check this out!!
http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-6163917.html
crazy world!!!
Sunday, March 18, 2007
You're telling me there's another life ????????!!!!!!!!!
When it comes to making people's dream come true! second life comes very close to doing it! the idea is simple , you can be whatever you want, look anyway you want and of course do whatever you want! then you can wander the virtual reality world , mingle with people from all over the world , buy , sell , almost everything that you do in your real life !
second life has caught the attention of many! the number of second life users is getting closer to 2 million! from the average users who just want to socialize, to big corporates who want to sell, advertise and test their products and ideas !! the fever has even reached the political community !!! with John Edwards the democratic hopeful launching his own campaign in second life! from his second life HQ! that and other interesting facts makes second life become more like our first "real" life world!!!
or in other words it's our world .... digitized !!!!!!!
being a telecom engineer! I don't believe that anything can replace the physical , face to face contact, it is true that the telecommunication boom helped shorten the distances!! but it can only help when it's too far to make direct contact !!! call me old school but that's what I really believe!!
However, it's seems that this is not were things are going in real life! the internet boom helped people get closer together, but it also helped people get "alternative" lives parallel to their own life!! simple example ? Instant Messaging!
what makes second life different is that it uses the virtual reality idea to create a world that is almost identical to the one we live in!! there is sun , sky , sea , you walk around and meet 3d avatars of people that resembles " or at least, you can assume that!" the real persons behind it, still you talk to the avatars , the second life characters that were created by the fantasies of their owners ! you never reach out for the real person! in second life! almost nobody talks about real life!! john Edwards might be an exempt!!!!
the question is : will we get to the point were almost everyone sits in his room , connects to the internet , logs on to second life and starts his day???? well already we see some people who are "living online" ... but can that happen even more ? it seems that even the chaos of our world will move on and make roots in Second life!!! Caroline McCarthy of CNET news , interviewed the spokeswoman of the Second Life Liberation Army , an "avatar rights" or "virtual rights" group that aims at creating "democracy" in the second life community,
the SLLA members took over the stage at the world economic forum's second life presence and set off atomic bombs of companies there,[1] not real atomic bombs just visual effects!! but that makes you worry! will these organizations make an inverse move into the physical world , or even worse! will terrorism move towards this world!! hopefully not!
can Second Life change the way that people live? does second life replace or compliment our first "real" lives ? tough ones to answer , as for me, I'm happy with my carnal life!! very busy with it , i don't think I'm ready to get another life! virtual or not!
life is beautiful!
references
[1] Caroline McCarthy: "In 'second life', the ring of revolution ?" Cnet news march 5th 2007 http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-6163917.html
second life has caught the attention of many! the number of second life users is getting closer to 2 million! from the average users who just want to socialize, to big corporates who want to sell, advertise and test their products and ideas !! the fever has even reached the political community !!! with John Edwards the democratic hopeful launching his own campaign in second life! from his second life HQ! that and other interesting facts makes second life become more like our first "real" life world!!!
or in other words it's our world .... digitized !!!!!!!
being a telecom engineer! I don't believe that anything can replace the physical , face to face contact, it is true that the telecommunication boom helped shorten the distances!! but it can only help when it's too far to make direct contact !!! call me old school but that's what I really believe!!
However, it's seems that this is not were things are going in real life! the internet boom helped people get closer together, but it also helped people get "alternative" lives parallel to their own life!! simple example ? Instant Messaging!
what makes second life different is that it uses the virtual reality idea to create a world that is almost identical to the one we live in!! there is sun , sky , sea , you walk around and meet 3d avatars of people that resembles " or at least, you can assume that!" the real persons behind it, still you talk to the avatars , the second life characters that were created by the fantasies of their owners ! you never reach out for the real person! in second life! almost nobody talks about real life!! john Edwards might be an exempt!!!!
the question is : will we get to the point were almost everyone sits in his room , connects to the internet , logs on to second life and starts his day???? well already we see some people who are "living online" ... but can that happen even more ? it seems that even the chaos of our world will move on and make roots in Second life!!! Caroline McCarthy of CNET news , interviewed the spokeswoman of the Second Life Liberation Army , an "avatar rights" or "virtual rights" group that aims at creating "democracy" in the second life community,
the SLLA members took over the stage at the world economic forum's second life presence and set off atomic bombs of companies there,[1] not real atomic bombs just visual effects!! but that makes you worry! will these organizations make an inverse move into the physical world , or even worse! will terrorism move towards this world!! hopefully not!
can Second Life change the way that people live? does second life replace or compliment our first "real" lives ? tough ones to answer , as for me, I'm happy with my carnal life!! very busy with it , i don't think I'm ready to get another life! virtual or not!
life is beautiful!
references
[1] Caroline McCarthy: "In 'second life', the ring of revolution ?" Cnet news march 5th 2007 http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-6163917.html
Monday, March 12, 2007
The new age of radio
Can Podcasting be the "new radio"???
podcasting has become so popular that it's now considered an official word !!!
according to Webster's new millennium dictionary of english :
-podcast :(n) a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed, accessed by subscription over the Internet.
-podcast :(v) to deliver a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed over the Internet to subscribers.
There are hours and hours and hours of podcasts over the internet so the task of finding the "favourite" podcasts is not easy by any means, it depends on where and how you look around and what are you realy interested in!
my search included both independent and corporate podcasts,and I found that there's a lot more quality and content in independent podcasts,
there are alot of intersting podcasts out there, it'd be unfair to just name three , but anyway :
1- Avaya's "Smart Start with Dummies" audio books podcast was interesting , it's good if you want to get an idea of VOIP and SIP technologies,
you can find it at http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/podcasts/index.htm
2- Comis strip live: stand up comedy , great content , very diverse , ranges from "clean" everyday life humor to "explicit" political content
great if you're into stand up comdey "like me" http://www.podcast.net/show/8226
3-Practical performance guitar, Expressive playing: If you're into learning guitar rock solos, this is a great resource for you !! it'd be better if it had video , but it's a nice challenge ! http://www.podcast.net/show/46447
other intersting podcasts:
-The american life, chicago publice radio: the #1 podcast on iTunes!
-Monster guitar podcasts , lessons and tips: http://www.podcast.net/show/5693
-Learn spanish with coffe break spanish: for you spanish language zealots you can find it on itunes !
-Irish and celtic music podcast : common it's saint patrick's season!!! find it on itunes
it's hard to say which podcasts were less favourite , generally i'd say the ones with a not-very-attractive titles are the least favourite!
enjoy
podcasting has become so popular that it's now considered an official word !!!
according to Webster's new millennium dictionary of english :
-podcast :(n) a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed, accessed by subscription over the Internet.
-podcast :(v) to deliver a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed over the Internet to subscribers.
There are hours and hours and hours of podcasts over the internet so the task of finding the "favourite" podcasts is not easy by any means, it depends on where and how you look around and what are you realy interested in!
my search included both independent and corporate podcasts,and I found that there's a lot more quality and content in independent podcasts,
there are alot of intersting podcasts out there, it'd be unfair to just name three , but anyway :
1- Avaya's "Smart Start with Dummies" audio books podcast was interesting , it's good if you want to get an idea of VOIP and SIP technologies,
you can find it at http://www.avaya.com/gcm/master-usa/en-us/podcasts/index.htm
2- Comis strip live: stand up comedy , great content , very diverse , ranges from "clean" everyday life humor to "explicit" political content
great if you're into stand up comdey "like me" http://www.podcast.net/show/8226
3-Practical performance guitar, Expressive playing: If you're into learning guitar rock solos, this is a great resource for you !! it'd be better if it had video , but it's a nice challenge ! http://www.podcast.net/show/46447
other intersting podcasts:
-The american life, chicago publice radio: the #1 podcast on iTunes!
-Monster guitar podcasts , lessons and tips: http://www.podcast.net/show/5693
-Learn spanish with coffe break spanish: for you spanish language zealots you can find it on itunes !
-Irish and celtic music podcast : common it's saint patrick's season!!! find it on itunes
it's hard to say which podcasts were less favourite , generally i'd say the ones with a not-very-attractive titles are the least favourite!
enjoy
Sunday, March 4, 2007
It's a Wiki Wiki world
Lets face it!! Wikipedia is a great source, there's virtually nothing that you can't find there, from the F-word to Jimi Hendrix to the geekiest subject imaginable! you can find very useful links
the whole idea is that you can add , edit , delete , whatever you don't like and write any article that you might find "right" !! it's up to the public to edit it,the author's identity remains unkown.. not a bad idea at all!!
the internet is becoming an "open-source" hub , from youtube, to ultimate guitar and of course, wikipedia, everybody and anybody can be an artist, journalist, researcher, movie star, porn star, director and the list goes, you can post whatever you want and express whatever you want , no matter how unusual " and in many times twisted" your idea is!!
Wikipedia " as mentioned in wikipedia.com .. what an irony!" is:
" a multilingual, Web-based, Free content Encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers; its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Web site. The name is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia."
According to wikipedia there are more than 75000 active contributors, working on more than 5,300,000 articles in more than 100 languages!
and more than 1,600,000 articles in English only!!! that's a lot. no other encyclopedia gets even close to that!
also on wikipedia.com:
"Wikipedia's reliability and accuracy have been questioned. The site has also been criticised for its susceptibility to vandalism, uneven quality, systemic bias and inconsistencies, and for favouring consensus over credentials in its editorial process. Wikipedia's content policies and sub-projects set up by contributors seek to address these concerns. Two scholarly studies have concluded that vandalism is generally short-lived and that Wikipedia is roughly as accurate as other online encyclopedias."
The authors names are unknown, you have no idea about their academic background or affiliation, and anybody can edit anything therefore vandalism is a big concern, that and many other concerns affect wikipedia's credibility
if we take Encyclopedia Britannica, a prestigious source , been around for 239 years!!! yeah it's contributors and board of directors is about 4400, nothing compared to wiki's size! but in this case size doesn't matter!!! take a look at their editorial board of directors: Nobel laureates , university presidents, university professors! , but it's not free! and in costs a lot, anyway, after all nothing is perfect , even britannica has it's flaws , but it's way more credible!!!!
Right now the online version of britannica is available for students, for about 70$ a year you can get access to 17,511 articles , learning activites and step by step research guides!
in my own opinion wikipedia is a great source if you want to start researching about any subject! it can give you a good guideline for what and where to look, the contents are well organized , with links to websites and papers to get more info , but if you want your paper to be more convincing!! don't depend on wiki alone!
references :
wikipedia.com
britannica.com
9-1-1, please state your number and location. What’s your emergency?
Since it's introduction in 1965 , the American public became more and more dependant on 9-1-1 services, the National emergency number association estimated that as of February 2005, forms of 911 emergency services were available to 99% of the population and 96% of counties in the united states[1], therefore it comes as no surprise that the American public has certain expectations with respect to availability of 911 and E911 services.
911 services fall into two basic categories[1] based on the capabilities:
Basic 911: is a forwarding arrangement in which calls dialed to 911 are transmitted from the services provider's switch to a single geographically appropriate Public Safety Agency "PSAP" using dedicated emergency trunks. basic 911 does not provide callers location nor does provide call takers with callers location information or a call back number.
Enhanced 911 E911: they route 911 calls through the use of a selective router to a geographically appropriate PSAP based on the caller's location, it can provide the call taker with a call back number referred to as Automatic Numbering Information (ANI) , and in many cases the Automatic location Information (ALI).
911 services can further be divided into wire-line 911 and wireless 911.
The features of E911 become more evident in wireless and cellular networks, where the Mobile nature of the wireless technology makes it more difficult to determine the (ALI) of the caller, the PSAP's ability to access the caller's number and location became an official mandate in 1996 when Cellular Telecommunications and internet Association (CTIA) and three national public safety organizations filed a consensus agreement with the FCC[2],
The consensus agreement proposed a two-step implementation schedule for wireless E911 which was drafted into the FCC's wireless E911 rules,according to this agreement, wireless carriers to provide both basic and enhanced 911 services, in phase I; wireless carriers must provide PSAPs with a call back number and a location of the cell site/sector receiving the call, in phase II Wireless carriers are required to provide the PSAPs the location of all 911 calls by longitude and latitude beginning October 1 2001 [2]
However there are many challenges facing the wireless E911 service , in fact even after the deadline for phase II has passed, PSPAs are still desperate for E911 services, despite the fact that the technology is available, and wireless carriers think of E911 as a value-added service with which they can lure customers away from the competition[2]
The issue is: wireless carriers don't have to make their phones E911 compliant until six months after receiving a valid request form PSAP. so the PSAPs must "upgrade" their networks and calling centers so they can be E911 complaint [2] and here comes a very serious funding issue.
in a study commissioned by the FCC, Dale Hatfield summarized the situation as this:" the issue is simply that, by and large, the existing E911 infrastructure is seriously antiquated"[3] the serious cost of upgrading the system is indeed an obstacle facing the fast and nationwide implementation of Wireless E911 services, In 2003 U.S. Senators Conrad Burns (R. Mont.) and Hillary Clinton (D. NY) have proposed a bill that, if passed into law, would promote national safety and reignite the wireless industry to the tune of $500 million a year in grants[2]. this bill named "the enhanced 911 emergency act of 2003"[4]
The purposes of this Act are[4]:
(1) "to coordinate emergency communications systems, including 911 services and E-911 services, at the Federal, State, and local levels;"
(2) "to provide stability and resources to State and local Public Safety Answering Points, to facilitate the prompt deployment of enhanced 911 services throughout the United States in a ubiquitous and reliable infrastructure; and"
(3) "to ensure that funds collected on telecommunications bills for enhancing emergency 911 services are used only for the purposes for which the funds are being collected".
The bill provides the following [2]:
- "Authorizes $500 million per year for grants to enhance emergency communications
services through planning, infrastructure improvements, equipment purchases, and
personnel training and acquisition. Fifty percent matching grants would be available to
state, local, and tribal governments."
-" Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), the grant program would require consultation with the US Department of
Homeland Security. Preference in grants would go to applications that coordinated with
PSAPs and integrated public and commercial services."
- "The FCC is required to review, twice a year, fees for enhancing 911 services. States
would be required to certify that no E911 fees are being used for other purposes."
-" Creation of the NTIA Task Force - Requires the Administrator of NTIA to establish an
Emergency Communications Task Force to facilitate coordination between federal, state,
and local communications systems."
This law advances the sort of public-Private partnership in the telecom industry, a partnership that all parties need. it also provides for a federal solution to the issue of e911 funding.
References:
[1]: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/voip911order.pdf
[2]: http://www.purcellsystems.com/documents/white_papers/e911-the%20case%20for%20federal%20funding.pdf
[3]: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6513296239
[4]: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c108:2:./temp/~c108W5s0an::
911 services fall into two basic categories[1] based on the capabilities:
Basic 911: is a forwarding arrangement in which calls dialed to 911 are transmitted from the services provider's switch to a single geographically appropriate Public Safety Agency "PSAP" using dedicated emergency trunks. basic 911 does not provide callers location nor does provide call takers with callers location information or a call back number.
Enhanced 911 E911: they route 911 calls through the use of a selective router to a geographically appropriate PSAP based on the caller's location, it can provide the call taker with a call back number referred to as Automatic Numbering Information (ANI) , and in many cases the Automatic location Information (ALI).
911 services can further be divided into wire-line 911 and wireless 911.
The features of E911 become more evident in wireless and cellular networks, where the Mobile nature of the wireless technology makes it more difficult to determine the (ALI) of the caller, the PSAP's ability to access the caller's number and location became an official mandate in 1996 when Cellular Telecommunications and internet Association (CTIA) and three national public safety organizations filed a consensus agreement with the FCC[2],
The consensus agreement proposed a two-step implementation schedule for wireless E911 which was drafted into the FCC's wireless E911 rules,according to this agreement, wireless carriers to provide both basic and enhanced 911 services, in phase I; wireless carriers must provide PSAPs with a call back number and a location of the cell site/sector receiving the call, in phase II Wireless carriers are required to provide the PSAPs the location of all 911 calls by longitude and latitude beginning October 1 2001 [2]
However there are many challenges facing the wireless E911 service , in fact even after the deadline for phase II has passed, PSPAs are still desperate for E911 services, despite the fact that the technology is available, and wireless carriers think of E911 as a value-added service with which they can lure customers away from the competition[2]
The issue is: wireless carriers don't have to make their phones E911 compliant until six months after receiving a valid request form PSAP. so the PSAPs must "upgrade" their networks and calling centers so they can be E911 complaint [2] and here comes a very serious funding issue.
in a study commissioned by the FCC, Dale Hatfield summarized the situation as this:" the issue is simply that, by and large, the existing E911 infrastructure is seriously antiquated"[3] the serious cost of upgrading the system is indeed an obstacle facing the fast and nationwide implementation of Wireless E911 services, In 2003 U.S. Senators Conrad Burns (R. Mont.) and Hillary Clinton (D. NY) have proposed a bill that, if passed into law, would promote national safety and reignite the wireless industry to the tune of $500 million a year in grants[2]. this bill named "the enhanced 911 emergency act of 2003"[4]
The purposes of this Act are[4]:
(1) "to coordinate emergency communications systems, including 911 services and E-911 services, at the Federal, State, and local levels;"
(2) "to provide stability and resources to State and local Public Safety Answering Points, to facilitate the prompt deployment of enhanced 911 services throughout the United States in a ubiquitous and reliable infrastructure; and"
(3) "to ensure that funds collected on telecommunications bills for enhancing emergency 911 services are used only for the purposes for which the funds are being collected".
The bill provides the following [2]:
- "Authorizes $500 million per year for grants to enhance emergency communications
services through planning, infrastructure improvements, equipment purchases, and
personnel training and acquisition. Fifty percent matching grants would be available to
state, local, and tribal governments."
-" Administered by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA), the grant program would require consultation with the US Department of
Homeland Security. Preference in grants would go to applications that coordinated with
PSAPs and integrated public and commercial services."
- "The FCC is required to review, twice a year, fees for enhancing 911 services. States
would be required to certify that no E911 fees are being used for other purposes."
-" Creation of the NTIA Task Force - Requires the Administrator of NTIA to establish an
Emergency Communications Task Force to facilitate coordination between federal, state,
and local communications systems."
This law advances the sort of public-Private partnership in the telecom industry, a partnership that all parties need. it also provides for a federal solution to the issue of e911 funding.
References:
[1]: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/voip911order.pdf
[2]: http://www.purcellsystems.com/documents/white_papers/e911-the%20case%20for%20federal%20funding.pdf
[3]: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6513296239
[4]: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c108:2:./temp/~c108W5s0an::
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)