After Hurricane Katrina, T-Mobile did something very similar. The mounted what is commonly referred to as a COW (Cell on Wheels) onto a helicopter, then flew over the flooded areas. If a cell phone attempted to connect to the tower (Any GSM handset, didn't have to be t-mobile) they were then able to fly around and triangulate the position and find survivors.
This should not be about poll results but about the legality of the government stepping in and regulating the sale of this material. Video games should be treated the same way as movies. There is a self regulating body for both movies and games, the MPAA for movies, and the ESRB for video games. In both cases, ratings are applied to video games, and then the store decides what policies it wants to enact when selling them, and finally the choice of the customer whether or not to purchase the game or movie. Most stores that I have been to require an ID check for anyone appearing to be under the age of 18.
If it's a crime to sell video games with certain ratings to certain age groups, then it follows that the next step is to restrict the purchase of videos. After that the government will need to enact their own rating boards. And the final step is government censorship.
The issue with multi-platform Android phones is demonstrated with the new Motorola Charm device. If any of you browse android apps, and like to read comments before downloading you have no doubt come across comments such as: "Won't work on my Charm", or "Crashes on my Motorola Charm". The issue with devices such as this entry level android phone is that they set the bar so much lower than your standard android handset. In this case the Charm has only a 600 MHz Processor and no stand alone GPU. Combine this with the bloated moto-blur software package that Motorola installs by default on it's Android handsets, and the user experience is going to be affected.
The only viable solution that I can think of is to ensure that the Android market can pull the phone's user agent and software version, then only list apps that are usable on that system. Of course developers will need to test and flag which system combinations their software will run on, and they're already complaining about having to do this (and it's not a requirement yet).
Combine this with those artificial trees that pull CO2 from the air.
Use Artificial Trees to gather CO2 from the air,
Use CO2 to feed Algae (along with salt water),
Use algae to create ethanol AND potable water,
use ethanol to create fuel,
burn fuel for transportation,
capture released CO2 using artificial trees
Charge for water and ethanol fuel
add a CO2 collection tax to car and fuel purchases
Profit ???
There's another block out there that is also very similar, event he video is similar, though they aren't quite as advanced.
Check them out at Thinkgeek
My take on why apple should be punished isn't the exclusivity deal with AT&T being the only seller of the product, but with them disabling the product on other carriers, such that you can't use the itunes service if you did unlock the phone. Phones have been carrier locked for years, but most carriers can provide unlock codes for these phones once the contractual obligation is met, freeing the phone to be used with the other services. The iPhone however looses full functionality due to software restrictions installed by the manufacturer.
Now I'm not a doctor, but you'd also have to factor in the chance for physical, and mental harm from this extended bout of texting. No sleep, no food or water, and definitly no slashdot for 38.5 days, not to mention the incedible amount of stress placed upon the joints, tendons, and muscles of your thumbs and arms.
I say no thank you sir, no thank you indeed. Good luck in your epic endeavor!
from the article, the chemicles wre found by firefigters who responded to a fire in the second story air conditioning unit. Unrelated to the chemicals.
I stand corrected. =)
When we first started testing this 2 years ago no one had released anything yet. We actually almost launched about the same time as that, but came across some last minute quality issues that we wanted to resolve before go live.
Thanks for the information =)
I imagine someone will find a way to unlock it and remove the carrier restriction, but I doubt it will ever work right with iTunes again afterwards. =) I wouldn't mind being proven wrong though, lol.
1) Currently the technology of our billing system does not allow for this. If it did I think there are people that would prefer it both ways, and no matter what we chose someone would be upset. As is, this means that if you are at home and something causes your net connection to bog down, your phone should switch to GSM, but your call will continue to process as UMA.
2) I'd love to! This is really new technology to allow for switching between the network types. I agree, having this on a blackberry, or some other device would be great, and hopefully new devices will be rolled out later (depending on demand and success). I don't speak for the company obviously, but hopefully this is just a spring board into more converged devices.
3) GSM/GPRS is tunnlled as well, DATA on a wi-fi phone makes EDGE look slow. =)
As long as you have GSM coverage, your 911 address will be generated the same way as any standard GSM call. This means you can use it at your friends Wi-Fi as long as you have GSM signal, though the call should be routed over wi-fi.
Skype doesn't work when all you have is GSM signal though, which is why alot of people have cell phones. The T-Mobile Hotspot @Home phone will work anwhere you have GSM signal, as well as hotspots, it will even work on your friends wi-fi, as long as you are able to authenticate on the wi0fi and it doesn't have a splash auth page.
Hacked How? If the phone runs on a T-Mobile sim card and has the appropriate software to make and maintain a UMA call, then maybe, but you will not be able to use an AT&T sim card on a t-mobile hotspot because you won't be able to authenticate through our gateway.
As far as "unlocking" an iphone, I imagine it would suffer the same way that unlocking a sidekick does. You'd be able to make calls, but you'd never be able to use the itunes portion of the service since our servers are not currently connected to the itunes servers.
My understanding of these offerings is they are VOIP services, they do not take a call and transfer it between VOIP and GSM or vice versa. The UMA standard integrates both VOIP and Wi-Fi into one handset in a way that should be seamless. That way if you leave the range of a hotspot you can still make calls on GSM, and if you were on a call, that call will be handed off.
Multiple handsets would mean multiple sim cards, as each number and simcard is handled individually multiple handsets would not be an issue.
I'm not sure what you mean by
But, I would prefer to have a standard cordless phone handset(s) option too. I would definitely get rid of my land line if I could replace it with a VoIP handset that integrated into my cell account.
this acts as a standard GSM phone when you are away from home, and as a wi-fi home when you are at home (assuming you have a wi-fi router set up). You can leave it at home or take it with you as you see fit.
First the user would need to accept your wi-fi and select to connect to it (the process is not automagic). Assuming they do do this, the pacets will come through buried inside a secure GSM tunnel, the same as any other GSM call.
that means it will have the same security level as any other GSM call, and if you could find a way to listen in on this call, then you would also be able to find a way to listen in on ANY wireless call... So this is no less secure than any other wireless call you make.
The priority can be set using the menus on the phone, and you can set any network above the others, it will start at the top of the list and work it's way down.
However it will automagicly switch to GSM when the Quality of Service is considered to low on your Wi-Fi. This is normally caused by low wi-fi signal, however if you are using a non t-mobile router network congestiong could also contribute. There is however an icon on the face of your phone which will indicate wether or not you are on wi-fi.
It won't hand off from Wi-Fi directly to Wi-Fi, it will instead hand off from Wi-Fi to GSM when it detects the QOS (Quality of Service) Level is too low. Then you should be able to hand off back into a different Wi-Fi network, and if not, you will remain on GSM as long as the signal remains strong.
Yes and no. It would work on the router if you configure it to work on the other router, including inputing any security settings. Once the network is saved in the phone it will automatticly connect to the Wi-Fi network when it comes withen range.
It will also work with other non T-Mobile routers, The advantage to using a T-Mobile routers is that they come with built in settings to ensure your Quality of Service (QOS) when using voice over IP. That way when your room mate starts to download that massive World of Warcraft patch, your conversation won't become choppy or lagged.
Yes, GSM will hand off to Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi will hand off to GSM. The billing is based on where the call originates however. That means when you get home and come in range of your wi-fi, to get the unlimited calling rates, you would need to hang up, and then reconnect the call from wi-fi. However if you walk down the street and accidentaly leave your wi-fi area, it works the other way, the call will be free untill you disconnect and make a new call.
Let me preface the rest by stating I work in T-Mobiles Operations and Engineering Department, and helped alpha test this device. =)
When making a Wi-Fi call, the handset creates a GSM tunnel allowing it to maintain the same security used on any normal cellular call you make. So if you're still afraid of people tapping your calls, I recommend that you don't use a cell phone at all.
No releasing it at the same time as the iphone doesn't seem like the best bet, however I'm not in marketing;) One of the major advantages of this over a normal wi-fi phone, is that it will hand over between GSM and Wi-Fi and maintain the call. No other Wi-Fi call provider can offer that at this time (AFAIK).
If you buy the phone but not the service, you can still use Wi-Fi but it will use your minutes as normal, the feature just give you unlimited Wi-Fi calls.
Will it make calls for T-Mobile cheaper to process? Maybe if enough people start picking it up, but there was an investment in time and added hardware to the network that would need to be paid off first. But in the long run, yes t-mobile should save money as people route calls over IP, however, this savings is passed on to the customer in that they can make all the calls they want for $10 a month. (It's up to the customer to decide if they will use it enough to warrant that cost)
Working for T-Mo I think this feature is great, but my opinion is of course biased.
Let me preface the rest by stating I work in T-Mobiles Operations and Engineering Department, and helped alpha test this device. =)
When making a Wi-Fi call, the handset creates a GSM tunnel allowing it to maintain the same security used on any normal cellular call you make. So if you're still afraid of people tapping your calls, I recommend that you don't use a cell phone at all.
No releasing it at the same time as the iphone doesn't seem like the best bet, however I'm not in marketing;)
One of the major advantages of this over a normal wi-fi phone, is that it will hand over between GSM and Wi-Fi and maintain the call. No other Wi-Fi call provider can offer that at this time (AFAIK).
If you buy the phone but not the service, you can still use Wi-Fi but it will use your minutes as normal, the feature just give you unlimited Wi-Fi calls.
Will it make calls for T-Mobile cheaper to process? Maybe if enough people start picking it up, but there was an investment in time and added hardware to the network that would need to be paid off first. But in the long run, yes t-mobile should save money as people route calls over IP, however, this savings is passed on to the customer in that they can make all the calls they want for $10 a month. (It's up to the customer to decide if they will use it enough to warrant that cost)
Working for T-Mo I think this feature is great, but my opinion is of course biased.
Slashdot Mirror
After Hurricane Katrina, T-Mobile did something very similar. The mounted what is commonly referred to as a COW (Cell on Wheels) onto a helicopter, then flew over the flooded areas. If a cell phone attempted to connect to the tower (Any GSM handset, didn't have to be t-mobile) they were then able to fly around and triangulate the position and find survivors.
This should not be about poll results but about the legality of the government stepping in and regulating the sale of this material. Video games should be treated the same way as movies. There is a self regulating body for both movies and games, the MPAA for movies, and the ESRB for video games. In both cases, ratings are applied to video games, and then the store decides what policies it wants to enact when selling them, and finally the choice of the customer whether or not to purchase the game or movie. Most stores that I have been to require an ID check for anyone appearing to be under the age of 18.
If it's a crime to sell video games with certain ratings to certain age groups, then it follows that the next step is to restrict the purchase of videos. After that the government will need to enact their own rating boards. And the final step is government censorship.
The issue with multi-platform Android phones is demonstrated with the new Motorola Charm device. If any of you browse android apps, and like to read comments before downloading you have no doubt come across comments such as: "Won't work on my Charm", or "Crashes on my Motorola Charm". The issue with devices such as this entry level android phone is that they set the bar so much lower than your standard android handset. In this case the Charm has only a 600 MHz Processor and no stand alone GPU. Combine this with the bloated moto-blur software package that Motorola installs by default on it's Android handsets, and the user experience is going to be affected. The only viable solution that I can think of is to ensure that the Android market can pull the phone's user agent and software version, then only list apps that are usable on that system. Of course developers will need to test and flag which system combinations their software will run on, and they're already complaining about having to do this (and it's not a requirement yet).
Combine this with those artificial trees that pull CO2 from the air. Use Artificial Trees to gather CO2 from the air, Use CO2 to feed Algae (along with salt water), Use algae to create ethanol AND potable water, use ethanol to create fuel, burn fuel for transportation, capture released CO2 using artificial trees Charge for water and ethanol fuel add a CO2 collection tax to car and fuel purchases Profit ???
I'd gladly pay more for the ability to right click. Fortunately the added ability tends to reduce the cost instead of increasing it! ;)
There's another block out there that is also very similar, event he video is similar, though they aren't quite as advanced. Check them out at Thinkgeek
My take on why apple should be punished isn't the exclusivity deal with AT&T being the only seller of the product, but with them disabling the product on other carriers, such that you can't use the itunes service if you did unlock the phone. Phones have been carrier locked for years, but most carriers can provide unlock codes for these phones once the contractual obligation is met, freeing the phone to be used with the other services. The iPhone however looses full functionality due to software restrictions installed by the manufacturer.
You do realize that sending this prime number via SMS would require 62501 sms messages, using the standard US sms character limit of 160. Let's see... at the standard rate for SMS in the US of $.20, ( http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/26695/congress-to-cell-carriers-why-have-sms-rates-doubled/ ) that comes out to, $12,500.20.
Now, assuming you can SMS at lightning speed and input 3 characters per second on a non qwerty keyboard (which is pretty dang fast if this story is to be believed http://www.engadget.com/2004/11/17/new-world-record-for-fastest-text-messaging/ ) typing that out will take roughly 926 hours or 38.5 days.
Now I'm not a doctor, but you'd also have to factor in the chance for physical, and mental harm from this extended bout of texting. No sleep, no food or water, and definitly no slashdot for 38.5 days, not to mention the incedible amount of stress placed upon the joints, tendons, and muscles of your thumbs and arms.
I say no thank you sir, no thank you indeed. Good luck in your epic endeavor!
from the article, the chemicles wre found by firefigters who responded to a fire in the second story air conditioning unit. Unrelated to the chemicals.
I stand corrected. =) When we first started testing this 2 years ago no one had released anything yet. We actually almost launched about the same time as that, but came across some last minute quality issues that we wanted to resolve before go live. Thanks for the information =)
I imagine someone will find a way to unlock it and remove the carrier restriction, but I doubt it will ever work right with iTunes again afterwards. =) I wouldn't mind being proven wrong though, lol.
Yes, T-Mo routers give prioirty to voice traffic. This is a setting that should be accessible from the router admin page.
1) Currently the technology of our billing system does not allow for this. If it did I think there are people that would prefer it both ways, and no matter what we chose someone would be upset. As is, this means that if you are at home and something causes your net connection to bog down, your phone should switch to GSM, but your call will continue to process as UMA. 2) I'd love to! This is really new technology to allow for switching between the network types. I agree, having this on a blackberry, or some other device would be great, and hopefully new devices will be rolled out later (depending on demand and success). I don't speak for the company obviously, but hopefully this is just a spring board into more converged devices. 3) GSM/GPRS is tunnlled as well, DATA on a wi-fi phone makes EDGE look slow. =)
As long as you have GSM coverage, your 911 address will be generated the same way as any standard GSM call. This means you can use it at your friends Wi-Fi as long as you have GSM signal, though the call should be routed over wi-fi.
Skype doesn't work when all you have is GSM signal though, which is why alot of people have cell phones. The T-Mobile Hotspot @Home phone will work anwhere you have GSM signal, as well as hotspots, it will even work on your friends wi-fi, as long as you are able to authenticate on the wi0fi and it doesn't have a splash auth page.
Hacked How? If the phone runs on a T-Mobile sim card and has the appropriate software to make and maintain a UMA call, then maybe, but you will not be able to use an AT&T sim card on a t-mobile hotspot because you won't be able to authenticate through our gateway.
As far as "unlocking" an iphone, I imagine it would suffer the same way that unlocking a sidekick does. You'd be able to make calls, but you'd never be able to use the itunes portion of the service since our servers are not currently connected to the itunes servers.
My understanding of these offerings is they are VOIP services, they do not take a call and transfer it between VOIP and GSM or vice versa. The UMA standard integrates both VOIP and Wi-Fi into one handset in a way that should be seamless. That way if you leave the range of a hotspot you can still make calls on GSM, and if you were on a call, that call will be handed off.
Multiple handsets would mean multiple sim cards, as each number and simcard is handled individually multiple handsets would not be an issue. I'm not sure what you mean by But, I would prefer to have a standard cordless phone handset(s) option too. I would definitely get rid of my land line if I could replace it with a VoIP handset that integrated into my cell account. this acts as a standard GSM phone when you are away from home, and as a wi-fi home when you are at home (assuming you have a wi-fi router set up). You can leave it at home or take it with you as you see fit.
First the user would need to accept your wi-fi and select to connect to it (the process is not automagic). Assuming they do do this, the pacets will come through buried inside a secure GSM tunnel, the same as any other GSM call.
that means it will have the same security level as any other GSM call, and if you could find a way to listen in on this call, then you would also be able to find a way to listen in on ANY wireless call... So this is no less secure than any other wireless call you make.
The priority can be set using the menus on the phone, and you can set any network above the others, it will start at the top of the list and work it's way down.
However it will automagicly switch to GSM when the Quality of Service is considered to low on your Wi-Fi. This is normally caused by low wi-fi signal, however if you are using a non t-mobile router network congestiong could also contribute. There is however an icon on the face of your phone which will indicate wether or not you are on wi-fi.
It won't hand off from Wi-Fi directly to Wi-Fi, it will instead hand off from Wi-Fi to GSM when it detects the QOS (Quality of Service) Level is too low. Then you should be able to hand off back into a different Wi-Fi network, and if not, you will remain on GSM as long as the signal remains strong.
Yes and no. It would work on the router if you configure it to work on the other router, including inputing any security settings. Once the network is saved in the phone it will automatticly connect to the Wi-Fi network when it comes withen range. It will also work with other non T-Mobile routers, The advantage to using a T-Mobile routers is that they come with built in settings to ensure your Quality of Service (QOS) when using voice over IP. That way when your room mate starts to download that massive World of Warcraft patch, your conversation won't become choppy or lagged.
Yes, GSM will hand off to Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi will hand off to GSM. The billing is based on where the call originates however. That means when you get home and come in range of your wi-fi, to get the unlimited calling rates, you would need to hang up, and then reconnect the call from wi-fi. However if you walk down the street and accidentaly leave your wi-fi area, it works the other way, the call will be free untill you disconnect and make a new call.
ECH... once more with formating.
;) One of the major advantages of this over a normal wi-fi phone, is that it will hand over between GSM and Wi-Fi and maintain the call. No other Wi-Fi call provider can offer that at this time (AFAIK).
Let me preface the rest by stating I work in T-Mobiles Operations and Engineering Department, and helped alpha test this device. =)
When making a Wi-Fi call, the handset creates a GSM tunnel allowing it to maintain the same security used on any normal cellular call you make. So if you're still afraid of people tapping your calls, I recommend that you don't use a cell phone at all.
No releasing it at the same time as the iphone doesn't seem like the best bet, however I'm not in marketing
If you buy the phone but not the service, you can still use Wi-Fi but it will use your minutes as normal, the feature just give you unlimited Wi-Fi calls.
Will it make calls for T-Mobile cheaper to process? Maybe if enough people start picking it up, but there was an investment in time and added hardware to the network that would need to be paid off first. But in the long run, yes t-mobile should save money as people route calls over IP, however, this savings is passed on to the customer in that they can make all the calls they want for $10 a month. (It's up to the customer to decide if they will use it enough to warrant that cost)
Working for T-Mo I think this feature is great, but my opinion is of course biased.
Let me preface the rest by stating I work in T-Mobiles Operations and Engineering Department, and helped alpha test this device. =) When making a Wi-Fi call, the handset creates a GSM tunnel allowing it to maintain the same security used on any normal cellular call you make. So if you're still afraid of people tapping your calls, I recommend that you don't use a cell phone at all. No releasing it at the same time as the iphone doesn't seem like the best bet, however I'm not in marketing ;)
One of the major advantages of this over a normal wi-fi phone, is that it will hand over between GSM and Wi-Fi and maintain the call. No other Wi-Fi call provider can offer that at this time (AFAIK).
If you buy the phone but not the service, you can still use Wi-Fi but it will use your minutes as normal, the feature just give you unlimited Wi-Fi calls.
Will it make calls for T-Mobile cheaper to process? Maybe if enough people start picking it up, but there was an investment in time and added hardware to the network that would need to be paid off first. But in the long run, yes t-mobile should save money as people route calls over IP, however, this savings is passed on to the customer in that they can make all the calls they want for $10 a month. (It's up to the customer to decide if they will use it enough to warrant that cost)
Working for T-Mo I think this feature is great, but my opinion is of course biased.