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Posts with tag teen

6th Grader Gets $6.5m to Fund Game Company

by Tom Conlon, posted Sep 20th 2007 at 11:19AM

6th Grader's Game Company Gets $6.5m in Funding At 12 years old, most of us could barely raise our textbook-filled backpacks, never mind $6.5 million in funding. But that's exactly what Silicon Valley 6th grader Arjun Mehta has done. Way back when he was in 5th grade (last year), Mehta started PlaySpan in the family garage. PlaySpan is a service that works with gaming companies to sell virtual goods inside of their online worlds -- rather fitting since the money to start PlaySpan came from the sale of virtual items Mehta had won by finishing quests in various games. Though the company has yet to launch, it claims to have already signed up seven game companies as customers.

The new influx of cash from Easton Capital, Menlo Ventures and other investors in Asia brings with it some new playmates for Mehta in the form of new board members from the aforementioned companies.

It's not yet clear whether PlaySpan's new offices will be located in a tree house or a fort.

From Tech Crunch

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California Bans Cell Phone Use For Teen Drivers

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Sep 14th 2007 at 2:24PM

California Bans Cell Phone Use For Teen Drivers

If you're a teen in California don't even think about touching that cell phone while driving anymore. On Thursday California became the 15th state (along with Washington D.C.) to ban cell phone use for teen drivers. Older drivers will still be allowed to use hands-free calling devices, but those text-crazy teenagers will have to make do without their trusty mobiles.

The Governator was quoted as saying, "We want to eliminate any extra distractions so they can focus on paying attention to the road and being good drivers." According to the California Highway Patrol, cell phone use is now the primary cause of accidents, and Ford Motors produced its own study which showed that teens are four times more likely to be distracted by their cells than adults. One only needs to look at recent headlines for proof. This past July, a 19-year-old British girl was imprisoned after killing another woman in a car accident -- the girl had been texting at the time of the crash. Just a few weeks prior to that, five girls in Upstate New York were killed in a horrific wreck in which text-messaging was to blame. More recently, a Cincinnati teenager was struck by a train and severely injured after walking on train tracks while texting.

Under the new California law, first time offenders will be fined $20 and subsequent infringements will be $50, with exceptions for emergency calls.

From USA Today

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Two Teens Invent the Electric, Zero-Emissions Unicycle

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Aug 1st 2007 at 2:37PM

Canadian Teens Build Electric Unicycle

Leave it to a couple of Canadian teenagers to take the Segway concept and improve upon it. Two Ontario teens have created the Tango, an odd unicycle-like vehicle that runs on a souped-up electric wheelchair engine.

The vehicle resembles a motorcycle folded in half. Two wheels sit side by side, creating a single (but wide) surface that contacts the ground. The included accelerometer picks up the riders' motions to help steer and balance the device.

The Tango can hit speeds up to 40 miles-per-hour, which is significantly faster than the Segway. Drivers can also ride the new contraption while sitting down, a boon to those who just can't stand.

The Tango is based on a Yamaha motorcycle frame, so mass production shouldn't be too difficult.

And good news for the green crowd: The Tango has a zero-emissions electric motor!

From Engadget

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MySpace Losing Teens to Facebook

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 13th 2007 at 10:04AM



It looks as if teenage Interneters are leaving MySpace, many seeking refuge in the arms of rival social-networking site, Facebook. MySpace still holds a commanding lead over Facebook in overall members and in each individual age group, but it has seen its lead amongst those under 18 slowly erode.

According to comScore Media Matrix, a measure of digital audience, the number of visitors to MySpace under 18 has declined 30 percent over the past year. In the same time period, the number of minors on Facebook has increased more than two fold.

Granted, Facebook has been allowed to grow so much, partially because its membership was low to begin with. Until last September you could only join Facebook if you were a student at certain (most) colleges or some high schools. Now Facebook has opened up to everyone, including developers who want to create widgets for users to place on their Facebook pages.

From USA Today

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