What if open devices, open applications, open services and open networks became a reality in the upcoming wireless spectrum auction early next month? For starters it would ultimately mean more choices for consumers and I suspect real innovation; the kind of innovation only greater competition and an open spectrum can bring. The current system—whereby big carriers monopolize the air waves (to pursue greater profits) at the consumer's expense—has sadly stifled innovation and left the US years behind the rest of the world. It is true that spectrum and infrastructure costs take years to recoup but it's nearly impossible to advocate for public good when the keys are held by a small number of corporations. In this system, consumers ultimately pick up the tab.
My understanding is that it’s the FCC’s responsibility to consider the public good when setting rules for the auction. Hopefully, the FCC is setting the stage for a new age in wireless innovation.
A number of non-profit and for-profit organizations are advocating for an open spectrum. Their position is to be commended. What makes Google’s interest in the auction exciting is that they have the resources, and I trust, the vision to be a game changer.
I hate being negative but food and society? Iphone? Lol. No recipes?
BrianG wrote
Monday, July 23, 2007
good blog, Im not too confident in Google promoting competition though. Don't you remember not too long ago, when they "acquired" their only real competition in the web video space with the purchase of youtube.
I cant see them making an impact in the auction world either, because it involves too much trust and money, which google can not seem to get from their visitors. I think google does great in the marketing arena, but ebay is a long term trustworthy source for sales and purchasing that would be difficult to get people away from.
-bri
Why I returned my iPhone in 12 hours
To begin with, I can't really tell you how I felt when I left the Apple store with my new iPhone. I felt more conscious embarrassment than excitement. Had I fallen victim to the hype machine and shelled out a very healthy $600 beans to be included in the "iPhone club?" I could not help it. I wanted this new technology, this breakthrough device but at the same time I wanted to avoid being seen by anyone while using the iPhone.
The iPhone is beautiful and light weight. It has nice dimensions and a great screen. If the e-mail function worked I'd be golden. The rationalizations did not go far beyond that sadly. I have always been an early adapter of sorts and what would I tell my friends if they asked me if it was a worthwhile investment? I needed to know first hand so I just went out and bought it. I did not unpack it until the next day.
The fun started at about 6am. The sync and all the setup stuff went along without a hitch, I felt like I was on my way to a great recommendation. However, as my iPhone was charging I took it out of the cradle to play with it a bit and strike number one hit. This baby was HOT! I'm talking about unacceptably hot, burning my hands hot. I am pretty sure that I mumbled something like "you have got to be kidding me". I should have known, I already had to deal with the heat on my MacBook. Needless to say it got me thinking about the premium price for such a "breakthrough" device. I decided to give it a try, so I let it charge and went on my way.
It was time to try out the e-mail function. I decided to use my gmail account first and "push" with Yahoo mail if everything went well with gmail. Everything looked great on the bright and spacious screen. I enjoyed manipulating the screen with my fingers, this feature actually made the iPhone fun to use. However, email was slow to open and no matter what server settings I was using, the email would call into the server every time I opened mail. This, in turn, affects the battery life. PDF files that were attached to emails would not download and opening email in general had a terrible lag. I'm a patient guy but 8 seconds to open an email that is already on the phone is a long wait. This was strike two.
The full Internet feature sounds great on paper, but in actuality I could not get the page to a comfortable reading size without having to slide the page back and forth, strike three.
Compared to the iPhone, other devices like my blackberry have a trimmed down version of the Internet; but I just scroll down a webpage by pressing a button. These older technologies are easier to use and maybe limited where they should be.
I know a lot of folks were worried about the keyboard feature on the iPhone, but my experience was really not so bad. There is a learning curve as there is with any new device but I was adapting fast and did not think it would be long before I'd be typing on it just as fast as any other device.
If you are interested in getting a screen protector don't buy the one they are selling at the apple store. It is not non-glare and I had trouble seating it properly. Boxwave makes excellent non-glare protectors and I bet your fingers will glide better on the screen itself. The protector is also great because you don't have to wipe the thing down all the time, you won't notice the smudges (www.boxwave.com).
Sadly, the iPhone went back to the apple store that day. I have enough experience with these devices to know if something is going to work for me or not. Plus, maybe if I brought it back within 24 the Apple store would be kind enough to not charge me the restocking fee. As it turned out I was right, they were kind.
I look forward to the next generation. I have very high hopes for the iPhone. The idea is there, but as with any first generation, it has its quirks. I do believe it is an amazing iPod with a phone function. If that's your thing go for it; but if you are a serious business email user there are some better options.
yea its honestly a rough sell on the EDGE network alone, that network is Slooowww.. I did hear that AT&T bought out CELL ONE, so that should improve the signal coverage, because up by me (Poughkeepsie, NY), AT&T is useless. iPhone, I agree is more of a hype and impulse buy for most.
I know this may sound like a old person statement, but this generation is getting insane with being constantly entertained. Now even an iPod isn't good enough, we need to be able to surf the web at all times, for what? I personally own a 8703e and I use it on occasion, its on EVDO (Verizon), so I can easily surf the web, but I NEVER do. Its one of those luxuries that sound nice when you get it and then you NEVER user the damn thing.
On the other hand, I love the open source feel of the iPhone, there are already TONS of apps available for free download that work on this baby, I really wish that blackberry opened up and made it easy for people to make software also, that would change the game i think.
Thanks for the post, it was very informative and good luck with the next gen.
Bri
Japan Part 2 - Tokyo
It’s been a couple of days since I’ve been back from Japan now and upon reflection I think it was an “interesting” trip. Tokyo is a monster! There isn’t anything terrible pretty about it but it is a true mega metropolis. Getting around is easy with the trains and things just seems to move along. However, in my experience finding English speaking folks is very difficult. There were a couple of people that were nice enough to strike up a conversation if they spoke English but the rest basically ignored us. I could not even find a western newspaper anywhere. So, without being able to get recommendations from locals and finding the travel books we had with us a bit lacking we just figured we would try our luck on the streets and boy there are a lot of streets. Just for some perspective after trying to explain my desire to find great authentic Japanese food in the area to the concierge his first recommendation was Kentucky Fried Chicken. Obviously, I was not communicating well.
So we took to the streets my finicky eating friend and I (I know, never again) to see what we could find to eat and pretty much went about it this way for the four days in Tokyo. My instinct was to just eat everything and take the good with the bad. Well, easier said than done. Most things are in Japanese only and even though there is a habit of putting those plastic meals outside to show people what they’ll be getting it is not easy to choose. So we continued to have some marginal sushi and decent Indian and Chinese. Some of the places have a terrific authentic feel and are all generally very small with just a little counter to pull up to. I did spend my last full day eating tempura and at the Japanese Fine Burger chain that looks like a spa with the burger even more picturesque. They really pay attention to the details in a lot of these places. The tempura was very good. It was light and full of flavor and most of the other food besides the Sushi was excellent.
I’ll post some pix to give you a sense of what it was like and please let me know if you have any questions.
