| System offers instant notice
Police Chief Bartley King told selectmen last night he is currently studying three different vendors who provide the service that will be funded for the first year via a federal grant the department received. Once the service is implemented, town officials will be able to notify people of emergencies, ranging from fires to hazardous material spills to water main breaks. King said many towns, including Dedham, Walpole, Needham, Natick and Medfield have such emergency notification systems. However, King said there will be additional annual costs, and selectmen said they want a better idea of what those costs may be before implementing a system. Currently, the town uses a scroll on cable television for emergency notifications, and the schools have a reverse phone system to notify parents.
Cell phone use among college students
I think we as students are losing the ability to be by ourselves. I think that we are making our private lives too public. And, I think that our public etiquette is crumbling mobile-by-mobile minute. Last week I stopped in the men's bathroom in Tomanek Hall. “How's it going?" a male voice greeted me from an adjacent stall as I was selecting the urinal of my choice. Starting a conversation in the men's room is usually frowned upon in modern society; it's seen as awkward and uncomfortable, and quite frankly, it just creeps guys out. So when my stall buddy decided to break this unwritten commandment of bathroom etiquette, I figured he must really have something to say. Still puzzled by this Chatty-Kathy, I said that everything was good and then asked him the same question.
Freelancers asked to tweak AOL's VoIP service
AOL is inviting freelance computer experts to design devices, plug-ins and add-ons that will make its new VoIP phone service stand out from the crowd. Ideas for personalising AIM Phoneline, the VoIP service of AOLs instant messenger AIM, are being called to support around 55,000 software developers already working on the application. The Virginia company said it was a natural extension to now ask external developers, such as voice application developers, to tweak a product currently being used by 43million people. We want developers to help drive AIM Phoneline in innovative new directions to make their mark on the service and make some money at the same time, AOL said. There are also opportunities for device manufacturers who have products that lend themselves to the service. Headsets and phones are obvious examples but there are many other devices that would maximize the user experience.
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