been considering plans to ban illegal downloaders from the Web. In the U.S., the FCC may actually begin regulating the Web by forcing providers to charge various fees. But neither of those disturbing developments compare at all to the rumors gathering momentum in England.

Various outlets are reporting that the U.K. Secretary of State Peter Mandelson, referred to as the "Pirate-Finder General," hopes to make harsh amendments to the nation's 'Copyrights, Designs, and Patents Act.' The disgusting affront to privacy rights and personal freedom would empower the Secretary to make a wide variety of decisions without any form of oversight. Among other frightening things, the totalitarian plan would allow the Net overseer to impose jail terms for file-sharing, and to create a "pirate-hunting militia" that could compel Internet service providers to divulge private user information, like the contents of e-mails.

Once a virtual New World of free and limitless information, the Net is increasingly becoming a tool controlled by power-hungry suits. These so-called representatives of the people are increasingly ignoring the rights of individuals in order to fatten their own bloated coffers with tainted money from multinational corporations.

The fledgling Pirate Party, which focuses on fighting exactly what England wants to enforce, recently claimed a second seat in the European Parliament. After this shocking and revolting Redcoat development, you can expect British party membership to skyrocket astronomically. [From: Download Squad, via BoingBoing]

The Hype: Eons ago, in 1982, video games took a dramatic evolutionary leap as 'Pitfall' and 'Moon Patrol' revolutionized the burgeoning gaming movement with the development of the side-scrolling platform. No longer limited to single-screen action or distant, overhead views, virtual worlds astronomically increased in size and scope.

Take a warp-zone pipe ahead almost 30 years, and the dramatically advanced gaming landscape is now littered with obsolete styles that have been forced into extinction. Yet side-scrollers have managed to survive, and now, one ubiquitous, enormously popular, 25-year-old franchise heads back to where it all began.

With a few notable departures (and failures), the sprawling 'Mario Bros.' universe has predominately adhered to the side-scrolling platform. Perhaps still angry at 'Zelda II: The Adventure of Link' for encroaching on its side-scrolling domain, the Mario team created the open-ended 'Super Mario 64,' which received extensive accolades but didn't capture the simplistic and enthralling fun of the previous titles. Nintendo also tried to find a happy medium with 'Paper Mario', which switched between side-scrolling and 3-D, but the titles, while fun, also failed to win over devoted Mario-philes.

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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• Apple still hasn't officially commented on its rumored development of a Tablet e-reader, but that silence hasn't stopped other professionals from spilling. The Executive Editor of the New York Times already revealed knowledge of the gadget's existence, and Conde Nast, publisher of magazines like GQ and Wired, has now claimed that it will offer 18 of its publications through the currently nonexistent Tablet. [From: Brand Republic]
• Despite numerous warnings about peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing sites like Limewire, the government has experienced several instances of leaked classified information that could affect the President's safety. But, so far, action has predictably amounted to nothing more than harsh words. Congressman Edolphus Towns of New York, though, has introduced a bill that would finally ban the use of P2P software by government employees. [From: Ars Technica]
• Google and Apple continue to inch closer and closer to an inevitable cage match over tech superiority rights. Google has already announced the addition of VoIP service Gizmo5 to its Google Voice feature, and rumors are swirling that the company may actually be developing its own data-only, VoIP-driven Android phone. [From: Tech Crunch]
• American Express has been in existence for over 150 years, but the aging company definitely isn't shying away from technology. Reportedly, it's purchasing online payment service Revolution Money, prompting AmEx chief Kenneth I. Chenault to say, "It's important for us to keep identifying cutting edge technologies that can extend our leadership beyond the traditional payments arena." [From: The New York Times]
• California state regulators have been investigating the energy efficiency standards on televisions, and the plan to ban wasteful TVs is actually now in effect. The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the regulations, which will force manufacturers to develop models that use 33-percent less energy by 2011. [From: CNET]