Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
The Buzz
Verizon service downloads music to mobile phones
Compiled from Times wires
Published January 9, 2006
Verizon Wireless will launch a music service this month that lets customers buy songs through mobile phones or over the Internet.
Verizon Wireless and Microsoft Corp. created the service, Verizon Wireless chief executive Dennis Strigl said while introducing the new product at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Customers who use Verizon Wireless's VCast high-speed Internet access will be able to choose from 500,000 songs when the service starts Jan. 16, said John Stratton, chief marketing officer.
Users will be able to buy songs over airwaves with some phones for $1.99 each. For that price, customers can store a copy of the song on the phones and on their computers.
Users also can buy single songs for 99 cents using their personal computers and move them to their phones. They also can move CDs and other music collections from their computers to their phones.
Apple Computer Inc. sells songs via iTunes for 99 cents that can be played on personal computers, the company's iPod music devices and Motorola Inc.'s iTunes phone. Sprint Nextel started an online store in October and sells two version of songs downloaded over handsets for $2.50 each.
Motorola cell phone radio service plays in cars, homes
After nearly a year of vague pronouncements, Motorola Inc. has unveiled an ambitious music radio service for cell phones that also plays over car and home stereos.
Motorola iRadio, featuring 435 channels, would be sold by wireless service providers to subscribers for $7 to $10 per month, a few dollars less than the satellite radio networks that would be among the phone-based service's immediate rivals.
No wireless carriers have signed on to carry iRadio, which may be adapted for non-Motorola phones if carriers request it, company officials said.
Motorola expects about 90 percent of its content to be loaded on phones from the Internet over a personal computer, rather than broadcast over the air, in this case a cellular network. That would mean less of a strain on the limited capacity that wireless operators have for mobile calls, e-mail and Internet services.
The commercial-free network will feature channels created by Motorola through its partnerships with music labels, as well as stations from other broadcasters.
Cost of unwanted text messages can be lowered
What to do about all the unwanted text messages you get on your cell phone and have to pay for?
Unwanted text messages usually come from two sources: telemarketers or friends who do more typing than talking.
The first is called cell spam - illegal solicitations. Most service providers use antispam programs, but nothing is foolproof. If you receive cell spam, ask your cell phone company to deduct the cost of that message from your next bill. You also can file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission at www.fcc.gov
So-called friendly fire text messages are those from people you know, such as your teenager's friends, who inadvertently run up your bill. To combat these, most service providers allow you to log on to their Web site to block a limited number of phone numbers from sending you messages. If you have Cingular or Verizon, you can ask to disable the text messaging function on your phone - or your teenager's.
Survey shows women's Internet usage passes men's
Traditionally, women have lagged men in adopting Internet technologies, but a recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found women younger than 65 outpace men in Internet usage, though only by a few percentage points. But the survey also noted the disparity between women and men on the Web is even greater among the 18-to-29 age group and African-Americans.
The report, "How Women and Men Use the Internet," examined use by both sexes, looking at what men and women are doing online as well as their rate of adopting new Web-based technologies.
The Washington organization, which has been conducting surveys on different aspects of technology and Internet usage for several years, highlighted the disparity among younger people, noting it could set the stage for usage in years to come.
The report found that 86 percent of women ages 18 to 29 were online, compared with 80 percent of men in the same age group. Among African-Americans, 60 percent of women are online, compared with 50 percent of men.
Chinese Web site lets public report official corruption
China is putting its marathon antigraft crackdown online, launching a Web site for the public to report corrupt officials.
The site adds to efforts to assure China's public that the ruling Communist Party takes complaints seriously even as many think they face retaliation for reporting abuses.
The new site is run by the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Web site offers Chinese villagers and others a way to lodge complaints directly, bypassing local authorities who are sometimes criticized for retaliating against petitioners or refusing to take action on complaints.
China has the world's second-largest number of Internet users after the United States, with more than 100-million people online.
Join Tech Times blog discussion
Want more tech throughout the week? Join Times personal technology editor Dave Gussow at the Tech Times blog (www.sptimes.com/blogs/tech) for news, links and comments. We invite you to join the discussion by posting your comments and questions. Also, for more on the video game scene, check out Josh Korr's video game blog (www.sptimes.com/blogs/videogames)
- Compiled from Times wires.
[Last modified January 6, 2006, 12:14:05]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
