Teenagers use it in classes, to avoid detection by teachers. Shopkeepers use the same technology to drive away rowdy teenagers, by creating a loud sound that doesn’t affect adults. This works because adults gradually lose the ability to hear high-pitched sounds. (via NY Times) Comments Livy 12 Nov 2006 5:33 pm: I can here the sounds up to about 18KHz.
Time: early in the morning, waiting for office to open. Location: public phone booth. Situation: calling a mobile number in London. Insert coin 20p goes in. Press button to push coin in. Credit: 20p 10p goes in. Press button again. Credit 30p Call mobile number... 07xxxxxxx "Hi Malu, this is Shobana." Credit remaining: 20p "We..." Credit remaining: 19p "...just..." Credit remaining: 18p "...got..." Credit remaining: 17p "...here..." Credit remaining: 16p "...last..." Credit remaining: 15p "...night..." Credit remaining: 14p "...and..." Credit remaining: 13p "...are..." Credit remaining: 12p "...staying..." Credit remaining: 11p "...at..." Credit remaining: 10p "...a..." Credit remaining: 9p "...hotel." Credit remaining: 8p "OK..." Credit remaining: 7p "...I..." Credit remaining: 6p "...will..." Credit remaining: 5p "...call..." Credit remaining: 4p "...you..." Credit remaining: 3p "...back..." Credit remaining: 2p "...later..." Credit remaining: 1p "...bye." Credit remaining: 0p
It’s a flat world after all. Thomas Freidman on Globalization, Bangalore, … Second, the Netscape stock offering triggered the dot-com boom, which triggered the dot-com bubble, which triggered the massive overinvestment of billions of dollars in fiber-optic telecommunications cable. That overinvestment, by companies like Global Crossing, resulted in the willy-nilly creation of a global undersea-underground fiber network, which in turn drove down the cost of transmitting voices, data and images to practically zero, which in turn accidentally made Boston, Bangalore and Beijing next-door neighbors overnight. ...
Cell phone towers camouflaged as trees.
This week’s Business Week issue is on Wireless Wonders. Interesting reading about the wireless world.
The Internet is fast.
The cost of an outgoing local call (at least, as of today) is: Rs 0.40 for landline-landline Rs 0.80 for landline-WLL Rs 1.20 for landline-cell Rs 1.75 for cell-cell Rs 1.99 for cell-landline via ET
A new use for mobile phones.
IP Telephony in India. At last.
All ISPs are going to start offering Internet Telephony pretty soon. Good.
The deaf use mobile phones through SMS. Good idea.
2 good things: roaming rates cut, bandwidth rates cut.
.- - .-.. .- … - a morse code translator.
I finally figured out what 3G is.
The Convergence Bill has finally been approved.
A $45 billion writedown from JDS Uniphase. The largest ever loss in corporate history.
The TRAI recommends that telephone companies could provide limited mobile services (WLL), and vice versa.
Cellular calls will become cheaper. I might buy a phone.
Would someone please tell Sushma Swaraj to hurry up the Convergence Bill? Now we have to wait till the budget session!!
Phone calls through the Net are legal. This is based on the GOT-IT report.
An update on the Internet cable scenario.
Internet Telephony in India is legal. Some stories: 1 | 2 | 3
Looks like India’s bandwidth problems will be resolved in a year. With the DoT opening up submarine fiber optic, Department of Telecommunication Services is commissioning 80GB (2001). NASSCOM’s getting 100GB (2003). Dishnet’s trying for 2.5TB (2001). Wow!