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Filed under: Internet, Mobile Minute, web 2.0

Mobile Minute: NYT game shows you how stupid it is to text while driving


It's not a game in the "collect 100 coins and get an extra life" sense, but the New York Times' Gauging Your Distraction is out to teach you a lesson about safety.

Once the game starts, you'll be driving down a stretch of the New Jersey turnpike Parkway (thanks, Will!) - I can't think where else you'd encounter this many tollbooths. Tap the corresponding number when a gate lights up or an overhead sign alerts you which one will open.

At the same time, you'll need to mouse over your Grayberry and respond to incoming text messages from your friends, who want to take you out to dinner and Broadway show (or movie). At the end of the game, you'll be shown a chart that details the effect of texting on your responsiveness.

I may have done slightly better than the average Times reader in my trial, but I completely failed to notice the gray silhouette of a woman at any point during the game. The .2 second texting reduced my reaction time could well have caused me to bounce her off my front bumper.

Trying to grab a screenshot threw my numbers off a bit as well, but I'm not going to argue with the Times on this one. To quote Emmanuel Goldstein, "That's universally stupid, man!"

Filed under: Audio, Internet, E-mail, Web services

Text message your voice with Pinger

Text message your voice with PingerText messages are normally easy to send, but what about when you're driving or occupied and want to get something complex across? Pinger is a service that lets users call into a service and leave a voicemail to a contact, that will in turn send a text message instead of a ring. Recipients then press a button and listen to your voice message and can reply or forward the message. It's a quick alternative service that makes voice messages easy without actually ringing up and interrupting a person. Recipients are presented with a message that shows who the message is from, how long it is, and when it was sent before they listen.

The Pinger service is free to use, but is only currently open to US residents. Instead of calling a number, Pinger has a special application for Blackberry and Treo that speeds up the process and allows for a visual preview of messages, list of last 10 Pinger messages and sharing between other Blackberry or Treo users.

Filed under: Audio, Business, Fun, Internet, Web services, VoIP, Social Software

Jangl beams out a signal with website widgets

jangl website widgetIts time to get your Jang widget on! Jangl lets users communicate with anyone, without revealing what your mobile number is, or exchanging that number with anyone else. We covered its launch back in August. Now they are aiming at taking the widgets by storm.

This is officially the time for widgets. Little desktop bits aimed at making our beloved services more accessible. Jangl has entered the arena with a new website widget that will do just that. It comes in a few designer patterns that will suit anyone's tastes, including brushed steel, racing blue, bubble gum, graphite tattoo, and mustard bling. The Jangl phone widget allows website and blog readers a way to get your Jangl number, created right on the spot, without leaving your site. In true widget spirit, it can be embedded on most social networks, blogs and websites via a snippet of HTML.

Jangl was at the VON conference in San Jose this past week, and dropped some other interesting news. Not only will they be unleashing the Jangl service in Canada, Latin America and Europe in the next few weeks, but they are also looking at a releasing a way to txt over sms via a secure and private Jangl number. Great news from the Jangl camp. Hey team Jangl, is there any news on a desktop widget in the works?

Check out Michael Cerda's talk at VON after the jump...

UPDATE #2- Tim from Jangl let me know that the desktop widget will come along shortly – it's married to a whole new, bigger app they have planned for the near future.

UPDATE - Jangl is looking at releasing the txt over sms in about one month

Read more →

Filed under: Audio, Text, Web services

SimulScribe transcribes voicemail into text

read your voicemail with SimulScribeSimulScribe is offering a unique solution for users of voice mail; A way to convert voice mail into readable text.

SimulScribe transcribes voice mails and sends them directly to your mobile device as text or email messages. Its sometimes a hassle to check voicemails and write down notes from messages -- and its so much easier to take a glance at txts that come in -- so what better way than to get your voice messages sent straight to your portable device.

It is a tad pricey though at $9.95 for a bundle of 40 messages. You can try it free for a month to see if you can justify the charge. SimulScribe currently has over 5000 users, and supposedly will announce a deal with a major national carrier in April.

Filed under: Internet, Utilities, E-mail, Web services, P2P

Nimbuzz: MSN and Google Talk for your mobile

nimbuzz mobile chat and textingNimbuzz is a utility for your mobile phone to chat and send free text messages to contacts. The tool works with both MSN and Google Talk. There are no limits of characters for the texting feature of Nimbuzz, and messages can be sent to desktops as well with the Nimbuzz desktop application. The Nimbuzz chat feature enables users to chat mobile to mobile or mobile to PC with MSN or Google Talk contacts. In order for Chat and Text to work, both parties must have the Nimbuzz application installed on their mobile devices.

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Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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