Monday, June 20, 2011

Why AT&T desperately needs T-Mobile.

Article first published as AT&T: Desperate and Out of Time? on Technorati.
When AT&T announced it was acquiring T-Mobile In March, 2011, it made quite a few people unhappy. After getting past the grumbling of T-Mobile customers who like T-Mobile, not AT&T, the grousing of Sprint who vehemently objects, and the grumpy media in general., and several other companies hate the takeover.

Most people assume that it's just another mega merger, big AT&T wants to take over a smaller T-Mobile to expand their customer base by almost 60 million to compete with Verizon, etc. Sure, that doesn't hurt, but that isn't the real reason.

The real reason is one simple word:   SPECTRUM.


AT&T has run out of it, they are in very serious trouble, and are desperate for T-Mobile. How desperate? A deal fact sheet says:

“In the event the transaction does not receive regulatory approval satisfactory to AT&T and the transaction does not close, AT&T will be required to pay a breakup fee of $3 (billion), transfer to T-Mobile certain AWS spectrum that is not needed by AT&T for its initial LTE roll out, and provide a roaming agreement to T-Mobile on terms favorable to both parties”.

That's right. AT&T loses $3 Billion, and additional spectrum. 

Think of wireless spectrum like a pipe. If the amount of water you need to flow is more than you can fit through the pipe, you have problems.

Problems for AT&T started with the iPhone. Wireless data / web usage on the AT&T network went up 8000% in 4 years. Unfortunately, unlike other carriers, AT&T has considerably lagged in the expansion and development of their network, (pipe), and they were not prepared for the ravenous data usage of iPhone users. The problem has only gotten worse.

In short, they need more pipe.

It was painfully evident during Apple's 2010 Worldwide Developers Conference. Steve Jobs was embarrassed when the WiFi network he had planned to use as the primary access wasn't working as planned... he then tried using AT&T as a backup option, he got "CANNOT ACTIVATE CELLULAR NETWORK . Steve Jobs has also considered dropping AT&T six times in the past.

Carriers can get more spectrum, (pipe) in 2 ways.

#1. They can buy it from the FCC in bidding auctions with other carriers bidding on it as well. If the carrier wins and gets more spectrum, they then have to pay more money to build out their network with more towers, upgrades, etc. This takes alot of time, and this is one commodity AT&T doesn't have.


#2. You can buy out another carrier (T-Mobile) with a compatible network, and combine network resources. This is what AT&T is trying to do.

By taking over T-Mobile, it gives them the time they need to focus on further expansion of their LTE network.

Please leave comments, I would love to hear from you.





Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Steampunk Gadgets - Turn Art Deco Into Art Techno

Article first published as Steampunk Gadgets - Turn Art Deco Into Art Techno on Technorati.
What do the movies: Time After TimeWild Wild WestThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Skycaptain and the World of Tomorrow, Around The World In 80 Days, Young Sherlock Holmes, and Kate & Leopold have in common?


How about the Gnomes in World Of Warcraft, the most successful MMORPG game ever created, boasting 20 million players worldwide?


They are all
STEAMPUNK THEMED.

Audiences are captivated by the unique romance of the steampunk genre, and marvel at the quirky gadgetry. What if you could own real life working gadgets like that?

They do exist, you just have to look. For example:

Looking for a unique cell phone? Ask your carrier if they have this little Steampunk themed little number!

Richard "Doc" Nagy, steampunk contraptor, technical artist, and self proclaimed jackass-of-all-trades, is the genius behind the website Datamancer. He says "I don't just build products. I create heirlooms."

That's an understatement. Just one look at the "New Yorker" keyboard will make you gasp, and you will find yourself staring in amazement at the one of a kind steampunk laptop.

Another website, Gadgetsin has an 8GB steampunk USB Flash Drive with glowing quartz crystal, while another site ETSY sells their version of a 2GB Steampunk copper USB flash drive.


Steampunk goes beyond flash drives. How about a mouse? A Russian "hardware modder" created this one of a kind hand made steampunk mouse.


PopGive has quite unique Steampunk Jewelry.


How about some music? Rock out playing this steampunk themed stratocaster.
Remodeling your home? How about some Steampunk designed switchplates?



What exactly IS "Steampunk"? It's a sub-genre of science fiction, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Specifically, steampunk involves an era or world where steam power is still widely used—usually the 19th century and often Victorian era Britain—that incorporates prominent elements of either science fiction or fantasy. Works of steampunk often feature anachronistic technology or futuristic innovations as Victorians may have envisioned them; in other words, based on a Victorian perspective on fashion, culture, architectural style, art, etc. This technology may include such fictional machines as those found in the works of H. G. Wells and Jules Verne or real technologies like the computer but developed earlier in an alternate history.

Leave comments and feedback, I would love to see your opinions!



Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Cell Phones Carcinogenic - WHO says so?

Article first published as Cell Phones Carcinogenic - WHO Says So? on Technorati.
The WHO (World Health Organization) has classified radio frequency electromagnetic fields as "possibly" carcinogenic to humans, based on an increased risk for glioma, a malignant type of brain cancer, associated with wireless phone use.


Over the last few years, there has been mounting concern about the possibility of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to radio frequency electromagnetic fields, such as those emitted by wireless communication devices. The number of mobile phone subscriptions is estimated at 5 billion globally.

From May 24–31 2011, a Working Group of 31 scientists from 14 countries has been meeting at IARC in Lyon, France, to assess the potential carcinogenic hazards from exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields.



One similar study of past cell phone use (up to the year 2004), showed a 40% increased risk for gliomas in the highest category of heavy users (reported average: 30 minutes per day over a 10‐year period).

We all love our phones, so let's see if there are things we can do every day that will make it just a bit safer to use. Some are quite obvious, but make sense:

* Keep calls as short as possible. The longer you talk, the more radiation you are absorbing.

* Use a Bluetooth earpiece. While still a radiating wireless device itself, Bluetooth radiation is a miniscule fraction compared to a cell phone. Bluetooth signals only travel a maximum of 35 feet, while cell phone signals have to carry for miles.

* Use a hard wired earpiece. Remember the pre-bluetooth days? It may have been the healthiest way to use a cell phone, and whether we want to admit it or not, the audio quality is better, they are lighter, thinner, less bulky that most bluetooth earpieces... if it wasn't for that darn wire catching on doorknobs and everything else in between.

* Send SMS TXT messages instead. Go ahead and add that unlimited texting package to your plan. Texting is more convenient, you can carry on a conversation in places that would disrupt or annoy others around you, plus you don't have anyone else listening in on your intimacies.


* Buy a phone with the lowest SAR (Specific Absorption Rate) of <0.6 W/kg. All cell phone manufacturers publish the SAR rating for every model phone they produce. Granted, they burry it in the fine print or deep in the specs list, but it is there.

* Don't use a mobile phone in an enclosed space. Places like elevators make the phone work harder to get a signal OUT, thereby causing more radiation into YOU.

* Before making a call, make sure you have good signal strength, for similar reasons, if the signal strength is poor, the phone will be cranking out the highest radiation to maintain the connection.


* Radiation Blockers make it worse. We have all seen these sticky little things you put on your phone to supposedly block the radiation, well even if they DO work, it makes things worse by making the cell phone work harder, put out more radiation to reach the tower, thereby defeating the entire purpose of the radiation blocker.


* Don't hold your phone directly against your head. Try to use your speaker phone if it won't disrupt anyone around you, or hold the phone a little away from your ear. For example, in the Apple iPhone manual, it says:
“when using iPhone near your body for voice calls or for wireless data transmission over a cellular network, keep iPhone at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) away from the body, and only use carrying cases, belt clips, or holders that do not have metal parts and that maintain at least 15 mm (5/8 inch) separation between iPhone and the body."

* It is recommended that individuals who have medical implants, like pacemakers, etc., must keep their cell at least 300mm (11.8") away from the implant.

* When all else fails, use a landline or payphone

I would love to hear your comments.
You can also follow me on Twitter @TheCyberati