In many parts of the world raising and selling sheep is big business. The challenge for shepherds overseeing a flock is protecting them from predators. Apparently, Switzerland is having a big problem with hungry wolves attacking flocks. To help prevent shepherds from losing their sheep to wolves; a new high-tech collar is being developed.
If you used Google Talk, Facebook Chat, imo, or any other data-based social messaging platform on your phone, congratulations. You helps reduce the pockets of mobile providers by nearly $14 billion. That's the number that analytics group Ovum came up with, saying the rise of instant messaging apps is killing what is one of the highest margin line items on any cell phone bill. And it isn't just text messaging. New apps that allow users to place calls without using any plan minutes are also on the rise.
Everywhere you go in most parts of the US, you will run across hoards of people that are texting no matter where they are. According to an analyst from M.I.G. Research, Tero Kuittinen, the number of text messages being sent is actually in decline on some parts of the world. Kuittinen cites Finnish Mobile network Sonera and the number of text messages sent on Christmas Eve as proof.
Skype rolled out version 2.6 today for Android that lets users easily send photos, videos, and files directly from the app. The update also features improved battery life and video quality on NVIDIA Tegra 2 devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Motorola XOOM, and the Acer Iconia Tab.
There is no doubt that anything in the car that can be distracting can lead to accidents and death or serious injury to the driver and others. This is why many cities and states now have a ban on talking while driving without a hands free device. The side effect of the hands free device law in some instances has been an increase in the number of people texting and driving which is possibly more dangerous than driving and talking.
In many places like Europe and the US, we are used to being able to say and do what we want on the phone and in public. In some countries in Asia and the Middle East, that freedom of speech and texting isn't the same that we enjoy. In Pakistan the government has implemented a ban on what they feel are offensive words.
Twitter added a new feature today that lets you share photos via text messages or SMS messages. Although there's the official Twitter app and plenty of third-party clients, many folks still prefer sharing tweets by texting. With this new feature, they can now share photos along with their tweets by simply attaching a photo to their text message.
AT&T has announced some new messaging packages for those that travel a lot internationally. The new packages will keep you from paying those insane roaming fees when abroad. The new packages are available as of now and allow not only for text messages, but will also allow you to send picture and video messages as well. The new packages allow messaging from over 100 different countries for one low monthly rate.
Apple first introduced the new iMessage feature for iOS 5 back at WWDC 2011 as a unified messaging service that could deliver both text and multimedia messages over WiFi or 3G. It also offered read and delivery receipts as well as real-time typing indication. It was set to work for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices. And now, it appears Apple plans on integrating the feature for Macs as well.
It's time for a very brief history lesson since this story affords us a brief look at a politically charged situation we generally otherwise wouldn't be taking a look at here on a tech and gadget oriented publication. The situation is the Libyan rebels are advancing on Libya's 40 year leader Muammar Gaddafi. This fellow took power back in 1969 with a group that staged a bloodless coup during which Tripoli, Libya's largest city and capitol, had it's most famous square, constructed by Italian colonial rulers and called "Independence Square" during the post-WWII Libyan monarchy. Soon after Gadaffi took power, he and his regime renamed the area "Green Square" and it's been that way for just about 42 years - until today.
AT&T has announced that it will be streamlining its text messaging plans by keeping only the unlimited option. The 1000 messages for $10 plan will be retired starting August 21, when new customers will be presented only the options for $20 individual unlimited messaging or $30 family unlimited messaging.
Facebook Messenger was launched today as the social network's first standalone app and it's available for free to both iPhone and Android handsets. Development on the app was spearheaded by the founding team at Beluga, which was acquired by Facebook back in March. Hence, it's no surprise that it integrates the group messaging features found in Beluga and aims to be a fast go-to communication tool that syncs all your messaging needs into one place.