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Cell Phones

One in Three Teen Texters Drives While Thumbing

By now, you'd have to live under a rock to be unaware of the dangers of texting while driving. There have been more studies on the subject than we can count. Despite raising awareness, all this information isn't doing much to change drivers' behavior. According to MSNBC, the Pew Internet & American Life Project recently released a study finding that over a third of 16- and 17-year-old texters drive while doing so. Yes, some of the most inexperienced drivers on the road are busy playing on cell phones instead of focusing on the road.

But they're not alone. The study also found that 48-percent of children between 12 and 17 years old said they'd ridden in the car of somebody who was texting. This means parents might not be setting the best example for their youngsters. One kid surveyed in the study said his dad "drives like he's drunk" while using his cell phone in the car (which, we know from other studies, might be an understatement). On the other end of the spectrum, another kid said "it's fine" to text while operating a vehicle, and that he wears sunglasses so police won't see him looking at the screen.

Sorry to break it to that last kid, but there's no disputing that texting while driving is very dangerous. The challenge is finding a way to break the habits of cell phone users. Different states have enacted bans on the practice, but we need an all-encompassing federal ban to really make a change. Even then, though, it'll be tough to cause a change in hearts and minds. [From: MSNBC]

Cell Phones

Texting Bus Driver Caught Red-Thumbed by Passenger's Phone Pic

The debate about driving while texting (DWT) is about to hit a fever pitch. If you think people were up in arms about this dangerous habit before, just wait till you hear the latest alarming story. According to the New York Post, a New York City bus driver is being investigated after a passenger snapped a picture of him texting while steering the bus through thick traffic Thursday. Allegedly, the unnamed driver sent three messages during his route from Manhattan to Staten Island. Transit spokesman Charles Seaton told the Post that drivers are prohibited from using a cell phone while in the driver's seat.

While this story is a black eye on the city, it's also ill-timed news for the entire state, which saw a new ban on texting go into effect today. There's a positive side, though. More people might be waking up to the dangers of texting on the road. Yet another new poll by The New York Times and CBS News found that 97-percent of those polled support a ban on driving while texting. Even more resounding, 50-percent said the practice should be treated like drunk driving. With such overwhelming support, it wouldn't be a surprise to see stateside crackdowns similar to the one in England (where texting now results in serious jail time.)

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Computers

Mini Robot Firefighter Navigates Burning Buildings

If South Korean firefighters can't take the heat, they might send in a new mini robot instead. According to CNET News, about 100 remote-controlled robots will be sent to Korean fire stations for testing in the coming months. The Firefighters Assistant Robot, which weighs about three pounds and almost fits in your hand, can scout burning buildings when conditions may be too dangerous for humans. Able to withstand temperatures of 320 degrees and six-foot falls, the 'bot can operate for 30 minutes at a time while moving at one foot per second. It's also able to transmit image and sound, along with valuable data on temperature, smoke, and gas.

If it's successful, the Firefighters Assistant Robot could totally change the way emergency workers approach fires. After all, fighting fires is dangerous enough. This 'bot could check for trapped people, or determine if there's a gas leak in the building before fighters run into a life-threatening situation. Although not as cool looking, they do sound a lot more helpful than those dalmatians we've seen riding around in fire trucks. [From: CNET News]

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Cell Phones

93% of Americans Support Ban on Texting While Driving, Finds Poll

Apparently all those studies and advertisements about the dangers of texting while driving are getting through to the American people. According to Motor Trend, Ford recently commissioned a survey that found 93-percent of the participants support a nationwide ban on texting while driving. It looks like the automotive giant surveyed a bunch of cynics though -- because only 42-percent said they believe drivers would actually stop texting if the ban was enacted.

Ford has (sort of) found a compromise, of course, and it has the numbers to back it up. When asked if they'd use voice-activation technology (like Ford's SYNC), 76-percent said they'd be interested in a car equipped with such a feature. Ford executives are surely licking their chops at the potential market possibilities. But there's one problem. It's not just busy hands that make using a cell phone while driving dangerous. Studies show that it's the burden put on your brain that leads to distracted drivers and more accidents.

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Car Tech, Computers

Truckers' Nav Systems as Bad as Driving While Texting

People continue to text message and use other portable devices while driving, despite knowing what a dangerous habit it can be. Just look out your window while rolling down the interstate, and you'll see that businessman glued to his BlackBerry or a teenage girl texting away. But glance a little higher, and you might behold an even scarier sight.

Truck drivers rely heavily on electronic devices ranging from computers to GPS systems to complete their jobs in a timely fashion. However, The New York Times reports that many lawmakers are pushing for such devices to be banned because of the dangers involved with distracted driving.

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Cell Phones

How Much Radiation Does Your Your Phone Emit?

Everyday, more data is released linking cell phone use to brain tumors. While none of it has been conclusive, more and more info stacks up against the mobile devices, which claim 4 billion users around the world.

While a recent study on cell phone radiation by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) doesn't put an end to the debate, it at least provides some hard numbers that will allow the public to make its own decision. According to Wired, scientists studied radiation emissions from 1,268 cell phones, and in the end, determined "that based on current standards there's increased risk of developing brain tumors in long term users." Those words are straight from the horse's mouth, or rather scientist Olga Naidenko. The current standards, which are determined by the Federal Communications Commission, are too relaxed, Naidenko says.

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Cell Phones

Texting While Operating Amusement Park Rides Uncovered in Illinois



When you think about rides at county fairs, safety probably isn't the first thing to pop into your head. More than likely, you'll think of corn dogs, vomit, and the sheer terror that your chosen ride will fall apart at any second. It shouldn't come as much of a surprise, then, that ride operators at a Chicago-area fair were discovered to be texting instead of monitoring their rides.

This month, Chicago's CBS 2 captured undercover video of ride operators at the DuPage County Fair and a festival in Wood Dale, Illinois as they sent text messages while behind the controls of rides, creating the potential for disaster. The video, which features the texting operator of the 'Super Shot,' a ride that lifts passengers 60 feet in the air and drops them, was shown to owner Rob Driskill. The Driskill family runs Spectacular Midways, which orchestrates these traveling fairs. Driskill told the reporter, "I was glad you brought it to our attention." (Can you say 'understatement?') We do have to give the man some credit, though. Having seen the video, Driskill has started taking up his employees' cell phones when they arrive for work.

According to the report, Driskill's operation has a fine safety record, but this video is still alarming. If, God forbid, something did go wrong on one of these rides, the operator's ability to respond would be greatly impaired due to texting. Illinois's Department of Labor doesn't specifically ban the use of cell phones for ride operators, but with this video making the rounds, we can only hope that will change in the near future. [From: CBS 2]

Cell Phones

Cell Phone Inexplicably Lights Brooklyn Man's Oven


In news that would make Emmett 'Doc' Brown blush with envy, one New York man claims that his plain-old cell phone has the power to light his plain-old gas oven.

New York's CBS 2 reports that Brooklyn's Andrei Melnikov was taken by complete surprise when, last week, while in the kitchen, he received a call on his Sony Ericsson PDA and, seconds later, smelled the stinging stench of burning plastic. Somehow, his phone had triggered the gas oven, which then melted a meat thermometer left inside. Although a Maytag repairman came by the apartment Monday, the mystery of the Magic Chef oven (fitting name, we think) is no closer to being solved.

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Cell Phones

Texting Drivers 23 Times More Likely to Wreck

For many today, texting has become the primary way of communicating with friends and family. The physical setting for texting usually doesn't matter, but a new study suggests you might want to think twice about using a phone when you're behind the wheel.

According to The New York Times, a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that drivers who text while on the road are 23 times more likely to crash than those who don't. With the help of footage gathered by cameras attached to 18-wheelers, the study analyzed how long drivers turned away from the road while sending or receiving texts. The average response time was around five seconds, enough time to travel 100 yards (the length of a football field). Lead researcher Rick Hanowski told the Times that drivers should never text because it's "in its own universe of risk."

Should texting while driving be banned?

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Computers

Thousands of Children Injured by Computers, Study Shows

Computers, reports the BBC this morning, are dangerous to children. Not because of online predators, brain rot, or decreasing attention spans, but, according to a new study appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, because of kids physically hurting themselves near their home offices.

In what seems to be painfully obvious, researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital Center for Injury Research and Policy in Columbus, Ohio say that acute computer-related injuries are preventable. How? Don't let children run around computers. As you would with any electrical device, keep open beverage containers at a safe distance. Place monitors in safe, properly stowed positions. If you are carrying a computer, don't rush. And make sure to get those easily tripped-over cables out of the way.

While all of that may be common sense for most computer-using individuals, the report cites that over 78,000 patients were treated for computer-related injuries in U.S. hospitals from 1994 to 2006. In 2002, for instance, over 30-percent of those injuries were sustained by children under 15.

Though that statistic seems high, almost every American household has a computer, so it would make sense that household-related injuries -- kitchen fires, falling down stairs, power tool accidents in the garage -- would include the nefarious computer, as well. [From: BBC]

Cell Phones

When It Comes to Viruses, Smartphones Can Be Dumb

According to the National Science Foundation (NSF), computers could cease being the only technology susceptible to viruses. Researchers at Northeastern University suggest that, as mobile networks continue to develop, cell phones could become the next mass-market to be targeted. Marta Gonzalez, one of the study's authors, told the NSF, "We haven't had a problem so far because only phones with operating systems, so-called 'smart phones', are susceptible to viral infection." That being said, such a problem could be just beyond the horizon as the NSF points out that smartphone usage is experiencing a 150-percent annual growth rate.

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Cell Phones, Web, Social Networking

British Drivers Tweet and Update Facebook While Driving, Study Reveals



We are officially horrified. According to a new survey from British insurance company Esure, one in 10 drivers admit to sending updates to Twitter, Facebook and other social networking services while driving. That's just as bad as driving while texting, which is both illegal and stupid. What is really terrifying, though, is the number of reports in which the involved driver was performing some other stupid action while driving and texting.

In its investigation, Esure came across updates to social networking sites saying things like: "Driving with my knees and peeling an orange...Probably not the safest thing to be doing" and "Intoxicated driving. Let's hope this works out." Apparently, one person decided to update their status while driving a school bus.

We don't even know where to begin explaining what is wrong with all these things, but, let's leave it at the most basic level. If you're driving, drive. Put down the phone, the orange, the beer, or whatever else is distracting you. It's bad enough that you knowingly engage in one potentially lethal task while driving; don't advertise what an idiot you are, and further distract yourself from your driving activities. [From: Sydney Morning Herald, via Textually.org]

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Cell Phones, Mobile Phones

Sidekick 2009 Caught in the Wild


We still don't know whether to call it the Sidekick 2009 or the Sidekick Blade, but either way, T-Mobile's upcoming hiptop has finally been caught on camera, looking just as it did in a survey from last month and later via render. Unfortunately, we can't glean any specs from the image, but the aforementioned questionnaire listed 3G, a 3.2-inch WVGA display, 3.2 megapixel camera, microSD card slot, and GPS with turn-by-turn navigation. Alright, Danger, you've made us believers -- now give us some official press shots to gaze upon lovingly.

Cell Phones

Study Shows Cell Phones Can Trigger Mercury to Leak from Fillings

We're not even going to pretend we fully grasp what's going on here, but the long and short of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences' latest findings are that cell phones can trigger the release of mercury from one's fillings. Yes, seriously. The study asserts that out of 14 test subjects with fillings, those who used mobile phones had a statistically significant increase of mercury from urine tests than those who refrained from yapping. The science behind all of this is far beyond our IQ levels, but we're a little freaked out/not freaked out, regardless.

[Via textually]

Computers

12 E-Mails to Watch Out For



Yes, we know we've covered the biggest e-mail scams before, but criminals never stop coming up with new ways to mess you up via the Internet, so we've decided it's time for an update -- this time focusing on specific e-mails to watch out for (that is, if you want to avoid everything from garden variety financial scams and computer viruses to flat-out ID theft). As always, remember there are variations on each of these cons, so be wary of anything even resembling what you read in the following pages....

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