alerts

AT&T has launched a new service that will send customers texts promoting special deals whenever they're near certain stores.

Teaming up with mobile marketer Placecast to deliver the new ShopAlerts service, AT&T says it's the first mobile provider to offer a location-based marketing program designed for mobile consumers.

AT&T subscribers in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Francisco who sign up for ShopAlerts will get text messages describing special offers, rewards, coupons, and other promotions at nearby participating stores. AT&T said that so far it's signed up Hewlett … Read more

Apple has released to developers a beta of iOS 4.3, the newest operating system update for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. iOS 4.3 will include several feature upgrades including the addition of personal Wi-Fi hot spots, new multitouch gestures for iPad, and customizable messaging alerts.

Also included in the first beta of iOS 4.3 is the return of orientation locking by using the hardware switch on the side of your iPad. Users will be able to toggle the usage of that switch from its current function, muting, to the new orientation lock.

The App Store app has … Read more

Links from Thursday's episode of Loaded:

Spotify and Shazam team up to help you find and purchase music

Sony may be announcing a new PSP soon

Facebook teams up with the Amber Alert system

Google will start selling ads on music videos in mobile YouTube

Google launches Google Places for iPhone

Microsoft launches a Web and app building site called WebMatrix

A new report in the Journal of Cosmology discusses the specifics of mating in space

In many communities throughout the country, when a child goes missing you may hear about it on the radio or see a notice on an illuminated highway sign. You might also get a text message if you're signed up to receive one. AOL, Yahoo, Google, and Microsoft also disseminate Amber alerts. Now you can receive them on Facebook.

The Amber alert program, which was established 15 years ago after the abduction and murder of its namesake, 9-year-old Amber Hagerman, has so far resulted in the recovery of 525 kids according to Ernie Allen, CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (… Read more

We've used plenty of weather-watching programs, but none quite like Earth Alerts from South Wind Technologies. This disaster-watching program monitors online information related to severe, extreme, and violent weather and natural disasters in near real time, notifies you about alerts and updates, displays satellite data and imagery, and even lets you view the event in images and video.

Earth Alerts has an attractive, colorful display that is quite easy to get started with. We first added our own location by clicking New Location and entering our ZIP code in the Search tool. Earth Alerts populated the relevant information fields … Read more

You doubtless know the old maxim about necessity being the mother of invention. So it was that recent spate of reports of a bedbug breakout in many cities was incentive enough to convince a New York iPhone app developer to get coding.

"Everyone's biggest fear is now bedbugs. It seems to be everywhere you turn--Bloomingdales, the Waldorf--you're hearing about it," said Adam Kotkin, CEO of Apps Genius.

His 11-person company today is releasing an app that will let people go online and map out reports of the latest bug infestations in 10 major American cities. It … Read more

SurplusMeter--formerly known as NetTracker--keeps a close eye on your bandwidth use. This utility lets you set a bandwidth limit, a start day of the month, and a connection type (such as PPP Modem or Network Card).

SurplusMeter also calculates a daily allowance and reconfigures that depending on how much you've actually used for the month. The interface is simple and uncluttered, but it also lacks the alarms and graphs found in similar Windows apps. Progress bars help track the days left in the month, the download megabyte count, and the total downloaded and uploaded, and you can easily make … Read more

Pester is a freeware alarm clock utility that provides a simple way to set timed reminders, along with a few cool extras.

Of course, you can use iCal and other scheduling software to alert you to upcoming events, but sometimes these apps are overkill--like, for example, when you're just putting something in the oven, or you're trying to remember to catch a bus. Pester occupies a middle ground between iCal and more bare-bones timers (such as egg-timer widgets), letting you quickly set an event, name it, choose a countdown or a specific time for the alert, and then (… Read more

Several companies have tried to launch DIY video security systems that promise no-hassle setup for average consumers. But most have failed.

Now Logitech is giving it a shot with its new Alert digital video security system, which it says, "Takes just a few minutes to set-up through a three-step process." The base 750i Master System ($299.99) includes a "smart" HD camera that captures 720p video, both PC and Web software, and free remote viewing on a PC or Mac computer or smartphone (app required).

Anyone looking for an outdoor monitoring solution can start with the … Read more