Last night some brilliant theatergoer decided to go and "correct" Arthur Miller's classic drama Death of a Salesman by adding a little digital oomph to Alex North's original 1949 music. It was a pretty magical moment, and everyone left the theater shocked that director Mike Nichols hadn't thought to add that touch himself (or had he?). It also got us thinking. There are a lot of other pieces of theater that really need to get with the times... more ›

During an otherwise engrossing performance of Death of a Salesman on Broadway last night, a cellphone blared out during the final, tender moments, as Linda Emond delivered the famously heartbreaking monologue that concludes the play. We'd like to take this moment to salute the unsung theatergoer who single-handedly dragged one of American theater's most iconic scenes into the 21st century. more ›

If you get a text message from a strange number tomorrow, accompanied by a strange noise and the words, "extreme alert," don't be alarmed: The New York City Office of Emergency Management and FEMA will be conducting a test of the Wireless Emergency Alert System. And hopefully it'll go better than it did in New Jersey on Monday, when a similar "emergency alert" freaked out thousands of people. more ›

Did you purchase an iPhone 4 during Tenebrous Friday or CyberSad Monday? Are you prepared to endure a metaphor for a paroxysm of global debt? A man's iPhone 4 (not the schmancier 4s) began "emitting a significant amount of dense smoke, accompanied by a red glow" on an Australian flight last Friday. According to ABC, everyone was fine, and the "red glow was extinguished successfully." It was only a matter of time before Siri got sick of answering our questions and took the easy way out. more ›

According to CNN, some malls in the US rolled out a new technology on Black Friday that allows retailers to track customers' cell phone signals while they're shopping. The technology is already being used in Europe and Australia, and it was scheduled to be tried out in two malls in California and Virginia. That was until Senator Chuck Schumer put a stop to it. more ›

A New Jersey teenager who seriously injured his leg after jumping down to the street from a fence around High Line is suing the city for $2.5 million, claiming that he was locked in the park and had no choice. "I crushed my knee, rupturing my ACL, and hurt my back. It really messed me up," 18-year-old Kirk Rasnick told the Daily News. Rasnick claims that the injuries he sustained on June 13 have prevented him from playing football during his senior year at Dickinson High School in Jersey City, and "you can't put a price on that." Except in this case: the price is $2.5 million, which works out to be around $700K per missed pep rally. more ›

Just as cell service is coming to New York's underground subway stops, Metro-North has announced that it is expanding its pilot "quiet car" program to include its Hudson and Harlem lines. Good news for commuters looking for a few minutes of peace, yes, but possibly bad news for "very well-educated" people! more ›

The future is now! Though yesterday it was announced that the pilot program to bring cellphone service to underground subway platforms on the 14th Street corridor would begin on Tuesday, we've just gotten an e-mail from a tipster...sent to us from the L platform on the 8th Avenue stop. Dun dun DUN! more ›

It's been nearly two years since New York State banned texting-while-driving and two months since Governor Cuomo signed a stricter law that categorized texting as a "primary traffic offense," making it easier for the police to pull over drivers for texting (and especially—we hope—sexting). Not only does the offense carry a penalty of two points on a driving record and a $150 fine, it also causes worried drivers to send mistaken texts while trying to conceal their phones from the cops (which, obviously, causes actual accidents). more ›

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit earlier today to bar AT&T's purchase of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion, the AP reports. Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in a press conference that the deal would culminate in "tens of millions of consumers all across the United States facing higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality products for mobile wireless users." Aw, c'mon! We stockpiled nights and weekend minutes in preparation for AT&T-world-order for nothing? more ›

A man who lept onto the subway tracks to retrieve his cellphone was struck and killed yesterday by a southbound A train at the 14th Street station at 8th Avenue. 60-year-old Vit Lukacik of Queens was hit around 3:20 p.m. and police sources told DNAinfo that that he "didn't realize how close the train was." Lukacik was pronounced dead at the scene, and service was restored a little more than an hour later. The Post denotes the 14th Street A,C,E station as being in Greenwich Village, while DNAinfo states that it's in Chelsea. more ›

As you may have heard, today Verizon is starting to charge new customers for data usage. Big Red has been planning this for a while now, following in the footsteps of AT&T and T Mobile (Sprint is now the only major provider to offer free unlimited data). Those who already have contracts with Verizon with unlimited data plans will have their unlimited status grandfathered in, but newcomers will be required to choose from a three-tiered pricing plan: $30 for 2GB of data, $50 for 5GB and $80 for 10GB. more ›

Despite frequent studies and reports, most notably one from the World Health Organization in May, that a cellphone's radiofrequency electromagnetic fields cause cancer, we have yet to see someone use one of these "radiation shields." Now it appears that the stubborn disregard for our own lives has paid off: a new study conducted by the journal Environmental Health Perspectives noted that the "accumulating evidence is increasingly against the hypothesis that mobile phone use can cause brain tumors in adults." Hooray! Now we can kick back and relax. more ›

The World Heath Organization' International Agency for Research on Cancer today announced that it now classifies radiofrequency electromagnetic fields as possibly carcinogenic to humans [PDF]. What does that mean in English? The agency now considers mobile phone use to be in the same "carcinogenic hazard" category as lead, engine exhaust, DDT and coffee. Our theories about how Scully got cancer have clearly been vindicated! more ›

You already know you shouldn't be talking on your cell phone while driving, but the DMV wants to make those bi-annual ticketing blitzes a little more scary. Starting Wednesday, drivers found guilty of driving while talking on a cell phone or texting will get two points on their driving records, as well as the $100 fine. DMV Executive Deputy Commissioner J. David Sampson said, "By strengthening the current law, our hope is that motorists will become even more aware of the potential consequences of their actions if they use a cell phone while driving." more ›

In 2007, Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger proposed a ban on talking on cell phones, texting or listening to music through headphones while crossing the street. And though for three years most people have thought the idea is crazy, he's using the recent tragic case of Jason King as an example. King was hit by a truck on the Upper East Side, and investigators believe he was listening to his iPod while crossing the street. Kruger said, "We have people who are literally dying in the street." However, he has lost some support. more ›

Earlier this week Shane Rhooms, who earlier had spent three weeks in prison for allegedly firing at police officers, was cleared of all charges when video and cell phone records showed he was clearly at a reggae concert at Webster Hall when the Flatbush shootings occurred. But the police aren't backing off their story. Not only did a spokesman say on Tuesday that they "remain skeptical of the purported alibi" but then Police Commissioner Ray Kelly went and offered more support for the officers who made the ID Wednesday. Maybe he should have done a little more research into who he was defending? more ›

A good reason to use your phone when you are at a concert? Good alibi. That's the lesson we're taking from the story of Shane Rhooms. It starts like this: On September 6 an assailant got off six shots at cops in Flatbush before running away. Those same officers later picked Rhooms mugshot out of a photo lineup and insisted he was their guy and locked him up in Riker's. Only problem? He kept insisting he was nowhere near Flatbush at the time, in fact he said he was at a reggae concert at Webster Hall. more ›

According to the LA Times, cell phone confiscations within the California Department of Corrections has jumped almost 7,000 from just three years ago, and among the prisoners caught with phones is none other than serial killer Charles Manson. Manson was caught calling and texting numbers in California, New Jersey, Florida and Canada. California DoC spokeswoman Terry Thornton said, "I don't know, but it's troubling that he had a cellphone since he's a person who got other people to murder on his behalf." Maybe he was just excitedly texting that "Helter Skelter" is finally on iTunes. more ›

Even though cell phones are forbidden from being used in most schools, Vernon Alcoser knows that students aren't just going to leave their phones at home. He also knows parents want their kids to have phones on them, and that the kids usually have an allowance. So for $1 a day (75 cents more than these proposed lockers!), lucky teens at two Bronx schools can store their phones in his trucks while they're in school. One student mentioned the necessity of having your phone handy after school, telling the Daily News, "I need my phone in case someone tries to hold me up or stab me. I can call for help." And what's a dollar a day for that sort of peace of mind? more ›

Just as cops block bike lanes every morning and man still refuses to ask for directions, so too will people yakking loudly on cell phones forever annoy us. And so too will obligatory articles about how cell phones annoy us annoy us. It might not stop us from demanding we get reception on the subway, but we always find new ways to study and criticize other people's cell phone etiquette. more ›

Police are seeking a man who sexually assaulted and robbed a 78-year-old woman in her East New York home. According to the Daily News, "The elderly woman woke up about 5:30 a.m. to the sound of an intruder rummaging through her East New York home... Desperate for the thief to leave, the frightened woman handed him some loot, which included a couple of cell phones, sources said." more ›

Due to a malfunction in Verizon's network, both landlines and AT&T cell phones (oh no, the iPhone!) connected to the network have reportedly been out of service. Verizon Communications Inc. says the "digital cross connect" that connects calls on the East side of Manhattan from 20th Street to 40th Street is at fault, and they hope to fix the problem this afternoon. According to the Wall Street Journal, the equipment was knocked out from this weekend's storms. more ›

It's almost unheard of to attend an evening of theater without some jackass's cellphone going off and ruining the performance. (Here's that agonizing video of Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman begging an audience member to shut off a cell phone during A Steady Rain.) We believe anyone guilty of this offense should be slowly impaled while simultaneously forced to watching a continuous performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express. But the chief theater critic at the NY Times disagrees, and has revealed a sudden sympathy for cell phone miscreants: more ›