TXTING COSTS R $£&+%$*&!

A University of Leicester space scientist has worked out that sending texts via mobile phones works out to be far more expensive than downloading data from the Hubble Space Telescope! [...] “The maximum size for a text message is 160 characters, which takes 140 bytes because there are only 7 bits per character in the text messaging system, and we assume the average price for a text message is 5p. There are 1,048,576 bytes in a megabyte, so that’s 1 million/140 = 7490 text messages to transmit one megabyte. At 5p each, that’s £374.49 per MB — or about 4.4 times more expensive than the ‘most pessimistic’ estimate for Hubble Space Telescope transmission costs.”
Source: University of Leicester news release, May 12, 2008

Mobile phones more important than wallets

More than one-third of workers would choose their mobile phone over their wallet, keys, laptop or digital music player if they had to leave the house for 24 hours and could take only one item, a new survey has found. The survey, conducted by market research firm IDC and sponsored by Nortel Networks Corp, found that while more than 38 percent of the 2,367 people polled chose their mobile phones, less than 30 percent chose their wallets first.
Source: Reuters, May 13, 2008

The Hydra Versus Dragon Coding Competition

N-BRAIN, Inc., whose motto is “n minds are better than n-1,” will start on June 23, 2008 a coding competion online. CEO John A. De Goes asked me to write about this contest. “This competition is unique in that it’s designed primarily as a spectator event — spectators get to watch the coding sessions (which will be narrated by industry veterans), and vote for their favorite teams, Reality TV-style. It’s also the first competition to embrace collaboration: instead of developer against developer, it’s team against team.”
If you’re fluent in Java and want to win some of the $7,000 offered to the winners, please register.
Source: N-BRAIN, Inc., May 2008

Phone-wallets still years away

The new technology which enables small payments from mobile phones by just flashing the handset is likely to reach masses only around 2012, when one phone from five sold will be equipped with the technology. Consumers will be able to use a phone as a wallet or as an access card simply by waving it over a wireless reader — and in some cases punching a PIN number into the phone — similar to how travelers in Tokyo and London access public transport.
Source: Tarmo Virki, Reuters, May 15, 2008

Mobile-phone microscopes: Doctor on call

A research team led by Dan Fletcher, a professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a cheap attachment to turn the digital camera on many of today’s mobile phones into a microscope. Called a CellScope, it can show individual white and red blood cells, which means that with the correct stain it can be used to identify the parasite that causes malaria. Moreover, by transmitting an image directly over the mobile network, the CellScope could greatly help with the remote diagnosis and monitoring of many illnesses.
Source: The Economist, May 15, 2008

Academic argues software needs to learn manners

Has software ever angered You? Has it made you reboot your machine or made you so upset you had to leave your desk altogether and go and grab a coffee? If you answered yes to any of the above questions you are not alone. Many computer users feel at war with their software, says Auckland’s Massey University senior lecturer Brian Whitworth. Such users are constantly removing things they didn’t want added, resetting changes they didn’t want changed, closing windows they didn’t want opened and blocking emails they didn’t want to receive.
Source: Ulrika Hedquist, Computerworld New Zealand, May 14, 2008

How Did That Chain Letter Get To My Inbox?

Everyone who has an e-mail account has probably received a forwarded chain letter promising good luck if the message is forwarded on to others–or terrible misfortune if it isn’t. The sheer volume of forwarded messages such as chain letters, online petitions, jokes and other materials leads to a simple question — how do these messages reach so many people so quickly? New research into these forwarded missives by Jon Kleinberg of Cornell University and David Liben-Nowell of Carleton College suggests a surprising explanation.
Source: US National Science Foundation (NSF) news release, May 16, 2008

Augmented Learning by Eric Klopfer, from The MIT Press is at the vanguard of arguments that mobile learning will have roles where it is preferred in education’s future. M-learning has moved - not without some agony - from rejection by education, to suspicion, through accusations that it is too distracting for the classroom, to some increasing enthusiasm at the bleeding edges. For the believers in m-learning, this sketch from the publisher of Klopfer’s book rings happy tones in their ears:

Klopfer begins by exploring the past and present of education, educational technology, “edutainment,” and mobile games, and then offers a series of case studies of mobile educational games that have been developed and implemented in recent years. These games–either participatory (which require interaction with other players) or augmented reality (which augment the real world with virtual information)–can be produced at lower cost than PC or full-size console games. They use social dynamics and real-world contexts to enhance game play, can be integrated into the natural flow of instruction more easily than their big-screen counterparts, and can create compelling educational and engaging environments for learners. They are especially well-suited for helping learners at every level develop twenty-first century skills–including the ability to tackle complex problems and acquire information in “just-in-time” fashion. All of this, Klopfer argues, puts mobile learning games in a unique and powerful position within educational technology.

Wii Fit is scheduled to be released in North America by Nintendo next week. In a report called O.K., Avatar, Work With Me, the New York Times describes the video game’s entry into the personal exercise field. The writer, Seth Schiesels sounds like he is pre-sold - and I can understand why. Schiesel includes these good vibes from anticipating a trainer who is an avatar:

Exercising with Wii Fit is like having a Bob Harper or a Denise Austin who talks back — gently cajoling you through exercises, praising, nudging, even reminding you to eat a banana once in a while. It also lets you see how you stack up against friends or family members; each user creates a cartoony avatar called a “Mii.” . . .

Believe me, I could use some help. As a video game journalist, I live in a world where Buffalo wings, potato chips and jalapeño poppers are considered food groups. The closest I get to serious exercise is flopping around at concerts like a lumpy, overeducated flounder. . . .

Richard Waters, Financial Times

The LA Times has a snappy but balanced review of Jonathan Zittrain’s book “The Future of the Internet — and How to Stop It”. Waters details a few good points from the book from how personal computing will change in the next few years and what to expect if it does, according to Zittrain anyway.

Closed systems are also instruments of control: They can be used to limit the information their users can access and to restrict what can be done with that information, and they make it easier to monitor the behavior of people who are connected to the network.

So why would we end up in this state of technological and social lockdown? Because the PC and the Internet, according to Zittrain, are about to suffer an implosion that is common to all open technologies.

Waters is poses that seeing the future is both “inspiring and depressing”.  Hoping that the our society is smart enough to recognize that social adjustments are needed otherwise the internet will need regulating by the government.  Can we change our social habits and stop abusing the freedom the internet grants us? The future of the internet awaits with the answer.

“The Future of the Internet — and How to Stop It” was written by Jonathan Zittrain and published by Yale University Press.

Recently I came across an incredible video on a thaumaturgical compendium which is both humorous and instructive. The video is humorous in that it is a brilliant critique of Facebook as a multifaceted social-utility, and instructive in that is demonstrates that “social-utilities” are increasingly being exposed to, and are experiencing a social-backlash. It just goes to show that human interactions go beyond “poking,” “comparing,” “rating,” and writing on walls. Have a view of the video:Facebook Anthem and share your thoughts!

Thanks to Alex Halavais for the video tip!

Earthlink has announced that it will withdraw support for the WiFi cloud it now maintains over the city of Philadelphia. The company and the city tried to work out a deal, but that “unraveled“, according to Earthlink.

According to the NY Times the G.O.P. is leveraging social media to attack Senator Barack Obama:

The Republican National Committee has rolled out a new Web site, “CanWeAsk.com” that takes on Senator Barack Obama as though he were already the Democratic nominee. The site, using a new Web video, is soliciting viewers’ questions, in text and video formats, to ask of Senator Obama.

The fact that the Republican National Committee is utilizing social-media is a telling indicator that “The Next Social Revolution” has no borders. Social-media has become so embedded within our societies that even the G.O.P. is in on the action. In the humble opinion of this blogger “CanWeAsk.com” is not really social as it is more a “media” outlet. From this perspective, CanWeAsk.com is a propaganda pipeline on the “interwebs” which does not encourage collaboration nor cooperation.

Registration is underway at the iSummit’08 website. The iCommons crowd practices very edgy mobbing cool, described by the programme:

In order to accommodate the diverse communities represented at the iSummit and to maximise the sharing, learning and interaction between participants, the 2008 programme is being designed on a ‘contained turbulence’ model - with chaos at the centre and order at the periphery . . . .

In the ‘ordered peripheral’ space, there will be two keynote sessions each day, featuring confirmed speakers David Wiley of OpenContent fame, FLOSS advocate and researcher, Rishab Ghosh and Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales.

The iCommons is a cultural community phenom with its roots in CreativeCommons. Full details of its July 29-August 1 global contained turbulence are on the iSummit’08 website and Summit blog.

Tobias Kemper writes us that his startup Nimbuzz launched today ‘a new FREE all-in-one solution on the mobile, PC and Web for calling, conference calling, instant messaging, group chat and chat rooms, and photo and file sending across multiple IM communities, including Skype, MSN, Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber and ICQ, plus 23 social networks including Facebook and Myspace’

Their service provides not just a multiheaded client (like many others), but they managed to integrate a variety of the available social communities.

Tobias mentions the following technical details:

- free voice calling and file sharing from social networks, and email
- free mobile chat from social networks, websites, and email
- supports genuine mobile voip for 92 devices using symbian s60
- as well as hybrid voip (local dial-in) for 50 countries and works on 500+ handsets (skype offers in 7 cos and our main competitor doesn’t offer this solution)
- our patented “Buzz” feature will actually launch the application on your phone if someone is trying to buzz you
- we support a mobile, web, wap, and PC
- some big network and SnS announcements this summer

Tobias added: We are announcing our genuine mobile VoIP solution as well as a cool new widget which brings voice to social networks and even email signatures.

Thanx for letting us know Tobias !!!