Technology Blog

Apple To Roll Out IPhone On June 29.

There’s been a lot of buzz around Apple’s iPhone set to be released June 29, but after reading the above article I can’t help but be a little disappointed. Internet access and storage for music and video are two great features that one can come to expect for *most* smart phones. As early as 2001, I recall telling my partner that I couldn’t wait until the day cell phones combine, storage, and highspeed cell internet access *as well as* 802.11b/g WIFI access in order to take advantage of highspots now commonplace all over the world. And you know what? I’m still waiting for an affordable option that includes internet, storage, digital camera, and wifi.

Apple’s iPhone if this article is correct is set to be launched with 4-8 gigabytes of storage. Not bad. But not too good given the $499-599 price tag. While it appears to be as top quality as most smartphones out there, with perhaps more emphasis on widescreen and other media enriched features, it’s not likely be revolutionary.

Where’s the wifi access? Is this a conspiracy amongst cell providers? It makes me wonder. Is the storage built in, or flash? If built in, 4-8 gigs will soon seem limiting to most people.

And with that, I must confess, the search for me continues: 6 years later.

As someone who travels frequently for extensive periods, I’ve been interested in owning a spy camera. I’m particularly interested in wireless cams packages that are easy to install and mobile. The closest I got to having a surveillance camera was about 4 years ago when I went to visit my wife in California for 3 months. While I was away, I was able to have my home cam connected to the computer and have a live feed uploaded to the internet. While it was cool (and kinda fun because I could watch what my pets and pet sitter were doing) is wasn’t a complete enough solution. Pakatak seems have many packages available that just might fit the bill in the new house I live in.

Of particular interest to me are wireless camera kits. Night visions cameras like the one I’ve linked here are becoming more popular, providing a broader range of visibility. The best part of this camera: “The software features motion detection and allows remote viewing over the internet. Over 24hrs of full motion video can be recorded onto a standard 20GB hard drive.” Given the amount of hard drive space a lot of us use these days, 20 GB is not a lot to ask for peace of mind when traveling.

A complete list of security and technical products including babe monitors, IP cameras, atennas, and other camera kits can be found here: http://www.pakatak.co.uk. I’m tempted to get a kit before I leave the country again for a 2 month trip.

I thought this was an interesting article in the Globe and Mail.

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but what struck me, quite honestly is that it’s “newsworthy”. But then, I’ve always been a geek. When available, I’ve been bringing laptops on car camping trips for at least 10 years now. And these days, it’s *almost* rare that you can’t find a WIFI connection to connect to the internet even when you’re on vacation.

Nevertheless it is an interesting trend noted in this article. I’m curious to know what “vacation” will look like, say 10 years from now… will we all be so attached to our computers that we won’t know the difference between work and a break on the beach? Thankfully, if I so choose, I can simply work on any beach within a wifi area.

News Article: WiMAX was the belle of the CTIA ball
Sprint is deploying WiMAX, others carriers are considering it

One day I was sipping drinks at a very push martini (or was it a sushi) bar in downtown Toronto sometime back in ‘94/’95 (could have been ‘97 but my memory escapes me).

I’ll never forget this conversation because a good friend of mine (programmer) was debating the technical limitations he felt existed in phone lines, stating it was an engineering impossibility for DSL to be as fast as what this investor was claiming. This investor wasn’t a complete slouch in the technology department but he was more of a money man than he was a tech guru. At least, given how often he slurred his words, that’s certainly what I thought of him. He made an impact when he told my programming buddy that they already had a DSL testing market in Ottawa.

From then on, I was hooked. At that point, my only access to highspeed internet was at work. In 1995 we were connected by an ISDN line (for speed references we’re talking about a 1/4 - 1/8 speed of the average DSL line to individual homes). The ISDN line served 50 workstations. Before long, we bumped up to a T1. But highspeed for consumers? That didn’t exist on a large scale until 1997. That was the pivotal year. When I later moved to Nova Scotia, things had advanced so quickly, I made the jump in my thinking that Nova Scotia must be so advanced in delivering DSL to a higher population percentage than what was happening in Toronto. The reality is: DSL along with highspeed cable internet access simply just took off.

The drunken investor knew what he was talking about.

In 2001, my ex girlfriend and I won some points from an affiliate program we were promoting, and we promptly made the jump from wired router to WIFI. This was practically unheard of at the time, especially in a small town in a small province. I rigged up all the Linksys components and within a few hours the three of us (including her computer addicted 9 year old son) were connected to the internet without the need for anymore cables ever again.

There days, friends from back east tell me that if they take their trusty laptops into town, they can usually pick up 3-5 WIFI connections from their friend’s places. *cough* not that I’m encouraging anyone to go “war driving” anytime soon.

After reading an article on WiMax in an obscure free Toronto newspaper back in February of last year, I made the prediction that WiMAX could become the next wave in internet connectivity within a 2-5 year window.

It looks like my prediction might start to come true.

WiMAX was the belle of the CTIA ball
Sprint is deploying WiMAX, others carriers are considering it

So I have a hope of course. It is my dream that I will one day ditch my cantenna device (a tube attached to my network card to boost wifi signals for better reception), ditch Wifi, and adopt WiMAX, and hopefully stay connected in real time on road at all times. I am amused that I once chatted with a friend on MSN while my wife was driving the car in and around Victoria, BC (that’s how many wifi connections there were in the city core).

Imagine not having to hop from one connection to another like that anymore. Imagine just *being* connected. Anywhere.

That’s my hope for WiMAX. It’s the next phase people. We all want it, we’re craving it. It’s time.

More information on technical aspects of WiMAX