Symbian Mobile Phone Blog

Japan launches high bandwidth sattelite

The Japanese have launched a rocket carrying a test technology that promises to deliver "super high-speed Internet" around the world.

The rocket carryed the WINDS satellite -- a joint project of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

The technology is used with small dishes would connect to the Internet similar to other satellite options.

Satellite could offer speeds of up to 1.2 gigabytes per second, if this is true, it would be remarkable.  There are many factors related to using satellites as a connection technology problematic.  The most pronounced (depending on the network application of course) would be latency in sending & receiving packets.  This would make using voice over ip difficult.

Another major challenge in the use of satellites is air coverage.  Because a bird is constantly in high speed motion over the earth, they aren't able to receive signals from transponders which are on the opposite side of the globe.  Generally, this problem has been solved by launching a network of satellites and configuring their orbital path to ensure there is always at least a single satellite able to "see" the service coverage area the system is targeting.

Apparently, this system is said to be usable world-wide which could mean the Japanese will need to make a huge capital investment to build the birds necessary to ensure complete service area coverage.

Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving

You have probably heard the statistic that a driver using a cell phone is as dangerous as a slightly drunk driver.  But did you know that the following countries have passed laws against it?

Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, Zimbabwe

The United State's answer is a resounding: What do you mean?  We drive drunk all the time.  Only the following states have passed definitive bans against cell phone usage while driving:

• California
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• New Jersey
• New York

Many states have passed laws banning bus drivers from talking on cell phones while driving, and some states have pending laws on the subject.  Why does the U.S. federal government blackmail the states via highway funding on the issue of BAC intoxication standards but remain silent on this issue?

Okay, okay, driving drunk is one thing, cell phone use while driving is another.  I admit I partake from time to time, but I think the one that takes the cake is shooting video for podcasts or video presentations while driving.  A video of lane splitting is one thing, but imparting deep wisdom or funny anecdotes - do you really want to be distracted from driving reducing the quality of your spoken and recorded message?  Discuss.

Nokia Buys Trolltech

Nokia's bid was for 16 NOK per share for the entire company (though 35,024,830 shares representing a  66.43% share in the company were stated to be a part of the official deal - they're a majority owner, but not necessarily the sole owner). This values  Trolltech at an equivalent of approximately $150 million USD. The stock currently trades at 15.70 on the Oslo stack exchange, up from around 10 on Friday. The offer has already been accepted by the Trolltech Board of Directors in a unanimous decision.

The OLPC XO

The One Laptop Per Child project has been getting plenty of press lately.  The initiative purports to be a “charitable” one, and whatever sticky legal status that word defines it as, the project has grown a head of steam large enough to attract some major business interest.  Microsoft can't resist designing a version of XP to market for the sublaptop, although Bill Gates has complained that the screen is too small.  Intel, who was at first a sworn enemy of OLPC, now sits on its board of directors. 

The machine was originally promised at a cool $100, but now that OLPC has revealed its “first sale” of 100,000 machines (never mind the original reports of several million ordered by certain African nations) the price has almost doubled. 

More than one nation has complained that there is no point in providing undernourished children with computers- that what they need is teachers and classrooms, not laptops.  At $100 the “XO” seems like a no-brainer.  But the tune of $188 is a little more difficult tune to whistle.