Offmessage

For a moment there I was a bit worried about the new service from 118800, whereby they provide directory enquiries (of a sort) for mobile numbers as well as land lines.

Essentially they search for the person you want, and if they find a mobile number for them they text that mobile, asking the recipient to contact you (and you pay a quid for the pleasure).

My first thought was an irrational one, along the lines of “but my mobile number’s private, how dare they intrude?”  On further analysis though…

• I can just ignore the text (if I ever received one)
• I doubt any directory of mobile numbers will ever have my number in it
• Anyone wanting to contact me has exactly two clicks to find me anyway

What is more interesting is the fact that it is unthinkable that the system might give out your mobile number. We seem to have finally got to a place where who knows our number is actually something that we control, rather than the service providers. Compare that to the horror of domestic land lines (TPS or not) and it’s a giant leap forward.

(Oh, and as @dtt101 pointed out, that “make the text dark” button was clearly the result of weeks of design arguments. Classy!)

Yet more encroachments planned – this time it looks like we’ll need to present a passport to buy a cell phone. I mean really.

So. @Richard_Dawkins was never actually Richard Dawkins.  That makes sense. Shame I got duped into thinking it was.  A small and ultimately pointless stunt, but annoying nevertheless. Makes you remember to always check your sources, I guess. Perhaps we need a Twitter salute (context)?

I really like the idea of this service; auto expiring anonymous phone numbers

I’ve mused before about the accidental exposure of our private lives online.  With the advent of Twitter, Plazes and the like this is only getting worse.  And what about Google Street View?  Mashable takes a look.

Adam Laurie has helped the Daily Mail crack a UK passport. They’re doomed. Doomed I tell you.

I think these people should think very carefully about the danger of false positives.

As the man who sent me the link said, this country is run by geniuses.

From stuff like this. I mean seriously. Hand over your social security number, credit card details and address and we’ll tell you if you’ve been scammed. Lordy! The answer’s yes. What a surprise!