Mobile Devices

I've got less than a week to finish off everything I started during 2011. I'm one of those people who need a clean slate at the beginning of every new year. I don't think I've ever actually achieved that goal, but I always make the effort with great enthusiasm. However, I don't believe in greeting the new year with a list of resolutions. For example, when I decided in 2003 to lose 90 or so pounds (which I've been able to keep off for almost nine years), the effort began in July.

Kimoiyah Valdez was crossing Broad Street at a leisurely pace on a recent afternoon. She didn't notice that the light had turned or that opposing traffic had started to drive through the intersection. "I almost got hit," she said. The 20-year-old Olney woman was seriously distracted: Valdez was busy sending text messages from her cell phone to her friends as she ambled through Center City. OMG. Texting can be a hazardous occupation. All those multitaskers who tap furiously on keypads of mobile devices - often while walking, biking, blading, driving - are suffering crashes and burns, not to mention assaults to the ego. LOL?

The Assembly approved legislation to allow mobile gambling devices at Atlantic City casinos was approved 77-0-2 Monday — allowing the Shore resort to offer what Las Vegas has offered since 2006. "In order to remain attractive to visitors and competitive with neighboring states, it's important that Atlantic City keep up with the latest innovations and trends," said Assemblyman John Burzichelli (D., Gloucester), one of the prime sponsors. The bill, described by sponsors as "a smart 21st-century adaptation," allows patrons to enjoy gaming while waiting for a dinner reservation at a casino restaurant, at a casino lounge, or poolside at any A.C. casino.

Pick up a smartphone or tablet, and you're picking up a small powerful computer. But does that mean it's just as vulnerable as your laptop to malware? Could your phone start taking orders from a botnet, or record your calls and send audio files to an attacker? Could your tablet start signing you up for useless subscriptions, or shipping your private data to cybercrooks in Siberia? Thankfully, the answer to all those questions is probably no - though with an asterisk pointing to the phrase, "It depends on how you use the device.

Last month, my husband and I bought a cell phone for our daughter. She is 9 years old. Our daughter is among the 22 percent of the country's grade-school kids who own a cell phone, according to C&R Research. By the time she reaches middle school, 60 percent or more of her friends will have caught up. And these numbers are going up by the minute. In her first few hours of cell-phone ownership, our daughter exchanged more than 80 text messages with her best friend. We advised her friend's parents to change their plan.

The Nevada Gaming Commission approved rules yesterday that will permit casinos to offer wireless handheld gambling devices to people who want to gamble away from the casino floor. The 5-0 vote means that the devices will now be tested in various casinos here and in the commission's technology lab over the next three to six months. Once the testing is complete, makers of wireless gambling devices can seek approval of their products for use in a casino's public areas, such as restaurants or the pool area.

IN THE REGION AIG to pay Pa. $16.8 million American International Group Inc. will pay more than $16.8 million to resolve a Pennsylvania regulator's probe into the shortchanging of workers' compensation pools. The penalty for the New York-based insurer is the largest in the history of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, which led a multistate probe, the regulator said Thursday in a statement. The sum is part of a $146.5 million settlement AIG reached with watchdogs across the country in 2010.

THE PHILLIES play the Kansas City Royals on Friday in the 2013 home opener. Here's a guide to the 2013 season down at Citizens Bank Park. NEW FOOD * Federal Donuts (Ashburn Alley): Indulge in Philly's latest food sensation: fried chicken and doughnuts. * Alley Brewing Company (Ashburn Alley): A beer garden has finally made its way to the ballpark, featuring Alley Brewing Company Lager, made exclusively for Citizens Bank Park. * Gluten-Free Stand (Behind Section 136)

Toddy Gear has come up with an innovative twist on cleaning cloths for cellphones, GPS units, and other small electronics. The triangle-shaped Toddy Wedge not only wipes smudges off your screen; it also doubles as a stand. The bottom edge of the microfiber silk cloth is stuffed like a little pillow, creating a niche for the phone to nestle in while remaining more or less upright - like a hankie-shaped little sofa for mobile devices. The cloth has an antibacterial coating and comes in a wild range of colors and patterns, from neon paisley to pink peace symbols and pin stripes.

Philadelphia School District officials have their eye on millions in federal funds they hope to reap through grants to be awarded in December. The Race to the Top program, administered by the U.S. Department of Education, has previously awarded money to 21 states and the District of Columbia for programs aimed at boosting student achievement. Now, the department is offering money to individual school districts that plan to "personalize learning, close achievement gaps, and use 21st-century tools to prepare students for college and careers.