NotePage SMS, Paging and Messaging Blogs

A 17-year-old boy and his grandfather were rescued from the icy marsh in Dutchess County after their canoe overturned, thanks to his text messages.  

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An Egyptian court overruled on Saturday a decision by the telecommunications authority to impose restrictions on media companies that send out news alerts to cell phones.

The Administrative Court said the governments action were a restriction on freedom of expression and an unjustified intrusion on the SMS alert services. It is not yet clear if the government will try to appeal the verdict.

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The way we reach 911 in an emergency could soon change. The Federal communications Commission is looking at the possibility of being able to relay messages to emergency services via text messaging, and even streaming video.

In an effort to determine what Brett Favre did or did not text Jenn Sterger, the NFL is conducting high-tech forensic work to trace the electronic pathways and transmission of any photos or messages that might have been sent during communication between them, according to a source familiar with the situation.

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College students say their professors would be shocked to know just how often they send text messages during lectures, and one researcher has offered a simple and stringent solution: Give failing grades to text-happy students.

Nine in 10 students said in a Wilkes University study released this month that they have sent and received texts during class, although a much smaller portion of students believe educators should allow unlimited texting in class as long as it does not disturb others.

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Texas Education Agency staff requested the change to the ethics code because they said they are receiving disciplinary case referrals in which teachers were found to have sent students thousands of text messages.  Sometimes the content of the messages was not inappropriate on their face but the volume of messages and time of day the messages were sent indicated that the educator was grooming the student for a future sexual relationship.

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Rodriguez gained momentary infamy when he succeeded in eluding law enforcement officers from three states and federal marshals after stealing an unmarked police car while his hands and feet were shackled, according to authorities. He used his knees to steer the vehicle before freeing himself of the constraints using a handcuff key on the key chain left in the running car, police said.

After making his unlikely getaway, police were able to track him down early Thursday at a motel in Connecticut by tracing text messages he sent from his cellphone. The account that follows comes from a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case.

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Proof positive that people are wired differently: I'm a walking TV guide, able to tell you the day and time for each of my favorite shows, but my wife has no idea when anythings on. If not for our DVR, she would never catch an episode of Glee.

If you are like her, you might appreciate Remember To Watch. True to its name, the service sends text-message reminders to your cell phone 30 minutes before a selected show is scheduled to air.

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Kenyan patients with HIV got a weekly text message that asked, How are you? in a reminder for them to take their drugs that help keep the virus dormant.

People who got the texts were 12 per cent more likely to have an undetectable level of the HIV virus.

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A San Diego-based company is conducting a study to see if constant text messages can help a person lose weight.

San Diegan Raymond Acosta wants to be fit and healthy, and he said sometimes he needs a little push. He said constant text messages have helped him stay on track.

Text Messaging Weight Loss

AT&T Mobility notified its subscribers Thursday that they might be entitled to benefits from a proposed class-action settlement over alleged improper charging of Internet taxes.

Subscribers sued AT&T earlier this year, saying the carrier charged them Internet taxes on their mobile service bills in violation of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act and other laws. Suits in various courts were transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, in Chicago. AT&T and the plaintiffs in the case, who represented a broad class of AT&T Mobility customers, reached a settlement agreement in July.

AT & T Class Action

Today, more and more predators are switching to cell phones to lure their victims, but parents can use that same technology to help keep their kids safe.

Amy Antley checks her daughters Facebook page every two to three days. That was one of the stipulations. You have a phone, Facebook, I have the passwords.

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Text messaging at night can lead to sleeping disorders in kids

Children sending text messages and working on internet before sleeping are more likely to suffer from poor sleep, bad mood, and cognitive problems, reveals a pilot study.

Use of electronic media like cell phones, laptops, iPads, etc. and continuous texting while sleeping is found to cause insomnia, ADHD, anxiety, depression, learning difficulties, and leg pain at night in kids aged between 8 to 22 years.

Researchers said, These activities are not sleep-promoting, like reading a novel or listening to music. They stimulate the brain and depress normal sleep cycles.

That's increasingly the attitude of teens in the U.S., who used their mobile phones to send and receive an average of 3,339 texts per month in the second quarter, according to The Nielsen Co. SMS ) is now the main reason to own a cell phone, according to teens in the U.S. SMS, which was created as a testing and communication system for cellular network technicians, is limited to 160 characters per message but has proved well-suited to consumers around the world. The pace at which the average U.S. teens is now using SMS comes out to six messages per waking hour, according to Nielsen.

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