Dangers of Texting While Driving

We already know about the dangers of talking on cell phones while driving, and now there are many locations with heavy fines for doing this. At least the danger is strongest when holding the phone while driving. This is one reason to purchase the StarShine Hands Free Cell Phone Holder for your car. Now there is a further danger with texting, much worse than talking because the person is more distracted and more apt to cause an accident. Here's a recent survey taken by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada regarding the incidence of texting and driving among licensed Ontario students in grades 10 - 12, approximately 108,000 teens surveyed.

Dangers of Texting While Driving

The 2013 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey found that more than one-third of licensed Ontario students in Grades 10 to 12 — or an estimated 108,000 teens — reported having texted while driving at least once in the past year.

For Grade 12 students alone, 46 per cent of those who drive say they also texted at least once while operating a vehicle.

"This was a big surprise to us," said Robert Mann, a senior scientist at CAMH in Toronto. "We know that this is a very hazardous behaviour and some of the reports in the literature suggest that texting while you're driving can increase your chances of being involved in a collision by about 20 times or more.

"I think that texting is considered to be considerably hazardous because you have to actually type on the keyboard while you're driving," he said.

Such distracted driving is illegal across Canada, yet many adult and teen drivers continue to communicate by keyboard while in the driver's seat.

Yet the student surveys have found that the percentage of students who reported drinking and driving has declined dramatically over the past 20 years, he said.

To read more, click here.

Here is a video explaining this interesting survey and how the surveyors showed the teens the danger of their behavior.

While most of the "texters" are young people, it is becoming more popular as the communication is so instant yet stays recorded for those who are not "on message" (something like "online"). This is an important point. There is not need to instantly read and reply to a text message. It will be there when you are finished driving.

Canada Day 2014: Time to Move On from E-mail Advertising

This July first in Canada was not only a holiday but the start of a new anti-spam law. Now messages must be e-mailed only to consenting people and companies. Will this change the amount of spam Canadians receive? Probably not for several reasons: 1) Unless the recipient reports the offending spam it will continue to be sent. 2) The amount of spam is astronomical and impossible for any country to control 3) Most importantly - e-mail is now "old technology" with social media in various forms taking over and instant messages being faster than e-mail anyway. E-mail has already been replaced. I personally have younger relatives that rarely check their e-mail.

In a recent article written by Leah Eichler entitled, "E-mail has had it day. It's time to move on", she agrees with this point of view that e-mail is now passe and not as useful. Here is part of her article.

E-mail can be described as the “grandfather” of workplace productivity tools, but today, most of us experience a love-hate relationship with it. I can’t stop checking my e-mail accounts but then I take so much delight in deleting incoming messages that I often purge my inbox of important e-mails.

There are 108.7 billion e-mails sent and received a day, according to Radicati, a technology market research firm, and the majority of traffic comes from business accounts. They also report that the number of worldwide e-mail users is expected to grow from over 2.5 billion in 2014 to over 2.8 billion in 2018.

The average employee spends 40 per cent of his or her time dealing with internal e-mails that have little to no impact on their business. Think about that next time you scroll through your inbox, feeling harassed because you have too much to do in too little time. The productivity losses are nothing short of astronomical.

To read more click on this link.

So what is replacing e-mail? For those of us with smart phones (and even some "dumb" phones), instant messages is the way - faster and not so wordy. No quotations, no long paragraphs with useless information. However, not everyone embraces mobile devices.

Enter social media. There are an incredible number of forms and types, all that have appeared in the last 10 years. If Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LikedIn, Google+, Pinterest and StumbleUpon were not enough, there is Delicious, Digg, MySpace, Bebo, Mister-Wong, Reddit, Wanelo, Orkut, Xing, Buffer, Evernote, Pinboard, VK, Springboard, Buffer, Flipboard, AIM, Yahoo Messenger, Arto, Plurk, Deaspora, Blogger Post, TypePad Post, Box.net, Kindle It, Baidu, Netlog, CiteULike, Jumptags, Netvouz, Diigo, Bib Sonomy, Blog Marks, StartAid, Khabbr, Memeame and Yoolink. Do you think this is a lot of sites? Believe it or not, this is only half the list. I got tired of typing all of them

You may wonder who actually uses all of these sites. I can see some words from other languages besides English. Are they targeted towards certain demographic groups? I don't think anyone knows but I'm sure some smart online marketer will invent an app, widget or plugin that will let us know. However, one advantage of using Facebook for advertisers is the ability to target very closely to people who might buy. Another good under-used advertising media is Google+ as it is tied into the many other forms of Google, including YouTube now.

Interestingly enough, one of the suggestions in Ms. Eichler's article is that we go back to using post cards, sent out to former customers. I guess the rationale here is that past customers are more apt to buy again. However with the Canadian postal rates what they are (twice as high as the US), it seems doubtful that postcards or letters will be the next big viral fad. What do you think about e-mail advertising? Please leave a comment below.

The Asus Padfone - Beneficial Cell Phone or Not?

Here is a very amusing video that I assure you will love watching to see how the company Asus has combined a cell phone (well, actually a large Android smartphone) with a laptop and calls it a Padfone. Thanks to the Wall Street Journal, producer, Drew Evans and journalist and actress supreme, Joanna Stern for this addition to our understanding of the confusing array of mobile devices available today.
http://live.wsj.com/video/asus-padfone-review-when-phone-and-tablet-are-one/41E271E2-EB67-4CED-BA49-481850BCE63E.html

Are you even more confused today? Best just go down to your local electronic shop and try them all out. You can rest assured the sales team will be up on the latest devices and try to sell you several. Here's some questions you will want to ask. I personally like taking in a list of questions because the usual sales person will so overload you with information that you won't be able to remember these important points. Nor will the literature they give you necessarily include it.
1. What is the GB capacity or the phone (something like the memory)?
2. What is the mega pixel capacity of the camera? (better yet, get the sales to take a picture and show it to you).
3. What is the initial price and the length of the contract?
4. What software is included and what necessary software or apps must be added or downloaded?
5. Are there any attachments that are included in the cost (such as cell phone holders, covers, ear phones, etc.
6. What is the warranty period and what customer service is included?
7. Where is the phone manufactured or serviced?

Safety Features for Your Cell Phone

Mobile phones are getting so complex these days they can almost make you breakfast and tie your shoes. Using you phone to navigate across town, take a picture, figure out your accounts, send several kinds of messages, play music, watch movies, set an alarm and record a voice message are all common functions. However, here are a few things about your phone that you may not know.

• Dial an emergency call using 112. This is the international emergency number and can be used everywhere on GSM (Global System for Mobile) phones as long as there is reception for your phone. In some places it will work even if your battery is dead. However, it should not be something you try out.

The message also includes the ill-conceived suggestion that recipients should actually try out the 112 number. As at least one commentator has pointed out, testing 112 - or any other emergency number - just to see if it works is simply irresponsible. Tying up emergency call workers with such useless calls could result in delays in response times for real emergencies. In emergency situations even seconds can make a difference. Emergency call services already have to contend with enough time-wasting prank calls as it is without having to field calls from recipients of this message who have heeded its advice to try the 112 number for themselves.
To read the original click here.

• Record your IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) in case your phone is lost or stolen. If you call this number into your service provider, the phone can be disabled, thus making it useless to the thieves or finder. There is also an international data base called the “blacklist” that will keep the phone from being reregistered, even if the battery is changed.

The black list is a list of IMEIs that are associated with GSM or 3G devices that should be denied service on mobile networks because they have been reported as lost, stolen, faulty or otherwise unsuitable for use. Previously know as the Central Equipment Identify Register (CEIR), the IMEI DB acts as a central system for network operators to share their individual black lists so that devices denied service (blacklisted) by one network will not work on other networks even if the SIM card in the device is changed. Read the original here.

To find your IMEI, either take out your battery and you will find it written underneath or dial #06# on your phone. The IMEI will be displayed on the screen. Write it down and store it in a safe place where you will remember it.
One of the most important reasons to carry your cell phone is in case of emergencies. Having the phone lost or stolen is another emergency, so keep it close in a car holder, your desk or in your pocket. For more information about phone holders, check out the article on the website, Universal  Mobile Phone Holder for Sale.

Exploring Amazon’s Whispersync and Whispernet for Cell Phones and More

Prompt using Whispersync

As technological improvements are appearing at an increasing pace, it’s not surprising that Amazon has come up with two new ways to link the various machines that they sell connected to the internet. There are three types of Whispersync: for Kindle books, for personal documents and for Amazon Instant Video. With Kindle books on Kindle Fire, Whispersync synchronizes all bookmarks, annotations and furthest pages read across all devices registered to the same Amazon.com account. This means that you can “pick up where you left off” across all devices, no matter which one you pick up. It also can download new purchases from one device to the others.

With Whispersync for personal documents Amazon has introduced the Kindle Personal Documents service which converts your personal documents into Kindle format and stores them in a Kindle library. You can download them easily or again start again where you left off on any of your devices. Of course you can change your documents. “These features are currently supported on Kindle Fire, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle, Kindle Touch, and Kindle for iPad, iPhone, iPod touch with Kindle app version 2.9 or greater.”

Whispersync for Amazon Instant Video keeps track of your last location of a video with Kindle Fire, PC, Mac or over 300 compatible TVs and Blu-ray players. This is the only type of Whispersync that cannot be turned off.

Whispernet is wireless coverage for Kindle without using WiFi. Therefore it is not necessary to find WiFi hotspots. This means there are no monthly wireless bills, no setup fee or data plans. The content is downloaded in seconds via “high speed data networks”. It can be used as soon as you purchase your Kindle (Free 3G). Whispernet can be combined with Whispersync. Sorry – this won’t work for your phone calls too. The international coverage has yet to be developed fully.

While it is convenient to have your various gadgets synchronized (assuming your are wealthy enough to have more than one), I personally am more interested in having more audio functions that convert to written form so that I’ll be free of typing on small keyboards. It has started with the Kindle audio version that can be downloaded through Whispersync for Voice.  It lets you switch from the audio version of a book to the regular Kindle version. With a Kindle Fire it is also possible to read and listen at the same time. There is another version available through a downloadable app at audio.com. The other issue with synchronizing involves security. What else will these devices connect to and who can access them besides you?

For more coverage of these plans, please go to: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200375890

http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=200775230

Amazon to Launch its Own Cell Phone

Amazon President, Jeff Bezos

This summer consumers will be able to buy a smartphone and an android-style cell phone. While the particulars are not yet known, there are rumors that the phone will be: 1) cheaper than the now pricey monthly charges, 2) access to TV and movie streaming through the Amazon program, Prime Instant Video 3) access to the Amazon Cloud Music Player and 4) access to the AT &T's program, Sponsored Data. Here is what Julian D'Onfro recently wrote in Business Insider.

Sponsored Data, announced in January, allows companies to pay for users' data traffic for certain apps and services, meaning that data used up on a designated app wouldn't count toward the user's monthly data cap. In whatever way Prime Data manifests itself, sources told BGR that it will be a key selling point for the Amazon smartphone.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-smartphone-prime-data-2014-4#ixzz31Ae2agxC

Despite all the bells and whistles, I suspect Amazon will have to come up with a very flashy design, good audio capacity and a thin size to fit into all those pockets, briefcases and purses. Lastly, can they make one with better e-mail voice activation for those of us who are tired of typing on small screens? They might have the capability with their Whispersync software.

Security Breach Effects Cell Phone Users

Recently a new cell phone security problem has appeared called Heartbleed. It has especially effected all websites that are using the SSL configuration (https:). It was disclosed on April 7,2014 and it is estimated that at least 17% or half a million of supposed secure websites are vulnerable unless they takes measures to "patch" the access.  Forbes cybersecurity columnist Joseph Steinberg wrote, "Some might argue that [Heartbleed] is the worst vulnerability found (at least in terms of its potential impact) since commercial traffic began to flow on the Internet." (quote source here) It is ironic that these are supposedly the most secure sites that use https:

What does this mean exactly to the average user and what can be done? It is a serious problem because your private information including credit card numbers and passwords is at risk of hackers. It is basically a high-level programming error, which now has a "patch protection" or a new SSL configuration that many companies have now installed. However, not all have protected themselves as yet. There is a test you can apply to see which ones are protected. Simply go to this site and type in the URL of the company you want to test. If the site is corrected, it's a good idea to change your password. However, if the site has not been patched, it's best just not to use it until the situation changes. Here's the testing site: https://filippo.io/Heartbleed/ 

There is another aspect to this problem and this is perhaps why it is considered to be such a threat. The hackers also have access to the SSL codes, a long string of numbers and letters that verify the site as certified to encrypt information on these sites. Apparently this has been a problem for several years already. The outcome is that hackers have access to pretend they are the established sites. Again many of the effected companies using open SSL have established new codes, but not all of them. It seems they should be required to make this change soon. What his means for users such as you and I is that we need to be extra-careful of phishing, both ones that are accessed through bookmarks as well as hackers contacting us through e-mail messages.

By the way, the security company, Codenomicon gave this security bug its name and contributed the logo.  The name stems from the fact that there is "missing bounds check in the handling of the Transport Layer Security (TLS) heartbeat extension", according to Wikipedia. It's just part of tech-speak but an interesting name, don't you agree?