_Murky picture for video phones_

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[email protected] wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> The story boils down to one word why TV shows aren't watched on cell
> phones.
>
> Its "Squintavision"
>

Standing at the counter listening to the pitch, I started looking around,
not finding what I was looking for. The Pitchman made the mistake of
asking what I was looking for. "Where's the Fresnel lens, that plastic
sheet that will make it big enough so I can see his face on that little
screen?"

I've never seen a pitchman shut down his presentation THAT fast!

I could almost make out the colors of the two teams with my strongest
reading glasses, but reading the score was like looking at cnn.com's
webpage without WAP!

Oh, sorry. We weren't looking at the cellphone. This was that tiny Sony
Vaio tablet PC with the tiny touchscreen that slid up to reveal the
unusable keyboard beneath. I couldn't tell whether the cellphones were
in TV mode or whether we were looking at the contact list with background
audio noise...(c;

Are Japanese people being cloned SMALLER than they already are to save
space in the crowded country??

Larry
--
Extremely intelligent life exists that is so smart they never called
Earth.

decaturtxcowboy wrote:
> SMS wrote:
>> "http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/16470186.htm"
>
> Last year, perhaps year before last...I posted an item about cellphone
> TV. One side of the story pointed out TV is a "sit-down" experience, one
> not adaptable to driving or walking.

That's the big difference between the U.S. and much of Europe and Asia.

When I'm in Japan and Korea, there's a tremendous amount of text
messaging and watching other crap on phones, but it's because people are
bored while commuting on the train or subway and because it's considered
rude to be talking on your phone on the subway.

If commuting on public transit ever became more popular for the middle
class in the U.S., outside of cities like NY, Chicago, and San
Francisco, then data usage on the cellular networks would go way up.

SMS wrote:
> decaturtxcowboy wrote:
>> SMS wrote:
>>> "http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/16470186.htm"
>>
>> Last year, perhaps year before last...I posted an item about cellphone
>> TV. One side of the story pointed out TV is a "sit-down" experience,
>> one not adaptable to driving or walking.
>
> That's the big difference between the U.S. and much of Europe and Asia.
>
> When I'm in Japan and Korea, there's a tremendous amount of text
> messaging and watching other crap on phones, but it's because people are
> bored while commuting on the train or subway and because it's considered
> rude to be talking on your phone on the subway.
>
> If commuting on public transit ever became more popular for the middle
> class in the U.S., outside of cities like NY, Chicago, and San
> Francisco, then data usage on the cellular networks would go way up.

But they have better manners than us. I happened to be on a subway a few
weeks ago in the US. It was on a fairly long stretch that was above
ground and the nextel walkie-talkie speakerphones and beeping sounds
would drive anyone crazy.

George wrote:
> SMS wrote:

>> If commuting on public transit ever became more popular for the middle
>> class in the U.S., outside of cities like NY, Chicago, and San
>> Francisco, then data usage on the cellular networks would go way up.
>
> But they have better manners than us. I happened to be on a subway a few
> weeks ago in the US. It was on a fairly long stretch that was above
> ground and the nextel walkie-talkie speakerphones and beeping sounds
> would drive anyone crazy.



>> outside of cities like NY, Chicago, and San Francisco,

On Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:38:57 -0800, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote:

>decaturtxcowboy wrote:
>> SMS wrote:
>>> "http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/16470186.htm"
>>
>> Last year, perhaps year before last...I posted an item about cellphone
>> TV. One side of the story pointed out TV is a "sit-down" experience, one
>> not adaptable to driving or walking.
>
>That's the big difference between the U.S. and much of Europe and Asia.
>
>When I'm in Japan and Korea, there's a tremendous amount of text
>messaging and watching other crap on phones, but it's because people are
>bored while commuting on the train or subway and because it's considered
>rude to be talking on your phone on the subway.

That's true, but there's more to it. I can't comment on Korea
or Europe, but in Japan 75% of the working population spends an
average of 3 hours daily on above ground trains. Obviously that's
plenty of time to use and/or kill.

But there are also advantageous pricing plans. Most of my
friends in Japan pay about the same as we do on average in the US for
their monthly cell phone use, some a bit less. However, I don't know
anyone who doesn't have flat-rate unlimited text messaging included in
their plan package, along with direct file and photo transfers across
carriers, tv transmission and a number of other extras, and for good
measure incentive pricing on music downloads. I don't follow all of
the cellular companies in the US, but I think that's rare to
non-existent among US wireless carriers for equally priced monthly
packages.

DGI

David G. Imber wrote:

> But there are also advantageous pricing plans. Most of my
> friends in Japan pay about the same as we do on average in the US for
> their monthly cell phone use, some a bit less. However, I don't know
> anyone who doesn't have flat-rate unlimited text messaging included in
> their plan package, along with direct file and photo transfers across
> carriers, tv transmission and a number of other extras, and for good
> measure incentive pricing on music downloads. I don't follow all of
> the cellular companies in the US, but I think that's rare to
> non-existent among US wireless carriers for equally priced monthly
> packages.

The pricing is one factor. The available time while commuting on
transit, is another factor. The quality of the coverage is another factor.

The carriers could create advantageous pricing plans, and they would if
they believed that there overall revenue would go up, despite lower
revenue from the hard-core users that are now paying the high prices.
The carriers are working at improving the high speed data coverage, as
well as increasing the speed. But there's nothing the carriers can do
about converting the U.S. to a society where commuters use public transit.

I recall a co-worker that was from Germany telling me about his friend
from Switzerland coming to visit him in Silicon Valley. He told his
friend to take the commuter train from Sunnyvale to San Francisco.
The friend returned that night, shaking his head in disbelief, saying
that these were the kinds of trains that Switzerland got rid of in the
late 1930's. It took 80 minutes to go 40 miles, jerking and jolting the
whole way.

On Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:06:04 -0800, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote:


>The pricing is one factor. The available time while commuting on
>transit, is another factor. The quality of the coverage is another factor.

Yes, Japan has benefited from having basically one protocol
nationwide. It means less development overhead.

>
>The carriers could create advantageous pricing plans, and they would if
>they believed that there overall revenue would go up, despite lower
>revenue from the hard-core users that are now paying the high prices.

I agree, and I think this represents a difference in business
philosophies between the two cultures. I've lived between the US and
Japan for a long time and it's always been the case that in Japan new
technologies roll out at a low cost, even though it represents a
transitional hardship for the bottom line, because businesses
ultimately benefit from widespread popular, instead of limited
"specialist", adoption. I don't want to editorialize, but this
shortsightedness has retarded technological growth in this country.
It's one reason that Japan is almost entirely wired for 10 mps data
transmission at the equivalent of $25-$30/month, while our fastest
DSL speeds in the US aren't even considered under the term
"broadband". Not US-bashing as much as a feeling of being ridiculously
shortchanged. My mother-in-law on the outskirts of Hiroshima has FIOS,
but Verizon won't even guesstimate when I'll have it here in Manhattan
near the Financial District. US technology companies don't seem to
want to do business unless they can make an immediate "killing". There
is no desire to work at developing a market.

>The carriers are working at improving the high speed data coverage, as
>well as increasing the speed. But there's nothing the carriers can do
>about converting the U.S. to a society where commuters use public transit.

All the more reason if the technology requires no significant
upgrade of the service structure companies should literally give it
away in limited quantities so that the culture can come to depend upon
it, and eventually be willing to pay to upgrade the product in various
ways. But US companies don't think like that. If I didn't have to pay
for a separate texting package I might text, regardless of the fact
that I don't truly need to. If I used it and found I liked it, I'd be
willing to shell out for it. Seems elementary to me.

>The friend returned that night, shaking his head in disbelief, saying
>that these were the kinds of trains that Switzerland got rid of in the
>late 1930's. It took 80 minutes to go 40 miles, jerking and jolting the
>whole way.

Yes, my wife compares US passenger trains to amusement park
thrill rides where she grew up. But filthier.

DGI

David G. Imber <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

>>The friend returned that night, shaking his head in disbelief, saying
>>that these were the kinds of trains that Switzerland got rid of in the
>>late 1930's. It took 80 minutes to go 40 miles, jerking and jolting the
>>whole way.
>

If you ride South of DC on Amtrak, make sure you get seats in the MIDDLE of
the car, not the ends. You get a 2:1 mechanical advantage over being
thrown sideways half the distance every time the unkept freight tracks have
an unintended expansion joint. Unfortunately, the toilets are the worst
place on the car to be thrown sideways, even off your seats in many parts
of Florida between JAX and MIA via Tampa-St Pete.

How awful. Riding in Japan it's hard to tell you're going 120mph unless
you look out a window...(c;

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote in news:labolide-B51D9D.17225718012007
@news.giganews.com:

> You east-coast commuters have all the fun.
> The LA rail system is actually quite good, but then again, it's all new.
> But then again, I have a business that I run out of my house.
>
>

But then again, a 3BR, 2BA brand new home on a 1/2 acre lot full of oak
trees with a 2-car garage in a nice neighborhood is $130K in Charleston,
SC. You don't have to work 80 hours a week to buy one...(c;

Oh, Gas is $2.07/gallon at Sunoco up the street....which makes Californians
drool, obscenely.

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote in news:labolide-02586E.17330320012007
@news.giganews.com:

> But you do have the weather. There's a reason why it's so cheap to live
> there.
>

But, no earthquakes since 1886. No major plate faults running under the
dining room and garage....(c;

Oh, and waterfront property doesn't fall off the cliff into the ocean,
either!

Didn't I read something about wild fires where you live?....(c;

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

SMS wrote:
> decaturtxcowboy wrote:
>
>> SMS wrote:
>>
>>> "http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/16470186.htm"
>>
>>
>> Last year, perhaps year before last...I posted an item about cellphone
>> TV. One side of the story pointed out TV is a "sit-down" experience,
>> one not adaptable to driving or walking.
>
>
> That's the big difference between the U.S. and much of Europe and Asia.
>
> When I'm in Japan and Korea, there's a tremendous amount of text
> messaging and watching other crap on phones, but it's because people are
> bored while commuting on the train or subway and because it's considered
> rude to be talking on your phone on the subway.
>
> If commuting on public transit ever became more popular for the middle
> class in the U.S., outside of cities like NY, Chicago, and San
> Francisco, then data usage on the cellular networks would go way up.

And it is on a long bus ride, over 35 minutes for one route I can take,
when I sit there and use WAP or play a BREW application. I'll get the
spam cleaned out in my email on my ride home, making sorting it easier
when I sit down at the main system later in the evening.

Other than text messaging, I'm surprised I'm not seeing more WAP usage
from others.
--
Curtis R. Anderson, Co-creator of "Gleepy the Hen", still
"In Heaven there is no beer / That's why we drink it here ..."
http://www.gleepy.net/ mailto:[email protected]
mailto:[email protected] (and others) Yahoo!: gleepythehen

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote in news:labolide-
[email protected]:

> Tornado will wipe you out quicker than an earthquake. Lots of those in
> southeast. Charlotte is 28% more than nation-wide average.
>
> 70s today, rode bike to beach. Had margaritas. No big heating bill in
> winter, no AC bill in summer (because no AC - don't even need fans in
> house).
> I know I could own a mansion back there, but you pick your poison..
> Too damn nice here.
>
>

“Tornadoes” in the South aren’t what you see on TV in Oklahoma with
idiots chasing them with portable radars. They look like swinging ropes
hanging out of the sky, about 10’ wide. They can take the shingles off
the roof and tear up small trees. But, being 10’ wide, your chances of
being run over by one are about nil, unlike the monsters on the plains.
28% more 10’ wide “tornadoes” isn’t much. The warnings are scarier than
the storms.

It was 80 last week, but Canadian air came blasting South and it
eventually gets us, here on the coast. It’s 63 at 2230 EST, right now.
We didn’t quite make 70. I spent the last two days fooling around with
my English friend’s French Amel Sharki 41 ketch, installing a new AIS
(Automatic Information System) receiver and integrating it into The Cap’n
nav software on the boat’s navigation computer, yesterday. Today, I was
glad it was cool. I reinstalled our driveshaft alternator that provides
power to run the toys when we are under sail, about 20A at 8 knots. The
free-turning propeller the sails haul through the water power the shaft
and turn this special, slow-turning, alternator. It charges the massive
batteries while underway for radar, sonar, sailing instrumentation,
autopilot so I can sleep on watch and go straight, computer, chart
plotters, LCD TV. I ran the 4-cylinder Perkins diesel engine for 10
minutes before I sat on it to keep my hiney warm while working in the
engine room. We sure don’t do that in summer in SC...(c;

I was quite cold, last night at the marina dock party thrown for some old
friends who have completely restored a beautiful old double-ender sloop.
They’re leaving us for the Caribbean islands Tuesday with the tide,
offshore. The oyster roast was fantastic....

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

"John Richards" <[email protected]> wrote in news:GVSsh.511$4H1.455
@newssvr17.news.prodigy.net:

> But you do have hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, high humidity,
> mosquitoes, etc.
>
> --
> John Richards (in northern California)
>
>

Hmm...you left out alligators, gnats, the damned sea otters that ate the
floatation foam out of our little dingy boat and a pelican that stole my
lunch off the cabin roof of the yacht this afternoon. He just swooped down
and it was GONE! Sneaky bastard....

How far are you from Bohemian Grove, where the elite class holds their
satanic rituals?

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.

Kurt <[email protected]> wrote in news:labolide-
[email protected]:

> And Boston is any better? LOL
>

We had dinner in a very nice Italian restaurant in Boston a few years
back. I forget the name but it’s not far from the Coast Guard Base,
where we were working on HF transmitters.

We were working on dessert when this very nicely dressed man in a very
expensive suit came up to our table and asked John and I if we had
enjoyed our meal. We had. He then asked us to leave, quickly, and told
us our check had been taken care of. John was about to say something,
but I hushed him up and we took our leave. Stepping outside onto the
street, there was a line of black limos with LARGE, really fit men in
black suits guarding them. I surmised “the family” was having a little
business meeting in the Italian restaurant. Later, the Coasties
stationed there said that was the right restaurant for such a meeting.
The food was superb, if one can just leave when told to..(c; That was my
lasting impression of Boston....(c;

I understand they closed up the strip with all the porn shops and dirty
movie houses.........Pity.

Larry
--
Democracy is when two wolves and a sheep vote on who's for dinner.
Liberty is when the sheep has his own gun.