Word: celling
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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When my teenage son ignores me while tapping away furiously on his cell phone, I have the consolation of knowing that he has joined the quickest-growing form of two-way communication in human history...
...most amazing about the texting craze is just how inexpensive it is for mobile carriers to provide this wildly popular service. SMS messages are not only extremely short (maxing out at 160 characters), but they also cleverly exploit today's digital phone networks, leveraging transmission channels between phone and cell tower that were originally designed to coordinate voice calls. "They cost the mobile carriers so little that you could argue that they're free," says Collins...
...Hours before the British raid, Munadi was allowed to place a cell-phone call to his worried parents to reassure them that he and Farrell would soon be released. When the British commandos made their surprise attack on the house where the pair were being held, the two men rushed out. Munadi died in the firefight, shouting, "Journalist! Journalist!" Farrell recounted to his Times colleagues in Kabul. "He was lying in the same position as he fell," Farrell said. "That's all I know. I saw him go down in front of me. He did not move. He's dead...
...subject of editorial cartoons, news stories, and even legislative action: 18 states have now passed laws banning the practice, up from only six at the beginning of the year. Texting may owe its spot in the national debate to the ascendance of Twitter, as drivers turned to their cell phones to trade messages about the Iranian election or the whereabouts of David Lynch or Diddy. Perhaps crucially, the widespread use of smartphones makes texting far easier because of built-in keyboards. But whatever the cause, texting while driving is a danger to society, and Congress should act to stop...
...Other services are on the market that detect whether a cell phone is in motion using GPS technology and shut off texting services accordingly. But whether the product comes in the form of software on the phone or a special car key that communicates with the phone via Bluetooth, these products are unreliable, and determined teens would find a way to subvert such electronic safeguards...