SmsAlerts
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FCC gives national SMS alert system stamp of approval
As expected, the FCC today approved plans to roll out a nationwide SMS-based alert system, which is now all but certain to be adopted by all four national carries, and no doubt most regional carriers as well. As CNN reports, under the new plan, the FCC will appoint a federal agency tasked with creating the messages, which will in turn be passed on to participating carriers (which will have ten months to comply with the system once the agency is named). Those messages will be limited to one of three categories of emergencies, including disasters like a terrorist attack, ongoing threats like hurricanes or earthquakes, or child abductions or amber alerts. Also as we had heard before, individuals will be able to opt out of the system if they so desire, and carriers will be required to provide distinct vibration and audio alert options for people with disabilities.[Thanks, Ron]
Bizarre campaign texts parents to check for lice in kids' hair
If you thought sending a SMS in order to gain entry into a public bathroom was on the weird side, get a load of this. An outlandish campaign sparked up in the UK has been sending out weekly text messages to parents in order to remind them of the need to check for head lice on their youngsters. Cleverly coined Beat the Bugs, the program led to the discovery of six cases of lice, and when polling participants at the end of the term, the majority stated that they felt more aware about treatment / prevention and that they were now checking their kids' heads at least once per week. We can hear it now: "C'mon Jimmy, time for me to look through your locks for any critters!" "Ah, bugger." [Via Switched, image courtesy of Interior Health]
MARIUS: emergency SMS alerts from helicopters
Officials taking advantage of the ubiquitous nature of cellphones to ensure the safety of the public is nothing new to us, but with its newest project, the European Commission is definitely taking it to a new level. The "Mobile Autonomous Reactive Information System for Urgency Situations" or MARIUS as it will be more affectionately referred, allows rescue teams to send SMS alerts from helicopters with built-in miniature wireless networks to areas, regardless of whether there is a functioning network in place. The project, which is being facilitated by the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), Thales, BAES, Selex, Eurocopter and Swapcom, is designed to allow for the rapid deployment of "autonomous Command Posts" which function in any sort of disaster. The project was successfully tested last month in a laboratory and July will mark the first one site testing in Valencia, Spain. It should be said though, while we definitely enjoy seeing technology used in this sort of capacity, it is does make us wonder where it will leave certain folks in such moments of crisis. [Via Textually]
