FROM BBC NEWS

Catholic church gives blessing to iPhone app

UPDATE: POPE BANS APP

Pope Benedict XVI has said Catholics should use digital technologies responsibly

The Catholic Church has approved an iPhone app that helps guide worshippers through confession.

The Confession program has gone on sale through iTunes for £1.19 ($1.99).

Described as "the perfect aid for every penitent", it offers users tips and guidelines to help them with the sacrament.

Now senior church officials in both the UK and US have given it their seal of approval, in what is thought to be a first.

The app takes users through the sacrament - in which Catholics admit their wrongdoings - and allows them to keep track of their sins.

It also allows them to examine their conscience based on personalised factors such as age, sex and marital status - but it is not intended to replace traditional confession entirely.

Instead, it encourages users to understand their actions and then visit their priest for absolution.

Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology”

Patrick LeinenLittle iApps"Our desire is to invite Catholics to engage in their faith through digital technology," Patrick Leinen of developer Little iApps told Reuters.

The launch comes shortly after Pope Benedict XVI gave urging to Christians to embrace digital communication and make their presence felt online.

In his World Communications Address on 24 January, he said it was not a sin to use social networking sites - and particularly encouraged young Catholics to share important information with each other online.

"I invite young people above all to make good use of their presence in the digital world," he said.

He warned them to keep in mind that digital communication was part of a bigger picture, however.

"It is important always to remember that virtual contact cannot and must not take the place of direct human contact with people at every level of our lives."

The app guides users through different elements of the sacramentConfession's developers, who are based in Indiana, said they took the Pope's words to heart when they were preparing the application for public consumption.


READ MORE

Cellphones to get Emergency Broadcast System
updated 05:10 pm EST, Wed November 17, 2010

Emergency Broadcast System coming to cell phones?

The Emergency Broadcast System that will alert TV viewers of any emergencies may soon arrive on cellphones, Alcatel-Lucent said on Tuesday. The company is developing a Broadcast Message Center that will let government agencies send mass information regarding local, state or national emergencies. These text messages can warn users of anything from road closures to hurricanes and tornadoes.
The Broadcast Message Center will help phone companies meet FCC rules for a Commercial Mobile Alert System. All phones would get such alerts, though users could opt out of receiving the less serious ones such as about weather, traffic accidents or Amber Alerts.

US agencies such as the FCC, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have access to Alcatel-Lucent's service.

Alcatel-Lucent envisions each cell provider needing to install two message exchange centers to ensure reliability. Initially, the messages will be sent out in text form, but they will eventually support multimedia formats as well.


Read more: http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/11/17/emergency.broadcast.system.coming.to.cell.phones/#ixzz15fAP18WC

FROM DAILY MAIL SHILLS


Shoppers are to be targeted with money-off electronic vouchers as they wander the High Street with the arrival of 'Ping Marketing'.

The electronic vouchers will be sent direct to a mobile phone by coffee shops such as Starbucks or beauty brands such as L'Oreal as they pass stores offering deals.

The technology relies on the GPS satellite system that allows mobile networks to track people every minute of the day via their mobile phone.

The system has created concerns that the tracking of the movements of consumers by stores chasing sales is a threat to personal privacy.

Customers who sign up for the scheme will be sent a text message when they pass every Starbucks

However, O2, which is the first mobile network to trial the system to Britain, says customers must actively opt-in before they receive any vouchers.

So far, the network has signed up more than one million Britons to the system.

The new way of targeting shoppers is known as geographic marketing, directing advertising and offers to people based on their specific location.

When the consumer moves within a set distance of the store  - passing through a so-called geo-fence - the voucher is sent automatically via a text message to their phone.

The idea has echoes of the film Minority Report in which Tim Cruise was recognised as he passed a Guinness billboard and a personalised greeting was played to him.

Starbucks and L'Oreal have signed up to a six month trial. Others will join soon and, eventually, most stores on the High Street could  use the system to entice custom.



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320846/Starbucks-bombard-people-money-vouchers-direct-phones-pass-coffee-shops.html#ixzz12WHMxtbz