Wireless Guide News

Dear Dr. Gridlock:

After seven years commuting from Richmond to the District, I often think we need phone-booth lanes here, not HOV or HOT lanes.

I just got back from California, where I drove from Burbank to Santa Barbara on Route 101 and throughout the towns. Not one driver on 101, which is sometimes five lanes wide but always packed with vehicles, was holding a cellphone to talk or text.

In town, if someone was on a phone, he was parked. It was wonderful. Drivers were actually paying attention to other drivers, pedestrians and bike riders.

Everywhere, I would ask why no one is on the phone in the car, and to a person, young or old, they would respond that there is a steep fine and you better not have a phone in your hands (hands-free is allowable). Clearly, everyone has the religion.

Eventually, we might get the religion here in

The Obama administration on Thursday said that stronger state laws and crackdowns by local law enforcement are the best way to prevent the thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of injuries caused by drivers using cellphones or sending text messages.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the administration would pay for pilot crackdown programs in Delaware and California to see whether the results replicated those produced by a pair of federally funded programs last year.

Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., officials said distracted driving in general and text messaging in particular dropped greatly during the highly publicized campaigns.

“If you have good law enforcement, you can drive down distracted driving,” LaHood said in announcing $ 2.4 million for the two states. “We think we’re going to make a difference here.”

The National Transportation Safety Board has called for a ban on the use of mobile devices while driving a vehicle.

Although the federal government doesn’t have the con…………… continues on Washington Post

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Vodafone says its customers in parts of the Netherlands have been left without cell phone or mobile Internet coverage due to a fire near one of the mobile provider’s network centers.

The outage came as firefighters battled a major blaze in the heart of Rotterdam in the early hours of Wednesday.

Vodafone says the outage covers much of the densely populated urban region known as the Randstad. It says about a quarter of its Dutch clients were affected.

The company says the outage will likely last most of the day.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The technology being developed by Nosang Myung, professor and chair of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, and Innovation Economy Corporation has the potential to be adapted in many industries. These include agriculture (detecting concentrations of pesticides), industry (monitoring evaporation and leaks when using or storing combustible gases), homeland security (warning systems for bio-terrorism) and the military (detecting chemical warfare agents).

“This collaborative relationship is key to ensuring research conducted in our laboratories can be commercialized.” Myung said.

Reza Abbaschian, dean of the Bourns College of Engineering, said he is appreciative of Innovation Economy Corporation’s support of the research.

“We are equally appreciative of the support they offer through their mission of connecting our faculty with government and industry and identifying ways to commercialize their discoveries for the benefit of society,” Abbaschian said.

Myung’s research is licen…………… continues on PhysOrg.com

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Consumers won’t see immediate savings on their monthly cellphone bills despite Ottawa’s new rules to boost wireless competition that includes allowing some foreign ownership.

“Overnight, nothing is going to change,” said tech analyst Carmi Levy, noting it’s the same players in the market with the same technology. “It’s going to be years before we see any kind of tangible impact on our monthly bill from our carriers.”

Ottawa’s new measures are designed to increase competition, including giving smaller operators access to infrastructure and cellphone towers owned by the big three players — Rogers, Bell and Telus.

Will Mitchell, a visiting professor of strategic management at the Rotman School of Management, believes the changes have the potential to change the landscape.

He hopes it will spur new and existing carriers to come up with more innovations, such as regional-only plans, high-use texting plans for teens or talk-only plans fo…………… continues on Toronto Star

Russell Brand has been arrested for allegedly grabbing a photog’s cell phone and firing it through the window of a New Orleans law firm … TMZ has learned.

Russell turned himself in to New Orleans police within the last hour and is currently in police custody.

TMZ broke the story … Russell got pissed Monday night, after a photog began taking pictures on his iPhone.  Russell allegedly took the cell phone and hurled it through the window of a law office. 

The photog got the phone back and Russell agreed to pay for the window, but that didn’t satisfy cops and prosecutors.  A warrant was issued for Russell’s arrest.

5:40 PM PT: Russell has been released.

The FCC is calling for public comment on the legality of the San Francisco transit agency’s interruption of cellular service in August 2011. Bay Area Rapid Transit had shut off cell phone service in its tunnels, anticipating a cell-phone-coordinated protest of the fatal shooting of passengers by the transit system’s police.

The FCC promised a probe in December, and late this week the Commission announced (PDF) that it would be taking public comment until April 30, and will issue a reply by May 30.

SF transit officials claimed they cut service to protect public safety by dispersing the protest, but critics of that justification said it violated free speech and put people who might need to make emergency calls at risk. The FCC claims that 70 percent of emergency calls now come from mobile phones.

But the FCC’s public notice also states that law enforcement personnel have raised concerns that, “wireless service could be used to trigger the detonation of an explosive device or to organize the activities of a violent…………… continues on Ars Technica

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — There’s a report that a Canadian who was killed in Florida on Thursday was gunned down after he failed to produce a cellphone for the man who shot him.

Ovila Plante,76, spoke little English he didn’t know what William De Jesus wanted when he knocked on the door of the Quebecer’s motor home.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office has said De Jesus started yelling and Plante pushed him away. De Jesus then pulled out a gun and shot Plante twice.

De Jesus then forced his wife and two young sons out of his car and herded them into the mobile home starting a six hour stand-off with police.

The Palm Beach Post News reported on its website Saturday that Plante’s girlfriend, Quebecer Pierrette Beauchemin, who is in her 70s was in the mobile home and did understand that De Jesus was demanding a phone to call 911, said her daughter Joanne Beauchemin, 49.

De Jesus grabbed a cell phone belonging to Beauchemin and tried to dial 911, but instead hit a button that dialled Joanne Beauchemin.

“If your mom does whatever I say, I’m not going to hurt her,” Joanne told the newspaper, adding at that point her mother was put on the line.

“She said, ‘This is real. He has a gun to my head and a knife to my throat,”‘ said Joanne Beauchemin.

Beauchemin said her mother m…………… continues on CTV.ca

Fed up with expensive cellphone bills, Brian Wilson cut off his wireless service with Rogers Communications Inc. RCI.B-Tmore than a year ago. Today, he’s thinking of going back.

Every time he walks into a building, he worries about losing the signal on his Samsung smartphone. As he travels between his home in Vancouver and the University of British Columbia, where he works, his phone sometimes kicks into “roaming” mode – meaning he’d have to pay extra fees to make a call or use data services – even though he’s still within the coverage area of his new cell provider, Mobilicity.

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A Eunice man who allegedly tried to steal a 75-year-old woman’s cellphone is in jail today after she ran him to ground with her pickup.

Sylvia Bourque, who lives on Ardoin Street in Eunice, said she was working in the yard Wednesday morning when a young man came up and asked to use her phone.

“I told him he couldn’t come in, but he could use my cellphone. As soon as I handed it to him, he took off running,” Bourque said.

She immediately ran inside, got her husband, and the two jumped into their pickup to give chase.

“I was going to get that jack rabbit,” Bourque said. “It was not about the phone, it was the idea of it.”

Her husband, John Bourque, said the pair went looking for the man but couldn’t find him.

John then got out to check a line of trailers in the area, but just then, Sylvia spotted the man and took off.

“Man, she burned rubber all the way. She left me standing there. I didn’t know what to do,” John said.

Sylvia said she eventually was able to pin the man against a nearby building, where she said he was trying to hide.

“He put the phone on the hood and said ‘You can have it. I don’t want it.’ I told him it better not be broken or I’ll break both your legs,” Sylvia said.

She then got out to retrieve the phone and the man ran for it again. Sylvia said she watched him go and saw him enter a…………… continues on Opelousas Daily World

POTTSTOWN, Pa. — A suburban Philadelphia middle school’s ban on a popular type of fur-lined boots isn’t about fashion, it’s about cellphones.

Pottstown Middle School parents were informed of the new ban on the unlaced boots on Wednesday.

District community relations director John Armato tells the Pottstown Mercury (http://bit.ly/wwTP1g ) students are using the boots to hide cellphones and bring them into class. Current school policy allows students to bring their phones to school but requires them to be kept in their locker during the day.

Armato says the ban targets the unlaced boots with fur or faux fur lining made by footwear companies including Ugg. It goes into effect Monday.

Principal Gail Cooper says students can still wear the boots to school, but must remove them before going to class.

___

Information from: The Mercury, http://www.pottsmerc.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

A cell phone number, a sketch and an alias, backed by hundreds of hours of tedious detective work, helped deputy U.S. Marshals, Westport police and State Police detectives to track Andrew Robert Levene across the Northeast and western Europe before arresting him Monday night in Spain.

Levene, 41, who had gone by the name “Robert Thomas,” was charged by federal authorities with federal murder, robbery and firearm charges in connection with killing Yekutiel Zeevi, the 65-year-old owner of Y.Z. Jewelry and wonding a business associate on the night of Dec. 8.

“We did everything we could, used every investigative tool at our disposal and in the end our guys did an unbelieveable job,” said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Bri…………… continues on Westport-News

Unable to get a broader ban, state lawmakers moved last Wednesday to crack down on cell phone use on one group unable to vote: new teen drivers.

Without dissent, the Senate Committee on Public Safety and Human Services voted to make it illegal for youngsters with a learner’s permit to use a cell phone for any reason except an emergency. That covers both texting and actual chatting.

SB 1056 also imposes the same restrictions for the first six months that a teen has an actual license. The only exception to that would be if the new motorist already is at least 18.

Sen. John McComish, R-Ahwatukee Foothills, said his legislation is simply an extension of existing restrictions Arizona already places on new drivers.

For example, for the first six months of driving, a teen is permitted to have only one other teen in the vehicle.

“There was a lot of data which showed that, as you would expect, that was a great cause of accidents,” he said. “This is an expansion of that.”

Stuart Goodman, lobbyist for AAA Arizona, said the issues are the same: distracted driving.

He said the state needs to step in because 82 percent of 16-year-olds have cell phones.

Goodman also said a AAA nationwide survey from 2010 found that 84 percent of teens questioned said they answer their cell phones while driving and 52 percent…………… continues on Ahwatukee Foothills News

Of all the sentences I thought I’d never have the opportunity to write, other than “The folks at Metra are doing a bang up job,” the one that might top the unexpected list is, “A local newspaper got it wrong, while a government agency got it right!”

Why do I keep seeing the shadow of Rod Serling out of the corner of my eye?

But all Twilight Zone references aside, when the National Transportation Safety Board came out in favor of a complete, vehicle cell-phone ban last week, I immediately jumped out of my chair and starting singing the first verse of God Bless America.

Kate Smith ain’t got nuthin’ on me.

“No call, no text, no update is worth a human life,” NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman told the press. “It is time f…………… continues on Patch.com

Carl Franzen December 23, 2011, 6:02 AM

TINA CASEY

Scientists at the University of Illinois are developing a self-healing electronic circuit that could mean a far longer lifespan for next-generation cell phones and other electronic devices, as well as for batteries. Aside from saving money for consumers, the new “autonomous” circuit could help untangle the complex chain of environmental issues that wraps around broken electronic products and spent batteries.

The basic concept of a self-healing circuit is fairly straightforward. The U of I team developed tiny capsules about ten microns (ten millionths of a meter) in diameter that are filled with a liqui…………… continues on TPM

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Urban Meyer’s six-year deal is worth at least $ 26 million.

Ohio State University hired Urban Meyer as its football coach Monday, giving him one of the richest contracts ever in college sports — the latest indication that the big business of college football is undeterred by the nation’s broader economic woes or by concern about the prominence of sports on campus.

The contract includes $ 4 million in base salary, bonuses — for everything from players’ graduation rates to playing in a national championship, up to $ 700,000 annually — and lump payments in 2014, 2016 and 2018. The deal is worth more than three times the $ 1.32 million that the university’s president, E. Gordon Gee, made in 2010, accord…………… continues on New York Times

By Kristin J. Bender
Oakland Tribune

At least eight people, including a 1-year-old child, was shot Monday night during what police say was a videotaping of a rap music video.

The child was reported in critical condition and undergoing surgery at Children’s Hospital Oakland. Police said the other victims were in stable condition.

Police said an Oakland rapper who goes by the name of Kafani was at the scene of the shooting, which happened just after 6 p.m. in the 700 block of Willow Street. A van belonging to the rapper was riddled with gunshots.

It was not clear late Monday whether the other victims were in the van, or standing nearby. About 50 shell casings littered a liquor store parking lot near the shooting scene.

At least five victims reportedly went to Highland Hospital.

No one had been arrested and a motive was not known late Monday…………… continues on San Jose Mercury News

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