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15 Stories

September 2008
- Patients Could Polish Their Bedside Manner, Docs Say
  
  Globe and Mail | Sep 27, 08 2:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Odds are you're annoying your doctor, according to a Canadian study that asked nearly 300 physicians about their daily frustrations. As the Globe and Mail reports, many had difficulty establishing rapports with patients, who routinely resisted or flouted their advice —which can lead to patient safety problems. “When you have patients that can't communicate, there's going to be a big issue,” said one of the study’s authors. More »
  
  Tags
  
  drugs • medicine • doctor • patient • communication • alternative medicine
August 2008
- Gmail Goes Dark for 2 Hours; Email Addicts Freak
  
  Los Angeles Times | Aug 12, 08 9:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google's Gmail was largely inaccessible for 2 hours yesterday, as both the company and compulsive email checkers struggled to figure out what went wrong, the Los Angeles Times reports. The blackout was followed by a flurry of anxious web-chatter on the subject of the much relied-upon email service. The company later blamed the downtime on an internal outage. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Google • email • communication • Gmail
- Service Lets Callers Dodge Conversation
  
  New York Times | Aug 2, 08 7:04 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A new phone service is a hit with people who want to make a phone call without actually talking to anybody, the New York Times reports. Slydial allows users to skip directly to leaving a message on voicemail without the recipient realizing they have an incoming call. Users say the service has helped them dodge many awkward conversations. More »
  
  Tags
  
  cell phones • telecom • telephone • communication • phone service • voicemail
July 2008
- Aspiring Spies Get New Toys
  
  New York Times | Jul 31, 08 4:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Two new Bluetooth headsets are meant as cellphone accessories, "the type that make white-collar executives on city streets look like the muttering deranged," but David Pogue has found a much cooler use, he writes in the New York Times. SoundID’s SM100 and Callpod’s Dragon V2 easily convert to "secret-agent two-way radios." More »
  
  Tags
  
  cell phones • technology • radio • gadget • communication • Bluetooth
May 2008
- Like Lincoln and JFK, Obama Is on a New Channel
  
  Atlantic Monthly | May 17, 08 4:12 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Lincoln, FDR, JFK... Obama? So runs the line of US leaders who have ruled by harnessing new communication technologies. Obama's mastery of the Web echoes Lincoln's use of newspapers, FDR's use of radio and JFK's use of television. Obama vows to put the Oval Office online if he wins, but Marc Ambinder warns in the Atlantic that he may find the Internet "unruly and fickle." More »
  
  Tags
  
  Barack Obama • Internet • Obama 2008 • democracy • John F. Kennedy • presidency • Abraham Lincoln • communication • Franklin D. Roosevelt • online activism
November 2007
- Aussies Blubbering About Decoding Whale Speak
  
  Reuters | Nov 8, 07 6:12 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Australian scientists believe they've begun to decode the meaning behind whale sounds after extensive study of humpbacks off the nation's coast. They identified at least 34 types of whale calls, including a male purring sound associated with female wooing, high-frequency cries during disagreements, and a "wop" sound often exchanged between a mother whale and her offspring. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Australia • whale • communication • humpback whale
October 2007
- No-Email Days Slow Inbox-mania
  
  BBC | Oct 20, 07 6:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - For those of us who haven't spoken face-to-face with the guy two cubicles down in months, the BBC reports a growing trend of no-email days. Shutting down the inbox, which some workers are found to check 30-40 times hourly, is seen as a way to improve communication and decrease interruptions. An average worker sends 37 emails per day, expected to be 47 next year. More »
  
  Tags
  
  email • communication • corporations • productivity
August 2007
- Yahoo Adds Phone Text Messaging to Email
  
  USA Today | Aug 27, 07 5:01 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Sending phone text messages soon won’t require a phone, thanks to an upgrade in Yahoo’s already leading email service, which will provide the new feature for free. The new system will integrate email, text messages and instant messaging, reports USA Today . Customers "don't want to bounce around to many different areas," said a Yahoo spokesman. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Yahoo • cell phones • email • text messaging • communication • instant messaging
- Is the Writing on the Wall for Letter Writing?
  
  CNET | Aug 26, 07 6:54 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A quarter of teens call snail mail the most passé way to convey in 2007. But the great-granddaughter of an etiquette doyenne wants to rescue letters before the 'Net makes them extinct. She says ink on paper still carries “more weight” than email, not to mention leaving a permanent record. "Consider the 'Letters of Emily Dickinson,'” said Cindy Post Senning. “What if she had e-mail?" More »
  
  Tags
  
  Internet • email • letters • communication • etiquette • mail
- Skype Blames Crash on Windows
  
  PC World | Aug 20, 07 12:49 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Skype's mysterious failure last week was caused by a routine Windows update, the company says. Millions of users downloaded the new software, rebooted their computers, and tried to log into Skype at the same time, crashing the net phone service, PC World reports. It's still unclear why previous Windows updates didn't do the same thing, however. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Internet • Microsoft • communication • Windows • Skype • Internet phone • VoIP
- Get Ready for the Googlephone
  
  Independent (UK) | Aug 3, 07 3:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google is spending hundreds of millions of dollars secretly developing a cell phone which offers Google search technology and other services, reports the London Independent. Prototype phones have been shown to several wireless carriers. The company is poised to bid on wireless spectrum licenses in the upcoming federal auction, which could be used to become a mobile phone operator. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Google • cell phones • wireless • communication • Google phone • radio spectrum • mobile • Vodaphone
- Orangutans Play Charades
  
  BBC | Aug 2, 07 9:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Orangutan communication works just like a game of charades, according to new research. Orangs and other apes who use signals to communicate what they want pay careful attention to whether their audience understands their gestures—if something works, they repeat it, and if they aren't getting through they try another signal. More »
  
  Tags
  
  language • human evolution • communication • apes • orangutans
May 2007
- Clear Channel Board Takes Private Equity Bait
  
  Bloomberg | May 18, 07 3:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - After months of stops and starts, Clear Channel's board today gave the green light to a $19.5 billion buyout offer. The communications giant bit after Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital, which have been bidding since November, gained the backing of two large shareholders. The successful offer was $39.20 per share, 20 cents more than a previously rejected bid. More »
  
  Tags
  
  business • private equity • radio • shareholders • privatization • communication • Bain Capital • Clear Channel • Thomas H. Lee Partners
- More Americans Go Wireless
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | May 15, 07 11:10 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - More and more Americans are bypassing landlines and using only cellphones, a new CDC survey says. The trend encompasses people of all ages and incomes, and it's especially pronounced among the young and the poor. One-eighth (12.8%) of all households use only a cellphone—up from 3.2% in 2003—and the proportion in the 25-to-29 demographic is nearly 30%. More »
  
  Tags
  
  cell phones • wireless • telecom industry • telecom • telephone • communication
April 2007
- Google Dials 411
  
  BusinessWeek | Apr 12, 07 9:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Google has unleashed an 800-pound-gorilla in the the $8 billion market for U.S. directory assistance: a free 411 service. 1-800-GOOG-411 launched last week as part of an initiative to bring Google's power to voice searches. And unlike traditional 411, customers can call in with search terms ("pizza Upper East Side") rather than the name of their local pie shop. More »
  
  Tags
  
  Google • Microsoft • technology • communication • Tellme