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The Gadgets Of Tomorrow
Val writes: "I attended the
Business Show 2001 in Tokyo to see the new devices. But before I even could report home, I found the Visual Showcase of Japanese Keitai Culture just updated with all the new
3G phones, prototypes and other gadgets I just saw at the exhibition. And the best, they even show
the typical usage of i-mode and other phones on the street. " Check out this page and start speculating: oddball handhelds, phones with real screens ... crazy. (Last reminder, I'm in Tokyo all next week for LinuxWorld, so if you're in Tokyo, maybe I'll see ya there.)
Works for us here in the UK too!
The rest of the western world really does see the USA as the poor man of the current wave of wireless technology (I'm not talking about 3G, I'm talking about what we in Europe and Japan can do RIGHT NOW). You don't have 95%+ GSM coverage, you still use analogue phones, you pay for incoming calls, you can't get ISDN in rural areas, you are way behind on GPRS/UMTS, you don't have digital terrestrial television through an aerial...
What really brought it home was on a recent trip to Houston where, during a business meeting, the boss of Very Important US Company said to me "Imagine if you could follow a football game, being able to dictate to the cameras to follow your favourite football star around the field or switch to the camera behind the goal, on demand."
I looked at him kind of surprised and said "In the UK we can already do this, such services have been available nationwide for nearly two years". His pride seemed to take a bit of a knock.
HOWEVER, what we in the UK, Japan etc. really don't get is the sheer HUGENESS of the USA. The flight from London to Houston brought this home to me- we really don't have a handle on just how big the USA is, and how comparitively tiny its population.
In the UK it would be considered a breach of emergency services if mobile phone coverage was not available on A and M roads (highways and interstates). Not just "a bit annoying"; people would be writing to their local member of parliament complaining about how unsafe this would be. And if mobile 'phone coverage wasn't available in a village of more than 50 people, you can bet there'd be plenty of irate letters to the telcos. 60% of British people (including children) own digital mobile phones. We expect to use them everywhere, including rural areas, not just in towns. Heck, we expect to use mobile phones especially in rural areas. If we need to make an urgent/emergency call in a town, there are phoneboxes; hanging off the side of a rocky hillside or lost in a woodland, there are none.
Oakley's Law: In an emergency, telephone boxes approach zero as wilderness approaches one.
Therefore, the need for wireless communcations in rural areas is far greater than in urban areas.
But in the USA the kind of coverage this would require is simply unrealistic. It's something we can only begin to understand from the window of an aeroplane; most of the USA is empty forest and desert, and nobody lives there.
From a wireless perspective, the USA has more in common with Africa than it does with Europe or the Orient; a few very large cities, mostly on opposite coasts, spread across a vast thinly populated continent.
Yet we in Europe are constantly trying to compare the US wireless experience with ours, and, frankly, have a laugh at the American's expense.
This is just not a fair thing for us to do. The USA has an enormous physical hurdle to overcome before wireless can really take off; and with such a large landmass and relatively thin population (made thinner by concentrating what few people you have in huge mega-cities), there is no way any company or government in it's right mind is going to want to push technology which requires a transmitter every five or ten kilometres for a continent like the Americas or Africa.
--
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge an Empire, so why should they be allowed to?
Oh REALLY. Ever asked anyone outside the US? I think you'll find a lot of people who think the US does indeed desire to spread their values everywhere (Capitalism) and forge an "Intellectual Property" Empire!
And why are moderators wasting moderation points marking replies complaining about this post as "Offtopic" without moderating the parent post down first?
http://www.glasswings.com/
Wow - 28 mod points spent on this troll already! Taco must have decided that there were too many mod points in the system and set this whole thing up to get people to spend them.
TomatoMan
-- http://frobnosticate.com
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=01/05/22/14182 59&threshold=-1&commentsort=3&mode=thread&cid=11
33 at this point.
TomatoMan
-- http://frobnosticate.com
Rich
Wait... I'm using one right now. So much for innovation.
Tell me what makes you so afraid
Of all those people you say you hate
Some more reasons:
- Small island + tons of antennas = great coverage, lower-output phones, smaller phones, insanely longer battery life (1+ months), etc... which all lead to: more usage.
- Smarter setup of plans - billed by 10-second increments, very low monthly fees ($10-$15), caller pays the toll charge (not the phone holder), and phones sold in insane volume... which all lead to: more usage.
- Equipment purchasing trends - unlike here in the States, where very few people rush out and buy the latest and greatest phones, a ton of folks in Japan rush to get the latest and greatest phone. What ends up happening is that the "latest and greatest" phones don't have to be marked up to $500-$600 for fear of selling in low volume -- for they sell in high volume anyway -- so the price is a far more reasonable $300.
- Because of that, while 'brand' loyalty is high, 'model' loyalty is relatively low. You will not see someone hanging onto their Nokia 8200 series in adoration after 6-12 months of usage, whereas I can think of a handfull of friends who hang onto their Nokia 2100 series...
So.. with a lower cost of ownership, encouraged usage, sheer volume of phones sold, and all phones being affordable due to the volume, it makes sense that they keep on pumping out tons of 'cool gadgets' -- people are always buying them, and buying them in hordes...Impressive. You just get better and better at this every time, don't you?
If you say so. It didn't seem all that good or sarcastic, and I have the unfortunate luck of knowing people who act and believe very similar philosophies, and the net being as sterile as it is, could not tell it as good sarcasm vs ignorant bigotry.
Geek dating!
GPL Deconstructed
You can say, think, and believe all that, and not have problems living with yourself?
What, should we nuke them again, put them in their place, and indoctrinate them again?
You speak as if the US has the moral or ethical superiority in which to even judge the Japanese.
You speak as if the viewpoint of a single individual, you, can decide and analyze the culture and behavior of an entire nation, the Japanese.
Here, let me rephrase:
"Geeks, a mysterious race."
I went on holiday to Silicon Valley a couple of years ago, and stayed for 6 months or so. At first it seemed quite similar to the east, the same skyscrapers, billboards, TV, films, cars, etc. The mark of mass consumerism was all around.
But the difference with the geeks is not external, it's internal. Looking at the geeks, talking to them and trying to penetrate the alien geeky mind is very difficult indeed. What are their motivations? What do they want?
Unfortunately the geeks have not changed since the dawn of time. The americans tried after Columbine, but that was set back against Pinkerton's vision by the need to get geeks into industry against the Indian threat.
The result is that the geeks now hae the same abitions as they did since the dawn of time - the same ambitions that spawned the nuclear fucking bomb. The difference now is that those ambitions are exercised through the internet, the dot coms, rather than through the scientific field as it was last time.
I think we should be wary of the geeks, and institute sanctions. We already know they are an insensitive and inscrutible race, from the way they treat girls, Christians and the establishment - with astonishing rebellion and wholescale anti-orthodoxy.
We should force geeks to adopt the same values as civilised citizens in the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge uniformity, so why should they be allowed to?
Buying their products (which are produced by uncreative minds, good at technical things but not at language and art as we are) is weakening the USA and the commity of civilised peoples.
Lets put an end to it.
Aren't you at all bothered by the trash you write? Gah. And you got modded up for it, even!
Geek dating!
GPL Deconstructed
Reflecting how the people see themselves, could be worse, could look like Gotham.
But the difference with the japanese is not external, it is internal. Looking at the japanese, talking to them and trying to penetrate the alien oriental mind is very difficult indeed. What are their motivations? What do they want?
Trying, and apparently failing to penetrate a single "mind" for a country, therein lies the basis of racism and formulating a barbarian (gaijin) opinion. Who's the alien?
Unfortunately the japanese have not really changed since the Meiji period. The americans tried after WWII, but that was set back against McCarthur's vision by the need to get japan onside against the soviet threat.
Mac's vision was to be elected US president. Herbert Hoover's, among other conservative americans, vision was to model Japan after the US. They got as far as land reform. A big change, actually.
The result is that the japanese now have the same ambitions as they did in the 1930's - the same ambitions that spawned the rape of Nanking. The difference now is that those ambitions are exercised through the commercial sector, the Keiretsus, rather than through the military sector as it was last time.
The rape of Nanking was brought about out of frustrations with trying to get the Chinese to cooperate with occupying forces. The Japanese Imperial Army had been there for years, mostly after raw materials and fertile lands.
I think we should be wary of the japanese, and institute sanctions. We already know that they are an uncaring and selfish race, from the way they treat whales, Ainu and the Burakimin - with astonishing racism and wholescale speciecide.
One could speak volumes about how americans turn croplands into suburbs, pollute the water they drink, placed "indians" on reservations while taking the best land for themselves, kill to extinction any animal that makes us nervous or can fetch a lot of money for its pelt. So much for manifest destiny.
We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA - we do not desire to spread our values everywhere and forge an Empire, so why should they be allowed to?
We should force japan to adopt same values... we do not desire to spread our values everwhere...
Uh, yeah...
Importing their gadgets (which are produced by uncreative minds, good at technical things but not at language and art as we are) is weakening the USA and the commity of civilised nations.
It's them dollar votes, buddy. When americans, who coincidentally design some of that stuff, decide they don't want it, the problem takes care of itself. Until then, you're just forcing your will upon the rest of the world and Japan.
Lets put an end to it.
Yes, let's put an end to narrow minded bigotry.
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
I swear, every time I see something really really cool from Japan, Inc., it's only available in Japan. Ever get the feeling that the rest of the world is actually buying the vanilla stuff to subsidize the cool choices they get?
Ha! Stoopid american gaijin buys ugly, plain cell phone. We keep special model with wasabi dispenser. Ha! Ha!
-- .sig are belong to us!
All your
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
It's a form of self-indulgent vandalism, just like trolling.
A "troll rebuttal" such as this should be modded down as "off topic".
--
When I was in Japan, I had a phone one that would tell me where the nearest train station was (using GPS) and tell me when the next train was coming, It even had a little map of where I was and pointed me the correct way to go to get to the station. I miss Japan...
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"
"Unfortunately the japanese have not really changed since the Meiji period."
If we are to believe the Conservative view of what America should be, then it should not have changed since the 1950s, when the nuclear family ruled, Daddy worked, Mommy kept the house in order, "everyone" had a house and two cars with some money in the bank, "nobody" was gay (or at least nobody talked about it), minorities "knew their place," and keeping up with the Jones' was the national pasttime.
"We should force japan to adopt the same values as civilised countries like the USA"
Sorry to burst your bubble again, but America is hardly civilized. In a country with the greatest degree of wealth, it's got an astonishing number of people dying of starvation and malnutrition (no, it's not just the anorexic supermodels). Many people can barely afford to feed and clothe their children (why do they continue to have children? Because the conservative movement doesn't like anyone to educate kids about sex, make birth control readily available or allow easy access to safe abortions.). Combine this institutionalized maltreatment of the poor with the institutionalized abuses of minorities, women and homosexuals, and you've got a country that is "uncaring and selfish .. with astonishing racism."
Finally, take a look at the way America treats the environment. Fuel costs are at an all-time high, but fuel economies are at the lowest level in 20 years. The solution -- let's destroy the environment for more fuel. Nobody's willing to stop driving their SUV to even do a little bit for the world. In rejecting the Kyoto protocol, the US negotiator said, "The American way of life is non-negotiable."
Your description of Japan sounds an awful lot like America to me.
I do not claim to know anything substantial about Japan or it's political and social problems, but your post smacks of a crack addict trying to lead an AA meeting. Before America tries to fix the rest of the world, maybe it should concentrate on itself.