FEMA DEVELOPING NATIONAL SMS TEXT MESSAGE ALERT SYSTEM FOR US
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has just announced that it has found that it has the authority to manage the national text message alert system. The FCC has already laid down the framework for the system, and now it rests on the FCC to develop what they’re calling the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. FEMA plans to have message distribution and alerting protocols in the next couple months, and hopes to have the system up and running by the end of 2009. So, rest easy, folks. We’ll have a more practical national alert system up and running soon - at least a bit more practical than the emergency broadcast system that interrupts our favorite daytime programming every now and again. [Via: RCRNews] —
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Posted: 07 Jun 2008 08:48 PM CDT There’s just something about saving those relatively expensive wireless minutes by using VoIP calling technology to reach out and touch someone. VoIP solutions have already allowed iPhone users to get jiggy with internet-based telephone calls, but the latest iPhone VoIP application to hit the iPhone brings with it the ability to hand-off calls between WiFi (VoIP) and GSM networks. With iCall there’s no need to manually switch over from WiFi-based VoIP calls to start using the GSM network, or vice versa. The iCall application does all the call switching for you on the fly and automatically - it really doesn’t get any better in the VoIP world. Now, iCall is still in development and we’re not sure when mere mortals like us can get our hands on an application like this. But, rest assured, when it launches, iPhone-using VoIP-ers will be able to get their VoIP-on with ease. Check out the video demonstration below. —
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Virgin Mobile USA poll reveals that most subscribers will likely vote Obama Posted: 07 Jun 2008 06:41 PM CDT
A poll from Virgin Mobile USA reveals that most of their subscriber base will likely vote Obama as our next Commander-in-Chief. Turns out that 40% of the 20,000 or so subscribers polled will check the box for Obama, with Clinton following with only 18% of voters. It should be noted that most (54%) of those polled fell in to the 18-25 demographic, with the entire 26 to “and over” age bracket accounting for 34%. The most pressing issue (25%) is apparently the economy, with the war coming in as a close second (20%). Interestingly, it seems that 57% of Virgin Mobile USA’s subscribers would be willing to vote via SMS text message. And, the ability to vote through text message would increase the likelihood of voting (55%). The poll doesn’t address the security concerns related to a Presidential election conducted via SMS text message, but it’s interesting to see that most people (if Virgin Mobile USA’s 18-25 year old, Obama-loving subscriber-base can be extrapolated to the general public) would not only be willing to vote through text, but that this particular medium would likely increase voter turnout. Security and pragmatic concerns aside, would you be more likely to vote is SMS text message voting was an option? —
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Customize your Windows Mobile 6.1 sliding panel interface Posted: 07 Jun 2008 06:15 PM CDT
That being said, here’s a little tutorial that allows you to re-order your Windows Mobile Standard 6.1-powered handset’s homescreen sliding panels. With a little registry editing, you can change the way the panels appear as well as the way alerts are presented. Jump the break to read the full tutorial: Customizing the layout: The home screen layout can be modified using the same home.xml file from previous versions of WM, the schema of the file was extended to allow the customization of many of its elements, this includes the art assets that are used for most of the plug-ins. When you open the SlidingPanel.home.xml file (inside \ApplicationData\Home) you will find the plug-in element that corresponds to the sliding panel home screen (its CLSID is {E9267CAB-02EE-4f37-8216-6BF6A8FF5A71}). All the child elements inside it are designed to tweak and customize the way the home screen will look. The top level element is the plugins tag, this has one attribute called “Order” and it’s used to list the plug-ins that will be shown and the order they are going to be laid out on the screen. The built in plug-in names are: 1) CClock � The big clock 2) CAppointments - The calendar plugin 3) CHome � The notifications plugin 4) CMyPhotos � The photos plugin 5) CMessage � The message center (this is off by default on all sliding panel built in layouts. 6) CMusic � The music plugin 7) Settings � The settings plug-in
For example, the XML snippet bellow moves the photos plug-in to the first position and enables the message center (which is turned off by default on both “Sliding Panel” and “Sliding Panel Media”) <plugin clsid=”{E9267CAB-02EE-4f37-8216-6BF6A8FF5A71}“ name=”Bronze“ height=”266“> <Plugins Order=”CMyPhotos;CClock;CMessage” /> </plugin>
There are many other ways of customizing the home screen using the plug-in settings like overriding the default images or even adding your own custom plug-ins that display static content, I’ll post and updated entry latter on on how to do this in detail but for now, you can use the provided home.xml files to start experimenting with this.
The notifications plug-in and message center In the sliding panel home screen, the notifications plug-in by default serves as a dual-purpose notifications/gateway to all you phone/message accounts where every page represents one account (so, if you have multiple notifications in one category they will be shown as one summary page). There is however an alternative behavior where individual notifications are added as independent pages (Similar to what the T-Mobile shadow home screen does) and the plug-in only shows accounts that have new notifications in them. One cool feature of this alternate behavior is that each individual notification can be dismissed without having to leave the home screen. You can enable this alternative behavior by setting the following registry key to a value other than 2 (The actual value indicates how many pages of each notification type will be added to the home screen before collapsing them into a summary page. We have tested 2 and 5 but feel free to experiment with other values) [HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Chome\Chome] PageCollapseThreshold: DWORD Note that this prevents you from being able to access the email/phone account data if there are no notifications for it. If you still want to be able to do that you can always re-enable the message center as described in the previous section as a separate plug-in. There is one more behavioral change you can make that allows you to “dock” the condensed view of the first plug-in to the top of the screen when it is not active, we added this for people like me that want to have the clock always visible. To enable just set the following registry key to “1″ [HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Chome] DockOperatorBar: DWORD Advanced layout modification: There are even more advanced things you can do to further tweak the look of the home screen but it is unsupported by Microsoft at this moment so you’ll have to experiment on your own J (Hint, look at the following files \windows\CHome_240×320.cpr and \windows\CHome_320×240.cpr). [Via: WMExperts] —
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3G iPhone details from Vodafone employee, leaked iPhone 3G firmware confirms tri-band HSDPA and GPS Posted: 07 Jun 2008 01:07 PM CDT
Apple’s next-generation iPhone will run on an as yet unreleased version of the iPhone firmware, and it seems that said firmware has already been leaked and it’s details have seemingly found their way through the labyrinth of inter-tubes to land on many a blog’s front-page. So, it’s only appropriate that we clue our dear readers in to what the iPhone 3G firmware purportedly confirms.
We also see that A-GPS is a lock for the upcoming iPhone 3G. The firmware code shows that software for determining location based on network data and satellite signals is embedded within and should make for some snappy GPS location-acquisition times. Oh, and the next-generation iPhone will be powered by the same CPU as the current generation - which means that the ARM 1176JZF-S CPU will be running the show. There’s more. To keep things exciting, iPhone Atlas has apparently been tipped off by a Vodafone employee who’s had a chance to get some hands-on time with the 3G iPhone. The employee says that the iPhone is glossy black, serves up location data with haste (it purportedly determines position through WiFi, cell tower triangulation, and A-GPS - in that order) and has a 3-meter accuracy, will be about 20% smaller (thinner, in other words), and gets an average throughput of 140Kbps. Now, that 140Kbps throughput value is a bit disappointing, as the current iPhone’s EDGE speeds easily hit that mark indoors and outdoors. The data speeds quoted by alleged Vodafone employee are likely (if true) UMTS numbers and not HSDPA speeds. Still, it’s good to here that the A-GPS is quick and the handset is slimmer than the original. Interestingly, there’s no mention a video-call camera occupying that mysterious third optical sensor location. Perhaps more importantly, we’re hearing that the 3G iPhone is locked down like no other iPhone before it (which is to say, the first iPhone). The hardware bootloader exploit for jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone has been closed, which means that jailbreaking the next-generation iPhone will be tougher - if not, dare we say it, impossible. Let’s hope the iPhone Dev Team’s Pwnage Tool works with the new firmware. Now, all we have to do is sit back and wait for —
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What kind of nationwide emergency alert system can Americans rely on in times of crisis? Well, if your FEMA, then the 
One of the United States’ most important events is imminently closing in on us. No, I’m not talking about the 3G iPhone launch, although I have a feeling that more people actually care about the next-generation iPhone than went out to vote during our last election period. No, the most important near-term event for US citizens is the upcoming Presidential election.
Most people haven’t yet been blessed with the Windows Mobile 6.1 update that enables threaded SMS and that trick sliding panel UI (Windows Mobile Standard), but that doesn’t mean those of us lucky enough to play with the new OS aren’t looking for ways to further differentiate ourselves from the WinMo masses.
And they just keep rolling in like unstoppable forces of nature. The iPhone 3G (or 3G iPhone / iPhone 2, call it what you want) rumors are starting to get dizzyingly out of hand. Late last night we saw some purported 
The code apparently confirms that tri-band (850/1900/2100Mhz) HSDPA is in the cards for the iPhone 2. There are numerous mentions to UMTS/HSDPA hardware running on all three frequency bands, and the code confirms that the Related topic
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