Capitalism
did not arise because capitalists stole the land or the workmen’s tools, but
because it was more efficient than feudalism. It will perish because it is not
merely less efficient than socialism, but actually self-destructive
J.B.S.
Haldane, I Believe
The
Recession in the United States of America is making the Americans do
strange things. Case to point: Senator Barack Obama, President of the United
States of America appearing to be a “tree-hugger” in defense of the environment
via an imposed six month moratorium on offshore oil drilling as stated in the
article “Obama: End Dependence
on Fossil Fuels”, published Wednesday June 2010, By JULIE PACE,
Associated Press Writer, Yahoo! News.
A
fresh attempt now in place, plunking down nearly US$1 billion in Government of
the United States of America Venture Capital (VC) money as stated in the
article “Obama commits
billions to Solar Firms”, published July 4, 2010 11:34 AM PDT by
Reuters, CNET News - Green
Tech.
More
“tree hugging” during a photo opportunity, or “photo op” as the Americans call
it around the steering wheel of a 2011 Chevy Volt as stated in the article “Obama slips behind
the wheel of the Chevy Volt”, published July 16, 2010 12:52 PM PDT
by Suzanne Ashe, CNET News - The Car
Tech blog, apparently in support of forward thinking technology types, making
many an engineer in Silicon Valley and it noveau reich smile.
This
does not look good for Big Oil, old School business as there a lot of people
whose livelihoods depend on Big Oil and the free spending ways of its workers,
not to mention direct employment by the likes of Royal Dutch Shell as was
clearly evident on The Hub, aired Monday July 19 2010, BBC World News. An yet Big Oil is investing in
Bio-fuels, apparently hedging their bets on an Alternative Energy future that
may not involve Oil, making the Alaskans look like Luddites. Royal Dutch
Shell, carpe diem!
It
does not look good for people downloading music, movies and other content
illegally either as Senator Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States
of America has got religion too. This as stated in the article “Federal rules on
campus file sharing kicks in today”, published July 1, 2010 7:14 AM
PDT by Greg Sandoval CNET News -
Media Maverick.
Which
by the way is being followed up with punitive action as stated in the article “Feds seize cash,
Web sites of alledged film pirates”, published June 30, 2010 3:11 PM
PDT by Greg Sandoval CNET News -
Media Maverick.
Even
online shopping will no longer be tax free if Senator Bill Delahunt and the
Kings Men (Hollywood, is this better title for my script?) succeed in having
their cake and eating it as stated in the article “Democrats push for
new Internet sales taxes”, published July 2, 2010 12:28 PM PDT by
Declan McCullagh, CNET News - Politics
and Law.
Ditto
on the taxation thing for VOIP calling on Skype as stated in the article “Skype for iPhone
now support 3G, but free ride's ending”, published June 2 2010, by
Ben Patterson, Yahoo, online gambling being championed by Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Mass.) in a bill titled H.R. 2267 and H.R. 2268 as stated in the article “Congress may roll
dice, legalizing Net Gambling” published May 18, 2010 11:14 PM PDT
by Declan McCullagh CNET News-
Politics and Law.
There
is also the viewing of video content on video websites such as Hulu as stated
in the article “Hulu launches $10
video subscription service”, published Tuesday June 29 2010 by RYAN
NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer, Yahoo! News and
even pornography as stated in the article “Sex domain gets
official approval”, published Friday June 25 2010 by BBC World News.
America,
the free ride is over as the Federal Government, in a bid to increase it tax
inflows, is implicitly copying the Government of Jamaica and the application of
the Matalon Report, as the success of the JDX (Jamaica Debt Exchange) is now
been rapidly spread and whispered far and wide and as was the case with our
athletes at the Olympics, the American are, as they say in their colloquial
language, are “green with envy”!!
A
similar storm in a teacup (for obviously that is what John Public sees it as)
is brewing in the Mobile Phone industry after Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs had his
Black Friday or Black Sabbath, whichever you prefer. In its aftermath, there
now appears to be an impending shortage of components to make the reputed Apple
iPhone 4.0 Replacement Killers (Hollywood, is that a great title for a movie or
what?) as stated in the article “The summer of the
smart phone shortage”, published July 13, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News -
Signal Strength.
This
would be the 4” screen almost-big-as-my-hand HTC Evo 4G on Telecom Provider
Sprint 4G Wireless Broadband Network, HTC Droid Incredible 4G on Telecom
Provider Verizon 4G Wireless Broadband Network and the Motorola Droid and its
cousin the renamed Motorola Droid X on Telecom Provider Verizon 4G Wireless
Broadband Network.
Meanwhile,
in Jamaica, as if by magic, ever since the stealthily quiet launch of Municipal
Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Network Provider Dekal Wireless, which is similarly cost-
structured with a JA$180 Day Pass Access island wide as is AT&T Municipal
Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Network as stated in the article “AT&T offers
Wi-Fi in New York City”, published May 25, 2010 7:04 AM PDT by
Marguerite Reardon, CNET News -
Signal Strength.
Since
the last week of June 2010, not only has Telecom Provider Digicel launched the new Jus
Buss Promotion on Television Jamaica since Thursday 1st 2010,
yet holding on to the still successful Gimme 5 Promotion.
but
Telecom Provider Digicel have
been dropping hints like crazy about their impending WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE
802.16d) Wireless Broadband Network Launch, slated to occur in August, my birth
month as stated in the article “Digicel quietly testing 4G for August launch”,
published Sunday June 27th 2010 by Mark Titus, Gleaner
Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.
This on the back of a successful First
Quarter for 2010 for Digicel Group
as stated in the article “Digicel look
beyond to expand its 32 markets”, published Friday June 25th 2010
by Al Edwards, The Jamaica
Observer and for Telecom Providers in general as stated in the
article “Total revenue hit record
in September Q” published Wednesday July 7th 2010, The Jamaica Observer.
August
bad again!!
Telecom
Provider Digicel apparently is
taking no chances, as they are well aware of the fact that there is flurried
speculation of a coming tsunami of ultra-cheap Apple iPhone 3GS from Telecom Provider CLARO,
as ever since the news of the drop in price of the iconic Apple iPhone 3GS to
US$99 on a two (2) year contract stated in the article “Get a new 16GB
iPhone 3GS for $97”, published May 25, 2010 5:18 AM PDT by Rick
Broida CNET News - The Cheapskate.
The
Telecom Providers have been getting fidgety, making all manner of announcements
that seem to be merely vapor ware, such as Telecom Provider LIME’s
announcement on Radio on Wednesday July 7th 2010 while I was on
my way from Mandeville of the eminent launch of LIME TV.
LIME TV
was to be a Direct TV supported variant of Telecom Provider Digicel’s highly successful DigiTV as
hinted in the article “DigiTV launch for 2009 - Mobile
provider branches into TV”, published Friday November 14th 2009
by Ross Sheil, Online Co-ordinator, The Jamaica Observer.
DigiTV’s
business model looks a bit shady to me and may in fact be reduced to being
piggybacked on WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d) Wireless Broadband Network
similarly as Telecom Provider LIME is rumored to be doing, effectively
Wireless Subscriber Television and an avenue for the Big Three (3) Broadcasters
RJR Communications Group, CVM Communications Group and LOVE TV/Radio.
Telecom
Provider LIME’s
Summer Promotion with the Apple iPad 3G or the Apple iPad 3G +Wi-Fi (IEEE
802.11n) is further evidence of the coming nervousness swirling around Dekal
Wireles and Telecom Provider CLARO threatening stances in the
coming few weeks, a sure sign that Telecom
Provider CLARO is not
supporting the Apple iPad 3G or the Apple iPad 3G +Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) but
Dekal Wireless is picking up the slack.
Albeit
no definitive announcement has come from out of either Telecom Provider CLARO or Dekal Wireless, John Public is wondering
if the two (2) are running as the American would say “gangbusters” on Telecom
Provider LIME and
Telecom Provider Digicel,
signaling something that Telecom Providers, “lovers of money and themselves”
dread the most: a Price War, a benefit to customers but discount hell for
Telecom Providers.
This
just in!: Telecom Provider LIME is now carrying the supposed flagship
smart phone from Telecom Provider Digicel namely
the Blackberry Storm ( the only “smart” phone from Blackberry, which is finally
catching the trend of touch screens and multimedia) as stated in the LIME Advertisement,
dated Monday July 19 2010, The Sunday Gleaner
The
fact that Telecom Provider LIME has just
reached Montego Bay as stated in the article “LIME to build US$40m 3G Network for Montego Bay”,
published Sunday June 27, 2010, by Janeta Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer, The Sunday Gleaner, then we have an
interesting “double whammie” as the Americans call it in Jamaica for
the first time.
Not
only do we have a Data War shaping up between Dekal Wireless and the Big Three
(3) Telecom Providers LIME, Telecom Provider Digicel and Telecom Provider CLARO but
now we may seem to be having a smart phone battle as Telecom Provider CLARO may
be preparing to unleash upon us a horde of Apple iPhone 3GS so cheap that it
would push the price of the Blackberry to prices only seen for the Nokia 1208
and that is NOT a smart phone but a simple feature phone.
This
seems, as John Public, a cricket fan of the West Indies, to be a follow-on on
the trend in the United States of America, in their sweltering heat
sweating it out with a fatal case of Apple iPhone 4.0 fever.
We,
as pragmatic Jamaican people, rarely stand in lines, only for the US Embassy
Visas, Government of Jamaica food Stamps, Government Tax Agencies, Free Food or
anything free for that matter but the crazy three (3) block lines as stated by
Senior Editor, Brian Tong in the video “CNET The Apple Byte”, aired
Friday June 25th 2010, by Brian Tong, Senior Editor, CNET News and corroborated by the blog “Live blog: iPhone 4
goes on sale”, published June 24, 2010 3:00 AM PDT by CNET News staff, CNET News - Wireless on Thursday 24th June
2010 when the Apple iPhone 4.0 landed may just be set to happen in Jamaica at a
CLARO Store near you!!
Let
us analyze this Apple iPhone 4.0 fever like a good doctor should. The response
of the Americans to the Apple iPhone 4.0, despite the asserted problems,
completely outstripped the hype of the previous Apple iPad launch that debut
earlier on the weekend of Saturday April 3rd and Sunday April 4th 2010,
with “White people gone bananas over Apple”.
When
Telecom Provider AT&T launched the
Apple iPhone from its stores as stated in the article “iPhone 4 goes on
sale at AT&T”, published June 29, 2010 5:48 AM PDT by Marguerite
Reardon, CNET News - Signal
Strength the same thing occurred: long lines, chaos.
Assuming
the ever truthful bloggers cum journalists at CNET in the
guise of Senior Editor, Brian Tong in the video “CNET The Apple Byte”,
aired Friday June 25th 2010, by Brian Tong, Senior
Editor, CNET News estimate of
sales figures of one million, five hundred thousand (1,500,000) Apple iPhone
4.0’s in one (1) day, a record corroborated by article “First day iPhone 4
sales estimate: 1.5 million”, published June 25, 2010 10:10 AM PDT
by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit
Breaker
The
Apple iPhone 4.0 will go down in history as the most successfully Summer of
2010 for smart phone makers, as the feel good appetite that the sudden
rebounding of the American Economy is having a ripple effect
Vision:
people shelling out big bucks on all smart phones in general, defying the
analysts and buying that smart phone that have always wanted. This is resulting
in supply shortages even for the Apple iPhone 4.0 Replacements (Hollywood,
Hollywood…………this title any better?) as stated in the article “The summer of the smart
phone shortage”, published July 13, 2010 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite
Reardon, CNET News - Signal
Strength. Capitalism is alive and well in the Great United States of America,
but will this “bubble” of smart phone craziness burst and eventually self
destruct?
No comments:
Post a Comment