...from the mobile.
February 27, 2007
February 21, 2007
skype ups wireless net neutrality ante
very cool.
yesterday, skype filed a petition with the fcc asking that wireless carrier services be subject to the carterfone principle. huh? trust me, this is good stuff.
long story short (as mentioned in previous posts): the carterfone policy, dating back to'68, set the stage for american consumers to attach any device we might choose to the wireline network, so long as it doesn't harm the network. this is why we no longer have hardwired black rotary dials in our homes. competition and choice. pretty simple all-american concepts, no?
notwithstanding that both the original cellular rules in the 80's and the pcs (digital cellular) rules in the early 90's upheld the carterfone principles, the selection of devices available to u.s. consumers has remained pretty meager, due to unique features of the u.s. wireless market, e.g. subsidies, locks, etc.
what skype (and others, but not yet in this manner) is asking is that the fcc declare the wireless realm subject to the carterfone principle giving consumers the same right to attach any non-harmful device of their choosing to the network. um, well, yeah. why not? seems sorta self evident, no? (okay, okay, as expressed in previous posts, there are legitimate counter-concerns as well).
yesterday, skype filed a petition with the fcc asking that wireless carrier services be subject to the carterfone principle. huh? trust me, this is good stuff.
long story short (as mentioned in previous posts): the carterfone policy, dating back to'68, set the stage for american consumers to attach any device we might choose to the wireline network, so long as it doesn't harm the network. this is why we no longer have hardwired black rotary dials in our homes. competition and choice. pretty simple all-american concepts, no?
notwithstanding that both the original cellular rules in the 80's and the pcs (digital cellular) rules in the early 90's upheld the carterfone principles, the selection of devices available to u.s. consumers has remained pretty meager, due to unique features of the u.s. wireless market, e.g. subsidies, locks, etc.
what skype (and others, but not yet in this manner) is asking is that the fcc declare the wireless realm subject to the carterfone principle giving consumers the same right to attach any non-harmful device of their choosing to the network. um, well, yeah. why not? seems sorta self evident, no? (okay, okay, as expressed in previous posts, there are legitimate counter-concerns as well).
February 17, 2007
comvu - very cool...
wow. where to start (i s'pose by thanking james for the heads up on this) ...
go to comvu (link below), register and download the app for your nokia series 60 device. set up on both the device and online is quick and easy.
so what's it do? well, you launch the app on the phone and, using your integrated camera, basically start webcasting video. that's pretty much it. slick. the quality of the webcast video is not gonna do your camera justice, but that's a matter of bandwidth limitations as much as anything. but still way cool and full of promise. following is a link to an archive (comvu archives your webcasts) of a test webcast from my doorstep, concluding with a quick shot of the actual video playing back realtime on my laptop - quick test
(note: comvu is meant to allow direct linking to blogs, but i couldn't seem to get that to work. not sure if it's their issue or somehow related to which version of blogger - old or post-beta - they are linking to).
i'm gonna have to play with this some more. definitely yet another cool way to share experiences. and, imagine the potential in terms of journalism, medicine, security, etc...
and, lest i forget, go hoyas! (nice win today over 'nova)
go to comvu (link below), register and download the app for your nokia series 60 device. set up on both the device and online is quick and easy.
(note: comvu is meant to allow direct linking to blogs, but i couldn't seem to get that to work. not sure if it's their issue or somehow related to which version of blogger - old or post-beta - they are linking to).
i'm gonna have to play with this some more. definitely yet another cool way to share experiences. and, imagine the potential in terms of journalism, medicine, security, etc...
and, lest i forget, go hoyas! (nice win today over 'nova)
February 14, 2007
location-based social networking
there's a whole slew of emerging players looking to extend the web2.0 social networking (or whatever) experience with location-based apps and services. while there are differences among them, the various services (all free) listed below share common features ranging from locating to mapping to tagging to sharing. having played with each briefly, i'm hard-pressed to define the unique value-add of any one over any other - in other words, i don't have a preference among them.
for whatever it may be worth, while each allows for mobile device access/use, they are all still primarily optimized for the PC experience, and, each requires (naturally) some level of ongoing "active" engagement (input) by the user. "passive presence" and more mobile-optimization will almost certainly come with the introduction and mainstreaming of integrated gps handhelds. until then, while cute and fun, these services are somewhat limited in their location-based promise. mobility, after all, is the ultimate extension of the web2.0 experience - indeed, mobility completes it.
for whatever it may be worth, while each allows for mobile device access/use, they are all still primarily optimized for the PC experience, and, each requires (naturally) some level of ongoing "active" engagement (input) by the user. "passive presence" and more mobile-optimization will almost certainly come with the introduction and mainstreaming of integrated gps handhelds. until then, while cute and fun, these services are somewhat limited in their location-based promise. mobility, after all, is the ultimate extension of the web2.0 experience - indeed, mobility completes it.
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