Cell Phone Reception and Tower Search: "...searchable databases of over 130,000 cell phone tower locations registered with the FCC, and over 43,000 cell phone carrier comments submitted voluntarily from real customers using their service all over the U.S. ...and with our graphical tower location search, users can pinpoint nearby tower locations. Even to the exact rooftop with satellite imagery and the help of Google Maps!"[e.g. Casper, Wyoming] You can also search for dead spots, and see how your neighbors really, truly feel about their reception.
posted on Oct 6, 2008 - View this thread

In a recent Roundtable on Creative Capitalism hosted by TIME, CK Prahalad, author of "The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid" brings to our attention the insight that "the essence of poverty is the assymetry of information" and that this asymmetry was now changing due to the availability and affordability of mobile phones in developing nations. Jeffery Sachs supports him by pointing out that the digital divide was being closed by market forces not civic efforts. Global leader Nokia has already leapt into the breach by opening a Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya in order to develop concepts and products that are of value and relevance for those at the Base of the Pyarmid. The ubiquitious little cellphone has now been spotlighted as a key tool for poverty alleviation, although the debate continues. [previously]
posted on Aug 27, 2008 - View this thread

toneshared is a library of free mobile phone ringtones made by electronica/alternative musicians. From the subtle to the mashed to the downright annoying.
posted on Jun 26, 2008 - View this thread

Did you happen to see those "making-popcorn-pop-with-a-cellphone" clips that showed up at the end of last month on the toobs? Well, WIRED wrote about it, and a kajillion copycat clips showed up in about the time it'd take to, you know, make some popcorn. Turns out it was a viral, natch, as a cursory search will reveal. But just today a clip appeared that explains how the actual stunt was pulled off. Well, anyway, as you've probably guessed by now, this is all just an excuse to link to Popcorn. Yep, Popcorn.
posted on Jun 20, 2008 - View this thread

Google's Android goes live for demo. Lots of video and stills. Cache.
posted on May 28, 2008 - View this thread

The Evolution of Computer & Video Games (Google video) The Evolution of Computer Commercials (video) The evolution of mobile phones (video)
posted on May 14, 2008 - View this thread

Obama supporter shocked to see herself in Hillary ad. "Especially because she's a fierce supporter of Barack Obama." "But the young girl starring in the ad will actually be voting age next month and says she's no fan of Hillary Clinton." The footage is another example of the risks of using stock film or images to convey an advertising message. The footage comes from Getty Footage Stock. FYI that footage prices out at around $ 2,500 for national advertising usage. {via}
posted on Mar 10, 2008 - View this thread

If you thought phone phreaking was a dying art, you may be surprised to read the story of "Li'l Hacker", as told by old-school hack/phreaker Kevin Poulsen.
posted on Feb 29, 2008 - View this thread

"(Steve) Jobs, a notorious control freak himself, wasn't about to let a group of suits — whom he would later call "orifices" — tell him how to design his phone."
posted on Jan 10, 2008 - View this thread

Where's my Gphone? "Despite all of the very interesting speculation over the last few months, we're not announcing a Gphone. However…"
posted on Nov 5, 2007 - View this thread

to gather information about Americans' phone records --... the NSA had approached the company (Qwest) about participating in a warrantless surveillance program to gather information about Americans' phone records. ...Nacchio's account, which places the NSA proposal at a meeting on Feb. 27, 2001, suggests that the Bush administration was seeking to enlist telecommunications firms in programs without court oversight before the terrorist attacks on New York and the Pentagon. The Sept. 11 attacks have been cited by the government as the main impetus for its warrantless surveillance efforts. ... -- The Administration's crimes and illegal spying on all of us and Quest's punishment for not going along with their plans.
posted on Oct 13, 2007 - View this thread

The son of industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger (creator of the distinct styling of the Apple IIc and subsequent products, as well as founder of frog design) shares memories and photographs (auf Deutsch; Google cache) of Apple's early attempts at an iPhone.
posted on Jul 18, 2007 - View this thread

WIRED: A cell mobile phone helped police find the body of missing student Kelly Nolan. "The average citizen is not aware that they are carrying a location-tracking device in their pocket..."
posted on Jul 18, 2007 - View this thread

Maddox on iPhone
posted on Jul 17, 2007 - View this thread

For four months, the Kuykendalls, the Prices and the McKays say they’ve been harassed and threatened by mysterious cell phone stalkers who track their every move and occasionally lurk by their homes late at night, screaming and banging on walls. Police can’t seem to stop them. The late-night visitors vanish before officers arrive. The families say investigators have a hard time believing the stalkers can control cell phones without touching them and suspect an elaborate hoax. Complaints to their phone companies do no good – the families say they’ve been told what the stalkers are doing is impossible.
posted on Jun 29, 2007 - View this thread

The mobile content market is big but the mobile service companies control the bottleneck of data to your phone and may well be holding the industry back. A NZ site has launched offering a platform for mobile content producers to sell direct to mobile content consumers globally: Voeveo.
posted on Feb 11, 2007 - View this thread

Blogs by Phone - for when your family and friends have trouble keeping up with your blog posts. (YouTube video from SixApart)
posted on Dec 22, 2006 - View this thread

Future Phone: Call a number in Iowa, give them the international number you want to call, talk for free - well, at American long-distance rates anyway. No headphones required.
posted on Oct 20, 2006 - View this thread

Dead Ringers: the Science Museum asks us the question "should we upgrade our mobile phone?" "No" and "no" say the Times and the Observer, but we still do: on average every 18 months. What's the problem? Well it isn't just the lead, arsenic, beryllium and brominated fire-retardant cases (pollutants all) disappearing into our land fills (which are not covered by the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive [WEEE] in Europe). Coltan also goes into our phones. It occurs mainly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and as such our demand for upgrades has been contributing to a war (despite mobile phone companies' claims to the contrary, coltan is not regulated like timber). If we must upgrade, we can at least recycle or hack our old phones.
posted on Aug 7, 2006 - View this thread

Use the badly named Tglo to call any phone in the USA for free, and to SMS anyone in the world (maybe) for free.
posted on Aug 6, 2006 - View this thread

Yes, it's another Snakes on a Plane promo but this one is different: it's fucking awesome. Drop in your friends name (hopefully it's semi-normal and they have it in the db), then fill out some info about your friend, then have it place a call to them. Watch friend freak out when Samuel L. Jackson calls them up and knows all sorts of shit about them. Trust me, it totally freaked me out when someone did it to me today.
posted on Aug 2, 2006 - View this thread

During a 1987 radio broadcast, Dutch comedian and writer Wim de Bie decided to take Ry Cooder up on his offer and give him a call. Hilarity ensued (RealAudio). Note: the song is played until about 1'55", phone conversation follows.
posted on Aug 2, 2006 - View this thread

Most. Expensive. Cellphone. Evar. (It's Jaren Goh Design's $300,000USD "Black Diamond" phone.)
posted on Jul 25, 2006 - View this thread

Call the Future let's you send a phone message in the future. It sounds scary, but it could be useful for reminders. Or for pranks. The site creator's own prank was not that great, though.
posted on Jul 16, 2006 - View this thread

In which one man sets out to cancel his AOL account: the mp3 phone call (backup link), the blog post.
posted on Jun 13, 2006 - View this thread

You just can't drink and dial. No, really, you can't. Not if you're dialing on this phone (scroll down to "Voice of Reason".). Need more help?: See also...
posted on May 15, 2006 - View this thread

Tin foil hats no longer required! Apparently mobile phone use *doesn't* cause cancer. We'd like to thank the MMF and the GSMA for funding this study along with the EU. I'll still not get one though...
posted on Jan 20, 2006 - View this thread

"The White House asked The New York Times not to publish this article, arguing that it could jeopardize continuing investigations and alert would-be terrorists that they might be under scrutiny." What's the article about? The NSA, and you, if you've ever called internationally or sent email overseas: ...the intelligence agency has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda, ... (very long, NYT--and the NSA's mission is to spy only on communications abroad)
posted on Dec 15, 2005 - View this thread

The Banana Cell Phone Cover - Just in time for Christmas! Hey, it looks like he's talking into a banana.
posted on Nov 29, 2005 - View this thread

Did You Pet Your Phone Today? An examination of the effects of ubiquitous communication.
posted on Nov 15, 2005 - View this thread

"You have selected Regicide..." How to get a human on the phone for dozens of IVR systems. And a bonus page for Amazon, e-Bay, and PayPal.
posted on Sep 21, 2005 - View this thread

The robot comes calling... When web services attack! NotifyPhoneBasic will call any phone number in the US/Canada and read your message to that phone number. You can even set the caller id information.
posted on Sep 13, 2005 - View this thread

New FCC head seeks to quietly gut independent DSL carriers. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin has circulated a proposal that would eliminate the requirement of phone companies to lease their phone lines to competitors, effectively cutting the throat of independent DSL carriers such as Covad, and their customers, such as EarthLink, AT&T, Concentric, AOL, and Sprint. The Telecommunications Act of 1996 gave Baby Bells the right to sell long distance service in exchange for opening up their networks to the public. Now the Bush administration are poised to undo this, killing a multibillion dollar industry, and giving monopoly control back to the Baby Bells, who aren't quite so small anymore, thanks to corporate mergers. If you like having all the broadband choices you currently have, you may want to contact the FCC commissioners, toot sweet.
posted on Jul 26, 2005 - View this thread

Micromovie awards 2005 - the mission: produce a 90-second movie filmed entirely on a mobile phone (dubbing of better quality audio permitted). Dozens of films are available here for viewing. Sponsored, or course, by a major phone manufacturer. Don't let that distract you from the cute little films, though)
posted on May 26, 2005 - View this thread

Cellphedia is a thesis project created by Limor Garcia (NYU). It's a cell phone application that allows to send and receive encyclopedia-type inquiries through Text messaging. A user will be able to get all the information they need – from “how old is the queen of England?” to “how many miles is the Brooklyn Bridge?” – through a real-time social network, while walking in the street.
posted on May 3, 2005 - View this thread

Nokia's iPod killer. Nokia today introduced their new N-series multimedia-centric phones (dropping the 4-digit model numbers they've been using for ever). The N91 in particular looks like it's shooting straight for the iPod crown: 4GB hard drive, 3G, global GSM, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth, USB mass storage, FM radio and a claimed 12.5 hrs of battery time. The N90 isn't too shabby either.
posted on Apr 27, 2005 - View this thread

smashTheTONES! Don't pay for an MP3 ringtone -- or worse, a MIDI file that's been floating around on the net for years. Provide the sound file, and this site will automatically format it to play on your phone, free of charge. If you are a nerd like me, this is your big chance to get some polyphonic video game themes on your cell phone with a minimum of fuss.
Be advised that your phone must be able to receive text messages and download ringtones to get your free ringtone goodness.
posted on Apr 19, 2005 - View this thread

"Is this a HARMFUL cheeseburger or something?" A California woman calls 911 after the drive-thru guy at Burger King doesn't get her order right. (.WMA audio link, transcript here)
posted on Mar 31, 2005 - View this thread

Dear Cell Phone User (pdf): We are aware that your ongoing conversation about [insert topic here] is very important to you, but we thought you'd like to know that it doesn't interest us in the least. In fact, your babbling disregard for others is more than a little annoying. (via and via) SHHH!
posted on Dec 8, 2004 - View this thread

Bananaphone, Part II: In which evil itself is emerges via Raffi. [Flash, via Tofu Hut]
posted on Jul 25, 2004 - View this thread

Verizon goes Vonage? ATT, announced this week that it's giving up on residential phone service. And here, from the look of it, Verizon is starting to offer what I believe is Internet-based phone service. Is the Internet the future of phone?
posted on Jul 24, 2004 - View this thread

What would you do if your opponent's elderly constituents needed a ride to vote? Jam their phone lines of course.
posted on Jul 1, 2004 - View this thread

Ban on Camera Phones in Iraq Q: What do you do if your troops take pictures of physical and sexual abuse in American-run prisons in Iraq? A: Ban cameras, of course. What the people can't see don't happen.
posted on May 23, 2004 - View this thread

Chris-calls! What if you received Chris Rock's old cell phone number and his celebrity friends kept on calling you? "amazing entertainment" :D [via Gulfstream]
posted on Mar 6, 2004 - View this thread

The President Calling: American Radioworks (MPR) explores the secret phone tapes of Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon. AFAIK, the content is all previously available, but online, they've packaged and annotated it for ease of use. It's not exhaustive, but the moments picked out are often illuminating, showing "how each man used one-on-one politics to shape history." You might want to start here.
posted on Nov 20, 2003 - View this thread

A prankster turns himself into the RIAA:
JH: Hello. I just downloaded some illegal MP3s and my friend told me that the RAII is going to sue everyone who downloads music. What should I do?
RIAA: Hold on just a sec.
posted on Sep 15, 2003 - View this thread

The day the dinnertime phone calls stopped. We've previously discussed the new national do-not-call list on Mefi, but this Salon piece puts a new spin on the subject. Millions of rural Americans will inevitably lose telemarketing jobs because telemarketing will be regulated out of business. But the government isn't regulating them out of business, it is just providing a way for people to choose not to participate in this business scheme. The people who add their names to the list are the people who are going to hang up in the telelmarketer's face anyways, so where's the harm in this list? And what about the DMA's 10 reasons to protect the teleservices industry?
posted on Jul 15, 2003 - View this thread

Uh, folks, this is not a documentary; it's a comedy, OK? People are actually trying to call God as seen in the Jim Carrey comedy Bruce Almighty. Sigh.
posted on May 28, 2003 - View this thread

Say hello to audioBLOGGER - a service ("simpler than publishing a text post") that lets bloggers post 2 minutes of audio to their blogs from any phone.
posted on Feb 27, 2003 - View this thread

Christians become aquainted with the Almighty. "When the Wheat Ridge man got laid off from his computer-programming job in June, his friends and family asked what they could do to help. He asked them to pray for him and offered a daily reminder: an automated text message on cellphones and pagers. Now, Wostenberg, a devout Catholic, is offering that same technology to anyone who wants a psalm sent to him each day at 3 p.m. He's selling the service online at PsalmWeaver.com He charges $19.95 a year, plus a $4 setup fee."
posted on Dec 16, 2002 - View this thread