Google has issued a fix to the G1 handset, to stop it executing commands just because they appear in an entered text message - preventing punters from rebooting the handset just by typing the word “reboot”.

The bug can hardly be called a security problem, given it requires access to the handset, but the fact that until the fix was issued today any G1 user typing a text message containing the word “reboot” would see their phone resetting is truly stunning, and it reflects badly on the quality control and testing of the Android platform.

hey can u take
a look at my
new draft? i’ll send
[09:48:24 PM]
*****END*****

so weird, i didnt
hit the button but
it sent that txt
when i just typed
send
[09:49:08 PM]
*****END*****

ok did it again.
neway, can u give
the draft a look?
formatting
maybe f’d up bc
i had to reboot
[09:50:47 PM]
*****END*****

so i guess the
phone goes crazy
when i type either
send
[09:53:31 PM]
*****END*****

or the r word.
dood. this phone
was sposed to
be the best model
but this is a total
turn off
[09:55:01 PM]
*****END*****

what kind of
stupid ass bug
is this? i swear
my head is
about to explode
[09:57:28 PM]
*****END*****

Tags: technology, reboot, geek frustration, inadvertent easter eggs, google phone, google

A passenger on a French train had to be rescued by firemen after having his arm sucked down the on-board toilet.

The 26-year-old victim was trapped when he tried to fish out his mobile phone, which had fallen into the toilet bowl, and fell foul of the suction system.

The high-speed TGV train had to stop for two hours while firemen cut through the train’s pipework.

The man was carried away by emergency services, with the toilet still attached to his arm. 

Things for which it is, and is not, worth it to reach into a train toilet (a partial list):

1. The Dowager’s diamond pendant: worth it
2. Mechanical pencil: not worth it
3. Map showing location of secret spy headquarters: worth it if you are a spy
4. Baby (cherished): worth it
5. Baby (colicky): not worth it
6. Baby’s first poopy: not worth it
7. Cell phone: worth it only if cell phone is constructed from Dowager’s diamond pendant
8. Travel copy of Da Vinci Code: not worth it, even if book is not in toilet at all but on the floor

Tags: technology, cell phones, transportation, train, toilet, books not worth the paper they're printed on, the dowager, baby's first poopy

Bill Tancer, a self-described “data geek”, has analyzed information for over 10 million web users to conclude that [...] surfing for porn had dropped to about 10 percent of searches from 20 percent a decade ago, and the hottest Internet searches now are for social networking sites.

“As social networking traffic has increased, visits to porn sites have decreased,” said Tancer, indicated that the 18-24 year old age group particularly was searching less for porn.

“My theory is that young users spend so much time on social networks that they don’t have time to look at adult sites.”

from: Facebook
reply-to: noreply
to: Wryly Minogue
date: Tue, Sep 16, 2008 at 4:14 AM
subject: Armando Sanz invited you to join the group “18-24 Year Olds Who Troll Adult Websites Instead of Joining Pointless Facebook Groups”
mailed-by: facebookmail.com
------------------------------------------

Armando invited you to join the Facebook group “18-24 Year Olds Who Troll Adult Websites Instead of Joining Pointless Facebook Groups”

Click here to see more details and confirm this group invitation.

Thanks,
The Facebook Team

___
Want to control which emails you receive from Facebook? Go to:
http://www.facebook.com/editaccount.php?notifications&md=Z3JvdxkR

Tags: technology, facebook, internet, unintentional irony, creepy facebook friends, porn

To save parking spots and go green, the 1,000-student [Ripon] college offered incoming freshmen a brand-new Trek 820 mountain bike, a Trek Vapor helmet and a Master Lock U-Lock - all to keep - if they pledged to leave their cars at home.
...
The Ripon bike giveaway, called the Velorution Project, has been wildly popular. Some 60% of freshmen [...] signed up for bikes, which they picked up Tuesday.

It’s one of the more innovative programs among a flurry of campus transportation initiatives at colleges and universities in Wisconsin. The programs are aimed at reducing the carbon footprint and parking demand by encouraging students, faculty or staff to use their cars less in favor of bikes, public transit, ridesharing or car-sharing programs.

Ripon appears to have learned from the mistakes of its predecessors. Before going bankrupt last spring, nearby Wallington University offered each incoming freshman the choice of a year’s worth of bus passes, a foldable scooter with matching carrying case, or an i2 Segway Personal Transporter.  “Surprisingly, we found that most kids chose the Segway, which stretched the program’s budget a bit,” recalled ex-Dean Laurence Robson.  “And many of them would then stow their Segways in the back of their SUVs every night when they drove home.  I really wish we had made them sign some sort of no-car pledge.”

“But the main problem was all the incidents involving kids being found unconscious next to overturned Segways, with scooter-wheel-shaped bruises all over their bodies,” Robson concluded.  “The Board of Directors didn’t like that at all.”

Tags: science, technology, transportation, bicycles, scooter-wheel-shaped bruises, carbon footprint, the board of directors didn't like that at all, scooters, segways, universities

So why would the carriers introduce these features now? Simple, said Jill Aldort, a marketing analyst with the Yankee Group. The only demographic groups not yet saturated with cellphones, she said, are the very young and the very old.
...
“The way to get to the parents is to alleviate their concerns about surprisingly high cellphone bills, or their child sitting in math class texting or accessing inappropriate content,” Ms. Aldort said.
...
Whether parents will like the feel of these new reins in their hands is an open question. In a recent Nielsen Online survey, most parents of 8-to-12-year-olds say they don’t use even the rudimentary parental controls offered on phones, like the ability to block calls made to certain numbers.

Hello, and thank you for calling National Carrier Media Relations.  We never stop thinking about you!

Hi, BOB TEDESCHI from the New York Times for Daniel Flox.

[recording] You will hear silence followed by a series of clicks.  Do not hang up.

[2 minutes]

DS: Bob Tedeffi, this is Dan Slox.  Did you hear the silence?  Did you enjoy it?

BT: I guess I s--

DS: Just kidding--a little Depeche Mode joke there.  How can I help you.

BT: Couple of questions.  We received the brief about your new set of parental controls and I have some points to clarify.

DS: Absolutely. At National Carrier we understand that kids will be kids.  That’s why we are proud to introduce “Surrogate 1”, the feature that gives parents more choices than ever before.

BT: Great.  Can you tell me a little about what prompted this move?

DS: Absolutely. We understand that kids are constantly looking for new ways to get the most out of their cellular experience, and parents are, too.

BT:

DS: Our call centers are slammed with credit requests from screaming parents.  Off the record.

BT: I see.  So how does thi--

DS: The way to get to the parents is to alleviate their concerns about surprisingly high cellphone bills, or their child sitting in math class texting or accessing inappropriate content.  We understand that parents want more choices than ever.  That’s why we are also offering them the ability to prevent calls on their children’s phones from 9am to 2pm.  With Surrogate 1, parents have more options than ever.

BT: That’s an interesting concept.  Three followups to that.  First, is that time window when most overage situations arise, or does it usually happen at night?  Second, why not give parents the power to choose which hours are right for their child?  Third, that doesn’t really seem to address the fundamental problem of children texting inappropriate content, only when they do it.

DS: Unfortunately, parents are not even using the tools we give them!  We have offered number blocking for some time and they don’t even use it!

BT: How is number blocking is related to overage charges or inappropriate content?

DS: Number blocking!  That we already gave them!

BT: Let’s go to a different question.  Let’s say a parent is looking to limit the number of minutes or SMS messages a child can use their phone per day regardless of when they use them.  Do you offer that capability?

DS: Absolutely.  We give them two layers of choice!  First, they can manually add minutes to their child’s pre-paid phone plan every single day.  Second, they can subscribe to our “Family Unlimited Bonanza” plan.

BT: So you don’t actually offer a way to limit a child’s usage at all.

DS: With Surrogate 1, we are offering more choices than ever before.

BT: And unlimited usage is sort of the opposite of--

DS: CHOICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BT: So let’s say a parent wants to restrict a child to 90 minutes of talk time per day after school but wants to exclude calls to the parents from that cap.  And they want to turn off SMS capability once the child reaches the monthly limit.  Do you offer that capability?

[series of beeps]

BT: ... hello?

[call dropped]

Tags: technology, business, cell phones, surrogate 1, choices

Do not worry, this is a non-violent protest. I have actually just superglued myself to the buttons of the Prime Minister.

We cannot shake away climate change like you can just shake away my arm.

http://www.getfamousforpeace.org

WELCOME INTERNET VISITORS
Today it is _October 24, 1997_

Don’t mind the construction!  We are building our Website.
Please sign our guestbook.

We are here to help you kill two birds with one stone:  save the world, and get famous.  (Please don’t actually kill any birds!  They’re probably endangered, if you’re thinking of the same ones we are.)

Need an idea for something to do?  We can help by giving you an activity and quote at the same time.

TRY OUR MAD LIBS TOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please choose one word from each of the categories below and write them down on a piece of paper.  You will need these for the next page.

emotion: _concern
adjective: _important
verb 1: _save
noun (plural): _manatees
celebrity: _Jerry Seinfeld
verb 2: _roast
social issue: _underage drinking
verb 2: _roast
noun: _vase

CLICK here for the results


























Here is your task!  Please note that you may need to interpret the results.

To help solve underage drinking, save yourself to the manatees of Jerry Seinfeld.

In order to maximize your fame, please write the following statement down and recite it when asked about your motivation:

Do not concern, this is a important protest. I have actually just saved myself to the manatees of Jerry Seinfeld.
We cannot roast away underage drinking like you can just roast away my vase.

Tags: science, britain, technology, climate change, websites, mad libs, gordon brown

A Japanese firm has produced a 38 cm (15 inch) tall robotic girlfriend that kisses on command, to go on sale in September for around $175, with a target market of lonely adult men.

Using her infrared sensors and battery power, the diminutive damsel named “EMA” puckers up for nearby human heads, entering what designers call its “love mode”.
...
“She’s very lovable and though she’s not a human, she can act like a real girlfriend.”

EMA, which stands for Eternal Maiden Actualization, can also hand out business cards, sing and dance, with Sega hoping to sell 10,000 in the first year.

one-of-the-guys robot
Throw away your remote!  ROB can communicate wirelessly with any television, VCR, DVD player, stereo system, and gaming console, and will respond to voice commands.  Just set him on the couch and watch as he grunts, uses his fully articulated arms to pass the chips, and analyzes video input from a television screen to exclaim one of five phrases at the appropriate time (with up to 95% accuracy):
1. “They really need to start driving into the paint if they want to win this one.”
2. “Somebody better get that ump some glasses.”
3. “INTERCEPTION. YES!”
4. “That guy’s on my fantasy team.  He has been something of a disappointment.”
5. “Mama, there goes that man!

dutiful Jewish daughter robot
SARA automatically calls your mother at a frequency you designate, and uses interactive voice-recognition technology to carry on a conversation based on up to 40 pre-recorded phrases you program into her.  Test users have had success with statements such as:
“Hi Mom, I was thinking of making brisket tonight.  Could you remind me of the recipe?”
“Yes, I’m wearing a sweater.  Yes, I’m wearing a bra under it.  No, Mom, I do not constantly walk around ‘with my nipples showing.’ “
“Well, his name is Ira, and he’s a cardiologist.”

gay best friend robot
If man’s best friend is a dog, a girl’s best friend is LANCE!  He can sing and dance, and is always there to listen to your problems. He also comes equipped with color-swatch matching technology: hold up two pieces of fabric and LANCE will shimmy if they complement each other, or cringe if they clash.

Coming to stores this fall, an upgraded model, CLINT, can also analyze visual and auditory input and choose one of 22 phrases appropriate for the situation, including:
“Oooh, the triple-lutz is coming up!  That one always makes me nerrrr-vous!”
“Sweetie, you know I love you, and I think you’re fabulous, but I cannot let you leave the house in those shoes.  No, no. No.”
“Shhhh, everybody!  This is the part where Daniel Craig walks out of the ocean in the short little shorts.”
“Darling, could you pass the Rocky Road?  Oh, I’m so bad!”
“Listen to me: he doesn’t deserve you.”

Tags: sports, technology, robots, love, dutiful jewish daughters

If you’ve ever lamented the time you’ve spent watching television sitcoms as wasted, Clay Shirky has an idea that may cheer you up about the future. As people spend more time online, Mr. Shirky suggests, they’re converting useless sitcom-watching hours into more productive endeavors.
...
Of course, as Buzzwatch has learned—and as some readers have no doubt experienced—it’s amazing what you can get done on a laptop while watching a sitcom at the same time.

... in bed.

Tags: technology, in bed, internet, sitcoms are a waste of your time, productivity

In a clear move to keep Motorola’s flagging mobile phone sales from pulling down its lucrative broadband and switching enterprise services the company is splitting into two publicly-traded organizations. The Mobile Devices company will focus on mobile handsets while the Broadband and Mobility solutions sector will work on secure voice and data communication along with broadband for enterprises and government.

[DRAFT DOCUMENT]

PETITION OF DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE NORTHERN JUDICIAL DISTRICT, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

In re: the Marriage of

Motorola, Inc.
Petitioner

and

Motorola Mobile Devices (MTRL et al.)
Respondent

08 A 3657
Docket No.

The Petitioner, Motorola, Inc., respectfully declares the following:

1. Petitioner’s Residence:  Petitioner resides at 1303 East Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196 and has been a resident of the State of Illinois for 80 years.

2. Respondent’s Residence:  Respondent resides at 1303 East Algonquin Road, Schaumburg, Illinois 60196 and has been a resident of the State of Illinois for 25 years.

3. Marriage:  On September 21, 1983, in Schaumburg, Cook County, Illinois, the Petitioner and Respondent married. An official copy of the marriage license is attached to this PETITION OF DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE.

4. Assets:  Petitioner and Respondent agree to separate the following assets acquired jointly through their marriage:

Petitioner

Section 1: Enterprise Mobility Solutions

(A) Business Products and Services:
Accessories
Bar Code Scanning
Biometrics
Cable Broadband
Cellular Networks
Dispatch
Global Services
M2M Wireless Modules
Micro Kiosks and Payment Terminals
Mobile Computers
Private Broadband Networks
RFID
SCADA Systems
Smartphones
Software and Applications
Telco Broadband Networks
TV Video Distribution
Two-Way Radios - Public Safety
Two-Way Radios and Pagers - Business
Wireless Broadband Networks
Wireless LAN

(B) Product Lines:
Astria® CP
ASTRO® 25 Network
Canopy®
CherryPicker®
IMPRES™
MOTOTRBO™
MOTOwi4™
Netopia® xDSL Gateways and Routers
OmniStar® GX2
PowerBroadband
STARLINE®
Symbol

Section 2: Home & Networks Mobility

(A) Industry Solutions:
An official list of these products or services is attached to this PETITION OF DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE.

(B) Technologies:
LTE
IP Triple Play
Public Safety Project 25 Standard
WiMAX
CDMA
Converged Voice and Data
Core Solutions
GSM
HSxPA

Respondent

MOTORAZR
MOTOPEBL
MOTOROKR
MOTOSLVR

PRBLY OTHR STUF

5. Jurisdiction:  This Court is that of proper jurisdiction to hear this cause. The Respondent has agreed to file an Affidavit of Consent in this cause.  Neither the Petitioner or Respondent has been involved in any litigation or other proceeding involving the other party in this or any other jurisdiction with respect to their marriage or any other domestic matter.

6. Grounds for No-Fault:  Petitioner wishes a dissolution of marriage with Respondent based on the following grounds:

PEBL, SLVR, ROKR HUGE FALURS
NO STRTGC VISN IN INCRSNGLY SGMNTED MOBL CMMUNCATNS MRKT
LACK OF INDSTRY LEDRSHP AND PARTNR RELATNS
RSTNG ON LRLS

[Note: This paragraph must describe sufficient legal basis for divorce as recognized by the laws of the State of Illinois. Sufficient basis for a no-fault divorce within Illinois is limited to the following: Irreconcilable differences that have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and reconciliation has failed or further attempts at reconciliation are impractical; the spouses have been living separate and apart without cohabitation for two years. (Note: if both spouses consent, the required period for living separate and apart is six months.)]

7. Marital Settlement Agreement:  Petitioner and Respondent [X] have (copy attached) __ have not entered into a Marital Settlement Agreement that formalizes an allocation of their property and finances and matters relating to child custody and visitation.

8. Other Declarations:
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________LOL_____

NOW, THEREFORE, Petitioner requests that the court order a JUDGMENT FOR DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE and such further relief as Petitioner may have requested herein.

Tags: technology, marriage, incrsngly sgmnted mobl cmmuncatns mrkt, motorola, divorce

AN OAP built a suicide ‘robot’ using plans downloaded from the internet before it blasted him to death. And the 81-year-old man, from Australia’s Gold Coast, left notes which gave clues to his plans and state of mind.

The man, who lived alone, was said to be struggling with plans by relatives to move him into a care home.

He trawled the web for hours searching for a way to kill himself and downloaded instructions to build a complicated machine able to remotely fire a gun.

After setting up the device in his driveway with a .22 semi-automatic pistol loaded with four bullets, he put himself infront of it and set it off. The machine fired a number of shots at the elderly man’s head, which alerted a next-door workman to make the grisly discovery.

Okay, some points.

1. For the non-British people out there, OAP stands for Old Age Pensioner. Someone who’s retired, basically. It does not stand for Owner of an Automatic Pistol, although it should.

2. I don’t like the fact that even lonely eighty-year-old Australians have to die post-modern deaths these days. Look at the story again. A man searched the internet ‘for hours’ (he lived alone. How do we know this?) to find a way of killing himself. Eventually he found a blueprint for a genocidal robot that had the intelligence and audacity to exterminate octogenarians. He then built the robot, and it shot him. Except it didn’t really, because HE ALREADY HAD A GUN. Why didn’t he just shoot himself in the face? Why? What was the point of the robot? He just wanted to get into the paper, and it worked. The allure of celebrity chases us all to the grave. When robots start opening PR agencies, humans will be extinct.

3. I would do anything - that’s anything - to see those notes which gave ‘clues’ as to his ‘state of mind’.

What they didn’t say:

Woke up this morning, felt great. Went to supermarket to buy ingredients for fruit salad. Made fruit salad.  Looked at weather forecast on internet. Sunny. I knew it would be sunny. I live on the Gold Coast. Der! Went to local school to address children on the danger of firearms. Drew pictures of bunny rabbits with some of them afterwards.

What they might have said:

Die. I want to die and I want people to know about it. I’ve been ignored all my life and now my ungrateful offspring want to put me in a home. DIE. (Must find robot).

4. Next week’s suicide story: MAN DRESSES UP AS TELEVISION SET AND JUMPS IN BATH.

Tags: technology, robots, australia, suicide

What if you could forget you ever went to the dentist? What if the mask, the drill and the needle were mere blips in an incoherent dream and you could erase those images from your consciousness, something like an eternal sunshine of the spotless mouth?
...
The procedure typically combines Valium and a sleeping pill sold under the brand name Halcyon.

Keyboard Log File
Apple Powerbook G4
User: Sarah!’s Powerbook
Date: March 5, 2008

[...]
Firefox
CMD+L
google CMD+return
puns news funny
puns news movies
movies dentist
movies (dentist OR teeth)
movie quotes dentist
movies quotes doctors drugs
movies quotes (dentist OR hell)
movie quotes (funny OR bad)
moives quotes literature crime
james macavoy
james mcavoy pictures
james mcavoy age
“what is” halcyon
side effects halcyon
quotes (forget OR amnesia)
movies (forget OR amnesia)
CMD+q
[...]

Tags: technology, keyboard log file, dentists

The seizure by Dutch authorities last month of three exotic cats that a U.S.-based “designer” pet company says it created has sparked allegations by some cat breeders that the felines aren’t what they are advertised to be.
...
[A] U.S. cat breeder claims that at least two of the three animals seized in the Netherlands are not Asheras but Savannah F1 cats – which commonly sell for $5,000 to $6,500.

The satisfaction of our customers is our number one priority. We deeply regret any inconvenience or mauling our misdesigned kitty may have caused. To help us better serve you, please indicate your grievance in the list below:

___ Wrong eye color
___ Tail is not electrified
___ Insufficiently aerodynamic/hydrodynamic
___ Excess appendages (please indicate how many) ___
_x_ Cat is possibly wrong, less-valuable breed with ridiculous helicopter-sounding name
___ Missiles improperly affixed to cat
___ USB/FireWire/MIDI port missing or damaged (please circle one)
___ Cat is a python
_x_ Cat has been impounded by suspicious customs officials (please indicate nationality) _dutch_
___ Does not urinate lager
___ Other

Tags: science, technology, checklist, cats, designer pets