Un sencillo espectador...: English entries

July 28th, 2012

NEW OLD RED TELEPHONE BOXES IN LONDON

23-June-2014. - During my last visit to London last week, I flipped out as whenever I visit the big city. Although no one uses landlines, traditional, everyday, and unchanging red telephone boxes remain unchanged as an indispensable part of the furniture of the great metropolis, over time since the roaring twenties in the last century. I could not believe that the only reason for preservation of boxes was the attraction for visitors of the city, which does its typical souvenir photos.

This single use could not explain the costly maintenance of the cabins. Since English pragmatism, I was intrigued that other reasons could be, or other uses that were given to these booths.

For about six months, an agreement between O2 and Orange companies along with some Boroughs of Greater London ensured the continuity of the few remaining famous cabins, taking their maintenance and performance use. The interior of the cabins are gone phones, but have been conditioned perfectly with a comfortable padded bench, cooling or heating depending on the season, and a shelf / folding table if you need to write something. For 20 pence or slightly more depending on the area, an automatic coin collection crosses the tourist or user access to a small but comfortable space.

But, what this space could be for?

The answer to my question came one afternoon when I saw a typical English gentleman, of those that remain; he deposited a coin to enter one of the booths in the center of London. While he sat and while closing the door, took out gracefully from the pocket of his jacket a kind of book, which was nothing but his staffintercom.

Doing as I was just walking, -but I was doing that really well, in fact-, I went secretly to see that it was simply a video-call through one of these new peripherals, which have replaced the old mobile-phones or cellular-phones.

Almost as a minicomputer staff capacity, these "devices" that looks like a "tablet" bent on itself have become an irreplaceable tool that always accompanies every executive, student or young lover of social networks. Although all models offer the possibility to connect a headset or"helmets" standard, the truth is that most users reserve this possibility for music, while for the video-calls, which have completely replaced the voice telephone-calls, people prefer external microphone and speakers of the device. It is therefore logical that anyone prefer a corner with some privacy in the cafe or on the street, or rather in these booths to meet or make a video call.

Like all models incorporate voice recognition, short messages are received by the recipient transcribed whatsapp therefore it is seen as bad habit to answer a phone-call or video-call on the subway or any other public place.

Besides the improvement in contact with your partner, you know it or not, the possibility of keeping in touch while viewing your calendar, you recover a file, or perform an internet consultation, all sharing with your partner, if desired, have video-calls made from something more serious in communications. And if we add the image quality of dual retina screen 7 inch flexible, like the old Nexus 7 or iPad"mini" and the ability to record and store the video-call, all this is explaining the need for privacy.

Therefore, I welcome this new, traditional, pragmatic and brilliant British idea to keep their red telephone boxes. London would not be the same without them!

Post-script.: I hope everyone forgive me boast futuristic imagination for this story!

® Jesus Almeda Ortega

August 1st, 2010

APPLE & NINTENDO CREATE A NEW INTERCOM

The world of the communication technology evolves to a vertiginous rate, and the pieces of news follow one another so quickly that there is not the most super expert than it can be updated.

Only yesterday 4G iPhone, the last great promise of Apple was put on generalized sale in Spain, after iPad.

In spite of the million followers of Apple, the launching of iPhone 4G has had habitual his tabloid story, with its filtrations, positioning like those of Orange to before sell it, and coverall the accumulation of the news on the cover failures, which has come in calling “antenngate”.

The past 26 of July, tuexpertomovil.com published: “If the Web Consumers Reports' (a trustworthy reference in technology) advised against the purchase of the last model of iPhone a pair of weeks ago, now they are the Germanic the Stiftung Warentest that seal the recommendation of not taking control of the ill-fated although profitable device of Apple.”

These problems of cover of Apple, being technical or of marketing cause, they aim at coming changes for in a moment, and on the 22 of July tuexpertomovil.com picked up a rumor on the possible launching of new iPhone 4G or iPhone 5 for September. “The decision would be motivated by the intention to adjust the bad image that the public has of iPhone 4 because of the cover problem that presents.

In spite of the good results in sales, the stock-exchange quotes of Apple have presented a reduction that has not liked to those of Cupertino, so that they could have opened the door to the possibility of advancing the model launching in which already they would be working for his launching in the summer of 2011.” It picked up the news. Even the Spanish newspaper 20minutos.es it speaks on the matter.

On the other hand, the leaders companies in console for games as Nintendo faces similar problems, in spite of its unstoppable upstroke. Geekets gathered, already the 7 of May of 2010, the news that, for the first time in 6 years, the gains of Nintendo lowered: “Lamentably, everything what raises, must lower, and this Nintendo dawn has presented its results annual, emphasizing a fall in its sales that did not occur for 6 years. In case outside little, the company knows very well why way advances and comment that it hopes that the utilities follow the loss.”

Although Reggie Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo in the United States, would deny not long ago (April 8th, 2010) that Apple is not a viable platform for video-games. The console companies for games also fight to control and Nintendo wants to again surprise us all since it already made previously with the launching of Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii. The new portable one, 3DS, will include the capacity to show third dimension effects, as the style of “Avatar”, without needing special glasses.

But the existing divorce until now between “gamers” and lovers of the social networks is called to disappear, like all the radical things. The users, and even in the developing countries, true consumers, are tired to load with different apparatuses for each thing, and of the computers in this case. For that reason it was logical that those that dominate the market will get to work to safeguard their common interests. For that reason the intercom has arrived (“intercom DS”) reuniting all the benefits from the previous ones. I am afraid that the cellular phones finished as we knew them so far, and notebooks, and iPad, and who knows if until the personal computers. A “Device” with permanent connection to Internet, as large as a console than can be kept in the pocket can replace all that one.

Some characteristics of the new intercom (intercom DS):

The Battery is like the one of iPhone 4, integrated of Lithium polymers, with 7 hours of possible conversation, 300 h. in rest, 6 h. sailing in Internet 3G, 10 h. of video reproduction, or 40 h. of reproduction of audio.

The capacity comes given by a Flash Unit from 16 or 32 GB. It has systems of location like: Attended GPS, Digital Compass, Wi-Fi and intelligent phone (Smartphone)

Upper Screen of 5.12 inches CD display, allowing to see in 3D without needing special glasses, with a resolution of 960x640 pixel (400 pixels reserve each eye to allow the vision in 3D) adjustable and with the possibility of annulling to effect 3D like in Nintendo 3DS.

The low Screen is a “Retina” Screen, Multi-touch of 4.65 inches, resolution of 960x640 and contrast at 800:1.

High definition Camcorder, external camera of 8 megapixels like the one of Droid X 4,3 inches of Motorola and one internal Camera with 5 megapixels of resolution, approach by touch for photos and video, with recording of HD video (720p to a maximum of 30 f/s with sound), geo-labelling of photos and videos, and Flash LED. The advanced sensorial BSI (sensorial of back light) even captures perfect snapshots with little light. And the new frontal camera is perfect for the self-portrayers.

It allows direct and compatible Video-phone call for all the intercoms of the series, including iPhone 4, by means of programs like Skype with other peripheral ones that support them. The FaceTime system allows you to happen at any time from a camera to another one during video-phone call. The video takings can be published with the application iMovie with subjects, transitions and titles designed by Apple.