Just Don't Use It!

I don’t often use this column to express my personal gripes. After all, what do you care what I like or don’t like? The purpose of these weekly missives has and will continue to be to provide straight forward information about technology. Once in a while a personal gripe and some helpful technology hints come together. This is one of those times.

The proliferation of communication technologies over the past decade has been nothing short of extraordinary. Cell phones are everywhere. Some would say they surface in too many places. Email is now as much a part of the daily routine for the occupant of the college dorm room as it is at the retirement community.

For many people these tools are used wisely and effectively. However, there is a small group of people who drive me nuts, not because they use the technology too much but because they don’t use it.

For sure, I think everyone has the right to refuse to use email or a cell phone. Hey, this is the USA isn’t it. I respect these people, whatever their reasons might be. In fact, I applaud those who think a hand written note or a personal visit is better than a … “How r u? I b hm @ 5. lov j” email or instant message.

My gripe is that some people will tell you that they have email or a cell phone and give you the address or number. The presumption is that if they give you this information, they actually use it. WRONG!

A minority for sure, there are people who check their email once a month at the most. Others still haven’t figured out how to retrieve voice mail from their cell phone account. Again this is their prerogative. The problem is that the person who left the email or voice mail doesn’t know this. So that invite to dinner or the movies goes unanswered. The sender is in a quandary as to whether they are being ignored or forgotten.

My suggestion is that there is no reason to feel compelled to use these technologies. No one will feel that you are less intelligent or un-American. When someone asks if you have email or a cell, just say no!

Blu-Ray May Be Blue Sky for Holiday Retailers

Now that the battle between the new High Definition DVD formats is over, some executives at Sony may feel they may have won the battle but are losing the war.

I wrote a year ago about the two competing HD DVD formats and how the industry may be headed for another stalemate similar to the Betamax™ vs VHS wars of the 1970s. There were large companies lining up behind each format with Apple, Panasonic and Sony in the Blu-Ray™ camp and Microsoft, Toshiba and NEC siding with HD-DVD™. The good news is that the HD-DVD™ camp threw in the towel and now only Blu-Ray™ remains. Good for the consumer.

Like many new electronic gadgets coming to market the first models of the Blu-Ray™ DVD players were expensive and only the early adopters purchased them. Manufacturers like Sony were looking to this upcoming holiday season to firmly establish the format as the new “must have” Christmas gift. They figured that with more and more households buying new high definition TV sets, it was only logical that these same households would want to see DVD programming displayed on those sets with the same clarity and wide screen impact that only a new Blu-Ray™ player could provide.

Seems that someone forgot to tell the consumer. The sales of Blu-Ray™ DVD players have been well behind projections forcing retailers to deeply discount the price as we head into the holiday shopping season. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal predicted that some stores may offer sub $150 models right after Thanksgiving.

So is this the time to buy? There is no question that the Blu-Ray™ DVD played on a large High Definition TV set is awesome. You must keep in mind however that the current pricing of Blu-Ray™ DVDs is about double of the standard DVD. So a movie could set you back more than $30. And that is without the popcorn!

Even if you have a new HD TV, you might want to consider a standard DVD player that has “up conversion.” Using “electronic magic” these machines make a standard DVD movie look more like a HD movie. These players can be found for about $100.

If you have not purchased a HD set then there is no reason to buy a Blu-Ray™ player or an up converting DVD player right now. The quality of picture from a Blu-Ray™ DVD on your standard definition TV will not be noticeably better. Save your money and wait until they drop in price so that they are displayed next to the chewing gum at the check out counter.

For those who are considering a Blu-Ray™ player you will find that the format offers much more than just better pictures and sound. Some Blu-Ray™ programming is enhanced by connecting the DVD player with the Internet and thus making the program interactive. This experience is similar to playing online or using devices like the Xbox™ or Wii™. Of course, to use these features you must have a high speed Internet connection like RoadRunner™ or Cincinnati Bell DSL.

Elections In The Digital Age

Now that the elections are finally behind us, at least for a week or two before someone announces intentions for the 2012 Presidential race, I though we could reflect on the impact that modern technology has played on the process and in some cases the results. The debates and rallies of political candidates are nothing new but the universal 24/7 access to what they say and do and promise and wear and look like is nothing short of extraordinary.

In the mid 1850s when Abraham Lincoln and Steven Douglas met to debate while seeking the US Senatorial seat for Illinois, relatively few were in attendance even though the two men agreed to travel to seven communities throughout Illinois. Most voters would hear about the debates via newspaper reports. The dynamics of “how” something was said was of course missing in these reports of “what” was said. Some would say this is better since a candidate’s good looks and/or idiosyncratic mannerisms did not affect the reader’s ability to critically examine the content. The quintessential example in the more recent past is of course Richard Nixon’s eschewing the use of make up at the Kennedy / Nixon televised debates of the 1960s.

Jumping to the recent Presidential election, the landscape has radically changed. For the last three years most every thing a candidate said, wore, ate, laughed at, looked at, traveled on or through has been shared with the world. Modern communications technology has been part and parcel of this election more than any in the past.

Time was when a candidate once, off the podium, could relax, perhaps even look a bit tired while back stage. Not now. Small format video cameras and recorders are on constant vigil to capture some tidbit of “news” to feed the voracious appetite of the 24/7 news cycle. And it is not just the professional journalists and news gathering organizations that chronicle the every move the of the candidates. Watching a political rally on television, executives from Sony or Cannon must feel great about the plethora of personal video cameras in the hands of the audience. The number of those cameras pales in comparison to the number of the ubiquitous camera phones on the belts and in the purses of most everyone in the audience. It is inconceivable that any action or inaction on the part of the candidates will escape world-wide distribution on YouTube.

The campaigns themselves used new technologies and online sites to full advantage. Over and above the www.johnmcaine.com and www.barakobama.com, any candidate worth his Blackberry has a MySpace page, a FaceBook page and email lists that go on forever. The use of targeted email has resulted in millions of dollars coming into the coffers of both major candidates.

As the new President moves from running for the office of President to running the office of the President it will be interesting to see how these same technologies will be used to maintain and expand communications with the electorate.

Just Turn It Off!

The minister has been preaching for ten minutes and is just getting to the main point of the sermon. The actors have woven a captivating story that is just now coming to a resolution. The violinist is just getting to the most beautiful passage of the entire symphony. BEEP…BEEP…Ta…Da! A cell phone peals out of the silence.

How many times has this happened to you? A very special moment corrupted by the modern Siren’s Song of technology. More and more the desire for continuous connectivity is running up against our peace and quiet and just plain good manners.

It is almost de rigueur at business meetings and conferences to have half of the participants texting or surfing the net on their Blackberries while someone else is speaking. Some call it multitasking. Others think that their importance is magnified by their obvious need to be in constant connection. Who knows when the President of the United States might want their advice?

Not long ago doctors and public safety personnel were the only ones with pagers, and even then, many checked them at the door. Today, there are more phones in the Sunday morning church services than exist in many Third World countries.

Even outside of the church or concert hall, many fail to abide by the most basic tenants of common courtesy. While at the local Kroger store shopping at the deli counter do we really need to discuss our latest treatment for hemorrhoids with our best telephonic friend? The most intimate of details of loves lost play out in the stores and on our streets.

There are those who think that Bluetooth® technology requires them to never be out of touch. Not long ago if you were walking along a city street and passed a single pedestrian carrying on an animated conversation with themselves you may have thought that they were a “few fries short of a happy meal.” Today it is common place to see people walking along, a Borg-like earpiece protruding from one ear. The conversations can be about what to cook for dinner or some details of what they did last night on that hot date. Neither of these topics should be forced on those who just happen to be passing by.

I am a jogger and many of my running routes take me though downtown Cincinnati during the noon hour. Crossing streets, even in cross walks and with the light, can be deadly if the driver at the light is carrying on a conversation on his cell phone. I have lost count of how many times I have narrowly missed being run over by a driver with on hand on the cell phone and the other on the steering wheel. Their eyes just look right though you while they are in rapt conversation.

I am a big fan of modern technology and I think the cell phone and laptops are nothing short of marvelous. But there is a time and place for these and other technologies. Sometimes you should just turn it all off.

WiFi on Steroids

Last year I mentioned in one of my weekly columns that I was following the development of a new technology that could have significant impact on how and where we connect to the Internet. That technology is called WIMAX and earlier this month the first major installation began operation in parts of Baltimore, MD.

Most of us know about WiFi, a related technology for wirelessly hooking up to an Internet connection without the use of wires. Most offices and many private homes have installed WiFi connections as have many coffee shops, restaurants, hotels and libraries. You can even sit on a park bench in Garfield Park in downtown Cincinnati and answer email and surf the web wirelessly with the free WiFi connection offered there.

One big limitation of WiFi is that the “signal” can only be transmitted over very short distances, often less than a few hundred feet. So, while this technology is great if you are sitting at a table drinking coffee, it does not work while on the move in car, bus or train. Also, unlike cell phones, the WiFi cells or “spots” are very limited in coverage.

You can think of WIMAX as WiFi on steroids. The coverage area of one WIMAX cell can be measured in square miles rather than in square feet. As a result, an entire city or county can be covered by a few high powered WIMAX transmitters.

A combination of advances in technology and the recently freed up radio spectrum have made WIMAX, a technology long confined to the laboratory, a viable commercial product that should help feed our insatiable appetite for mobile computer access and advanced communication.

Now I am sure that you would agree that the prospect of commuters on I-74 answering email on their laptop while driving 70 mph on the way to work is hardly a benefit to society, if we look a bit deeper we will find several other more valuable applications.

Cars with WIMAX capability could transform the way we listen to the radio. Since most major radio stations in the US provide their programming on the Internet, these stations can now be listened to anywhere. If you want to hear Marty lament another Reds loss, you could listen to WLW 700 while driving on a Los Angeles freeway.

As more and more cars are controlled by computers, software updates could be downloaded to your car’s innards without a stop at the dealer service shop. While some of this happens now using the mobile phone network, the WIMAX bandwidth is exponentially greater than what is possible via cell phone.

For public service personnel there are some tremendously exciting possibilities. The transfer of medical information to first responders could save lives. The ability for firefighters to access databases of information about a specific building or neighborhood while en route to an emergency situation has long been a dream. It may soon be common place.

WIMAX is only one of several technologies that are coming to market that will continue to allow us to “cut the cord” and wirelessly connect to our world regardless of place and time. This is a good thing as long as we remember that we can and should periodically turn it off .

Digital Nosiness On The Rise

We have discussed often in this column the increased capacity on the part of retailers for gathering data about our individual behavior. Not only can our preferences for a certain brand of automobile and the fuel we put in it be tracked and saved, but many more personal aspects of our lives can be gathered and examined. Often we may think that this type of digital “sleuthiness” is the province of the CIA or KGB when in essence it may be just as prevalent at Ikea or IGA.

The increased use of credit cards, and more recently the various affinity cards from companies like Kroger, make the gathering of this data increasingly common. Up until recently the capacity to gather this data has outpaced the ability to analyze it and develop useful information for retailers and marketers. The explosion in computing power, the reduced cost of data storage and retrieval and the myriad of ways to collect data has ushered in a new industry of data mining. The miners don’t don hard hats and lights, rather they use advanced mathematic formulas and algorithms.

Stephen Baker in his recent book “The Numerati,” examines what a recent book reviewer calls “digital nosiness.” Baker predicts an almost exponential growth in this industry and for some, myself included, some truly scary implications.

We have all known for years that a donation or contribution to some worthy cause often prompts a deluge of other requests for financial help on the part of all stripes of non-profits. While some major non-profits do not share or sell data or lists, other do. This sort of profiling is tame compared to what is now possible and what will be possible in the very near future

For example, instead of those pesky vinyl bags dangling from your mailbox delivering the weekly specials and coupons from biggs or Kroger, you may soon have customized coupons displayed on an LCD screen mounted on the shopping cart. As you enter the store you may swipe your credit or affinity card and the system will recognize you. The system will instantaneously call up information from your purchasing history at that store and perhaps other stores. Using that data it can “suggest” items that you may be interested in purchasing.

A store can also use this information in a variety of ways. Juxtaposing your shopping data with its inventory control system the store can offer you a “great deal” on some specific items it has that it has to move. Let’s say the store knows that it has an overabundance of fresh tuna steaks that will need to be thrown away at the end of the day. It can discount that item deeply right on your cart screen and suggest a recipe for tuna steaks.

There are some more intrusive possibilities. You may be familiar with the technology that allows your car to speed through toll booths. This technology used in many major cities uses RFI cards - small cards that can transmit information to a nearby sensor. When you want to get to work during rush hour, not having to stop at the toll booth is great. That same technology can be used for other more intrusive purposes. What if your credit card or affinity card came with an RFI chip embedded? A scanner at the entrance of a store, theatre, any location could sense your entrance. “Big Brother” is watching and, now with networked computers, “Big Brother” can remember where you were and what you bought the last time you were on vacation. Don’t believe that what happens in Vegas will always stay in Vegas.

All Phone Services Can Fail

Well, it didn’t take Cincinnati Bell long to call attention to the fact that Time Warner’s Digital Phone service was more prone to failure than good old Ma Bell’s hard wired service. While both services require some sort of wire either on poles or underground, digital phone service provided by a cable company like Time Warner requires each household to have electric power in order for the system to work. While Cincinnati Bell’s service also requires electric power, the power is provided by the phone company.

What the Cincinnati Bell advertisement didn’t mention is that during the recent wind storm both services had problems with downed lines. It makes little difference if you don’t have electricity if the wire connecting you to the phone system goes down. Standard “Ma Bell” phone systems or cable delivered services can be put out of service by a big tree falling across the wires or wind felling utility poles.

Many people found out the hard way that even if they had a regular Cincinnati Bell line their phone did not work. Many of the new phones used in homes have tons of features like caller ID, call holding, integrated answering machines and more. Many of these new phones require electric power in order to work. Many of us also have cordless phones. These too need electricity to work.

If you maintain Cincinnati Bell service, it is a good idea to have at least one “old fashion” phone that has a cord which plugs into the telephone jack and requires no other source of power. You can get one for about 15 bucks at most discount stores. Sometimes simpler is better.

I heard from some readers that they lost cell service during the recent wind storm. I did not have any problem with my Verizon service but it understandable how there could have been some interruptions. Cell towers can be buffeted by the wind, and while most have back up power, these back up systems can fail. Also many of the cell towers are interconnected with line-of-sight microwave radio systems. High winds can cause the dishes to go out of alignment thus making connection to the telephone network difficult or impossible. Some cell towers use the same hard wired circuits that you use in your home. Again, if the lines are down they don’t work.

Those with cell phones found that they had no way to charge the battery. Remember, you can use your car to charge up the battery and since the chargers take so little current, you won’t harm a good car battery even if the car is not running.

Internet access is another casualty of power failures and downed wires. Even if you use Cincinnati Bells DSL service, you need to have a DSL modem in your house and that requires electricity. Same for Time Warner’s Road Runner. About the only Internet service that can work with power out is a lap top running one of the Internet services provided by the cell phone companies.

The good news is that the recent storm was a once in a 100 year phenomenon. We are fortunate that our phones, internet and TV really do work most of the time no matter if they are delivered by Ma Bell, Time Warner or though the air.