Why Is My Phone Giving Me Amber Alerts, What Bezos Should Do With the WaPo (And Other Tech Mysteries Demystified)

Many Californians were jolted out of bed last Monday to an unusual siren sound emanating from their smartphone, followed by an Amber Alert about a suspected kidnapper.

While the mobile phone warning was new to those in the Golden State, the Emergency Alert System has been running for about a year now (as faithful AllThingsD readers already knew), having served up weather-related alerts for Hurricane Sandy and other East Coast storms, as well as various regional Amber Alerts.

AllThingsD’s Ina Fried explained the system in an interview with Southern California Public Radio. And, for those who missed it, law enforcement caught up with the suspect in Idaho on Saturday, killing him and rescuing the teenager he kidnapped.

Meanwhile, Kara Swisher struck a chord this week with her essay advising Jeff Bezos on what to do with the Washington Post. Swisher appeared on NBC’s “Meet the Press” earlier on Sunday as part of a panel on what the blockbuster deal means for the future of one of journalism’s most treasured institutions.

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Elsewhere, AllThingsD staffers talked about other topics:

• Walt Mossberg and Katie Boehret appeared on The Wall Street Journal’s “Digits” program this week to discuss their takes on the Moto X phone that was announced earlier this month.
• Liz Gannes appeared on the WSJ Live’s News Hub talking about the latest venture being backed by Tyra Banks, a photography-app maker called Flixel.
• The International Trade Commission on Friday ordered an import ban against some Samsung products, saying they infringed on two Apple patents. Ahead of that ruling, Ina Fried appeared on CNBC to talk about the implications of the Samsung-Apple case.