Should mobile users be allowed to send text messages to 911? (Ben Patterson)

Picture this: You're browsing the aisles of an empty late-night deli when you hear a commotion at the counter. The cashier's being held at gunpoint; the robber hasn't spotted you. You want to call the police, but what if the assailant overhears you? So instead you tap out a quick text message to 911, and within minutes, the bad guy's handcuffed in the back of a patrol car.

Or here's another scenario: Overworked�911 operators are so swamped by meaningless text messages that they barely have time to handle legitimate emergency calls.

Of course, such conjecture is merely academic, because 911 call centers can't handle text messages. Not yet.

The FCC and the U.S. Department of Transportation have been making plans for that, though, Wired reports. Proposals include revamping 911 call centers not only for text messages but for mobile videos, wireless IP devices and even alerts from OnStar-enabled vehicles.

For now, the What's Next project for Next Generation 9-1-1 (or NG9-1-1) is still deep in the planning stages. A comment period opens next month, and a white paper is due in February.

The whole issue of 911 call centers opening the floodgates to text messages is a thorny one, for a variety of reasons.

First, you've got the problem of infrastructure �?? that is, the actual process of upgrading 911 systems to accept text or multimedia messages or other IP-based communication. Would there be federal or state mandates for next-generation 911 upgrades? Who would pay for it all? The answers to those questions are still very much up in the air, as Wired notes.

And say you've got the funding and legislative issues worked out. How would you ensure that 911 operators weren't overloaded by a barrage of random text messages? That was among the topics of a recent NG9-1-1 forum, where transportation and public-safety officials discussed ways to prioritize the potential flood of voice calls, text messages and other info to ensure that first-responders would get only the "actionable information" they needed, when they needed it.

Clearly, allowing mobile users to send text messages to 911 isn't a simple matter of flipping a switch. The potential benefits, however, are compelling ? say, for witnesses to a school shooting who are afraid of being overheard (as a Federal Communications Commission press release quoted by Wired suggests), or during a natural or man-made disaster, when a text message stands a better chance of squeaking through overloaded cellular networks than a voice call would.

What do you think? Should cell users be able to send text messages to 911? Would upgraded 911 centers get better information, or would they be flooded with digital noise?

Let me know what you think in the comments ? or, better yet, tell the Department of Transportation what you think.

Related:

• FCC Updating 911 for the Texting Generation, SRSLY [Wired]
• Next Generation 9-1-1 [Department of Transportation]
• NG9-1-1 What's Next [Transportation Safety Advancement Group]

? Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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Medtronic 2Q profit falls 35 percent on costs (AP)

Medtronic, the world's largest medical device maker, said Tuesday its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 35 percent as legal costs outpaced weak gains in medical device sales, though adjusted results still edged past Wall Street expectations.

The company spent $278 million on lawsuits related to defective heart devices recalled in October 2007. The company recalled the wires used with its Sprint Fidelis defibrillators because of a defect that could cause them to crack.

In the last quarter, Medtronic reported weaker-than-expected sales of pacemakers, stents and other medical implants, and warned investors that cutbacks at hospitals and stricter insurance payment policies could threaten long-term growth of the device sector.

While device sales remained weak in the second quarter, the company reported better-than-expected sales in businesses that had previously underperformed, particularly spinal implants.

"The demand for these products is still out there and very strong, even though it's kind of a dynamic environment right now," said Chief Financial Officer Gary Ellis, in an interview with the Associated Press. "The fact that it's not getting any worse out there gives us the excitement that we are in the right markets and they will eventually return to their historical growth."

The medical device maker, based in Minneapolis, said Tuesday its net income fell to $566 million, or 52 cents per share, from $868 million, or 78 cents per share, during the same period a year ago. Revenue rose less than 2 percent to $3.9 billion from $3.84 billion. The quarter ended Oct. 29.

The rise in sales was not enough to offset a 16 percent boost in expenses to $3.15 billion, driven by legal costs.

Excluding charges, Medtronic Inc. said it earned 82 cents per share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings per share of 81 cents on revenue of $3.9 billion.

Sales of defibrillators and pacemakers fell 2 percent to $1.25 billion for the quarter, while sales of stents, heart valves and other heart implants grew 6 percent to $738 million, helped by sales in China, Latin America and other emerging markets.

Sales of restorative therapies, which include spinal, diabetes and other products, rose 2 percent to $1.81 billion. Within that group, spinal sales fell 1 percent to $850 million, but that was well ahead of analyst estimates for $825 million.

Medtronic spent nearly $4 billion to acquire spinal implant maker Kyphon in 2007 and sales have continued to lag behind Wall Street expectations.

"Our pipeline, which we've been talking about for some time, is starting to show results and is going to allow us to drive market growth and ultimately put us in position to gain share," said Chief Executive Bill Hawkins.

Spinal procedures tend to be expensive and highly invasive and the rate of procedures has not kept pace with company estimates.

Despite improved performance, the company still scaled back its scaled back its overall growth expectations for the device market to 2-3 percent from 2-4 percent for the second half of the year.

Looking ahead, the company expects full-year profit between $3.38 and $3.44 per share, below its prior range of $3.40 to $3.48 per share. The estimate excludes any potential impact from the pending Ardian acquisition. Analysts expect profit of $3.41 per share, on average.

Late Monday, Medtronic announced it would buy the remaining 89 percent of blood pressure treatment maker Ardian Inc. that it doesn't already own for $800 million in cash. The company's technology uses radiowaves to treat hypertension that doesn't respond to drug therapy.

Wells Fargo analyst Larry Biegelsen said the procedure "appears very safe and effective and represents a $1 billion plus opportunity that has the potential to move the needle for Medtronic."

Medtronic shares slipped 65 cents to $34.08 in morning trading.

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Phone Makers, Software Vendors Push Web-based Apps (PC World)

Companies including Mozilla, Opera Software, Palm and Sony Ericsson are trying to accelerate the use of Web standards when developing applications for smartphones.

Using HTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and JavaScript to develop applications that run in the browser holds the promise of applications that work on different platforms, making life easier for both developers and users. Developers can write an application once and users can switch to a new phone based on a different OS and still keep all of their applications, according to Norwegian browser company Opera.

For this vision to become a reality, developers need easy-to-use tools, and in that space a lot of things are happening.

Sony Ericsson has made a tool called WebSDK Packager open source, it said in a blog post Tuesday. The WebSDK Packager is a good fit for developers with expertise in HTML, CSS and JavaScript who are adept at creating Web applications but are not familiar with the complexities of the mobile environment, according to Sony Ericsson.

On Saturday, Hewlett-Packard demonstrated Enyo, an upcoming framework for webOS, which is used on Palm smartphones, at its webOS Developer Day in New York. Enyo is designed to make it easier to develop applications for smartphones and tablets at the same time, according to HP.

Today, good development tools are only the first step. The ability for developers to make money off their applications is also a very important driver. Recently, Mozilla announced a prototype of what it calls "an Open Web App ecosystem", a system that aims to ease discovery, installation and use of applications based on HTML, CSS and JavaScript, while also enabling developers to make money via multiple applications stores. There is no official launch date yet, but "we look forward to making this concept a reality," Mozilla said.

It isn't just established companies that are making the Web vision a reality on smartphones. Sony Ericsson's WebSDK Packager tool is based on the PhoneGap open source framework, which was created by Nitobi.

Earlier this month, Nitobi announced the beta of PhoneGap Build, a cloud-based tool that allows developers to write applications using HTML, CSS and JavaScript, upload their apps to PhoneGap Build, and get back applications that work natively on smartphones based on Android, webOS, Symbian and the BlackBerry OS, and soon on iOS, Windows Mobile, MeeGo and Bada.

The tool will be free for open source projects; pricing details for commercial applications will be announced as the public launch nears.

However, Nitobi's hope is that what the company is doing today on PhoneGap will eventually be folded into the browser, according to Brian LeRoux, chief software architect at Nitobi, who took part in a panel discussion on cross-platform development at HP's developer day.

For the browser to take over, applications need to offer the same experience as native applications and browsers will have to be compatible with each other.

The point when that becomes a reality is close, according to Charles Jolley, creator of the SproutCore open source framework, who also took part in the panel discussion.

Ex-Apple employee Jolley has also founded Strobe, whose goal is to make SproutCore easier for developers to use.

Compatibility between different browsers is not the issue, thanks to the fact that they are all based on Webkit, and the differences that do exist are going away, according to Jolley. However, smartphones are still very memory and resource constrained and, historically, browsers have not been geared to working in that type of environment. But that is also changing, he said.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com

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Bride-to-be moves on after tragic prank (The Newsroom)

A few weeks before her wedding day, Rachelle Friedman went out for her bachelorette party with some close friends last May. After a night out on the town, the group went to the home of Rachelle's best friend.

The friend playfully pushed Rachelle into the swimming pool�? something they'd done to each other many times before�? but this time the bride-to-be landed on her head, paralyzing her from her chest down.

In the ensuing six months, Rachelle has worked to adjust to her new reality. Despite the odds and the tragic turn her life has taken, she is "doing awesome," Friedman says in a Monday interview with the "Today" show. She credits her family and her fianc�, Chris Chapman ? who says in the segment that the wedding is still on: "I never once thought about leaving her or this situation." As for the friend, whose name Rachelle wants to keep from the press, Rachelle says, "I'm absolutely best friends with the girl?. Blaming her would be ridiculous."

Watch the "Today" show interview with Rachelle Friedman and Chris Chapman:

In a recent interview with ABC News, Friedman recalled more of the accident. "I instantly went stiff and couldn't move," she said. "I weirdly did not panic. I kind of knew exactly what happened, and I floated up to the surface and said, 'Help,' and then my friends called 911."

ABC reports that the doctors at the hospital "quickly determined that Friedman had suffered a C6 spinal cord injury, leaving her unable to walk or even feel sensation beneath her collarbone." Friedman spent nearly three months in the hospital before beginning rehab. It was then, according to ABC, that she learned just how difficult things were going to be.

[Video: Homecoming king's long journey of recovery after head injuries]

"It was definitely a reality check about the long road I was going to have," Friedman said. She has no function in her hands and fingers. "I didn't think about that in ICU," she said. "You only think, 'I'm not going to walk.' "

In addition to the incredible physical challenges, there have been significant financial strains as well. She is receiving help from Medicaid, but if she marries Chapman, their combined income will make her ineligible for assistance.

Complicated insurance questions have also been an ongoing issue. A widely read article from CNN explains more of the challenges that Friedman and future husband Chris Chapman have faced in the weeks leading up to what will be Friedman's first Thanksgiving in a wheelchair.

Despite all the challenges, Friedman is doing her best to stay active. She joined a wheelchair rugby league and holds no ill will toward her friend. Her general philosophy on rehab also keeps her going: "Almost all of it is attitude."

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TiVo sales continue to slump (Digital Trends)

TiVo?s spiraling losses continue, as the DVR service reported an 11 percent revenue fall this quarter. This equates to a net loss of $20.6 million, over three times the company?s loss last year. TiVo CEO Tom Rogers claims a significant amount has been eaten up due to its various legal battles.

TiVo has been cutting costs lately, marking its DVR box down $200 from its former price. Combined with an increase in monthly fees (from $12.99 to $19.99), the company expects the financial move to pan out in the long run. But many are asking if there even is a long run for the former TV-accessory frontrunner.

Internet TV (though experiencing setbacks of its own) is expected to eventually become a consumer staple. While TiVo has agreements with cable companies allowing it to work with users? cable boxes, more and more consumers are opting out and finding less expensive or free ways to record programming.

So what?s the company?s strategy to get back in the game? Rogers mysteriously alludes to some projects abroad that should bring in some revenue, specifically mentioning deals with UK-based Virgin Media and Spain?s Ono cable company. An iPad app is also in the works.

The future of TV is seriously in flux, and it seems like TiVo is reeling from this awkward growth spurt as well. Whether or not the company?s experimental pricing and international development can change its direction remains to be seen.

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Nearly 1 in 3 kids want an iPad for the holidays (Ben Patterson)

Not quite sure what your little ones want from Santa this year? Well, industry researchers drew up a list, checked it twice, and guess what red-hot, 9.7-inch gadget came out on top? That's right: the iPad.

In a recent survey of tykes aged 6 to 12, a good 31 percent of them went for broke, telling researchers for the Nielsen Company that they wanted to buy an iPad in the next six months ? or rather, that they were hoping someone else (like, say, their parents) would get them an iPad.

After the iPad, kids expressed the most interest in getting a garden-variety computer, with an equal percentage -- 29 percent, to be exact -- crossing their fingers for an iPod Touch (starting price: $229 for the 8GB version).

About one in four 6- to 12-year-olds hope to get their hands on a Nintendo DS in the next six months, while a new PlayStation 3 caught the eyes of 21 percent of kids in the Nielsen survey ? or nearly twice as many as those pining for an Xbox 360 (with just 12 percent).

Other high-profile gadgets for which kids are crossing their fingers include an iPhone (20 percent), the upcoming Nintendo 3DS (also 20 percent, although children in the U.S. will have to wait until March to get one), the Wii (18 percent), and an e-reader like the Kindle or Nook (11 percent).

As far as the holiday battle of game-console motion controllers goes, the PlayStation Move seems to be winning out, with 17 percent of youngsters in the Nielsen survey saying they wanted the Move versus just 12 percent for Xbox Kinect.

Looking at broader tech categories, about 21 percent of kids said they wanted a smartphone (yup, these are still just little kids we're talking about), with another 21 percent saying they'd settle for a standard cell phone.

About one in five kids would like a new TV set ? in their bedrooms, I'm guessing ? while 16 percent think a Blu-ray player would be pretty cool.

Interestingly enough, priorities change a bit when it comes to kids 13 and up, with a computer topping the gotta-have tech list for teens at 20 percent, with a TV set and a non-iPhone smartphone coming in at 19 percent each.

Only then did the iPad come into play, with 18 percent of teens saying they'd like to get Apple's $500-and-up tablet within the next six months, according to Nielsen.

Not making the list was the gadget I most wanted for Christmas when I was a kid: a Star Trek communicator, which was really just a walkie-talkie with a flimsy metal antenna that (of course) didn't survive Christmas morning. Oh well.

(Chart: Nielsen)

Related:
Kids in the U.S. Eyeing Big-Ticket Tech This Holiday Season [Nielsen Wire]

? Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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Apple releases iOS 4.2 for iPhone & iPad, ?Find My iPhone? feature now free (Ben Patterson)

The long-awaited iOS software update that brings the iPhone's multitasking capabilities to the iPad was slated to arrive Monday, along with a bonus: free use of Apple's gadget-tracking "Find my iPhone" feature.

iOS 4.2 finally brings the iPad up to par with the iPhone and iPod Touch, which both got the ability to switch between third-party applications this past summer.

The update also adds application folders, a unified email inbox, threaded messaging, and TV rentals from iTunes to the iPad's litany of features, along with support for Game Center, Apple's social-gaming platform.

The iPhone and iPod Touch already got Game Center support, TV rentals, HDR photography (for the iPhone 4) and the ability to upload HD video to YouTube and MobileMe in the iOS 4.1 update back in September, while multitasking, folders, and the unified inbox arrived in iOS 4.0.

The iPad had been left behind with iOS 3.2.2 ? until now, at least. After the iOS 4.2 update, the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch will be on a level playing field, Apple promises.

In addition to bringing the iPad up to speed with Apple's other iOS devices, the new software update adds several new features ? most notably AirPlay, which lets you stream videos, music, and photos to the new Apple TV, or stream audio to AirPort Express-connected speakers or third-party systems with AirPlay support, and AirPrint for wireless printing.

Besides the release of iOS 4.2 (which is reportedly set to go live on Apple's servers at 10 a.m. PT), Apple also announced that Find My iPhone ? a key feature of the $99-a-year MobileMe service ? will now be free for any iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad running on iOS 4.2.

Find My iPhone lets you track a lost iOS device using the Find My iPhone app or on the MobileMe website. A map shows you the approximate location of your wayward gadget, and you can also sound an alarm, send a message (like "Lost!" and your phone number) to the screen, or even remotely lock or wipe your missing device. (My wife and I recently used Find My iPhone after she lost her iPhone 3GS in a cab ? and yes, she got it back.)

In the fine print of its iOS 4.2 webpage, Apple says that you must first activate Find My iPhone on an iPhone 4, iPad, or fourth-generation iPod Touch to get free access to the service. Once that's done, you can use your ID and password to enable Find My iPhone on older-generation iPhones and iPod Touches that support iOS 4.2.

To get the iOS 4.2 update, connect your iPhone, iPad, or Touch to your system, fire up iTunes, select your device in the iTunes interface, and click the Check for Update button; a pop-up should appear prompting you to install the update. (If it doesn't, try again later in the day.)

? Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.

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