Several years ago, a modified version of OS X was presented to Steve Jobs, running on a multitouch tablet. When the question "what would people do with this?" couldn't be answered, they shelved it. Long having established music, movie and TV content, Apple is working hard to load up iTunes with print content from several major publishing houses across several media.

Two people related to the NYTimes have separately told me that in June, paper was approached by Apple to talk about putting the paper on a "new device." The R&D labs have long worked on versions of the paper meant to be navigated without a keyboard or mouse, showing up on Windows tablets and on multiple formats using Adobe Air. The NYTimes, of course, also publishes via their iPhone application. Jobs has, during past keynotes, called the NYTimes the "best newspaper in the world."

A person close to a VP in textbook publishing mentioned to me in July that McGraw Hill and Oberlin Press are working with Apple to move textbooks to iTunes. There was no mention of any more detail than that, but it does link back to a private Apple intern idea competition held on campus, in their Town Hall meeting area in 2008, where the winning presentation selected by executives was one focused on textbook distribution through iTunes. The logic here is that textbooks are sold new at a few hundred dollars, and resold by local stores without any kickbacks to publishers. A DRM'd one-time-use book would not only be attractive because publishers would earn more money, but electronic text books would be able to be sold for a fraction of the cost, cutting out book stores and creating a landslide marketshare shift by means of that huge price differential. (If that device were a tablet, the savings on books could pay for the device, and save students a lot of back pain.)

Apple also recently had several executives from one of the largest magazine groups at their Cupertino's campus, where they were asked to present their ideas on the future of publishing. Several mockups of magazines were present in interactive form. It is presumed that more talks took place after the introduction and investigatory meeting. Some magazine company is also considering Adobe Air as a competing option for digital magazines, but without a revenue/distribution system that iTunes has, it seems unlikely.

I haven't heard anything about traditional book publishers being approached yet, but given the scope of the rest of the publishing industry's involvement, it's not hard to imagine they're on board as well. (If you know something, please drop me a line.) Update: Reader Tom reminds me of this Andy Ihnatko rumor, from several sources, that Apple is receiving truckloads of books at its HQ. It's a thin line to draw, but its something.

Another source corroborates that the January announce date others have reported is correct within the month, with this information heard from a high level.

Some I've talked to believe the initial content will be mere translations of text to tablet form. But while the idea of print on the Tablet is enticing, it's nothing the Kindle or any E-Ink device couldn't do. The eventual goal is to have publishers create hybridized content that draws from audio, video and interactive graphics in books, magazines and newspapers, where paper layouts would be static. And with release dates for Microsoft's Courier set to be quite far away and Kindle stuck with relatively static E-Ink, it appears that Apple is moving towards a pole position in distribution of this next-generation print content. First, it'll get its feet wet with more basic repurposing of the stuff found on dead trees today.

Ping is designed to look like the SMS app, and behaves much the same way. The messages you send arrive at the recipient's screen instantly—similar to IMs—but also pop up with a Push Notification if you're not actively using the phone.

It's basically free SMS for you to everyone who has an iPhone or iPod Touch (over Wi-Fi) as long as you can convince them to sign up for Ping. Even if you can't, the ones you do switch over might be enough for you to downgrade your SMS plan one notch to save some money.

In the end, this may either be a really useful SMS alternative for iPhones, or a service that's not different enough from SMS or IM that people will use it. It's too early to say. [Ping on iTunes via Gear Live]

Update: If you have questions, you can contact support@pingmessaging.com.

Image: timcaynes/Flickr

You have ridiculous cases like the Trolley driver rear ending another train because he was texting his girlfriend, and train conductors causing a 25-fatality crash because he was texting teenage boys telling them that they're "gonna run the locomotive."

There's two commonalities to these accidents. First is that texting while you're supposed to be paying attention and in charge of other people's lives is a bad idea. Second, guys seem to be intent on texting people, no matter how inappropriate the time, if it's going to get them laid.

But there's nothing better than an anecdotal account of how bad texting while driving is, courtesy of reader Trevor, who has been rear ended three times this year by people texting on their phones.

Anyways, I live in Idaho. And everyone who lives in this state FUCKING SUCKS at driving. The last thing we need is people using their cell phones simultaneously, but of course I see everyone from the 15 year old girls to 50 year old guys typing out emails on their Blackberries. It sucks ass to have to deal with these fucking morons on a daily basis.

Anyways, on to the first incidence of getting hit:
I was driving through stop and go traffic outside of a high school moment after they got out of school, and I am completely stopped when I see a brand new Hummer H2 coming up on my ass at ferocious speed. I knew I was going to get hit, and right before he made contact, I was able to discern a fucking cell phone in his hands through my rear view mirror. The officer on the scene estimated he hit me going roughly 30mph, and had not even applied the brakes before hitting me. Completely totaled my beloved Toyota Tacoma, and gave me a wicked case of whiplash. By the way it was a roughly 17 year old guy driving his parents Hummer to school. Spoiled prick...

Second time was just 6 months later in the winter. It was a touch icy on the roads and I was stopped to make a left turn onto a side street and I look in my rear view mirror (after the Hummer incident I have been made paranoid about being hit), and see a little Dodge Neon moving way too fast towards me and start sliding sideways right into the back of my new truck. I jumped out and asked if she was ok, and the first thing she says to me is "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. I was texting and didn't even see you there until it was too late." This time the damage wasn't too bad, but I ended up being without my vehicle for 2 weeks, during which I had a shitty little rental car, so it still was quite the inconvenience.

Third time was about 3 weeks ago and I'm still feeling sore from it. I was sitting at a stop light and a big Ford F-350 with a huge trailer full of lawn mowing equipment plowed into me at about 25mph, once again totalling my vehicle, and absolutely wrecking my back. I felt like I got hit my a freight train this time. I had my foot on the brake, and he made my car skid forward so hard that I pushed the car in front of me into the car in front of him. An eyewitness to the accident said that the man in the truck was using a phone when he hit me, and it was just verified to me the other day that his phone record shows that he sent a text message seconds before the accident occured. At least this guy was able to apply a little bit of brakes before making contact, but still, I got hit really hard. I'm going to have to see a chiropractor, and I now am searching for another vehicle.

So yeah. That's my record for getting hit. It really sucks. I can't quite say I would mind the banning of texting while driving after all of this as I'm 100% sure at least somebody has lost their life in an accident caused by texting while driving. Hell, I used to do it before I got the iPhone which is fucking impossible to do without looking, but after seeing how poorly most others handle it, I can definitely understand why people are wanting this kind of a ban.

I don't know what we need to do about this, and encoding restrictions on devices themselves to not allow texting while moving is not the solution. I don't know what is.

Thanks Trevor!

Amazon has backed down for the Guild's comfort rather than for any legal motivation, since it's pretty clear that a robotic reading isn't the same as an audio book. "We strongly believe many rights holders will be more comfortable with the text-to-speech feature if they are in the driver's seat," Amazon said.

But instead of removing the feature, Amazon has simply made it optional, so publishers can decide for themselves what's best for their property. That means it's unlikely the much-advertised (though not necessarily much-loved) feature is going to be too useful for Kindle 2 owners. We're not thrilled, since the Guild has no real legal leg to stand on and seems to need Amazon more than Amazon needs them, but then again, we're not fancy-pants authors. [CNET]

I'm a fancy-pants author and I say this is crap! -JC

Once you've set up an account with kwiry and linked your TiVo account you'll be able to text a short command to kwiry's short code # 59479 (k-w-i-r-y). By texting something like "TiVo The City" it will instruct your kwiry account to schedule the next available recording of The City on your broadband connected TiVo.

For those times when you forget to record something being able to quickly instruct your TiVo via text message seems like a pretty simple alternative to finding a computer or using a slow web-phone connection. So next time you're out eating last minute pho and you realize one of your guilty pleasure shows is on in 20-minutes and you never set up a season pass because you don't want people to know you watch stupid teen girl shows, don't panic kwiry and TiVo have your back.

kwiry Makes Your Life Even Simpler; Adds New Text Message Shortcuts and Facebook Connect Integration

Free Mobile and Online Service Adds more text messaging services: TiVo Scheduling, Yelp results, and more; Integrates with Facebook Connect to let users simply import their social graph.

San Francisco, Calif., January 14, 2009 — kwiry, the company that helps you text it before you forget it, today further enhanced its free service that turns text messages into helpful online reminders. kwiry’s latest additions to its recently launched Shortcuts platform include the ability to schedule a TV show recording on a TiVo® DVR. kwiry launched its Shortcuts service in August with Netflix and Amazon integrations.

As an example, if a co-worker raves about the latest episode of a TV show, simply text “TiVo” followed by the TV program title (e.g. “TiVo the office” to kwiry’s Text Messaging shortcode, 59479 (k-w-i-r-y). kwiry automatically schedules the next episode of the show to be recorded on your TiVo DVR. No need to rush home or remember to schedule it on your computer. The service complements other ways for TiVo subscribers to schedule their TiVo box while on the go including the TiVo Mobile web site. kwiry’s service extends TiVo scheduling to all cell phones with text messaging capabilities with no need for a browser or a data plan. With a one-time account link, all TiVo Series2™ and Series3™ DVR users can have the capability to instantly schedule a recording whenever and wherever they want.

“kwiry Shortcuts like Netflix have been very popular with new and existing users – we’ve had many requests for new Shortcuts and are excited about the new integrations with popular services like TiVo and Yelp,” said kwiry Co-founder and CEO Ron Feldman.

kwiry’s has recently added the following new Shortcuts to its free service:

TiVo (beta): Text “tivo the office” to schedule a recording of the next episode to your TiVo DVR.
Yelp: Text “yelp Grimaldis Pizza” and get contact info, reviews and more from Yelp sent to your e-mail inbox.
Contact Info: Text “contact johndoe@gmail.com” to email contact info and vCard attachment while on the go.
Status Updates: Text “status headed to the gym” and kwiry will update your Facebook and/or Twitter accounts.

kwiry has now also integrated with Facebook Connect, allowing people to sign-in to kwiry.com with their Facebook accounts, instantly adding their Facebook profile info to kwiry and allowing connections to their Facebook Friends.

“The integration with Facebook Connect simplifies the kwiry sign-up process and allows users to integrate the social aspects of Facebook into the kwiry website as well as the kwiry experience into Facebook,” Feldman continued.

After the incident, he went out with some friends, where they came up with an idea to get his stuff back. The kind of guys who jack cars probably like drugs and women. And statistically speaking, 51 percent of thieves are dumb. So Heuss sent a text to his stolen phone, acting like one of his friends: "I've got a bunch of hot chicks...we've got some drugs, too."

The thieves, easily duped by the promise of girls and drugs, sent over their address. But instead of hot girls with drugs, they got a visit from the Columbus police officers—not the sexy kind that take off their clothes—and were caught red-handed with the stolen car. All in all, a serendipitous experience: What would've happened if the carjackers were in fact gay straight edgers? Hmm. [WBNS via Joel]

Well, while it's free to download and use, Treehugger's testing found that the Ecofont, though readable, really just prints the text lighter. In our guesstimation, you could probably recreate the ink savings of Ecofont by printing your materials in draft mode instead. Plus, that way you can choose the whichever font you like.

But should you be so bold as to print Ecofont in draft mode? Existence would cease as we know it. [Ecofont via Treehugger]

The texts are written in a hybrid of English, texting shorthand, and whatever English-like language they speak in Oklahoma, so I can't 100% translate all of them. I can say that they are way less subtle than you'd expect from somebody trying to hire an assassin. This exchange I particularly don't understand:

Co-conspirator Robin Berry: "Well maybe I can het friend n trade something he owes me big favors anyway"
Tonia Mullins: "If I can do ne thang let me know. Robin I swear I will give the $ when it comes n ... that is n no way a problem ... as long as accident I."

Mullins had asked her friend, Robin Berry, to help her contact a hit man, and the two got no further than discussing price between themselves before the police were tipped off and the whole silly enterprise ended. An undercover agent with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation arrested Mullins and her co-conspirators easily, and the deliciously inept plotters plead guilty earlier this month. [Wired]

The findings go against popular opinion, which says SMS and IM are the devil, and will lead to the downfall of today's youth. Next to traipsing on people's lawns, IMing friends instead of going outside to play is the leading cause of the breakdown in parent-teenager relations today, according to a phone call with my mom earlier this morning.

However, as Hancock and company discovered, not only is this opinion untrue, the emotions presented in virtual conversations are just as contagious at times as real world interaction.

The experiment involved 44 pairs of volunteers, who chatted online for 15 to 20 minutes. Hancock asked them to ask questions about one another, including one issue that was bothering them at the time. But here's the hitch: Hancock had one person from each pair watch a harrowing scene from Sophie's Choice. The other person watched a clip of some "small talk."

What the team discovered was that not only did the participants accurately assess their partner's mood, but that those who were paired with someone who had watched Sophie's Choice felt worse off than before the chat. Those participants who watched the car hood scene in Transformers, however, had the irresistible urge to mate following the IM interaction*

*I made this part up. [New Scientist]

Nobody plays interactive adventure games for the adrenaline rush, but the stories are often great and occasionally brilliant. They're also great fun for a stop-and-start time killer, as you can resume where you left off without too much trouble, working your way through a game at whatever pace you choose.

The app is surprisingly full-featured, considering the stripped-down aesthetic of the games. It handily organizes your downloaded titles and even provides an in-app web portal to the Interactive Fiction Database, where you can download more public domain text-based games than any single person could play their way through. The most obvious downside here is that you're stuck with the on-screen keyboard, and during the course of a typical game you can expect to peck out thousands of words, many of which will do nothing.

Any text gamer that hasn't been held up by social stigmas or distracted by flashy new games and their "graphics" won't be stopped by a slightly undersized on-screen keyboard, and its hard to argue with Zork, The Hobbit and The Hitchhiker's Guide in your pocket. [TouchArcade via Kotaku]

DALLAS —(Business Wire)— Aug. 8, 2008 Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), today announced the availability of the Samsung Messager(TM) (SCH-r450) to MetroPCS customers at authorized dealer locations and company-owned retail locations. The Samsung Messager sports a sleek horizontal slider-design and QWERTY keyboard, making it easy for users to travel light and stay in touch while on the go.

"The stylish horizontal slider of the Samsung Messager is easy to use," said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Telecommunications America. "The Samsung Messager's attractive layout and QWERTY keyboard is a great fit for people who love text messaging."

Available in black, the Messager is packed with a powerful feature set, including a built-in 1.3 megapixel camera, SMS, MMS, email and IM messaging capabilities(1), advanced voice recognition, Bluetooth(R) wireless technology and speakerphone for easy, hands-free operation. The Messager's MP3 player boasts a rich user interface, while the external micro SD slot provides the user with up to 2GB of memory support.

For more information on where to purchase the Samsung Messager, please visit metropcs.com or samsungwireless.com.

Key features of the Samsung Messager include:

— Horizontal Slider with QWERTY Keyboard

— Stereo Bluetooth(R) Wireless Technology

— MP3 Player (microSD)

— 1.3 Megapixel Camera

— Messaging Services

— Advanced Voice Recognition

— Speakerphone

— Dimensions: 4.4" x 2.0" x 0.7"

— Display: 2.1" 262K TFT, 176X220 pixels

[Samsung]

Consumerist lays out exactly how to do it (it's for AT&T, but it should still work): Cite the hike as your reason for canceling; don't pay your bill at the new rate; don't give in to a cheaper plan; be steady like a rock. (Update: Make sure you get the notification of the price change first.) BTW, anyone else think doing this pre-iPhone 3G launch (whose 3Gness won't work on T-Mo) is like the worst timing ever? [BGR, Consumerist]

While with the major carriers, for the most part, no one (not even the cops) can dredge up stuff from years ago since it's been long deleted, watch out if you're on an employer's carrier, like Skytel, which touts its messaging archival features. The other major catch is that even deleted messages can be recovered directly from your phone, just like deleted data from any other storage device, because of the way deletion works—it just marks the data as okay to be overwritten, so if it hasn't been replaced by new data, it's still recoverable. It's a bit easier to snag from SIM cards (which can hold up to 30 messages) than from the phone's internal memory 'cause there are dedicated gadgets for doing so.

Bottom line though, text messages are still probably the safest way to go about your business (dirty or otherwise) without worrying about getting snooped (much safer than IM or email, which are notoriously logged)—as long as you wipe them off your actual phone and make it past the two-day mark carrier-side. An anonymous prepaid phone works even better, obviously. [Slate]

The Finnish press got a hold of a few text gems sent by the minister, including this vague pick up line that may or may not be related to musical waterbeds: "Would you like to do it in an exotic place? Where could it be?" When asked if 'it' meant sex, Kanerva said it was obvious that the message was an answer to an earlier inquiry from Tukiainen.

We at Gizmodo are inclined to believe the minister; he was probably referring to their upcoming coffeehouse debate about the subtle differences between the Centre Party of Finland and the more even-handed (although no less capable) approach to governing taken by the National Coalition Party. Or maybe he was just trying to get laid with the exotic dancer, and her sister. We think her name's Debra.

[HELSINGIN SANOMAT]

[Dixau via TechPin via DVICE]

This is actually a pretty cool service, seeing as other transcription services we've seen are either expensive or strange to use. SpinVox has lined up Cincinnati Bell and Skype, and are working on some deals with major carriers now (no details yet). We know many people who don't bother listening to voicemails because it requires dialing in, pressing buttons, and listening—these are very lazy people.

Other cool SpinVox usages are sending memos and broadcast messages from your phone by calling a number and speaking. Sounds like a great way to send messages to your husband to pick up some tampons. – Jason Chen

Product Page [Spinvox]