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If it's an emergency phone call to the Coast Guard, they could just use the GPS support like E911 so they get a location from the cell phone. Surely, that's the only type of phone being used on a boat these days.

Even if they had location data, that wouldn't necessarily help them much. The caller could claim to be on the shore witnessing a problem, and the location data may very well back that statement up, since the article indicated that a lot of the pranksters like to post pictures of the helicopters and boats responding to their prank calls.

Moreover, even with calls, you can't count on location data being present. For instance, satellite phones are not exactly uncommon in remote locations, but from what I can gather, they're exempt from providing location information (emphasis mine):

The FCC's wireless 911 rules apply to all wireless licensees, broadband Personal Communications Service licensees and certain Specialized Mobile Radio licensees. Mobile Satellite Service providers, however, are currently excluded.

Here's Globalstar's take on the policy:

There is no current requirement that Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) user terminals provide automatic position location.

So far as I know, there's no way to distinguish between a spoofed call coming from Skype and an actual call lacking location data coming from a satellite phone, but I don't profess to have any sort of special knowledge in this area, so I could be mistaken. But, as I said, even if they had location data (which can be spoofed), it wouldn't necessarily solve anything, though it may help them to eliminate some calls as pranks if they see, for instance, a call about an emergency on the Atlantic coast from a caller in California.

Ah, thanks! It seems to be similar to SPOT then (both using Globalstar and both being "send only" devices). Interesting that the battery lifetime is so completely different - this device advertised to last for 7 years on a single battery with 2 messages / day!

Unfortunately, anything Globalstar seems to be less-than-perfect for aircraft tracking, as their constelation doesn't cover large parts of the world:
http://www.globalstar.com/en/i...

I don't have a link to the actual device used but it is similar to this except the enclosure was optional and therefore a bit smaller.

http://iqgistics.com/gps-solut...

More here
http://www.globalstar.com/shop...

This happened about 2004 or so and my friend was the one who purchased and monitored everything as it was his kid. I don't remember it being 11 inches long but I think it was from the same company as the domain looks awfully familiar.

I assume it's Globestar TLPS. It's a narrow range of frequency (10Mhz) in the upper 2.4Ghz range, for which Globestar has a nation wide license. It will supposedly be a new 802.11 service, not sure about compatibility with existing devices. Hopefully someone with more details can chime in.

There is pretty much next to nothing you can do. Since you are at sea you won't be able to use your cell phone to connect to the web.

A satellite phone with a very very slow dial up connection is your best bet, but too cost prohibitive. Here's a company that does its job fairly well http://www.globalstar.com/

The only way you'll have affordable and uninhibited internet access is to wait until you get to port.

However, for wikipedia you can actually download an offline version of the entire database. For a wikipedia like experiance follow the instructions on this website

http://www.blindedbytech.com/2006/08/31/how-to-install-wikipedia-for-offline-access/

Also the raw dump for the english articles is here:

http://download.wikimedia.org/

Oh you can also download a DVD version of Wikipedia from that link above. Definitely worth looking at!

Good luck! And definitely have an awesome time. That program sounds interesting and I will look into it as well since I'm a 2nd semester college freshmen.

http://www.globalstar.com/

Look into the GS-1600 tech specs. You'll find it's a reasonable option, since it contains passive (ie., receive only) text paging features. Also, it contains data calling, including IP support via a special number.

There also another bunch of tech docs. I've been using it for 6 months (for deploying mobile patrol units in the Amazon, using a modified board to run on a embedded PC on a Boat), and they're quite affordable, considering the problem as is.

The reason you only got "a couple listings" is because Iridium is pretty much the only game in town, and there's pretty much only one pager. There weren't exactly a lot of devices made for this market. It's no small feat to operate a global voice/data satellite network. There are only a "couple" of other providers (geared more toward government, military, and enterprise, and without "pager" offerings): InMarSat and GlobalStar, for example.

The Motorola 9501 for Iridium is, as I said, essentially the only satellite pager:

http://www.iridium.com/product/iri_product-detail. asp?productid=445

http://shop.infosat.com/pagers/

http://www.infosat.com/services/iridium/motorola_9 501_pager.htm

http://www.satwest.com/satellite_pagers_mi9501.htm l

More...

Of course, you may be interested in a satellite handset, not strictly a "pager", than can also get email and numeric messages. Keep in mind, though, that all of these satellite devices are subject to normal satellite requirements, e.g., line of sight to the sky. Yes, sometimes they'll "kind of" work in vehicles, wooded areas, etc., and you will get confirmed delivery of messages once you're again in range, but these things aren't exactly set up to work in houses and buildings. You may have no choice but to have a conventional cell phone/pager AND a satellite device for when you're remote, and have your automated systems and/or people try both devices.

For others in a similar boat, but not quite as remote as the submitter, you may also consider a conventional 2-way or 1.5-way nationwide pager, which provides delivery confirmation and re-attempts if you're temporarily out of range. But if you know you're going to be out of range for a while, you pretty much restricted to something like one of the satellite solutions. Consider a mobile phone. Most providers' digital networks offer email service, numeric "paging", and even true TAP/IXO paging. Just look into a provider that covers your area(s).

A bit of history on Iridium: Iridium was the satellite phone service launched by Motorola on Sept 23, 1998, when the last satellite of its global constellation was in place. Handset prices (over $3000) and airtime fees (several dollars per minute), as well as attempting to market to ordinary folks doomed the service from the beginning. Motorola decided to end the Iridium service on March 17, 2000, at 11:59pm. After billions were spent on the 66 satellites, and the $1 million per month that it cost Motorola for Boeing operate the satellites, Motorola initiated plans to deorbit and destroy the constellation. Various investor groups attempted to save Iridium, and the Defense Department even provided $72 million to keep the satellites operational (in the face of concerns of debris from the deorbited satellites actually hitting someone on earth, which NASA pinned at 1 in 250). In any event, Iridium Satellite LLC successfully purchased the assets of the $7 billion Motorola Iridium program in November 2000 for a mere $25 million:

http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0011/16iridium/
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0103/29iridium/

The new Iridium, launched in March 2001, attempts to fix the shortcomings of the original by expanding beyond satellite voice telephone service, into data, video, realtime monitoring, and special applications in markets such as mining, oil/gas, m

Getting widespread computing resources and connectivity into remote regions of the world can be a tall order. You have very difficult economic, cultural, and technological hurdles to overcome - expect this to be a major project. Its not clear to me what kind of solution you need ... some key questions to consider:

• What kind of budget do you have?
  
• Do you really need to connect 1200 sites with many out in the bush? Simultaneously? How many users/bandwidth per site?
  
• Do you require high bandwidth?
  
• What kind of link uptime requirements?
  
• Do the bush sites even have reliable power and existing computing resources?
  

There are a wide variety of potential solutions, and a lot of the choices are going to depend on the answers to these questions. Its quite possible to get satellite links with high bandwidth and independent providers to the remote sites, but that costs very big bucks. Even satellite telephones are prohibitively expensive outside of mineral exploration and a few other uses. If all you need is basic email interoperability then a ham packet radio network would seem to make more sense.

I suspect your best bet is to figure out the general class of solution you might be looking for (very likely ham radio based, as there is already some infrastructure in africa for that and expertise among the relief organizations) and try to work with vendors, other experts, and local contacts with that solution in mind.

I would think as a relief organization you could get uplink cooperation from governmental/military providers, but you don't mention the organization so perhaps local cooperation is not forthcoming. The ISP email problem is probably best solved by using them as an IP provider only and setting up your own email server (get a cheap donated box and use it for general management as well as your own smtp server).

Of course a google search brings up some interesting info, which I hope you've already worked through.

Regards, RJS

For short messages, Orbcomm is pretty popular, but it's strictly an email message type of service. You can use it for short messages from things like pumps and other SCADA systems.

You probably already know that GlobalStar is about the only game in town for satellite phones, now that Iridium bit the dust. I wouldn't hang my hopes on them, it looks like they are having the same sort of problems that Iridium had.

Finally, the global WAN provider with about the best international coverage has got to be Equant. They seem to be able to get just about anywhere.

Have fun. Once you relax, international networking to remote locations can be a hoot.

Couldn't resist, actually it's sad that this is happening - I wonder if Global Star will survive. Same concept, a little cheaper (~2 bucks a minute vs. ~20).

What will be interesting to see following the Iridium flop is how other, similar projects such as Globalstar - to mention only one - will develop. Will they, too, go out of business? And those that have not yet even started launching satellites, will they ever do so?
My personal belief is that, sooner or later, there will arise some sort of need for a global comunications network. The question is only, how far away is that? Obviously, we are not there just yet.

You can see over 600 reviews of mine on my Web site.

Having said all that, back to the question: Are Linux reviews fixed? The answer: It depends on the integrity of the individual journalist and publication. For the most part, very few reviews are fixed in the sense that there's pay for a positive evaluation.

When it does happen, it's usually for one of two reasons. The most common reason is that the media outlet is actually an advertising vehicle, and this fact is given up front. One example is "Bunting's Window", the high-tech products show that appears on most in-flight video programs in the U.S. If you look carefully, there's a statement in there about how "promotional consideration" has been paid by companies whose products appear in the show. That promotional consideration is typically in the 5-6 figures. The producers know that most viewers don't know what "promotional consideration" means -- but hey, at least they said it.

The second way that reviews are "fixed" is in media outlets that are less open about their pay-for-play policies. That's considered unethical almost universally in the U.S., but not overseas: For example, the (now-defunct?) Japanese print version of MacWEEK ran positive reviews face-to-face with a full-page ad for the product reviewed. In the U.S., it's often smaller and more cash-strapped publications that tie advertising and gifts to reviews results. These publications deserve their (generally low) reputations.

O.K., so there's little out-and-out fixing. However, reviews often skim over negative points. Again, there are two common justifications. The first reason -- and one that affects "community" publications, such as those in the Mac and Linux worlds -- is that readers really *want* to hear good things about their community, rather than serious evaluations. That's understandable, but not (IMHO) good: Saplings may need protection, but they also need a chance to grow into storm-weathered oaks.

The more pernicious sort of "fix" is when journalists abandon their evaluative senses because of peer pressure. We all know the big example: Microsoft Windows. [Insert here description of bugs and security holes ignored by the media.] Why do they do this? Because... well, because they're human. They may have friends at the company, or have personal (non-financial) reasons for wanting the product to succeed, or whatever -- the fact is, it happens.

However, *almost never* do journalists give good reviews for financial reasons, or for gifts, or for fear that the company will "dry up" if they slam the product. If it's valuable for a company to have its products appear in a publication, they'll be back with the next version, no matter how bad past reviews have been. And if it's not valuable to have reviews in that publication... well, then, why would companies bother with it in the first place?

--Tom Geller, Geller Communications, http://www.tgeller.com

For example: Fiberless optics (via a system of relayed lasers) and satellites (a la Globalstar). These technologies certainly aren't as well-developed as 100-year-old radio, but they're showing a lot of promise.

Full disclosure: I do P.R. for Globalstar. (Not that it's relevant to this post...)

--Tom

A service like Inmarsat is a better deal for data as they charge by the minute. Most of the research ships I have been out on use Inmarsat for Net access. Some of the ship use Inmarsat when offshore but switch to cell phone when close to shore.

Globalstar is another possibility (www.globalstar.com). They have a medium earth orbit satellite network (a somewaht less ambitious version of Iridium) but due to licensing issues they only offer service in the Pacific out to the 200 mile limit. This situation probably won't change until someone builds a downlink in Hawaii.

Personally, if I were sailing to Hawaii, I would just relax and enjoy the ride -- sometimes it's good to be out of touch ...

--
Mike

Globalstar is another LEO satellite phone system, but it differs from Iridium in that it: (a) offers significantly cheaper and lighter phones, and (b) is not bankrupt and deorbiting its satellites. You can get a tri-mode Analog/CDMA/Satellite phone for about $1200, and there's no reason not to expect that price to fall further. They plan to roll out internet access later this year, at [a whopping] 9600 baud. I've used the phone for voice, and it's comparable to digital cellular in clarity. A really amazing device.

Admittedly $1200 isn't cheap, but I would imagine if you're the kind of person that is on boats a lot (your own or a cruise line's) it's not a big investment. Their website is http://www.globalstar.com

Hehe.. yea, Nepal is like a third-world country! You dont expect to get internet there! :)

I traveled to Nepal last February, hoping that I could get away from computers and the internet for a while. Hope quickly vanished, as I was surprised to see internet cafes on every street corner!

GSM Cell phone coverage is available too, but only in, and around the parameters of the major cities. Next time I travel there, I will probably subscribe.. only a modest fee :)

Australia has internet cafes, but they are very expensive. GSM is even more expensive, and you may need to get a dual band cell phone since Australian frequency bands might be different to the ones in the US?!

However, if you have some money to spare, get a satellite phone. Globalstar will be offering data services soon. The handsets can operate in either satellite or GSM mode, and they have a cool aerial (and a built in modem).

Hehe.. yea, Nepal is like a third-world country! You dont expect to get internet there! :)

I traveled to Nepal last February, hoping that I could get away from computers and the internet for a while. Hope quickly vanished, as I was surprised to see internet cafes on every street corner!

GSM Cell phone coverage is available too, but only in, and around the parameters of the major cities. Next time I travel there, I will probably subscribe.. only a modest fee :)

Australia has internet cafes, but they are very expensive. GSM is even more expensive, and you may need to get a dual band cell phone since Australian frequency bands might be different to the ones in the US?!

However, if you have some money to spare, get a satellite phone. Globalstar will be offering data services soon. The handsets can operate in either satellite or GSM mode, and they have a cool aerial (and a built in modem).

While Inmarsat is a good viable choice, Globalstar offers a lower price. The coverage is not as global at this point - they're still rolling out service.

There may be issues with the global roaming, but go to www.globalstar.com for more info.

Arun