NotePage SMS, Texting and Messaging Blogs

A retired truck driver was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Wednesday for sending cellphone text messages that a court deemed insulting to Thailands monarchy.

The conviction is the latest in a growing number of cases in Thailand under a law imposing harsh penalties for making insults or threats directed at King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 83, and his family, even in private communications.

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Scientists have taken another step towards creating the bionic man of sci-fi lore with a wearable display mounted in a contact lens.

A team from the University of Washington and Aalto University in Finland managed to squeeze all the necessary equipment into a wearable lens that could display information right before your eyes.

This consists of an antenna which draws on power sent by an external source, as well as an integrated circuit which is able to store energy for use in a transparent sapphire chip which holds a blue LED.

Bionic Lenses

Todays society is all about being connected 24/7. Cell phones now provide instant access to anyone and everyone, from corporate executives to housewives and children alike. While cellular connectivity is a comfort to some, it can be rude and disruptive to others. You may wish to be available at all times, but there are some times when it is simply not appropriate to use your cell phone.

Also, cell phones should not be treated as status symbols, and should not be paraded out simply to impress others. Regardless of how new and impressive your cell phone may be, dragging it out in a public setting is seldom going to win you any fans.

Cell Phone Etiquette

Text message reminders help children -- but not teenagers -- stick with their asthma medication schedule, a new study finds.

It is common for youngsters to forget to take asthma control medications, and missing doses can result in poor asthma control.

This small pilot study included patients ages 6 to 17 who had moderate, persistent or more severe asthma and used inhaled corticosteroids to keep their asthma under control. The participants received daily text messages reminding them to take their controller medication, and their asthma control was monitored by researchers.

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Fremont County has adopted a policy regulating the use of cell phones, instant messaging and text messaging at work.

The policy says:

- Employees should exercise the same discretion in using personal cell phones as they use with Fremont County phones.

- Employees should restrict personal calls during work time, striving to make them only during scheduled breaks or lunch periods in nonworking areas.

- Employees should not engage in the use of a cell phone when doing so would cause a distraction not the user or co-worker assisting a member of the public.

-Employees should avoid lengthy conversations on cell phones.

-Cell phones should turn down the sounds on their phones or switch to vibrate to prevent them from becoming a distraction in the workplace.

- The use of text messaging is limited to immediate family contact.

Will other counties and companies follow suit?

Hackers have found a way to listen in on every move, see text messages and even know exactly where someone is by hijacking a cellphone.

Software makers sell spyware as a way to catch a cheating spouse or protect children from a bad babysitter. The software allows the spy to peek in on another person through their cellphone.

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The car used to be the signal of adulthood, of freedom, according to Sheryl Connelly, the Ford Motor Companys manager of global consumer trends and futuring, said in a recent phone interview. It was the signal into being a grown-up. Now, the signal into adulthood for teenagers is the smartphone.

Bullying used to primarily take place at the bus stop, at recess on the playground or in the school hallways; however, adding easily accessible mobile devices into the equation provides more chances to directly target kids through platforms like social media and text messaging.

A recent Pew  study claims that nearly nine out of ten (88 percent) American teens between the ages of 12 and 17 indicated that they have seen someone act cruelly toward another student on a social networking site.

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Teenagers and adults say they slip under the radar of law enforcement when they text on cellphones while driving their vehicles.

A state law which became effective Dec. 1, 2010, bans people from driving a motor vehicle while writing or sending an electronic text message.

Based on the amount of citations written for violating the law, many people continue to text and drive.

A survey of local law enforcement agencies shows few if any citations written since the law went into effect Dec. 1.

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Text messages are an irresistible marketing opportunity for brands to connect with their customers. But some text campaigns are tripping over a federal law, leaving companies with a nasty legal bill instead of new sales.

In a federal class action suit filed last week in Oakland, a California man accused a PR firm of sending an unsolicited quit smoking message to his cell phone. He said the firm, PHD, broke the Telemarketing and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and should be penalized at least $5 million.

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According to a survey of 2,227 adults by the Pew Research Center, the average text message user sends or receives an average of 41.5 messages a day.

How much someone texts is not surprisingly tied to how old they are. Those in the 18-to-29 age group send or receive an average of 87.7 texts a day, whereas that total is only 4.7 for those in the 65-and-over group.

Partners Healthcares Center won a research grant to pilot a text messaging program aimed at helping diabetic patients manage their condition.

The program, called Mobilizing for Health, targets under-served patients to study whether personalized text messages have an impact on clinical outcomes and physical activity in people with Type II diabetes, who are often obese and have low activity levels.

Over the last few months, there has been increased interest in using text-messaging at school. Although many schools do still have strict policies that forbid using cell phones in class, more are exploring ways to use text-messaging as a communication tool to bridge home and school.

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Being single can be tough, but now there is a new service that will make your friends think you are taken, thanks to a text messaging service.

You can carry on a non-existent relationship with the help of technology.  Add Fake Girlfriends number to your phone and text her whatever you'd like.  She'll respond with a series of loving messages.  Every time you talk to her, she responds.  

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A study by UK-based Portio Research indicates that the worldwide mobile messaging was the highest earner in the industry, raking in US$179.2 billion in 2010 alone.

The report said mobile message was set to rake in more than US$200 billion this year, and go beyond S$300 billion by 2014.

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A week before Election Day, Democrats have taken legal action to try to stop thousands of unsolicited text messages encouraging people in Northern Virginia to vote against their candidates.

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UW–Madison Libraries patrons have the opportunity to ask questions of librarians in a new way. Beginning this week, texting is now an option for the Ask a Librarian service, which allows students, faculty, and staff to connect with reference librarians and staff at campus libraries from their dorm rooms, offices, off-campus—from anywhere they might need a research or general question answered.

To send a question via text, send a text message from your phone or mobile device to 608-729-7886.

Text messaging is being used in the campaign to vaccinate almost 40,000 Northland children and rangatahi against Meningococcal C. Health providers can send appointment reminders, lab result notifications and medication reminders. The system can also be used for measles outbreaks and other public health threats.

Soon you can get an SMS alert on your mobile phones 10 to 30 seconds after an earthquake occurs anywhere in Gujarat with its location and intensity. This is being made possible with the new Autolocation software which is installed at the Institute of Seismological Research (ISR) centre in Gandhinagar. Subscribers for this service will have to simply register with ISRs website.

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No matter how many lives are lost in texting-related car crashes, some people will still text while they drive. Even though 34 states have outlawed texting while driving, according to an October ghsa.org report, Edgarsnyder.com reported that at any given moment there are 812,000 vehicles being operated by drivers using a cell phone.

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