localized

FCC report: Net has helped suffocate local news

Thanks to digital technologies, we have more media sources than ever to get our news from, but when it comes to covering town halls, school boards, courts, and other local news, they mostly suck.

That's the takeaway message (though definitely not in those words) in a behemoth of a report (PDF) released Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission.

The 460-plus page report, titled "The Information Needs of Communities: The Changing Media Landscape in a Broadband Age," is two years in the making and was led by Beliefnet co-founder and former U.S. News and World Report National Editor Steve Waldman.

If forced to sum up the entire report in a single tweet, it would probably be "The Internet has revolutionized how we gather and consume information, but meanwhile local news has been damn near suffocated." Or, as Waldman and company put it on page 262:

There were about 13,400 fewer newspaper newsroom jobs in 2010 than there were in 2006, dropping from 55,000 positions to about 41,600. Over the years, newsmagazines, local commercial radio, and local TV have reduced their newsgathering staffs, as well. At the same time, Internet sites, cable news, and public radio have created new journalism jobs.

So, the Net picked up the slack for the shrinking old media then, right? Not so, says the report. It goes on to estimate that there are roughly 5,000 less reporters covering local "accountability" beats today than there were in 2000, and even back then there weren't nearly enough to cover everything. All told, the report estimates that the number of local beat reporters would need to be more than doubled to do the job right, at a total cost of about $1.6 billion--or $265 million if we just wanted to get back to 2000 levels.… Read more

Magellan RoadMate for iPhone updates with Yelp, Google search

Magellan's RoadMate app for iPhone updates today to version 2.0 with a refreshed UI. However, the biggest change is the new POI search, because joining Magellan's standard list of searchable points of interest are new options for Yelp and Google Local.

With Yelp search you can browse all of Yelp's categories and subcategories. Search results include Yelp's star rating for quickly identifying, for example, the best Ethiopian restaurant in your area. Once you've found your destination, the app can call the venue or initiate turn-by-turn directions. Additionally, every search result is a clickable link … Read more

But, wait--Amazon has daily deals now too!

Whatever anyone can do, Amazon can do, too. Groupon is filing for an IPO and creating new jobs for salespeople in just about every city on earth; Google Offers debuted this week; and I hear there might even be a few other daily deal services out there. So naturally, Amazon wants in on the action. The company that offers... well, everything, is now offering offers as well through AmazonLocal.

The service seems to follow the same model as those of rivals like Groupon, where subscribers to a daily e-mail can purchase a voucher that offers savings on local goods and … Read more

Most people OK buying goods via mobile devices

A significant number of people are comfortable shopping and paying for items through their mobile devices, according to a new report from mobile media firm JiWire.

JiWire's latest Mobile Audience Insights Report (PDF) found that 79 percent of 5,000 people surveyed are OK paying online via their cell phones or tablets.

Though most of those polled are still making relatively small purchases (less than $100), 50 percent said they're comfortable spending more than $100 using a cell phone, while almost 20 percent said they're OK buying things worth more than $500.

Beyond paying for items, more consumers are also researching products via their mobile devices. JiWire found that 71 percent of those polled had researched future purchases on their phone or tablet before buying the item. Among those, 31 percent later bought the item in a store, 40 percent bought it online through a PC, and 20 percent bought it directly from their mobile device.… Read more

FCC to launch disaster alert system for cell phones

The Federal Communications Commission is expanding its familiar emergency alert system notifications sent over TV and radio to now include mobile phones.

Dubbing the new service PLAN (Personal Localized Alerting Network), the government would target the alerts in the form of text messages sent to cell phones of people who need or want to be notified in the event of an emergency. Developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), PLAN would allow customers of any participating wireless carrier to turn their phones into personal alert systems.

The service will initially launch in New York City by the end of … Read more

GasBuddy might just be a driver's best friend

GasBuddy uses your mobile device's GPS and the latest user-reported gas station data to help you locate the lowest fuel prices in your area. It's a free download that will very likely save you money in the long run.

GasBuddy is cleanly designed and easy to use. Fire it up, and search by city or ZIP code, or simply click Find Gas Near Me. Either way, the app will quickly pull up a list of the gas stations in your area and sort by price or distance. And if you want, you can switch to the slightly more … Read more

Scoutmob puts local deals on your mobile device

Scoutmob is a location-aware coupon service that pushes local restaurant and retail deals directly to your mobile device. No need to print or purchase anything, just scroll through the local 50 percent off (and more) coupons available, click "USE THE DEAL," and flash your screen at the location. It's like Groupon, only simpler and better.

What gives Scoutmob its edge over its other deal-serving competitors is that there's no need to purchase anything ahead of time. If your GPS-enabled mobile device detects that you are at the deal location, you get the deal. And most deals … Read more

Home and system directory names not translating in OS X

OS X supports a number of different languages, and either during installation or in the system preferences you can choose your default language in which to have the system display localized elements such as menu text and dialogue text. In addition to interface elements, Apple supports localization on some system files and folders, including the default folders in the home directory. This means that if you switch your system's language, the names Desktop, Movies, Pictures, Documents, and so on that are in your home directory should also be shown in the new language.

While this works for most people, … Read more

eBay acquires geolocation service Where

eBay, which has been on quite the mobile start-up acquisition spree of late, made it public today that it has acquired Where, a company that makes location-based mobile applications and operates a network of local ads and deals.

More specifically, Boston-based Where has been purchased by eBay's PayPal division, which plans to make the start-up a part of its suite of services for local businesses while keeping the Where consumer app intact.

"Local commerce companies like Where are blurring the lines between in-store and online shopping," noted a PayPal blog post by senior director of global communications … Read more