Cellphone9 » cellphones

Cellphone Design Rejects on Threadless

Jayvee Fernandez — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 15:25:49 +0000

Threadless has a small repository of designs that didn’t quite make it. These belong to the critique section and I’ve lifted them out for all to see — they didn’t get very high marks and some of them have been out since forever. Here are some of them:

Original design here.

And here’s one more, which among the three I find the best in the lot.

Post from: Cellphone9

Cellphones and sensitive skin: mobile phone dermatitis

Jayvee Fernandez — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:36:25 +0000

I’m a mutant – like many others. Whenever I keep in constant contact with certain technology devices, I peel off the outer lining. My skin is acidic like many others around the world. But did you know that mobile phones can affect sensitive skin as well? If you’ve been suffering from a bout of bad skin and you don’t know where it is coming from, you may want to look at your phone. Say hello to mobile phone dermatitis, because of a reaction to your phone’s nickel component:

Skin specialists are reporting a new phenomenon they are dubbing ‘mobile phone dermatitis’ where metals used in the phone handset is irritating the skin on the face.

Around one third of people are sensitive to nickel which is used extensively in mobile phone handsets, including the buttons and the surround of the screen.

All doctors should be alert that these people are at risk of developing dermatitis on their face if they use their phone regularly, the British Association of Dermatologists has said.

Call it a public service announcement. If you have a history of reacting badly to jewelry for instance, there is a chance that you may also have a bad reaction to your phone, containing nickel. So consult your dermatologist today. In the meantime, do check this page out as it contains illustrations and teaching cases as well for nickel allergies and mobile phones – merely holding the phone to your cheek causes a bad reaction.

Post from: Cellphone9

What’s your kid’s school policy on cellphones? A suspension if used??

Jayvee Fernandez — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:52:24 +0000

For the longest time, cellphones have been banned in the classroom for the most obvious reason – they aren’t needed. Students don’t need their mobile phones during class. What they NEED is concentration. But that’s changing. According to this article, some schools in the USA are allowing mobile phones to be brought inside class not just to be “kept in pockets in silent mode and never to be brought out” but as real tools for education.

Mobile phones are used to transmit lectures, podcasts (wow!), and even check attendance. Of course, you can’t just use any cellphone – you’d need a smartphone to do this. I guess it is the same thing with how some schools have partnered with tech institutions like Apple and Microsoft to have laptops loaned out. In this case, the “laptop” fits in your pocket.

I honestly believe that educational institutions should start taking a less academic look at cellphones as “objects of distraction.” A lot of learning does take place with mobile phones. But it isn’t easy as 1-2-3. I guess, as an educator myself, one of the things the academe hates most is …. change. Ironic isn’t it? The very “renaissance” that the academe aspires is the one catalyst it can’t cope with.

Even for practical reasons, I believe cellphones should be allowed. Strict rules should be let down in place of more practical ones. If teachers fear cellphones as cheating devices, then why not deliver more tests that look into opinion more than fact. The “battle” of cellphones vs. the school is actually a microcosm of a traditional vs. progressive way of thinking.

At the end of the day, I’d let my kids keep their mobile phones in schools. The world has changed in the last 10 years since the cellphone was invented, “planning ahead” isn’t as easy as it was.

[image courtesy of Newscom]

Post from: Cellphone9