1. Cellphones are dangerous to use near gasoline [About: Urban Legends]
It's true that manufacturers have said there is a remote possibility of danger, and everyone's entitled to opt for the precuationary principle. As a real-life risk, however, you're at much greater risk of being struck by lightning: the only recorded incidents are a few sketchy newspaper reports, in one of which the driver was also smoking! Sources of static electricity, such as ungrounded metal cans, are much more likely to result in disaster. That said, any excuse to stop nattering on the idiot bar should be embraced, especially when you're working with dangerous fuels.
2. Secret codes boost battery Life [International Herald Tribune]
It's true that there is a secret language of codes and unlockable features on many handsets, often indicating the tomfoolery of cellular operators who cripple capable phones the cheapest way possible. But the idea that there exist special codes that unlock untapped battery reserves is bunkum. Battery life is a competitive area and manufacturers aren't going to hide any of it.
3. You need a phone running Windows Mobile to interface with PCs, or The iPhone won't work properly on PCs [ascottechnologies]
Treos, Blackberries, and Symbian-based handsets talk just fine with Windows and Microsoft applications; likewise, Windows Smartphones deal just fine with alternative operating systems, with one expensive caveat. Apple's iPhone will also play well with Windows, though if you're going to spend $600 on a phone, why not splurge on a Mac too?
4.Cellphones Do/Don't Interfere with Airliner Navigation systems [Microsoft]
It's easy to be cynical about FCC rules that just happen to protect the commercial interests of carriers, but cellular signals do indeed interfere with highly-sensitive avionic compasses. Of course, that's not always the case, and it begs the question as to why airlines continue to use such radio-vulnerable devices.
5. Cellphones Cause Cancer [eZine]
It's true that a blast of radio waves, or electromagnetic radiation, is biologically harmful at certain frequencies and intensities. Don't be around when a nuke goes off. The types of radio waves associated with cellular transmissions, however, are in the same ballpark as TV signals, FM broadcasts and other low-level fields which most scientiest consider harmless. Studies generally fail to find a link between cellphone use and illness, though suspicions of rare allergies or sensitivities are offered by commentators and sufferers desperate for answers.
Interesting coda to this one: my new cellphone gives me intense headaches. It might be cellphone radiation, but I suspect it's more likely to be the tinny, high-pitched whine it sometimes emits. Pressing the phone against my ear (rather than holding it a half-inch or so off) muffles the sound and solves the problem.
6. Buying a broadband-equipped smartphone will make you more productive
For me, and, I expect, many others, the "holy-grail covergence device" approach doesn't work too well: small keyboards can be hard to type on, and mobile operating systems are fiddly to navigate and often lack the functions that real-world work demands. There's always a way to get the job done, but the only things "converging" here are ineffectiveness and high pricing.
.png){kind=logo}
