Maybe some things shouldn't be replaced by technology

The Guardian reported this week that the U.K. Clinical Research Collaboration is in the process of developing a way for people to test themselves for sexually transmitted diseases using their mobile devices. If they are successful, users will be able to place their own urine or saliva on a small computer chip that plugs into the mobile device, which will then produce the test results.

According to the Guardian, the app is being produced with technology-savvy young people in mind – those that experts say may be too embarrassed to go to the doctor to be tested though their age group has the highest rate of STDs. The test is meant to be private and quick, much like a drug store pregnancy test, and to reduce the growing number of STDs, which have increased in frequency over the last decade in the U.K.

Appadvice points out that this news may mean one day doctorâ€s offices could be obsolete, or at least less frequently visited. If the average person can test themselves for an STD, whoâ€s to say people wonâ€t diagnose themselves and print out their prescriptions in the future?

We donâ€t see that happening until sometime very far into the future, and the app being developed does not seem to include a way for people to treat themselves in private as well. This could mean it will not actually reduce the rate of STDs. If someone is too embarrassed to see a doctor to be tested, they may be too embarrassed to be treated as well.

And now that weâ€ve discussed all the particulars can we take a minute to talk about how inserting your own urine or spit into your mobile phone is disgusting? Weâ€re sure the creators will have some way to keep the process totally sterile and clean, but weâ€re not planning on sticking anything up against our cheeks and ears that has once housed our own pee. Trying to stop the growing rate of infection any way possible is a great idea and should be commended, but how about educating young people about STD prevention and coming up with ways to make them feel more comfortable talking to their doctors instead?

Twitter, the one social network that most people love to make fun of before they join it, has always had a problem explaining exactly why people would want to tweet.  There’s always the allure of finding out what others are saying on the site easily, but not everyone feels the need or actually wants to tweet themselves.  Twitter has finally launched a way to simply follow users without having to sign-up.

The service is called “Fast Follow,” and it lets anyone follow any Twitter user by simply sending a text message to 40404 reading “follow [username].”  You’ll then get that user’s tweets sent right to your cell phone, no signup required.  Twitter is encouraging people to use it to follow brand names they see in everyday life, though its likely Fast Follow would also be used for following celebrities or other public figures. {Mashable}

This is actually a smart move that could potentially cut down on the number of passive Twitter users, who join and maybe tweet once or twice, but use the service to keep up with what people are saying. As it stands, 73% of accounts have less than 10 tweets. {CNN Money}

Or, perhaps it could serve as a way for pre-teen girls to follow every move Justin Bieber makes without having to actually use the service themselves.  It would probably get a bit unwieldy to use Fast Follow with a lot of users, but Twitter does allow users to stop following tweets from particular people at any time by sending “off [username].” {Twitter}

It might not do much for getting more people to tweet, but the option to respond is always there. If nothing else, Twitter has become more popular than feed reader services, and easier for more people to use. Next generation RSS service may not have been Twitter’s goal, but it’s not a bad end result.

Despite these rules having been in place for years, many people are feeling a “need” to be able to use cell phones during flight. Even with some airlines providing wi-fi access for a fee, customers still want the ability to text or talk while in the air. A flight attendant recently lamented that she had to remind 16 passengers on one flight to turn off their cell phones…and those were only the people who were blatantly using their cell phones.

The issue is so pertinent to travel that the Mythbusters tested to see whether cell phone usage could bring down an airplane. While they declared the myth busted, why test it in the first place? Cell phones have been known to interfere with flight instruments, and if too many were being used at once, no one is quite sure what would happen. This begs the question, why take the risk just to place a call to someone who can probably wait until you reach your destination? {Gadling} With smartphones gaining in popularity, it’s not impossible to imagine that some people who pull the phone out to play a game or listen to music also try to sneak in some talk time or texting.

Cell phone usage during a flight is currently banned in United States Airspace due to the fact that additional technology, a picocell, is required on board an aircraft to make usage safe. Picocells are communication systems that provide connectivity over a small space, negating the need for cell phones to reach beyond the aircraft for signals and interfere with flight instruments. Of course, installing any picocells requires money, and with all the complaints from U.S. customers about fares and baggage fees, don’t expect a communications overhaul on existing aircraft. {Runway Girl}

But the biggest concern in the flight attendants vs. cell phones battle is how many people ignore their flight attendant’s instructions. Yes, she may be telling you to turn off your lifeline to the rest of the world for a few hours but you can live without it. Let’s put it this way, if she told you to reach for the oxygen mask that just dropped down, you’d probably listen to her. {Gadling}

Not to mention, cell phone usage in flight is also annoying to other passengers. It’s bad enough to suffer through a subway ride with an oversharer, 3 or 4 hours with an annoying conversation added to a screaming baby would be enough to make us revisit the idea of trains or a road trip. We don’t all want to hear about your bad breakup or what your gynecologist said. So please, do everyone a favor, and let the flight attendants have this one.

Peter DaSilva for the New York Times

But even we didn’t think the iPhone would be replacing your cello any time soon.

The newest fad in iPhone adventures? iPhone orchestras. From the University of Michigans’ Mobile Phone Ensemble to the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra, these crazy kids are using their iPhones as their instruments to make some pretty out-there music.

Want to see/hear more? Check out the links below for videos of these mobile phone masters in action:

Read More {Switched}

Read More {The New York Times}