Apps and IT, Telecoms and Engineering Entrepreneurship in Jamaica – Def Jam’s How to Be A Player

Be still, sad heart! And cease repining;

Behind the Clouds is the Sun still shining.

Longfellow, The Rainy Day

The news of the weeks shenanigans in the Internet Space of Hacking and cloud-Based Service Failures has many a person shaken up and coming to their senses as to the vulnerability of the Cloud-Based Services which everyone seems to be pushing towards as suggested in my blog article entitled “AWC Fail, PSN Hack and Nokia Layoff - Murphy Law in a Clash of The Titans” and the article entitled “Seagate Buys Samsung HDD Business - SSD's in Rihanna's Shut up and Hard-Drive”.

Even Microsoft Windows 8 appears to be Cloud-Based as stated in my blog article entitled “Windows and Cloud Computing - Audia Resident Evil After-Market Taste-and-Buy”. This as running the OS via the Internet Explorer 10 Browser may be where Microsoft is going, keeping step with Google Chrome OS which powers the Acer and Samsung made CR-48 Smartbooks as stated in my blog article entitled “Google Chrome OS and Open Source - Star Wars A New Hope”.

Still this is research in progress; as these Cloud-Based Services fail and hacked, Telecoms Researchers, IT Personnel and Software Engineers can use the information from the compromised Cloud-Based Services to design better more hacker attack resistant systems. While they are at it achieving the five 9’s i.e. 99.999% uptime, should not seem so distant an ominous a goal to achieve.

So with the Cloud so insecure, downloading of programs will be with us for quite some time, despite Researchers pushing the speed barriers into the 1TBps speeds as stated in my blog article entitled “Verizon, NEC and the Dawn of the Terabit Age - Audia's FlashDance and Surf's Up” and even the 100 TBps speeds as stated in the article “Faster! Faster! Scientist push 100 Terabit Speeds”, published April 29, 2011, 7:40am PT By Stacey Higginbotham, GigaOM.

People will still have a preference for hard copies of programs stored on various storage media, be it DVD Disc, Blu-Ray Disc or Removable Hard-Drive as stated in my blog article entitled “Netflix & the Death of Blu-Ray - Rise of the Machines meets Chicken Run”.

So the article from the Associated Press in which Research Analyst ABI predicts that forty four billion (44,000,000,000) apps will be downloaded over the next five (5) years should be an indication of a robust market for smartphone and smartbook App purchase as stated in the article “What 44 billion mobile App Downloads by 2016 Means”, published April 28, 2011, 1:49pm PT By Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM.

It is also a follow-on of previous predictions by Gartner, as stated in the article entitled: “Gartner: Mobile apps to generate US$15 billion in 2011”, published January 26, 2011 11:54 AM PST by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker with regards to App purchase in 2011:

1.      US$15 billion worth of apps are expected to be purchased in 2011 alone

2.      17.7 billion apps will be downloaded in 2011, double the 8.2 billion downloaded in 2010

Thus a ready market, both now as well as in the foreseeable future, awaits the plucky Jamaican with programming skills and wiling to buck the trend of a lack of interest in using IT (Information Technology), Telecoms and Engineering as a vehicle for entrepreneurship as noted in my blog article entitled “Senator Darly Vaz and the WEO NRI - Bragging Rights and Broadband Rights Required”.

How to be a Player (1997) in the lucrative Developer culture is not as hard as one would imagined, as it is as simple as having the required programming languages, the relevant SDK (Software Development Kit) and a really good idea for an App.

A little guerilla marketing never hurt anyone in promoting your App. Combine with in-App payments or payments for additional upgrades to your App and you will find that you regularly have to be checking the balance on your Paypal Account to verify that balance on your Virtual VISA Debit Card.

Not to mention you can quit your day job, as was the case with the Developer and founder of Mojang’s Markus “Notch” Persson, a Swedish programmer who developed the now hugely popular online game, MineCraft as stated in the article “The Insane Success of Minecraft: $33M and Counting”, published April 8, 2011, 1:00pm PT By Bobbie Johnson, GigaOM.

Thus an answer is provided to my rant on the Geezam blog entitled “Jamaica's Low Net Penetration - Broadband Internet A Universal Right” in which I declared the only way to get Jamaicans interested in computers, aside from removing the tariff on computer importation well as declaring Broadband Internet a Basic Human Right, is to show Jamaicans how to make money directly from the Internet.

Simple – just become a Developer!

Apps and programming is a way How to be a Player (1997) in the lucrative App market, set to explode in 2011 and beyond as the London Olympics 2012 slated to commence on July 27^th 2012AD, draws nigh and as the Dark Clouds hanging over Cloud-Based Services begins to give way to a Silver lining!

Senator Phillip Paulwell and PowerLine Broadband - Ice Station Zebra

Man is but a reed, the weakest in Nature, but he is a thinking reed

Pascal, Pensees, VI

After a successful innings in which Senator Philip Paulwell, PNP (People’s National Party) Spokesperson for IT and Telecoms issues successfully and excellently batted for the use of Nuclear Power in Jamaica as stated in my blog article entitled “Phillip Paulwell's Nuclear Power in a Bathtub - SilkWood meets the China Syndrome”, Senator Phillip Paulwell has killed his own wicket.

Albeit Senator Philip Paulwell is the father of the Telecoms Sector Liberalization resplendent in the Telecommunications Act of 2000, from time to time, politicians put their mouths in their foot. Nothing wrong with that, I say, as anything that can get JPS Co to agree to Energy Sector Liberalization and thus introduce competition in the Energy Sector would be welcome.

But this puzzling change of tactic is strange, as Senator Philip Paulwell’s arguments for Nuclear Power in Jamaica were actually doing the same thing as I had pointed in my blog article entitled “Nuclear Power and Net Metering - Paulwell's Energy Sector Liberalization Chess Game”.

Especially seeing as Nuclear was cleaner than Coal as stated in the article “Superstition: Nuclear Power versus Coal”, published Friday March 18, 2011, Editorial, The Jamaican Gleaner.

This as Senator Philip Paulwell was then subsequently joined by as Professor Dr. Gerald Lalor, University of the West Indies Lecturer and Director-General for the International Centre for Environment and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) and Zia Mian, Director of OUR (Office of the Utilities Regulation) in strident calls for Nuclear Power to be considered as an option to Fossil Fuels.

This as stated in the article “Increased calls for Nuclear Energy use in Jamaica”, published 24-04-2011 11:46:26 by Go-Jamaica!

So Senator Philip Paulwell’s statements before a panel of journalists at the Chevron Caribbean's retailer’s conference at Gran Bahia Principe hotel in Runaway Bay, St Ann on Wednesday April 27^th 2011 in which Senator Philip Paulwell posited the idea of giving the JPS Co, (Jamaica Public Service Company) a Telecom’s License as a swap for accepting Energy Sector Liberalization, was troubling.

But it Senator Philip Paulwell words that would make any Level 2 Telecoms Technician from Telecom Provider LIME  cringe in horror, as he expounded on Powerline Broadband, quote: “I believe that as we move to negotiate away the monopoly from the Jamaica Public Service Company, you have to enable them to recover some of those revenues. There is now energy technology, which allows you to distribute telecommunications Signal using the Power line, what you call Broadband.”

This is not at all feasible, folks!

At least, not with current Technology due to one simple reason: Attenuation and Signal Interference.

Before I jump on my soapbox, it is good to point out that JPS Co already has a Telecom License.

Like duh- uh!

JPS Co must logically have one, as they need to communicate with their Power Engineers at the various Power Stations and Sub-Stations.

Using a Telecoms Service from a fellow Utility such as Telecom Provider LIME would not help, as they only need to communicate between Power Stations and Sub-Stations, with PBX (Private Branch Exchange) or even VoIP PBX from Avaya to accomplish the task of communication outside of JPS Co.

This as JPS Corporate Communications Manager Winsome Callum asserts that JPS Co uses a secure communication standard to communicate over Power Lines, the so called Power Line Carrier (PLC) as stated in the article “Security flaws in Some Smart meters”, published Sunday April 18, 2010 by Mark Titus, Gleaner Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.

Her words would suffice to prove my point, quote: “This means that they use the high-voltage Power Lines as the communication medium. While no system is 100 per cent tamper-proof, the PLC system is very robust and it would be extremely difficult to intercept the communication being transmitted via the Power Lines.”

The only flaw with her assertion: the communication with Power Meters mentioned in the article is not via PLC, it is via the 2G GPRS (Global Packet Radio System) or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Network that is part of Telecom Provider LIME GSM (Global System Mobile) Network.

PLC is really used within the Power Stations and Sub-Stations to communicate with other parts of the Power Stations or Sub-Stations, with Microwave Radios, powered by Ericsson, to carry Signaling back to the JPS Co Head Office so that their NOC (Network Operation Center) can monitor the status of their Power Stations and Sub-Stations.

This means that they have to have spectrum assigned for their Microwave Radios to be used, be it unlicensed or licensed spectrum. For that reason, they would have to have a Telecom License, which by the way, already covers the resale of service to customers.

Why JPS Corporate Communications Manager Winsome Callum would commit such as blatant form of media obfuscation in this article is not clear, save that JPS Co does not want hackers to hack their Billing Network and alter AMA (Automated Messaging and Accounting) Billing or re-enable Power Meters that they have disconnected.

Or JPS Corporate Communications Manager Winsome Callum is just clueless!!

But what of Attenuation and Signal Interference?

PLC, which I know by its official name as HomePlug AV (IEEE 1901) as described in my blog article entitled “Wi-Fi, LightPeak and PowerLine Broadband - The Young and the Restless”, is basically used for Home Networks.

It is NOT utilized for long haul Transmission over Power Lines, owing to the high amount of inductive impedance such High Frequency Signals would face traveling on unshielded and non-twisted pair constantan (aluminum and steel alloy) wires.

Basic Physics at work people; Lenz Law at work!

Attenuation of Signal, requiring frequent Repeaters on the Power Lines, making PowerLine Broadband impractical!

It is only used for Home Networking purposes or for communication in place where running additional Ethernet Cable will prove to be a challenge, such as in a Power Stations or Sub-Stations.

This is because the wiring inside of a house are within the houses’ walls or Plenum spaces as is the case with Power Stations or Sub-Stations. Thus, the metallic structures within the concrete walls or Plenum spacing shields any High Frequency Radiation emanating from Broadband Signals travelling on the Power Wires from interfering with electronic equiptment.

Please note too that due to the relatively short wiring distance within a house, the impedance losses are easily handled by the HomePlug AV (IEEE 1901) Router, making creating a home Network as easy as plugging into a wall socket and connecting the Broadband to your HomePlug AV (IEEE 1901) Router!

The Engineers at the Power Stations or Sub-Stations communicate back to the JPS Co Head Office, be it Voice Communication (or Video?) via the Microwave Radios, with the Signal being propagated by the Microwave Antennas mounted on the mast atop the JPS Co Head Office.

Either way, Senator Philip Paulwell’s suggestion will not fly as the Economics is against it, as Triple Play Provider FLOW is expanding, despite President and CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Michelle “Dallas” English of Triple Play Provider FLOW not being able to achieve the completion of their Digital Cable Network my blog article entitled “FLOW, IPTV an the coming of Net2Vu - Johnny Mnemonic”.

Ditto too, the build out of the island wide Fiber Optic Network being jointly executed by Telecom Provider LIME and Triple Play Provider FLOW and ironically being funded by the Government of Jamaica UAFCL (Universal Access Fund Company Limited) as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME, FLOW and the JA$543-million Internet Plan - Ebony and Ivory”.

So, it should be back to the submarine for Senator Philip Paulwell, Ice Station Zebra (1968) Style? ‘Cause the Nuclear Power argument was on the right track as Jamaica does need Nuclear Power!

More to come as Jamaica battles to have Energy Sector Liberalization!

Yahoo Mail and Verizon LTE Failure - The Great Train Robbery with a Chance of MeatBalls

Out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety

Shakespeare, Henry IV, I II, 3

Today, Thursday April 28^th 2011AD is indeed another strange day in the Cloud. Yet another Cloud-Based Service, Yahoo Mail, and Telecom Provider Verizon LTE (Long Term Evolution) Data Network, are currently experiencing an Outage.

As a former Telecoms Technician, these Developments are indeed mercurially strange and curious!

So says the articles “Yahoo Mail Down and users cry foul”, published April 28, 2011 11:19 AM PDT by Jay Greene, CNET News - Digital Media with Colleen Taylor from GigaOM bringing the “backative” as stated in the article  “Yahoo Mail Outage: Is This Thing On?”, published April 28, 2011, 11:19am PT by Colleen Taylor, GigaOM.

Truly, the five 9’s i.e. 99.999 is going to be very hard to achieve, as customers are not as tolerant of Data Network Failures such as the current Telecom Provider Verizon LTE (Long Term Evolution) Network Failure as stated in the article “Will Verizon's LTE outage Harm the "Most Reliable" Network?”, published April 28, 2011, 9:22am PT by Kevin C. Tofel, GigaOM as they are of Voice Network failures.

And as is expected in our world so intertwined with Social Networking, most people know about it because of complaints on Twitter. Even though it only affects only 0.5% of Yahoo Global user base, a mere one million three hundred thousand (1,300,000) users!

Yahoo Mail is not chopped liver folks! And neither is Telecom Provider Verizon. Albeit Faith in Cloud-Based Services is still strong!

Despite the screwed up look from Generation Y [aged 13 to 27] who ask, “like dude, who uses email anyway when you have FB?”, Yahoo Mail is still a force to be reckoned with in the email world, having ceded pole position to Google a long time ago in terms of unique website traffic to settle for third place.

Yahoo Mail now joins the who-who of Cloud-Based Services that have been experiencing outages since the Great AWS (Amazon Web Service) Cloud Failure of 2011 as chronicled in the article ‘Yahoo Mail down for some: The outage parade continues”, published April 28, 2011, 11:41am PD by Larry Dignan, ZDNET.

Albeit this seriously pales in comparison to The Great Train Robbery (1979) that was the seventy seven million (77,000,000) strong Sony PSN (PlayStation Network) Credit Card hack as chronicled in my blog article entitled “AWC Fail, PSN Hack and Nokia Layoff - Murphy Law in a Clash of The Titans”, it does raise concerns about security in the Cloud.

Especially as a Cloud-based Platform means that effectively all your personal Data is stored on Servers run by supposedly secure Servers on a set of RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks or Redundant Array of Independent Disks) Mechanical Hard-Drives, Hybrid Mechanical Hard-Drives or SSD (Solid State Drives) is easily accessible to hackers.

So the faith of Americans is shaken yet again, as the Season of the Witch of Dark Skies continues in the Gloomy Cloud World.

Still, the march towards the Cloud-Based applications presses on, despite these Outages and Security Breaches, with Enterprise and Corporate Servers still placing their faith in Servers running Linux Distribution OS as stated in the article “Big Business backs Linux”, published December 1, 2010, 12:36pm PST by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, ZDNet - Linux and Open Source.

Aside from this minor Yahoo Mail Cloud-Based Service Failure as well as the major Telecom Provider Verizon LTE Data Failure, will there be more Cloud Failures on the Horizon, possibly large food chunks falling out of the sky this time, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) Style? Stay tuned………..

Supreme Ventures and Blackberry Gambling - Rihanna S&M on the Dark Side of the Moon

An Once or Twice to throw the dice

Is a gentlemanly game,

But he does not win who plays with Sin

In the Secret House of Shame

Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Goal

Say what Ingrid Riley of Silicon Caribe!!!

Mobile Gaming coming to Jamaica as stated in the Ingrid Riley article on Silicon Caribe about Supreme Ventures Ltd is entitled “Supreme Ventures bets on Mobile phones for Lottery Game expansion in Jamaica”, published Wednesday April 27th, 2011 by Ingrid Riley, Silicon Caribe.

The New Technology Train just does not stop on a day like today!!!!!

Just when I thought I had covered all the bases with my blog article entitled “AWC Fail, PSN Hack and Nokia Layoff - Murphy Law in a Clash of The Titans” that made the connection between the Great Cloud Failure of 2011 at AWC (Amazon Web Services) Cloud Failures and the lack of Security in these Cloud Networks with the seventy seven million (77,000,000) Sony PSN (PlayStation Network) hack (people, is me do it!!! Just kidding?)!!

Ditto too for the connection between what Carlette Deleon aka the Pet Tales Chick aka “Dilly” of Television Jamaica AND Dean “Movie star” McClarty of Watt's New Ltd and Tech Tutorial on Television Jamaica said on the Tuesday April 26^th 2011 episode of  Television Jamaica and their ability to change the future, demonstrated all who can read about Nokia’s layoff of seven (7000) Symbian employees.

Now it gets worse, this time with Ingrid Riley CEO of Media PR Firm ConnectiMass and Silicon drawing my attention to the fact that Supreme Ventures Supreme Ventures Ltd is ALSO getting their feet wet in the Telecoms Game.

This via the migration of their Proprietary 2.5GHz Network to a Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform powered by the Big Three (3) Telecom Providers. A first in Jamaica and officially one of the few proponents of Cloud-Based Computing in Jamaica!

Americas love affair with Cloud-Computing as per my blog article entitled “Windows and Cloud Computing - Audia Resident Evil After-Market Taste-and-Buy” is catching on with Businesses here in Jamaica!

“Taste-and-buy is ok” as my Seventh Day Princess Audia Granston would say, guiding me with her manicured nails, screaming for Jesus and God to come and Bless her, Rihanna S&M Style ! 

Good to know that with Seventh Day Adventists, Taste-and-buy is reciprocal and come in so many delightful flavours at your Local Gas Station!! I SERIOUSLY need to write a blog or book on SDA Christian Coitus, as it would be a help to non-Adventists like myself interested in getting into their Holy Temples!

Thus I read, commented, emailed Ingrid Riley and checked out The Jamaica Observer for the real deal!

According to the article in The Jamaica Observer entitled “Supreme Ventures bets on telephones”, published Wednesday, Tuesday April 27, 2011 by Alicia Roache, The Jamaica Observer, Supreme Ventures Ltd is upgrading their proprietary 2.5GHz Network over the next five (5) years to deliver their suite of Gaming and Mobile Phone Card Services over the Big Three (3) Local Telecoms Providers Networks Mobile Networks.

Effectively the JA$425-million (US$5-million) expansion thrust is contracted to be carried out by Gaming Equipment Provider GTECH Corporation, will be a double whammie to increase their flagging revenues and combat illegal Cash Pot Gaming by making Gaming on Mobile smartphones ubiquitous.

Clever indeed Supreme Ventures Ltd!

So says Supreme Ventures Ltd CEO Brian George, who in an interview with Alicia Roache of The Jamaica Observer stated as much, saying quote: “This will be of the greatest assistance in the fight against the illegal Cash Pot trade and the resilience and recovery of the network after natural disasters. Given that GPRS technology is cellular Based, it will also help to facilitate online betting and direct top ups”.

In case this sounds all too familiar, it does. I wrote not more than three (3) proposal blog articles suggesting the very same idea:

1.      “Supreme Ventures and Mobile Phone Platforms for Gambling”, published Thursday April 1 2011, Lindsworth Deer

2.      “MNP, Supreme Ventures Limited, Internet Gambling and the royal Flush of smart phones”, published Thursday June 3 2011, Lindsworth Deer

3.      “Supreme Ventures and Online Gambling - The Return of the King”, published Friday June 18 2011, Lindsworth Deer

Legal hurdles remain to the implementation of what is effectively Blackberry Gambling, as it would be all too easy for under age gamblers to access what is effectively a Cloud Based Network using Mobile Phones.

This is somewhat similar to the Cloud-Based Mobile Banking Platform launched by Bank of Nova Scotia and powered by Telecom Provider Digicel as stated in the articles “Scotia launches into Mobile Internet Banking”, published Wednesday, June 23, 2010, The Jamaica Observer with details of the Platform being fleshed out in a subsequent article entitled “Digicel, Scotiabank Partner on Mobile Banking Product”, published Wednesday November 24, 2010 by Mark Titus, The Jamaica Gleaner

Clues are again dropped in the words of Supreme Ventures Ltd CEO Brian George, in the interview with Alicia Roache of The Jamaica Observer, quote: “This would include the significant upgrade of the central system, the continuous upgrade and expansion of our base of lottery terminals and agents and recently we, with our technology partner, upgraded our communication network to a GPRS-Based Network to replace the propriety network previously installed”.

But it is the Telecoms side of things that interest Telecoms Technicians and persons such as myself who used to work in the Telecoms Field.

So, armed with the above info, time for the 411, folks!!

Based on my knowledge of the Cloud-Based Mobile Banking Platform launched by Bank of Nova Scotia and powered by Telecom Provider Digicel, Supreme Ventures Ltd will build on their Go Play Platform that was set up for them by Digital Transtec Jamaica to power Voice Calling Base Phone Betting as described in my blog article entitled “Supreme Ventures and Mobile Phone Platforms for Gambling”.

Thus, Supreme Ventures Ltd may choose to model their Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform on Bank of Nova Scotia Cloud-Based Mobile Banking Platform, with Gamblers using Blackberrys or other smartphones to access their Gaming Platform via an app for which one has to register at either the Gaming Shop or select locations so equipped.

Apparently Supreme Ventures Ltd five (5) year build-out is keeping pace with the deployment of the island wide Fiber Optic Network by Triple Play Provider FLOW, Telecom Provider LIME and Government of Jamaica funding from the UAFCL (Universal Access Fund Company Limited) as stated in my blog article entitled “Senator Daryl Vaz and the WEO NRI - Bragging Rights and Broadband Rights Required”.

Possibly, Supreme Ventures Ltd may Rent or simply use Internet Access from this island wide Fiber Optic Network as Backhaul to run their businesses.

Just as Telecom Provider Digicel soon-to-be-owners of Telecom Provider CLARO and their 3G and 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) Networks, will use same island wide Fiber Optic Network to provide backhaul for 3G and LTE deployments.

This would then power Telecom Provider Digicel Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Network on JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transport Association) Buses, Taxis and JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) Passenger Railway Service as stated in my blog article entitled “JRC, Scotts Pass and Senator Mike Henry - Molly Wood Keeping Up with the Kardashians”

Gradually as the five (5) years of the expansion of their Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform wears on, smartphone adoption and interest in Internet Usage should increase.

At least so goes the Logical thinking!

Thus, eventually, at the end of the five (5) years, when the most of Jamaica located near to one of the three hundred (300) earmarked as a Fiber Optic Network Node and Jamaica have “free” Internet Access, any Supreme Ventures Ltd location can issue apps to smartphones to do Mobile Gaming.

The mention of a “GPRS-Based” Network is really a code name (or Supreme Ventures Ltd CEO Brian George is clueless?!)  alluding to Telecoms Providers 3G and 4G Networks respectively, as GPRS (Global Packer Radio System) is no longer in use in Jamaica, especially as the article mentions providing other more Web-centric services.

Media-obfuscation at its best!!

But this blog reveals all as “GPRS-Based” is just really Mobile Internet on smartphone!

Apparently Supreme Ventures Ltd may be wary of not only legal groups pouncing on them about children Gambling on smartphones, but Churches, especially Sunday Worshippers!, who have already tussled with Supreme Ventures Ltd over Sunday Racing as noted I my blog article entitled “Supreme Ventures and Online Gambling - The Return of the King”!

Religion and Gambling on smartphones does not mix! Expect to see the Churches attack first!

And yes, they may opt to go for support on all of the Big Three (3) Telecom Providers as opposed to just Telecom Provider Digicel, being as they sell Mobile Phone Cards for all three (3) Telecom Providers.

Seriously Expect to see the Churches attack first, and VERY strongly too!

This app would allow the Mobile smartphone to grant secure authenticated [member of the Supreme Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform] and verified access [check against GOJ ID that you are 18!] access, albeit it would be much easier if MNP (Mobile Number Portability) were to be introduced upon by the Telecom Providers as suggested by my blog article entitled “MNP, Supreme Ventures Limited, Internet Gambling and the royal Flush of smart phones”.

Payments would be done the same as was done on the Go-Play Platform, with bets being placed via the Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform.

Thus, a basic Requirement of either a Local Debit or Credit Card from one of the Big Three (3) Banks or simply having a Virtual VISA Debit Card via a Paypal Account would be required.

Makes payments easier too, as you winning go straight to your bank account as opposed to having to go in person and collecting your cash!!

You could just send them your picture via the phone to fulfill the requirement of having your picture plastered in the Media!!

This would mean that Supreme Ventures Ltd Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform would have to make arrangements to interlink with Bank of Nova Scotia Cloud-Based Mobile Bank Platform to create a seamless way for customers to use their Bank Accounts to pay for their Bets without risking exposing their Debit Card PIN or Credit Card number being transmitted over a Telecoms Providers 3G Network.

This possibility of intercept of 64-bit A5/1 encrypted GSM (Global system Mobile) Networks is VERY possible as described in by my blog article entitled “Scotiabank, A51 Encryption GOJ Security on Telecom Providers GSM Networks”.

But aside from spurring an increase in convenient Betting for the more Internet savvy Jamaicans, by deploying a Cloud-Based Mobile Gaming Platform, benefits abound for Mom-and-Pop Businesses as well.

Any computer can be used with their proprietary printer/scanner to print/check Tickets, as opposed to the proprietary POS (Point of Sale) Terminals.

This would significantly lower the cost of deploying a Gaming or Betting Shop but also increase the number of small Mom-and-Pop Enterprises that wanted to get into selling Lotto Tickets and Phone Cards but could to be bothered with the paying of rental fees for hosting the equipment at their Business.

Supreme Ventures Ltd would increase their customer base while increasing revenues in a win-win situation for Mom-and-Pop Enterprises in rural Hamlet as Supreme Ventures Ltd expands over the next five (5) years, Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon (2011) Style!

AWC Fail, PSN Hack and Nokia Layoff - Murphy Law in a Clash of The Titans

The Assyrians came down like the wolf on the fold,

And his cohorts were gleaming in purple and gold;

And the sheen of their spears was like stars on the sea,

When the blue waves roll nightly on deep Galilee.

Byron, The Destruction of Sennacherib

In the merry month of April where we celebrate World Ganja Day on April 20^th 2011, the date on which Senator Barack Obama, President of the United States, who is gunning for a Second Term in Office had his Town Hall Meeting as stated in the article “Obama jabs Republicans at Facebook Town Hall”, published April 20, 2011 11:44 AM PDT by Declan McCullagh, CNET News - Privacy Inc, Murphy's Law decided to strike

Yesterday on Tuesday April 26^th 2011, while I was mourning Audia Granston (March 9th 1981 - April 26, 2010) on this the one (1) year Anniversary of her Death 25^th Anniversary of the Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster, Murphy's Law appears to be working overtime, striking thrice with three (3) tales of bad Karma.

First: AWS (Amazon Web Services) Cloud came crashing down to Earth on Friday April 22^nd 2011AD as stated in the article “Amazon failure takes down sites across the Internet”, published Friday April 22, 2011 9:26 am ET by PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer, Yahoo News.

The enthusiasm for Cloud Computing (Servers) and NC (Network Computers), the UE (User Equipment) of Cloud Computing, shows no sign of waning, despite the incident demonstrating a lack of the five nines i.e. 99.999% uptime.

To wit, Windows 8 and Office 365 are rumoured to be COMPLETELY Cloud based as my blog article entitled “Windows and Cloud Computing - Audia Resident Evil After-Market Taste-and-Buy”.

Combined with .NET 5 Framework and onwards being drafted into the Genuine Windows Advantage, those 54% of Windows XP Professional SP3 users may soon find themselves unable to run programs on their .NET 4 Framework.

Second: Seventy seven million (77,000,000) Sony PSN (PlayStation Network) accounts got hacked, exposing Credit Card information of members of the Sony PSN to what I think is the Crime of the Century….assuming the Credit Card accounts have money in them of course, even a US$1.

The Sony PSN Outage now in its sixth day since Thursday April 21^st 2011 a stated in the article “PlayStation Network Outage: 6 days and counting”, published April 26, 2011 9:53 AM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker.

So says the articles “Sony: Personal info compromised on PSN”, published April 26, 2011 1:07 PM PDT by Erica Ogg, CNET News - Circuit Breaker and confirmed by the article “Sony: Credit Data risked in PlayStation outage”, published Tuesday April 26, 2011 5:33 pm ET, AP, Yahoo News.

Third: Nokia has now begun to enact changes required by its partnership with Microsoft, which I call Nokia + Microsoft as stated in my blog article entitled “Nokia + Microsoft vs HP WebOS - Gartner's Ocean's Eleven Plan to Rob the Casino”.

Nokia + Microsoft has decided to lay off a total of seven thousand (7000) of its staff associated with the Development of the Symbian OS plans to:

1.      Give three thousand (3,000) employees working on the Symbian OS the axe, sending them into purgatory at Software Consultancy Accenture

2.      Give an additional four thousand (4,000) employees pink slips by the Fourth Quarter of 2012.

At least the blood letting, slated to shave some Euro 1 billion (US$1.46 billion) off their operating expenditures is kept in the EU Zone, with employees in Denmark, Finland, and the U.K. being axed.

So says the articles “Nokia to cut thousands of jobs, Symbian OS work”, published April 27, 2011 2:02 AM PDT by Stephen Shankland, CNET News - DeepTech and confirmed by the article “Nokia slashes 7,000 jobs in Major strategy shift”, published April 27, 2011 By MATTI HUUHTANEN, Associated Press, Yahoo News.

I guess Television Jamaica has learned a very valuable lesson: NEVER have Carlette Deleon aka the Pet Tales Chick aka “Dilly” of Television Jamaica AND Dean “Movie star” McClarty of Watt's New Ltd and Tech Tutorial on Television Jamaica together as it appears that they both have what we Clarendonians call “Goat Mouth”, “Hog Mouth” or “Guzzum” i.e. An ability to alter the future by mentioning an event by name.

It seems that this may be the source of the bad Karma now emanating around Silicon Valley.

Especially as my computer which doubles as a DVR (Digital Video Recorder) captured them bad mouthing Symbian, which ironically, had gone Open Source as noted in the article “Symbian now fully open-sourced”, published February 4, 2010 6:25 AM PST by David Meyer, CNET News – Wireless.

Otherwise Murphy's Law has a chance to strike yet again!!

Ninja Assassin Dogs not included as opined in my blog article entitled “MRSI and Stray Dogs - Dr. Dolittle and the Golden Child”!

As for the impact on Jamaica of these Three Fates, Clash of the Titans (2010) Style, the affect is a reminder of the fact that albeit these American trends of Cloud Computing and Android are on their way in time for London Olympics 2012 slated to commence on July 27^th 2012AD.

Not to mention being a gentle reminder for Netizens to ONLY using your Credit Card or Virtual VISA Debit Card via a Paypal Account to protect your account from hackers. As the blokes who did this sound like some VERY SERIOUS Gamers to have used their Credit Cards for Gaming on Sony’s PSN – and later spin about and hack their fellow gamers, just to spite Sony PSN.

Locally, young people in Jamaica, heretofore refereed to as Generation X [ages 28 to 45] and Generation Y [ages 13 to 27], the real force driving Telecoms products purchases, adopt to whatever is the latest and the greatest in the Telecommunications Sphere

However, is at least heartening to know that albeit we are the Developing World, at least unlike the Developed World, we are not the guinea pigs who have to endure the problems associated with these spectacular outages, author Aldous Huxley's Brave New World Style.

In two (2) years time, folks, when the American Boffins have fixed all the bugs in their Tech Gear, somehow achieved the five 9’s in Cloud Computing and Web OS beats up Google Android (crossing my fingers on that bet!!) as I have opined in my blog article entitled “Nokia + Microsoft vs HP WebOS - Gartner's Ocean's Eleven Plan to Rob the Casino”, we may find ourselves also on the Cloud and in love with either a Google Android or HP WebOS smartphone.

As soon as Persia [Local Jamaican Telecom Providers] makes Wired and Wireless Internet a “Anywhere and Everywhere” affair thanks to the Island wide Fiber Optic Network as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME, FLOW and the JA$543-million Internet Plan - Ebony and Ivory”.

Even on JUTC buses, Taxis and the soon-to-be-revived JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) trains as prognosticated in my blog article entitled “JRC, Scotts Pass and Senator Mike Henry - Molly Wood Keeping up with the Kardashians”.

JRC, Scotts Pass and Senator Mike Henry – Molly Wood Keeping up with the Kardashians

See one promontory, one mountain, one sea, one river and see all

Socrates (Burton, Anatomy of Melancholy)

Senator Mike Henry, Minister of Transport and Works is going to be a movie star by the time this JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) revival of the Passenger Railway Train Service as I had previously chronicled in my blog article entitled “Jamaica Transport Sector and Railways - The Money Train is Coming with Senator Mike Henry”.

Now there is word – or should I say speculative rumours in The Jamaica Gleaner- that the may be improvements to the Passenger Railway Train Service all the way up to Scotts Pass as stated in the article “Scotts Pass Residents want Train Service”, published Tuesday April 26, 2011 by Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer, The Jamaica Gleaner

I remember making this prediction as far back as 2009 to Audia Granston, my Seventh Day Adventist evil arch-nemesis who then commented, “Bwoy, we a keep up wid de Kardashians, sah” with eyes a gleam and pining for her work to be over so that we could make out.

This is as Americanized in her thinking from her time spent in the US of A as a child before being sent home for obeying the Missy Elliot song “Get your freak on”, as she was more into kissing or “making out” than any other activity.

Albeit, speaking in dirty French, Audia Granston had a penchant for the avant-garde French and their naughty habit of embrasse-moi sur tout mon corps.

Guess that’s probably why she loved Keeping up with the Kardashians (TVSeries 2007 - )  – albeit as a Telecom Technician I am more of a Star Trek (2009) myself!

Like Kim Kardashian and her Armenian sisters and cousins, in a months time, which is about May 2011AD, we will see how well the Passenger Railway Train Service resumes and is doing it Keeping up with the Kardashians (TVSeries 2007 - ) as promised in the article “Spanish Town excited about train Service”, published Tuesday April 12 2011 17:28:47, Go-Jamaica and ‘Train coaches roll into Old Capital for Test Run”, published Wednesday April 13, 2011, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The Jamaica Observer comes in belatedly with an article on the Train Test conducted Saturday April 16^th 2011AD as stated in the articles “The train is coming, baby!”, published Sunday, April 17, 2011 By Donna Hussey-Whyte, Sunday Observer Staff Reporter The Jamaica Observer.

This despite mentioning jointly with The Jamaica Gleaner that the Passenger Railway Train Service was to resume soon in my blog article entitled “Jamaica Transport Sector and Railways - The Money Train is Coming with Senator Mike Henry”.

Senator Mike Henry, Minister of Transport and Works may indeed extend this Service, especially as it may be of benefit to students reaching to school on time as stated in the article “Train Service to benefit students”, published Monday, April 18, 2011, By Donna Hussey-Whyte, Sunday Observer Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Observer.

So with separate Coaches laid out as on an airplane, I guess there should also be Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) as hinted in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers and 100MBps - Diamonds are Forever” as 3G and WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e) Service is spotty at best, prompting Telecom Provider Digicel, soon-to-be-owners of Telecom Provider CLARO, to possibly utilize the more flexible and robust LTE (Long Term Evolution) Network as opposed to WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e).

Students alone are not the only impetus for the implementation of Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n). Casual browsers on any moving vehicle where the person is a passenger is a huge and upcoming market segment that can more than adequately justify a bandwidth of 100MBps being provided by Telecom Providers in their Wireless Broadband offerings.

Some smartphone owners may argue that if they have 3G or 4G Internet on their smartphone, a simple jailbreak can turn it into a Wi-Fi Hotspot in the vehicle. So why pay for another thirty (30) Day Contract for the same Data Service?

This is a similar argument even CNET News Writer Molly Wood echoes as stated in her article “It's time for Universal Data Plans”, published June 3, 2010 6:01 PM PDT by Molly Wood, Molly Rants - CNET News.

Thus with “backative” from her writings and my knowledge of Telecoms as a Radio frequency Technician from Telecom Provider CLARO (2008 to 2009), I can of course validate this, as all the Data Service come from T1 the Telecom Provider purchases here in Jamaica, with the Internet Service being provided by Servers in the USA.

Much as the Water in your pipe is the same Water in everyone’s pipe, coming from a centralized distributed source, so too is Data Services provisioned: a Shared Bandwidth Access, with over use or “hogging” of the bandwidth resulting in congestion and other persons not getting Water or Data Services as the case may be.

However a Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Service as I had first suggested in my blog article entitled “LIME vs Digicel - The Truth About Charlie” and suggested as a means of using up the 100MBps Bandwidth then on offer from Telecoms Provider CLARO’s much hyped and as yet launched LTE Service can only be economical in Jamaica if it is on a Data Plan that is assigned to a group of Devices or a Universal Data Plan as CNET News Writer Molly Wood points out.

Thus, my prediction: expect LTE announcements as the months roll on and the Island wide Fiber Optic Network is built out jointly by Telecom Provider LIME and Triple Play Provider FLOW and funded by the Government of Jamaica Telecoms Tax repository, the UAFCL (Universal Access Fund Company Limited) my blog article entitled “LIME, FLOW and the $JA543-million Internet Plan - Ebony and Ivory”.

Possibly (and most likely!) even provisioned via renting T1 access from the Fiber Optic Backhaul from the Government of Jamaica owned Island wide Fiber Optic Network, which would subsidize the cost of Broadband, effectively making it possible for the Government of Jamaica to offer Free, once you live near to one of those three (300) hundred schools slated for Internet Access:

1.      FiOS (Fiber Optic Services) to your house
ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) Services

2.      Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Services

3.      Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Services

4.      Backhaul services for 3G, 4G and LTE Services, due to the unlimited capacity and upgradeability of Fiber Optic

These various permutations of Waveguide, Wired and Wireless are possible once the Island wide Fiber Optic Network is completed in the next five (5) years.

Thus, Telecom Provider Digicel may accelerate Telecoms Provider CLARO’s LTE rollout.

This with a redrafting of the original Deployment of LTE to also include Telecom Provider Digicel Mobile Towers as a means of ensuring coverage along the Railway Line as well as the coming of the Fiber Optic Broadband Access via this shared facility.

Then the installation of LTE-to-Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Hotspots inside of the moving vehicles to seamlessly provide Wireless Broadband to customers not only on Taxis and JUTC Buses, as was my original suggestion, but also on the now soon-to-be-up and running JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) Passenger Railway Train Service.

Telecom Provider Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e), which uses a 2.5GHz spectrum suffers from Mobility and handover problems and thus is not suitable for this Service is evident from their advertising for Digicel 4G Broadband in stationary situations.

Almost as if conditioning users of the Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e) Service to use it as a replacement for LIME ADSL of FLOW Cable Broadband without thought for demonstrating Mobility, as Telecoms Provider CLARO 3G Network and Modem Dongle demonstrates in their ads!

Additionally, Telecom Provider Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e) means that LOS (Line Of sight) is the best and optimal way to receive signal. If one is not positioned near a window, the Ads seem to suggest, then one cannot get Telecom Provider Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e), something which I have seen in practice while fixing computers by the way!

To make it short, because it requires the Ethernet Port to function, if your Ethernet NIC (Network Interface Card) is not up to date in terms of the firmware, you may find that your computer is overwhelmed by the 10MBps data Service.

Thus, Telecom Provider Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d,e) is not a Modem Dongle of CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) of choice, as for a Technician on the road such as myself, it makes my job all that more complicated when I have to download drivers – one of which is for the very same your Ethernet NIC (Network Interface Card)!

Instant props from all IT Technicians for the Telecoms Provider CLARO 3G Network and Modem Dongle!

My fingers crossed, as I await news of either the date of the start of the Passenger Railway Train Service or the subsequent launch of Launch of LTE, specifically if is to be provisioned with T1 access from the Island wide Fiber Optic Network and will be offered free and as a Rolling Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Service.

Even of greater interest to me, is if Data Plans on both the Telecoms Provider CLARO’s LTE and the Telecom Provider Digicel WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e) will be on a Universal Data Plan as CNET News Writer Molly Wood well heeled rant points out.

LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) used to power the JRC’s trains as per my prognostication in my blog article entitled “JUTC and the Downtown Municipal Transport Center - Plane, Trains & Automobiles” would make for an equally rousing article on the Geezam Blog!