In LA, an old woman got a $118 ticket for crossing the street too slowly. She was cited for being an obstruction to traffic. Reporters observed that crossing and said even high school students had to run across the street in order to make it to the other side in time. Hey, let’s give a hand to Officer Kelly of the LAPD, for being such a caring fellow… See link for details.
clearTXT: text messaging for online learning systems
clearTXT is a really cool product that works in conjunction with online learning systems like Blackboard, or by itself, and allows for permission-based text messaging to those who want to get up to date information right away on their cellphones. I’ve used it in conjunction with Blackboard, and it’s a great product! The sign-up is easy: students pick their mobile provider, enter their number, choose what level of messages they want to receive (announcements, course-level alerts/news, special vendor offers/coupons) and they’re done!
For Schools: clearTXT delivers important school and class information such as announcements, schedule changes, emergency alerts, campus news, and grades directly to student and instructor cell phones and email addresses. Plus, schools can generate revenue from messages by striking ad deals with local vendors.
For Marketers: when working together with schools, can send marketing information, coupons, and discounts to college students interested in their products and services for just pennies per message.
For Government Agencies: allows people to select the types of information they want from a particular agency and have it delivered right to their mobile phones.
They’ve even got a completely free product called alphaTXT, that enables schools to deliver time-sensitive notifications, emergency alerts, and other important information directly to the mobile phones of teachers and students.
Cool stuff!
Laptop alarm prevents Mac jackings
This fellow from SlappingTurtle.com developed a piece of software called iAlertU, which is a very clever use of the hard drive motion sensors built into late model PowerBooks and MacBooks. iAlertU will sound a screeching alarm if the laptop is picked up. Click the video to see it in action. The remote is used to arm/disarm it. This is cool stuff! 🙂
"Monster rabbit" targets vegetable patch
In a turn of events eerily similar to the latest Wallace and Gromit movie, a ‘monster’ rabbit has been rampaging through vegetable patches in a small village in northern England. Local gardeners are out for revenge, and have hired two local fellows with guns to guard their precious veggies. The creature is described as a cross between a hare and a rabbit, about the size of a dog. “It’s huge!” they say. 🙂 See link for more details.
Let's buy some music
TechCrunch has a review of music services currently available, and their side-by-side comparison is pretty good, but they forgot to include eMusic.
My wife and I use eMusic, and we think it’s pretty darn good! I wish they’d included it in their list of reviewed services.
They mentioned AllofMP3 among the services they reviewed, but it is a quasi-legal site – I can’t imagine the artists are getting properly paid for their music at $0.09/song, and I don’t know if they even signed deals with the site. While the price may be tempting, I have a feeling that site will get turned off or made to charge more at some point in the future.
eMusic at least has deals with each of the artists on the site, and they’re completely legitimate. The downloads are fast, the selection is growing, and the music is not hamstrung by silly DRM schemes. Along with the iTunes service, it is what Ligia and I use regularly.
Raoul Pop 