Monday morning linkage

Morning world. A few links for a Monday morning now the sun is finally shining!

First the bad news, a Polish bus driver loses job over text lottery addiction. Oh dear oh dear, where *did* he get the time and how on earth did he think he'd get away with it?

In need of a laugh? Seen Headzup? Anyone used it? For those who don't know, Headzup is 'catch and release comedy' for mobile phones and video ipods. The daily Headzup editorial cartoons and parody clips, many with a political slant, are designed for downloading and sharing as picture messages (MMS) which is why they're so short. With the US election campaigning well under way, the latest headzups do have a political slant and I'm really interested to see what effect this kind of campaigning has in the US.

Got a fancy new Nokia smartphone? No idea how it works or what to do with it? Then you could do worse than head over to check out Smartphonin' where you'll find tips and hints on how to use your phone. Also worth a look is Darla Mack's blog all about mobile phones, including lots of interesting stuff about Nokia phones like this post on a DJ mixer mobile application for your N-series Nokia.

The link between music and mobile gets stronger with Sony Ericsson, Orange and Channel 4 teaming up for a new music talent show. The TV show is called MobileAct and viewers will be able to download tracks from competing bands and vote for the one they want to progress through to the competition. The competition will shortlist 25 bands, who will all record their own video auditions with a further 25 being picked by a music industry panel.

Francois Mahieu, Orange UK's director of devices, said:

"We want there to be a direct link between what they can see on TV and listen to on their mobile. When the TV programme begins, Orange will kick off a number of initiatives so that customers feel they are part of the choice, including getting the music free."

And finally, the first book written on a mobile phone has been published by lulu.com, the self-publishing platform people. The author, Robert Bernocco took advantage of his idle time while commuting to and from work by train, writing his 384-page science fiction novel, Compagni di Viaggo (Fellow Travelers is the English translation), on his Nokia 6630 phone, using the phone's T9 typing system.

By dividing his manuscript into short paragraphs, Mr. Bernocco wrote his novel in perfect Italian, not your typical text-message shorthand, and saved the paragraphs on his mobile phone. Mr. Bernocco then downloaded them onto his home computer for proofreading and editing. The book took him 17 weeks to write.