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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: text message

text message stories: 62 news summaries

1 - 20 of 62 Stories | 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 Why Grandma 
 Texts Better 
 Than You 

Careers that revolved around shorthand give grannies fast fingers

Nov 4, 09 11:42 AM CST
(Newser) - Text messaging opened up a new—and better—method of communication for Matthew DeBord and his mother (gone were the days of “rambling, nonlinear” phone calls), but he was shocked when he realized his 70-year-old mom wasn’t just good at texting: “Mom texted like someone who’s... More »

MORE ABOUT:
BlackBerry • text message • texting • trend

 Federal Workers Banned 
 From Texting While Driving 

Executive order is part of larger push against distracted driving

Oct 1, 09 3:05 PM CDT
(Newser) - Federal employees are now forbidden from sending text messages while driving on government business or operating government vehicles. The new executive order, signed by President Obama last night, also encourages executive agencies to adopt texting bans for contractors, reports ABC. "To put it plainly, distracted driving is a menace... More »

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Barack Obama • driving • text message • texting • driver distraction • reckless driving • Ray LaHood

ANALYSIS

 Things the Internet's Killed 


Sep 5, 09 5:15 AM CDT
(Newser) - The efficiencies granted by the Internet have rendered many aspects of life obsolete—the Telegraph has compiled a full 50. Some highlights:
  • The art of polite disagreement. A quick look at the comment section on YouTube or any news or politics-related site will confirm this.
  • Fear that
... More »

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entertainment • Internet • celebrity • mp3 • text message • Sarah Palin • obsolete technology • Twitter

LOL! Dirty
Text Collectors Strike it Rich

3.5M hits daily lands Michigan grads
in the money

Aug 24, 09 3:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - Raunchy and funny text messages about love and lust have rocketed two recent college grads to easy street, reports the Detroit Free Press. Michigan friends Ben Bator and Lauren Leto loved their pals' outlandish texts so much they launched a Web site to share the fun. It was an instant... More »

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text message

 Families' Mornings 
 Start with Tech Check 

Families boot up computers, phones on waking

Aug 10, 09 9:58 AM CDT
(Newser) - When it comes to morning routines, the modern family has a new set of priorities, many of which require a screen, the New York Times reports. “It used to be you woke up, went to the bathroom, maybe brushed your teeth, and picked up the newspaper,” says an... More »

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technology • social networking • Internet • sleep • parenting • iPhone • Facebook • BlackBerry • family • text messaging addiction • text message • laptop • texting • Twitter • women's issues • routine

 Woman Gets PhD in Texting 

Philosophy thesis is first on text message communication

Aug 6, 09 7:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - A British graduate student has earned a PhD in texting—an academic first, Discover magazine reports. Caroline Tagg’s doctorate, more specifically, is in the philosophy of texting communication. Tagg studied 11,000 texts from 235 people over four years. Among the findings: The average text is 17.5 words,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • philosophy • communication • PhD • text message • texting • mobile phones

'Every iPhone
in the World' at Risk Tomorrow

Text-messaging flaw could let hackers take over your mobile

Jul 29, 09 1:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The iPhone’s text-messaging system has a dangerous flaw that hackers could exploit to take control of your phone, researchers say. They’ll reveal the trouble at a conference tomorrow, Forbes reports. So if you get a text with a “single square character,” turn off your phone right... More »

MORE ABOUT:
iPhone • hacker • computer virus • bug • text message • computer security • Google Android • Windows Mobile • SMS

Texting Boosts Driver
Crash Risk 23 Times

Texting while driving found to be
deadliest distraction 

Jul 28, 09 1:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - A first-of-its-kind study has found that sending and receiving text messages is the deadliest distraction for drivers by far, the New York Times reports. The study, which involved cameras in the cabs of long-haul trucks, found that texting raised a driver's risk of collision a whopping 23 times, putting it... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • text message • texting • road safety • drivers • driver distraction

celebrity advice

 Bathroom Is 
 for Texting, 
 Not Talking: Pitt 

Brad doles out etiquette tips for the Internet age

Jul 16, 09 10:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - The times, they are a-changin’—and that calls for new rules of etiquette. To help out, Brad Pitt addresses issues ranging from inter-Rock Band dynamics to texting in the bathroom for Wired:
  • Problem: Your Rock Band bassist sucks. Solution: “Fire his ass. Bonus: It'll put the others
... More »

MORE ABOUT:
entertainment • Internet • Brad Pitt • cell phones • celebrity • text message • World of Warcraft • Rock Band • Twitter • advice • advice columnist

 Voicemail Is So Over 

System too slow in faster-paced world

Jul 9, 09 1:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - After some 25 years of popularity, voicemail has become merely an annoyance for many, the Boston Globe reports. "What I really hate are the soliloquies," says a time-crunched user. But the long-winded are only part of the problem, experts say; the real culprit is the rise of texting.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • text message • texting • voicemail • telephone • trend • message

UK Phone Firm Seeks 160-Word Resumes

Text messages force 'sassy' applicants to
get to the point

Jul 5, 09 3:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - A British firm is asking job candidates to apply for its marketing job by text message, BBC reports. With a 160-character word limit, mobile phone services company Teimlo hopes to separate those who “just want any job” from applicants who are “sassy” and “good with words,”... More »

MORE ABOUT:
United Kingdom • text message • job • mobile phones • job application

 OMG! Wrld's Bst 
 Txtr Wins $50K 

500 text per day habit pays off for Iowa teen

Jun 17, 09 1:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - A 15-year-old Iowa girl took home $50,000 and a new phone after thumbing her way to first place in the National Texting Championships yesterday, CNN reports. Kate Moore, who has developed a 500 text-per-day habit since getting her first phone last year, aced speed and dexterity tests as well... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • contest • text message • texting • SMS • Kate Moore

(Newser) - Amanda Knox returned to the stand for the second day today with a familiar theme: Italian police abused her—verbally and sometimes physically—so much that she became confused about events the night Meredith Kercher was killed. She said police threatened her with serious jail time if she didn’t... More »

MORE ABOUT:
police • Italy • text message • murder trial • Perugia • Meredith Kercher • Amanda Knox • Raffaele Sollecito • Patrick Lumumba

 Idol Loser's Fans Say 
 AT&T Tainted Voting 

Runner-up's fans cry foul on discovering Allen voters got phone company freebies

May 27, 09 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Furious fans of American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert are accusing AT&T of stuffing the virtual ballot box with votes for Kris Allen, the New York Times reports. Company reps allegedly attended Arkansas parties for native son Allen, providing phones that were for free text-messaging services and instructions on how... More »

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reality TV • American Idol • text message • AT&T • Kris Allen • Adam Lambert

(Newser) - Hillary Clinton is hoping text messages can save Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The Secretary of State is asking Americans to text “swat” to 20222 to make a $5 donation to help refugees from the fighting there, Foreign Policy reports. The money would go to a UN agency, which provides... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Hillary Clinton • United Nations • Pakistan • donation • text message • refugee • Swat Valley • humanitarian aid

 Texts, Tweets 
 Have Roots 
 on Typewriter 

German chose character length by writing random messages

May 11, 09 9:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The man who chose text-messaging’s magic number—160 characters—did so in a decidedly low-tech way, the Los Angeles Times reports. In 1985, German Friedhelm Hillebrand typed message after random message into his typewriter, and found that 160 was “perfectly sufficient,” he said. And now sufficiency is... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • text message • texting • Twitter • Friedhelm Hillebrand • Jay-ZTV

 Sex Query? 
 Experts Help 
 Teens Via 
 Texting 

Health professionals text teens answers to anonymous sex questions

May 2, 09 3:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Teenagers no longer need to reveal their angst over pregnancy or noisy sex in crowded classrooms, the New York Times reports. Public health officials, fretting over the state of sex ed in US schools, are now answering questions via text message. Some use multiple choice menus and automated responses, but... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pregnancy • North Carolina • sex education • abstinence education • STD • text message • texting • teenager • mobile phones


 Vermont  May Legalize 
 Sexting—Between Teens 


Bill moving through legislature to legalize sexually explicit teen communications

Apr 14, 09 10:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Vermont’s state government is in an awkward position. Current law has the state prosecuting teens who send sexually explicit pictures of themselves to each other—sexting—as sex offenders. The state Senate has passed a bill to exempt an exchange of images between people between 13 and 18 years... More »

MORE ABOUT:
cell phones • Vermont • text message • child pornography • state legislature • teen sex • sexting

 Miley Spies on 
 Boyfriends 

Singer cops to snooping through cell phones

Apr 10, 09 10:05 AM CDT
(Newser) - Miley Cyrus is an admitted boyfriend stalker, she tells Tyra Banks. “I go through their text messages,” says the tween phenom, who admitted she would stalk her boyfriend for a day if given the chance, People reports. She also looks for clues in the way boys treat their... More »

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entertainment • cell phones • Tyra Banks • celebrity • text message • Miley Cyrus

(Newser) - This was probably inevitable: The world's first known divorce via phone text is on the books. A Saudi man informed his wife of the split by text, then called two relatives to let them know, the Telegraph reports. This apparently jibes with the practice under Sharia law that allows a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Saudi Arabia • divorce • marriage • Islamic Sharia law • text message

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