Alive Technologies developped a platform to monitor the progress and physical condition of marathon runners. The system relies on the Alive Heart Monitor, a Bluetooth GPS and Bluetooth mobile phone worn by the runner. The mobile phone transmits all the data to a server via GPRS over the mobile phone network.

Anyone can then log into a website where the current position and athlete's condition can be tracked, or replayed.

The system was tested on the Australian Gold Coast Marathon in early June, and it's scheduled to be used in another three events.

From Geekzone.

A new wholistic taxi system from Raywood Communications, called MD-X system could offer within one year a whole range of service to Australian taxi-drivers and passengers: screens for the customer, a networked environment with internet and telephone network access, but also:
- in-vehicle navigation for both the driver and the passenger - the later will be sure the driver does not Shanghai him for half an hour driving instead of five minutes,
- a passenger surveillance system to view and record from multiple cameras,
- an integrated "meter" - beyond the simple charge meter, it would provide a detailed account of many new charges,

The system should provide new income streams for taxis: combining the destination with this system would allow for relevant local advertising to the passenger (restaurants, hotels and other location-specific services.)

From Gizmo.

Robert Barrows, from California, is patenting video-equipped tombstones to let mourners watch messages from the dead.

The headstone would be fitted with a flat LCD touch screen and a computer with a hard disc or microchip memory that allows the deceased to speak through a video message. To avoid a grave's soundtrack clashing with the one next door, visitors could also listen through wireless headphones.

The idea is that people would leave a parting video with their lawyer when making out their will.

Gary Collison, from Pennsylvania University, believes the concept can make sense: "Cemeteries are places where people try to outdo each other, display their wealth and power. This would certainly be a new way to do that," he says.

From New Scientist.

The State Hermitage Museum in St Pertersburg plans to offer mobile phone users an opportunity to have reproductions of the museum's masterpieces on their screens, it would be a chance "to develop good taste, especially for youth".

A color photo from the collection will cost a mobile user $1, and a graphic attachment with text will cost $2.50.

From AFP, via Picturephoning.

A collaborative programme between the major players in mobile content delivery and the UK network operators is setting up a scheme to make it easier for consumers to stop Premium Rate SMS services they no longer want.

All the details in 160 Characters.

Customers of SK Telecom Moneta mobile credit-card service, which allows to make direct online payments via mobile handsets, have to face technical bugs of Seoul's brand-new public transportation system: the new card readers on buses and subways fail to read and update information on the previously used handsets.

Korean Smart Card, the company in charge of the T-money traffic card on public transports, claims that the glitches are due to SK Telecom's refusal to accept the government standard "Type-A" technology on its Moneta-equipped devices, while SK Telecom insists that the standard, used in Moneta is fully compatible with Type-A.

But the metropolitan government should be blamed too for its poor planning and management of the city revamped public transportation system, with malfunctioning new prepaid traffic cards and restructured bus lanes causing confusion among commuters.

From The Korea Herald.