Society

Mobile Dust

Some unusual stories about the mobile from across the world

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Mobile Dust
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  1. Peter Lloyd, a fitness instructor in the United Kingdom, is allergic to electricity. He developed electromagnetic hypersensitivity with the use of a mobile ‘brick phone’ which was linked to the GSM network. What started as fogginess in the head when looking at a computer screen and the inability to think straight grew to increased sensitivity to different frequencies and devices and intense headaches. This condition now confines Lloyd to his house where he passes his time by reading around 100 books a year.
  2. When family members of passengers aboard the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 called on the mobile phones of their loved ones, they rang. Does that mean the location of these can be traced to find the link to the missing aircraft? Experts say the ringing of the phone does not necessarily mean that the call is going through. Many a times it means the process of finding the network and connecting to it is still underway. The search is still on.
  3. And the Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and Japanese-born U.S. scientist Shuji Nakamura for the invention of blue light-emitting diodes. Presently used to light the screens of mobile phones these diodes could be the solution to energy problems across the world as they consume 85% less energy
  4. The first successful operation of a Predator drone was conducted in Yemen with the help of a mobile phone which was used to track the target. In November 2002, the CIA traced signals from the mobile phone previously linked with Qa’id Salim Sinan, the person allegedly accused of the suicide attack on the USS Cole in Port Aden in 2000 which killed 17 Americans, to determine the exact place to launch the strike. In the first predator drone no aircraft was used—only a predator controlled by a pilot.
  5. Mobile data seems to be the way to solutions for the FBI as the Director James Comey demanded unregulated access to all encrypted phone data. In his speech titled “Going Dark: Are Technology, Privacy, and Public Safety on a Collision Course?” Comey demanded that telecommunication corporations make new “backdoor” access points in their encryption systems to facilitate the US government’s mass surveillance programs. Comey made clear that no obstacles to the government’s wiretapping and data mining efforts would be tolerated and focused on the deployment of cell phone encryption software by Apple and Google.
  6. In an incident in a Florida movie theatre a man shot at another over a row about texting at the time of previews before the film. The accused Reeves told the victim Oulson to put away his phone which led to an argument. Oulson went out to complain, but came back due to non availability of authority. The argument continued leading to Oulson throwing popcorn at Reeves, followed by Reeves pulling out a .380 semi-automatic handgun and shooting Oulson. Oulson was texting his young daughter’s babysitter.
  7. In the study done by the National Security Council in the USA, 26% of car accidents is owed to the use of mobile phones while driving alone, including texting. This has led to a total of 41 states ban texting while driving, and about one dozen banning mobile phone use only by drivers under the age of 20.
  8. A former Cleveland police officer is set to face more than eight years in prison for videotaping himself having sex with a 15 year old girl on his mobile phone. The police officer, Charles Locke had sex with the girl on many occasions including the two times which were videotaped—one with him wearing his police uniform.
  9. When a woman in Ohio was hit by a bullet fired from a gun being handled by her boyfriend, the Blackberry in her pocket was there to take the shot for her. The bullet which would have hit her leg was intercepted by her Balckberry’s neoprene case. She was saved, only for the sad demise of the phone. However, there are many who promise the same feature: Nokia Lumia 520, HTC’s Evo 3D, iPhone, Motorola Razr and Samsung Galaxy claim they can save you from a bullet too!
  10. Dan Wooley owes his life to his iPhone. The US filmmaker was shooting a video in Haiti when the earthquake brought things crumbling down. Having been crushed by rubble Woolley used his digital SLR to illuminate his surroundings and take photos to find a safe spot. He took refuge in an elevator shaft and followed the instructions given by a first-aid app on his iPhone to fashion a bandage and tourniquet for his leg and stop the bleeding from his head.
  11. Texting brings with it Texting Thumb. It is a repetitive stress injury that affects the thumb and wrist and leads to pain and a popping sound on the outside of the thumb. A decrease in grip strength or range of motion can also be experienced. For the opposable thumbs opposable actions like gripping are simple as it is better at these three-dimensional motions than typing, which puts repeated strain on them.
  12. In the US, 1 out of 10 smartphone users are victims of thefts. In Colombia 1.6 million mobile phones were snatched last year and 14 people were killed in mobile phone robberies. Mobile thefts across the globe have skyrocketed and become more violent, leading to many governments scrambling to find solutions. The South Korean government is debating a legislation entailing manufacturers to install a “kill switch” in all mobiles.  

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