Fox Cities residents with text messaging can now receive free information through the 4INFO system brought to us with the help of the Appleton Post-Crescent. A story about the introduction of the 4INFO system is here, but for details on how to use the system, see the explanations at 4INFO.net.

To use the system, send a search request to 4INFO (44636), and you'll get a response a few seconds later. I tried it on somebody's Razr phone by entering the stock ticker SLW (Silver Wheaton, my favorite stock and one that I think is about to break out sharply and one that will easily double this year - yes, I'm big on precious metal stocks as an important part of one's portfolio). A few seconds later I got back not just the current price but some other info about SLW trading that day. Fun!

To get weather in the area, send the text string "w 54915" to get weather for the zip code 54915 (one of several codes for Appleton). You can also get movie show times, sports scores, and Yellow Pages information, as shown on the instructions at 4INFO.net. Plus you can get info on airline flights, FedEx package status, horoscopes, or get info about hotels. For sports buffs, type a player's name and get his latest stats. Cool!

Gannett Digital, the company that owns The Post-Crescent, has a minority investment in the firm 4INFO of Palo Alto, California - a real plus for Fox Cities dwellers.