US-centric: Health web site Diet.com’s Nutrition on the Go service provides nutritional values for food items on popular restaurant menus via a simple text message. To use it, just text the name of the restaurant and the menu item you’re looking for to DIET1 (34381)—for example, “mcdonalds southwest chicken salad.” Diet.com will text you back with the nutritional values of your item, namely calories, fat, carbs, and protein. Granted, most restaurants (fast food, at least) should have that information available, but if you want a quick look-up in the drive-through or you don’t want to be the one who makes employees blow the dust off the nutritional info, Nutrition on the Go seems like a service worth adding to your contacts. Nutrition on the Go – diet1 (34381) [via Computer World]
Blogger and remote-control enthusiast Tim Matheson, who previously showed us how to shut down Windows using a text message, posts a script and easy-to-follow guide for doing the same on a Mac. Everything needed for the hack comes included with OS X Leopard, except the cell phone, of course. Matheson suggests setting up a “super-secret” email address that you only use for shutdown messages, but there are other ways of remote-controlling a Mac using keywords. Hit the link to download a safe shutdown script, and post your own remote-control computing tricks in the comments. HowTo: Shutdown your Mac with a text message [Tim Matheson Blog]
Windows with Outlook 2007 only: Send text messages in a dedicated Outlook interface with SMSOfficer, a free add-on for Outlook 2007. Once you finish the free sign-up and verification at SMSOfficer’s site, you’ll get a new menu item in Outlook, New->Text Message, where you can type in a phone number or contact and send a message of less than 160 characters (write more and it’s split into multiple texts), with replies heading to your phone. You get 10 free texts, and additional credits can be purchased via PayPal—$US20 will get you 250 texts, with bulk discounts at higher volumes. Anyone with email access can send a text message by knowing the right carrier email addresses, but SMSOfficer strips out header text and is obviously convenient for Outlook acolytes. SMSOfficer is a free sign-up and download for Windows and Outlook 2007.
SMSOfficer [Example Source via Digital Inspiration]Find and buy items from your cell phone with the new Amazon TextBuyIt feature. It works like this: Say you’re out shopping and you see a book you want to buy. You figure you could save a few bucks getting it at Amazon, so you send a text message to ‘AMAZON’ (262966) with the title, author, or even the ISBN code of the book. Amazon sends a text back to you with search results. You pick the result that best matches your search, and an Amazon robot voice calls you with details and asks for purchase confirmation. The first time you try TextBuyIt, you’ll have to link your phone with your account, but from there on Amazon wants to make it easy to find and buy products wherever you are—and hopefully you’ll save some money, too. TextBuyIt is surprisingly easy to use, but if you give it a try, let’s hear your thoughts in the comments.
Save your most important text messages for posterity with web site Treasuremytext. The site setup is simple: After signing up for an account, you just forward the messages you want to save to the Treasuremytext number that fits your region (for the US, that’s 203.434.0893). Treasuremytext will archive the SMS message and even give you options for organising your saved texts. As more important communications take place over SMS, SMS apps will inevitably need to improve text management and desktop backup. In the meantime, Treasuremytext fills the gap nicely. As a bonus for iPhone users (whose SMS app does not offer forwarding), there’s a Treasuremytext iPhone app that runs on jailbroken iPhones.
AU – looks like we fit under the “UK and rest of world” banner so the number is +44 7781 486 064 (yep, that’s a UK number, so beware the overseas SMS charges!
Treasuremytext [via eHub]Web site Kwiry is an SMS-based reminder service for keeping track of to-dos and reminder on-the-go. Just text your reminder to k-w-i-r-y (59479), then head to your Kwiry homepage or open the email Kwiry automatically sends you next time you’re at your computer. From the Kwiry web site, you can quickly search for your Kwiry content on sites like Google, Amazon, or iTunes, which could come in very handy depending on the type of reminder (e.g., download alicia keys from iTunes). With a handful of social features, Kwiry feels ever-so-slightly like Twitter, but with an emphasis on remembering things on the go. If you give it a try, let’s hear how you like it in the comments. kwiry
AU – International SMS charges will probably apply from Oz.
Just like email, communicating via text message can feel like a one-on-one exchange—but that privacy is an illusion. Yahoo Tech’s Gina Hughes runs down a few ways you can protect your privacy with SMS, like passwording your phone, using anonymous SMS services like AnonTxt.com, and completely destroying your cell phone’s data before your sell your phone. All of these suggestions don’t actually make SMS secure, because the transmission itself is not, and the copy of your message, in the end, is stored on someone else’s phone and there’s no way to control what happens from there. In short, the best way to protect yourself is to not text sensitive info, like passwords, PINs, or, um, flirtations you wouldn’t mind others knowing about. Text Messaging Privacy [Yahoo! Tech]
Pownce, a file sharing/social networking/micro-blogging web site that’s been in a highly-noticed private beta for six months, has gone public. Why would productive readers and frequent Twitter-dissers like yourselves care to take notice, you might ask? For one, Pownce offers more than just “I had a great sandwich” updates to your friends—you can send up to 10MB files, invite fellow Pownce users to events (synced with Google Calendar), and get details on messages you’ve sent out, like how many have received it. It is, to be sure, still focused on sending quick messages in a friend/follower setup, but it lacks Twitter’s mobile phone functionality—whether that’s a benefit or disadvantage depends on your temperament. Pownce is still in beta, but you sign up for free at the site.
Pownce [via TechCrunch]A recent survey shows that one in seven people have suffered the same fate as Kevin Federline and been dumped via text message, Reuters reports today. The survey said 15 percent of the 2,194 people questioned had been dumped by text or email, although a quarter of those in the most tech-savvy 18 to 24-year-old age group would choose the traditional method—a letter.
Sounds like a high number to me, so it begs the question: Of course it’s easier to not look the dumpee in the eye and better than just stopping communication completely, but next time you’re considering giving your sweetheart the old heave-ho, do choose the message delivery medium wisely.
Lovers turn to text message to say it’s over� [Reuters.com]Weblog TheJobBored suggests setting up an SMS reminder of the Daylight Savings Time change to ensure you don’t forget to roll back the clock this weekend. The post recommends a site called TextMemos to set up quick and simple future texts to yourself. Just enter your number, select your cell provider, and set the date and time you want it delivered. Then set your message text (Roll back those clocks!) and submit the reminder. Alternatively, if you’ve got a friend or family member that’s notorious for forgetting, you can just as easily set up an SMS reminder for their number. While you’re at it, don’t forget to ready your gadgets and perform a few other DST to-dos.
TextMemos [via TheJobBored]
