Sound Bites - News From The World Press
Contributor: Robert MacNevin
This section provides news headlines of interest to acoustic ecologists. Links to full articles are provided for quick access.
Cell Phones Heed Call of the Wild. Cell-phone users in the United States will soon have the option to set their ringers to the song of the pied butcherbird, cry of the screaming piha or tremolo of a loon, among other critters.
Classic Ringtones, which offers about 40 different chirps, roars and calls from various animals, is launching in the United States in late November, after pioneering its nature notes in the United Kingdom last year.
The natural songs are more personalized, peaceful and less offensive than the blasts of bubble-gum pop tunes and ice-cream-truck chimes emanating from most cell phones these days, said Kevin Wooding, director of the company.Source: Wired News. Read Full Story.
Ireland To Silence Mobiles in Cinma Theaters. Ireland's cinemas and theatres have been given the go-ahead by the country's communications watchdog to permit the use of mobile phone interceptors. Interceptors will allow the creation of "quiet zones" where the mobile phones will not ring but where calls can still be made to emergency services or to lists of approved numbers, the Communications Regulator said on Wednesday. (The Age 4 Nov 2004) Source NewsScan Daily: Read Full Story.
Robotic Sound Police. Gang members in Chicago who fire off a few rounds at their rivals are likely to find cops on the scene in minutes, thanks to new gunshot-detection devices being installed in 80 locations around the city before the end of the year.
The devices, mounted on telephone poles in specific neighborhoods, listen for the distinctive sound of a gunshot and immediately alert a police dispatcher when one is detected. A video camera in the device allows the dispatcher to keep an eye on the scene until officers arrive. Source: Wired.com Read Full Story.
New System 'Sees' Crimes On Audiotape. The Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a real-time magnetic imaging system that enables criminal investigators to "see" signs of tampering in audiotapes---erasing, overdubbing and other alterations---while listening to the tapes. The new system,which permits faster screening and more accurate audiotape analysis than currently possible, recently was delivered to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and will be evaluated for its possible routine use in criminal investigations. Source: Science Daily. Read Full Story.
