Text Messaging posts

Send a Text Message to Outer Space

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Aug 13th 2009 at 3:25PM

Australia Sending Text Messages to Another Planet

For those who simply want to blast their missives into the depths of space, SentForever.com has served admirably well since 2007. But, if you're really looking to reach out and touch someone -- a non-human someone -- then HelloFromEarth.net might be a more appropriate destination.

In celebration of National Science Week in Australia, the site is collecting text messages from people hoping to get in touch with an E.T. The site, run by Cosmos Magazine, plans on delivering them to one planet in particular -- Gliese 581d, a rocky planet that orbits its star, Gliese, in the so-called habitable zone where liquid water can exist and life might be possible.

Tags: extra terrestrial, ExtraTerrestrial, extraterrestrials, hello from earth, HelloFromEarth, sms, space, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging

Cell Phones

'Texting Dr. Tagg': Woman Earns Ph.D. in SMS

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Aug 12th 2009 at 3:10PM

Proving that you really can study anything you want in college, Dr. Caroline Tagg has received a Ph.D. for studying text messaging. The 33-year-old academic spent the last three-and-a-half years studying the use of language in texts at England's Birmingham University English department. For the purposes of her research, Tagg had 235 volunteers send her every text message they sent or received, totaling 11,000 messages.

Her research showed that people treat text messages in much the same way as they do regular, spoken conversation. According to Tagg, abbreviations show up less than one might expect, while texts, like speech, are often riddled with unnecessary words like "um" and "oh." In speaking with the Telegraph, Tagg called the language used in SMS "playful," going on to characterize it as "quite creative" and "expressive." As an example, she pointed to one message in particular: "I will be there not on the dot," in reference to being late for something.

Tags: education, phd, sms, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones, Google, iPhone

Apple Patches iPhone SMS Security Flaw

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Jul 31st 2009 at 3:33PM

A month after first announcing that the iPhone had a serious security flaw in how it handled text messages (and even longer still since it was first brought to Apple's attention), Charlie Miller at last publicly demonstrated the attack at yesterday's Black Hat Security Conference, and released a paper detailing how it is executed.

The flaw, which allows a hacker to hijack a phone by flooding it with invisible SMS control messages, isn't iPhone-specific. Windows Mobile and Android are also vulnerable, though Google patched the hole with its Cupcake update. The flaw is particularly worrisome since the only sign a user would see is a single text message with a lone box-like character. The rest of the control messages would not appear on the handset, but could shut down the phone entirely or even automatically forward the commands to other iPhones creating a vast mobile botnet.

Tags: android, apple, botnet, charlie miller, CharlieMiller, hack, security, sms, text messaging, TextMessaging, top, windows mobile, WindowsMobile, winmo

iPhone

Apple Ignores Real Threat to iPhone Security, Makes Up Fake One

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Jul 30th 2009 at 8:32AM

Charlie Miller (the man who hacked the MacBook Air in two minutes) and his partner-in-crime, Collin Mulliner, plan to unveil an exploit at this Thursday's Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Apparently, it would let a hacker take complete control of the iPhone with nothing more than a simple text message. By taking advantage of a flaw in how the handset handles text messages, Miller and Mulliner are able to dial the phone, visit Web sites, turn on the phone's camera and microphone, and, most importantly, send text messages that can hijack other phones. Miller told Forbes, "The only thing you can do to prevent it is turn off your phone."

This isn't the only iPhone flaw the pair plan to disclose at the conference. Another hole in the SMS system (which also effects Android handsets) can knock the phone off a cellular network for about 10 seconds.

Miller and Mulliner told the respective companies about the exploits over a month ago, and while Google was quick to patch the hole, Apple has yet to fortify the vulnerability. "I've given them more time to patch this than I've ever given a company to patch a bug," Miller explained to Forbes.

Tags: android, apple, hack, iphone, iphone hack, IphoneHack, jailbreak, security, text messaging, TextMessaging

Cell Phones, Web

Google Gives Ugandans Tips on Sex and Weather Via Text

by Leila Brillson (RSS feed) — Jun 30th 2009 at 5:18PM

Many emerging nations have cellular access, but Internet service is still fleeting, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. In an attempt to disseminate information to Ugandans, Google has teamed up with African cell provider MTN to distribute information, free-of-charge, via text message to a culture that is text -- but not Internet -- savvy.

The program, which teams the American Web giant with the Grameen Foundation, will act like a simplified version of search, allowing farmers and residents to text information to Google and receive answers. Phone users could query about weather, farming tips, and even safe sex advice. Amina Nantume, a Ugandan woman, told the BBC that the service has helped her discuss the topic of sex with her daughters. She said, "I used to get embarrassed every time I sat with my daughters to talk to them about pregnancy."

Tags: africa, google, text message, text messaging, TextMessage, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones, Computers

Learn How to Text (From Fox?)

by Evan Shamoon (RSS feed) — May 24th 2009 at 6:22PM

If you've ever wondered what "LOL" or "BRB" means, the kind folks at MyFox Atlanta have you covered -- and then some. They've put together a list of important Internet acronyms so you're able to share with your little ones in the joy of SMS/AIM/MSN. (If you don't know what those stand for, do yourself a favor and don't even bother.)

The list runs the gamut from the obvious ("420" = marijuana), to the raunchy ("J/O" = jerking off), to the bizarrely obscure ("NALOPKT" = Not A Lot Of People Know That, which, we should point out, not a lot of people know). But really, it's mostly raunchy.

Our personal favorite has to be "IF/IB", which is apparently a question that asks, "In the Front or In the Back?"

Kids these days! [From: MyFoxAtlanta]

Tags: kids, sexting, teens, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones

'Sexting' Not Just About Sex, Study Finds

by Peter Mychalcewycz (RSS feed) — May 15th 2009 at 3:03PM

According to a new study, 'Sexting' may have less to do with sex than its titillating title implies.

Susan Lipkins, a psychologist from Port Washington, NY, found that people who sent sexually explicit messages were more focused on attaining power and control than people who didn't send explicit messages.

According to USA Today, Lipkins polled 323 people, of which a surprising 66-percent admitted to sending some type of explicit messages. Although participants ranged in age from 13-72, most were 26 and younger. (A nice little side-stat for you: 6-percent said that they started text messaging at age 9.)

Tags: sex, sexting, studies, study, teens, text, text messaging, texting, textmessaging, top

Cell Phones

Boston Trolley Crash Blamed on Text-Messaging Driver

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — May 11th 2009 at 11:17AM

We've seen people caught texting while driving cars, buses, motorcycles, and trains. We can now add to that list: texting in a trolley. The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) announced over the weekend that a 24-year-old Boston trolley operator admitted to texting his girlfriend just before the trolley he was piloting slammed into another, injuring about 50 people, on Friday, May 8.

The crash, which occurred within the Boston city limits, resulted in only minor injuries, but will likely cost the unnamed operator his job. Currently, the MBTA bans employees from using cell phones while working on a train or bus.

Tags: accident, crash, mbta, sms, text messaging, texting, texting while driving, TextingWhileDriving, TextMessaging, top, trolley

Cell Phones

'Flirtexting' Teaches Proper Mobile Wooing Techniques

by Warren Riddle (RSS feed) — May 8th 2009 at 5:15PM

If the dating scene leaves you feeling isolated and lovelorn, don't fret. To pull you out of that hole of self-pity, two enterprising young women have published a guide for how to "text your way to love," titled 'Flirtexting.' Directed toward women, but applicable to men as well, the book addresses age old mysteries of romance and woo, such as when and how to reply to flirtateous text messages.

These textperts seem to think that they're doing everyone a glorious service, telling CNN they needed to "put a name to this cultural phenomenon." But, we still don't have the courage to ask someone for their number. Where's the help there? Now, we're off to finish our book on responsible sexting techniques -- predictably titled 'Safe Sexting' -- before someone else beats us to it. [From: CNN]

Tags: flirtexting, sexting, text messaging, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones

Bus Driver Crashes While Texting, Caught on Camera

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — May 1st 2009 at 4:12PM

We really shouldn't have to be saying this anymore, but texting while driving is a bad idea.

Texting on the road has been blamed for several deaths, and compared to the danger of driving drunk. It's actually illegal in many states, and yet, here we have a video of a Texas bus driver pulling a cell phone out of his pocket and promptly slamming into the back of a car. As if it couldn't be worse, the car is full of disabled passengers. Oh, and there are several cameras on the bus. This bus driver is, in a word, busted.

It appears that nobody was harmed in the incident, but the driver lost his job (obviously). We know sometimes it's hard to ignore your phone, but try, because as we've noted many, many times -- texting + driving = bad. [From: CNN]

Tags: accidents, driving, driving while texting, DrivingWhileTexting, dumb, text messaging, texting, texting while driving, TextingWhileDriving, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones

Penn Men Attempt Texting Record, Get $26K Bill

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Apr 23rd 2009 at 3:53PM

PA Men Attempt Texting Record, Slapped with $26k Bill

A couple of very bored Pennsylvania men decided to gun for the world record number of text messages sent in a month, and, over the next four weeks, went about clogging the airwaves with 217,000 SMS messages. The pair, Nick Andes, 29, and Doug Klinger, 30, were a little shocked, however, when T-Mobile went about clogging Andes's mail box with a $26,000 cell phone bill.

Despite having an unlimited texting plan, Andes was hit with a giant (physically and fiscally) bill, packed in a box that cost the provider almost $30 to ship. Andes panicked and contacted T-Mobile, which later told the Associated Press that it had reimbursed Andes's account and was currently trying to get to the bottom of the charges.

Andes and Klinger have yet to hear back from the Guinness Book of World Records in regards to their feat. For our part, we're still wondering how on Earth the pair managed to send so many messages (even if most of them were one-word long) without losing their jobs, or their wives. [From: Daily News/AP and Post Chronicle]

Tags: cell phone bill, CellPhoneBill, guiness book of world records, GuinessBookOfWorldRecords, records, sms, superlatives, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging, top, world record, WorldRecord

Cell Phones, Computers, BlackBerry, iPhone

Simple Text Messages Can Be Used to Steal Data

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Apr 20th 2009 at 4:03PM

Some phones today can have pretty dramatic security functions; case in point, the iPhone will erase itself if you screw up entering your password 10 times in a row. Unfortunately, all a hacker really needs to bypass your password and take over your phone is a simple text message.

In a series of proof-of-concept videos posted on YouTube, Dan Dearing (Vice President of marketing at Trust Digital) demonstrates how, using a text message, he can hijack a phone and steal data off of it. Using an SMS text message, Dearing can force a smart phone to launch Mobile Internet Explorer, download and install a malicious software package, and send data back to his own phone. This attack is referred to as a "midnight raid attack," since it would ideally be done while the victim is sleeping so they don't notice the cellular activity.

Tags: hack, hacker, hacking, security, smart phone, SmartPhone, sms, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones

Swedes Filing Taxes via Text Message

by Lee Bains (RSS feed) — Apr 15th 2009 at 12:42PM

Just as those of us in the States have (hopefully) done this month, the citizens of Sweden will file their income taxes in May. Unlike us, though, many of them will do so with a few simple clacks on their cell phones' keypads.

Over the past five years, an increasing number of Swedes have taken to their government's method of filing taxes via text message, according to CNET. Of course, these tales will strike U.S. taxpayers -- who nearly need a degree in statistics to wade through piles of W-2s, W-4s, and 1099s -- as being too good to be true.

Well, there is the one hitch in this otherwise gleaming plan: the fact that Swedish citizens don't report their income and expenditures so much as they accept the Swedish government's own report. By soliciting constant reports from employers, banks, mortgage lenders and the like, the Swedish tax authority -- Skatteverket -- reports the taxes owed to the individual, rather than the other way around. So, really, by sending that text message, Swedes simply pay the bill laid out for them (by including a governmentally-administered payment-number in the text message).

All that being said, we think we'll stick with filing our own taxes, thank you very much. Even if it does mean pulling our hair out, and rushing to get to the post office by the end of the last possible day. [From: CNET, via Textually]

Related Links:

Tags: mobile payments, MobilePayments, sweden, taxes, text messaging, text-messaging, texting, TextMessaging

Cell Phones

Dad Takes a Hammer to Teen's Cell Phone Over $5K Bill

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Apr 9th 2009 at 7:20PM

Dad Smashes Teen's Cell Phone Over $5,000 Bill

We've seen teens send out 14,000, 15,000, and even over 40,000 text messages in one month, so one girl's firing off 10,000 texts in one month shouldn't really shock us all that much. But the tale of Dena Christoffersen has two ingredients that make it much more interesting than the other tales of texting addiction we've shared before: no text messaging plan, and an angry parent with a hammer.

Dena, a 13-year-old from Cheyenne, Wyoming, incurred the wrath of her father after she rang up a $4,756.25 cell phone bill, which included over 10,000 text messages. The family didn't have a text messaging plan. To make matters worse, most of the messages appeared to be sent during school hours. On one day in particular, Dena sent over 300 texts during the eight-hour school day. Needless to say, this had an effect on Dena's grades, which went from A's and B's to F's.

After seeing the bill, Dena's father Gregg took his aggression out on the teen's handset -- with a hammer.

Now sans cell phone, Dena has pulled her grades back up, and we're quite impressed with Gregg's restraint. If we got a $5,000 cell phone bill, we'd probably smash a lot more than our daughter's phone. [From: Denver Post/9News, Via: Textually]

Tags: bill, parenting, sms, text messaging, texting, TextMessaging, top

Cell Phones, Mobile Software, Visionaries

Is Voicemail on the Road to Extinction?

by Warren Riddle (RSS feed) — Apr 5th 2009 at 6:09PM

If you've let your voicemail box clog up with messages that you've already returned, or that you know you don't need to check, you're not alone. As a result of several factors, including the ongoing text messaging boom and the growing popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, voicemail use is on the wane may soon be as relevant as a cassette-tape answering machine or a floppy disk, the New York Times writes.

uReach Technologies, a firm which handles voice messaging duties for Verizon Wireless and other carriers, claims that over 30-percent of voicemail messages remain unchecked for at least three days, and that 20-percent of their customers never call to check their messages at all. Another marketing research group, the Opinion Research Corporation, released a separate study demonstrating that 91-percent of subjects under 30 answer text messages within an hour, and, according to The New York Times, "are four times more likely to respond within minutes to a text than to a voice message."

Several companies are currently selling programs that convert voicemails to text messages (although those paid services are sure to suffer at the hand of Google's imminent and free-of-charge Google Voice). With such programs, mobile users can read an immediate transcript of a message without having to dial the number, enter a password, press 1, press 1, press 1, and then slog through inane and tedious messages they don't intend to return. According to James Siminoff of PhoneTag, one such service, customers can run through their converted texts up to 20 times faster than they can the original voice messages.

Tags: google, iphone, studies, text messaging, TextMessaging, transcription services, TranscriptionServices, trends, verizon, voicemail

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'Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

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Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.

Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.

Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.

Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.

HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.

HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.

HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.

GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.

Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.

Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.

Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.

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