Gizmodo: t

When Does A Text Message Cost You $9.6 Million?

Jack Loftus — Sun, 10 May 2009 22:00:00 EDT

As one of our T drivers found out this week in Boston, it costs that much when you send it while driving the Green Line and plow into the back of a stopped train.

The errant text message also sent dozens of passengers to the hospital and closed down one of the busier sections of the Green Line at the Government Center and Park Street stops. The stops have since reopened, and criminal charges are all but set to be filed against the operator, Aiden Quinn, 24, of Attleboro, Mass. Quinn actually admitted to first responders that he was texting his girlfriend at the time of the crash because she wouldn't answer his initial call (which he also made, presumably, while driving a packed subway train).

In related news, Verizon is on board with a general ban on texting while driving, and Boston just instituted one of those "you mean it wasn't in place already?!" bans on cellphones for all T operators. The ban does not apply to popcorn. [AP, NYT, Channel 5 Boston]

I Pity the Fool Who Didn't Know About Mr. T's App Store Contribution

Jack Loftus — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST

Apologies in advance, Mr. T, for not reporting on your very first App store contribution sooner. That said, I pity the fool who doesn't download iPity today!

Stop rubbing your eyes. Yes, this is a real app. It went up yesterday and lists for $0.99. What do you get for a dollar, you ask?

Well, if we ignore the fact that you're still here asking questions, and not downloading iPity already, then the app basically recites classic Mr. T lines on demand.

The app is the work of developer E.E. Flobes, and includes more than 30 classic Mr. T sayings. Tap his face for a random one, or head into the menu to select that special saying from the list. Mr. T's mouth even moves as the audio plays.

We have no idea if this is licensed or what, but it probably isn't. What's damning for the Apple approval process is great for you however, especially if you love Mr. T like we do.

And even if it does get removed, there's always this. [App Store via VentureBeat]

Happy Birthday Mr. T

Jason Chen — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:20:00 EDT

Happy Birthday Mr. T. Thanks for not beating all of us fools up on April Fools. May you have many more years of jibba jabba.

YOTO T I-PEN Spy Camera Has Built-In Memory For Convenient Office Stakeouts

Jason Chen — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:15:00 EDT

Pen spy cameras usually work wirelessly in conjunction with a base, beaming images surreptitiously onto a recording device or a monitor so you can enjoy them from afar. This YOTO pen, however, has the storage built in, meaning you'll have to wait until later to watch those 15FPS 352x288 videos or look at those 640x480 still pics. Just be careful how many times you drop this under the secretary's desk, or else you'll be not only out of a job, but probably have some criminal charges on your head too. [Yoto via imp3 via PMPToday]

I Bring Little Boy Out of a Coma With Nothing But My Presence

Jason Chen — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:00:00 EDT

Mr. T doesn't need no science or no brain pressure reliever. Mr. T can bring children out of comas by just going to their rooms. See exhibit T, a boy who was unlucky enough to fall into a coma some time in the mid-1980s. All I had to do is go to his hotel room, say some words, close the curtains, and by the time I was walking out of the hospital the kid was out of his coma! How did they know this kid was a fan of Mr. Me? Because whenever my name came up, his arm twitched! That's how! What did you think? Don't ask questions you already know the answer to. I'm Mr. T, and I bring kids out of comas! *Grunt* [Yahoo]

Cellphones Conquer Land Lines for First Time in 2007

Mark Wilson — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:32:36 EST

According to a recent piece in the NYTimes, 2007 will be the first year in which the dollars spent on cellphone subscriptions trump traditional land lines. Among other points, they site that in 2006, households spend an average of $542 on residential lines while only spending $524 on wireless services. Add another year of cellphone growth to those figures, and it's hard to believe that land lines are still king.

What about your household? In mine, we definitely spend more on our cells than our obligatory, barebones land line. Of course, if you factored in all of our wired services (including internet and television), the phones lose by a small margin. [nyt]

Fujitsu Pocket LOOX T WM5 Smartphone

Jason Chen — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 19:00:51 EST

Windows Mobile fans who liked how the HTC Artemis included a GPS but hated how it didn't have a keyboard will like this upcoming phone from Fujitsu. The Pocket LOOX T will have both GPS and a keyboard, plus 802.11b/g, Blueooth 2.0, videoconferencing via the VGA camer on the front, a 2-megapixel camera on the back, and 3G UMTS.

The LOOX T runs off a 416MHz processor, which should be enough for mobile Skype, possibly using the front video camera as well. Too bad it only has a USB1.1 transfer rate, which means you need to take out the SD card in order to move a bunch of data to the phone. It loox like the phone should be available some time late '06 or early '07.

– Jason Chen

Product Page [Fujitsu - Thanks Keebler!]