haiti

Solar-powered equipment for water, lighting, and communications is being sent to Haiti as part of the reconstruction efforts following last week's devastating earthquake.

Fort Pierce, Fla.-based manufacturer Sol on Tuesday said it shipped 15 of its solar streetlights to Haiti as part of an aid mission. With hospitals operating without power, the lighting can be used to extend the time that doctors can treat the wounded, company executives told WPTV.

Sol intends to donate another 100 of its streetlights, which have a small solar panel mounted above an LED lamp, but it has not yet connected with an … Read more

Breaking news during the show has Verizon admitting to cutting off the Internet access of people accused of illegal downloading. But hey, they don't throttle,they say. Great! Except for cutting off people is really an extreme from of throttling. And also, Verizon isn't getting proof for this, just accusations. The problems with this policy are immeasurable and we discuss them. Oh and Bing may oust Google on the iPhone.

The Times to Charge for Frequent Access to Its Web … Read more

So, you've donated your $10 to relief efforts in Haiti via text message on your mobile phone and you want to do more to help. A Web site launched this week allows anyone with an Internet connection to help collect information from people on the ground in Haiti and distribute it to relief workers there.

Haiti Live has an embedded Twitter stream with tweets from Haiti with information on things like where medical supplies are needed and what local infrastructure is like in particular areas. Visitors to the site read the Twitter news stream, and when they see an … Read more

In the wake of the devastating 7.0 earthquake in Haiti, Twitter has been serving as a major hub of information, the Nielsen Company reports. Nielsen refers to preliminary analysis of data indicating that Twitter posts are the leading source of discussion about the quake, followed by online video, blogs, and other social media.

Although most online consumers still rely on traditional media for coverage of the quake, they are apparently turning to Twitter to share information, react to the situation, and rally support. Sysomos, an analytics firm in Toronto, estimated that nearly 150,000 posts containing both “Haiti” and “… Read more

For those looking to help people in Haiti in creative ways, Bungie has announced that the more people who play Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST on Xbox Live Wednesday and Thursday, the more money it will donate to the cause.

Bungie wrote on its company blog that gamers who play Halo 3 or Halo 3: ODST on Xbox Live any time on Wednesday or Thursday will need to wear a "special emblem signifying [their] commitment to the cause." That special emblem is a red heart that can be added to the user's player by visiting the &… Read more

Since tweets such as "Text HAITI to 90999 to donate $10 to @RedCross relief" went viral Wednesday, more than $8 million has been donated--about double the amount donated to all charities via text messaging throughout all of 2009, a Red Cross spokeswoman tells CNN.

The Red Cross has solicited text message-based giving campaigns in the past, but its biggest peak was when people raised $190,000 via the Text2HELP campaign in the wake of Hurricane Ike in 2008, according to the organization.

And while Red Cross reports that it has already received far more money via larger donations--about $… Read more

January 14 could be the biggest day for mobile giving to date, as word that texting "Haiti" to number 90999 to donate $10 to the American Red Cross went viral via Twitter, Facebook, and news reports. (Facebook reports that its users have been posting more than 1,500 status updates a minute containing the word Haiti.)

In $10 increments, more than $4 million has been raised via the MGive Foundation's Haiti campaign, according to a Verizon Wireless spokesman. The campaign was set up with with the U.S. State Department and Red Cross late Tuesday night. While … Read more

The Google-China drama continues as China makes a veiled response that only law-abiding companies are welcome in the People's Republic. More information came out indicating the Gmail hacking was done by the government in China. This isn't over folks. We'll keep on it. But there is other news. Apple lawyers strike back over tablet rumors, and app stores are all pretty much the same.

Is Sprint making money off of your text message donations? http://consumerist.com/2010/01/att-and-sprint-are-making-money-off-of-your-text-message-donations.html… Read more