Hello! I am Lindsworth Deer, a former Telecoms Technician, freelance Telecoms Researcher and PC Repair Technician and CCTV Camera Installer in Kingston, Jamaica. My blog focuses on Telecommunications, Broadcasting Renewable Energy and Science in Jamaica. Email: horatiodeer2357@gmail.com. Whatsapp: 1(876)5460286 or call 19045956136. Skype: lindsworth.deer (after 6pm!!)
Contact me about any of my articles! Thanx!
Sony
has developed the PlayStation mobile app in order to bring your smartphone and
PlayStation 4 together. The PlayStation mobile app allows you to browse
PlayStation profiles, compare trophies, and purchase content from within the
app.
This
will then automatically download to your console as long as it’s active or in
standby mode. The app lacks some functionality but it remains a worthwhile
companion for PS4 owners.
Messaging
is no longer supported on the app, so contacting a friend on the PSN
(PlayStation Network) or checking your PlayStation account from your phone
requires that you use Sony’s new My PlayStation social portal in your web
browser.
Introduced
in February 2018, the My PlayStation lets you message friends, view trophies,
and update your profile on the go. Only the app, however, allows you to connect
directly to your console
Steps to connecting
your PlayStation 4 to a smartphone or tablet
Before
downloading the PlayStation application for iOS or Android, update your
smartphone or tablet to the latest version of the operating system. For iOS
users, you’ll want at least version 6.0, while Android users will need version
4.0 at the very least.
Once
updated, enter “PlayStation” in the search field in iTunes or Google Play. Then
do the following once installed:
1.Sign
in to your PSN account
2.Tap
the Connect to PS4 button in the bottom-left corner of the PlayStation
application
3.Select
the Second Screen option
4.Type
the code that should appear on your TV screen in the text field on your
smartphone or tablet
5.Select
Register
At
this point your device should start synching, giving you access to most of the
app’s features such as:
1.Events
2.Live-streams
3.The
PlayStation Store
The
biggest difference you’ll notice once your phone and console is that PS4 games,
such as Metal Gear Solid V and Watch Dogs, feature companion functionality you
can use while gaming.
Sharing
is caring so share this interesting gaming tip with your friends.
“We
made a commitment to listen. We made a commitment to change. Our dynamic team
of tech-savvy Data Doctors knows the ins and outs of smartphones and how mobile
data works, so our customers can feel confident that they will get all the help
they need with even the most complex issues, always with a friendly greeting
and a warm conversation”
CEO of Digicel
Jamaica., Justin Morin, on the reintroduction of the Digicel Data Doctor 101
toll-free hotline
Now
they're decided that they need to reintroduce their Data Doctors to provide
12-hour call support each day as reported in the article “Digicel
‘Data Doctors’ Back On Call”, Published Friday February 9, 2018, The Jamaica Gleaner.
Customer
can now dial 101 toll-free for a Data Doctor.
So
what are the Digicel Data Doctors?
Digicel Data Doctors -
Digicel ups the Ante with Better Customer Service
The
Digicel Data Doctors are a team of customer care agents dedicated to answering
questions on the following.
1.Understanding
the features of their smart-phone or Internet-enabled device
2.Getting
the right settings for their device to operate at peak performance while using
data
3.Selecting
the best mobile data plan that suits their lifestyle and budget
The
101 toll-free lines will operate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and is dedicated
to dealing exclusively with for data matters. This is in addition to their 24/7
Customer Care Call Center, which is also located at their Headquarters on the
waterfront!!
This
is great as many Jamaicans need help with using their smartphones, being as
they are mainly gifts from friends and family abroad but come with no
instruction manuals. Worse, accessing Digicel Website requires that you have
internet at home or you log on at an internet cafe, something very few
Jamaicans actually do.
Interestingly
they're already placed some helpful information on their Digicel YouTube
Channel. Here are a few very helpful videos!
First,
How to Activate & Renew a Data Plan.....
Next,
How to Activate the International Calling Plan
Also,
how to Ensure Your Phone Can Browse the Internet
And
my personal favourite, how to Prevent Your Phone From Losing Credit...
So
I guess this idea might soon put Digicel back in the No. 1 Spot, as they're the
only telecom Providers providing this information instead. Sharing is caring so
share this video with your friends!!!
This
action is the result of the work of Government senator Matthew Samuda, who had
championed the idea for the ban of Styrofoam and plastic bags when a motion was
finally passed in the Senate on Friday October 7th 2016 as reported
on my blog
article entitled “How
Plastic Bottles and Styrofoam may soon be banned in Jamaica”.
A
working group, chaired by the Director, Mona GeoInformatics Institute,
University of the West Indies, Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee, completed their task in
October 2017. Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee canvassed the opinions of several Jamaicans
via an online petition as reported back in August 25 as reported in the article
“Last
Day For Feedback On Proposal To Ban Plastic Bags”,
Published Friday August 25, 2017, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
This
will be centered on how to reduce and eventually remove Styrofoam and
single-use plastics bags but needs to be expanded to include 500ml plastic
bottles.
Ban on Styrofoam coming
- Recycling Initiative needed to tackle plastics already in the environment
My
personal recommendation is to pay Jamaicans JA$100 to return 500ml bottles and
other types of plastic such as Styrofoam.
Also
the legislation on the collection of Garbage needs to be put in place to force
large companies and householders to sort their garbage by type into different
bins as follows:
1.Plastics
2.Electronics
3.Organic
Waste
4.Cardboard
and Paper
5.Metals
6.Glass
A
more realistic fine of JA$100,000 would also help to deter the usage of
Styrofoam and other plastics as well, including single-use plastics bags and
500ml plastic bottles.
Hoping
to hear what this announcement will entail, as albeit a ban is good, we need to
tackle the current problem that my recommendations would solve; getting
Jamaicans to care about the environment by paying them to keep plastics from
getting into the environment.
“For
a country like ours, that poses a huge challenge because what are our
universities going to be teaching people to do when a lot of the things that
you previously would hire people to do will be done cheaper, better, faster,
and more reliably by robots and AI systems....”
Professor
of sustain-able development at the University of the West Indies Anthony
Clayton commenting on the coming of AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its effect
on Jamaica.
In
the next 5 to 10 years, artificially intelligent robots will usher in the
Fourth Industrial Revolution, taking way jobs from Jamaicans.
Currently
robotic systems powered by AI are restricted in what they can learn and do as
pointed out by Dr. Clayton, quote: “There are actually a few things that the
new robotic and AI systems cannot do faster, more accurately, and cheaper than
humans. This includes a lot of service sector activities. Even in medicine, an
area you would think could not be automated, there are AI systems now that are
more accurate at diagnosing illness than any human being”.
But
when they do, cheaper mass produced items will be coming from the First World
Nations, who will use AI to wean themselves off a dependence on cheap Chinese
products. But in the process, it'll push Developing World Countries like
Jamaica into poverty, as we cannot compete with machines that can do the job of
a human at a high quality level and at such a low cost.
Vehicular
transportation might also be affected, as Taxis may be driven by AI, who may be
deemed more efficient than humans to quote Dr Clayton: “Look at vehicles and
the move to driverless vehicles and how many millions of jobs are going to be
displaced, and it has already started. A number of countries, including the
USA, the United Kingdom, and others are changing their laws to allow driverless
vehicles on the roads. Countries are preparing for this new technological
revolution”.
So
what can we do to prepare for this coming Fourth Industrial Revolution powered
by AI?
Fourth Industrial
Revolution powered by AI - Dr. Clayton predicts Job losses as Degrees become
pointless
Many
will question the relevance of a University education, as AI can do the work
better as pointed out by Dr. Clayton:“What are we going to educate people for? People go to school to learn
basic reading and numeracy skills, but after that, what are people getting an
education for? Getting an education is, basically, for them to be absorbed into
the employment market”.
This
video below explains it all and makes the coming reality even more stark.
Already,
we are in the early part of the AI revolution, with many working in Jobs that
have already been made obsolete; it's really just a matter of time, Dr. Clayton
asserts, quote: “It is a profound revolution. We are, potentially, going into a
world where most existing forms of work will disappear. I do not doubt that we
will invent new and worthwhile things to do. I am sure that people will be
getting paid for doing jobs that do not currently exist”.
When
AI becomes fully sentient, they may need to have rights just like humans as
well.
As
such, they'll have the right to work and earn a living. No job will be spared,
especially as with the proliferation of the Internet and so many interconnected
databases, the stage is set for AI to really dominate the world as predicted by
Dr. Clayton, quote: “AI systems are taking over banking, medicine, and
accounting, and we are only at the edge of what these things can do.
Jobs
losses will be in millions, making many question the value of a University
education, to quote Dr. Clayton: When you come to university, we try to fill
your head with knowledge and understanding, but let's say that you have access
to an AI system that gives you instant access to outstanding data analytic
services to all of the world's libraries, what will you still need to know at
university when you can ask your AI system any question and get an instant
answer and get analysis behind it as well? There will be the question of why
anybody would go to university when the jobs we used to train people for will
cease to exist”.
Jobs
that require a combination of skills that will include analytic skills and
social intelligence maybe the only way to have employment as Dr. Clayton.
argues: “You will need a combination of networking skills, social intelligence,
the ability to manage complex logistics, to analyse problems and the ability to
come with creative solutions because the full impact of it all will be felt in
20 to 30 years”.
Hopefully
that doesn’t include teaching, as it may dissuade many from entering the field
thinking that machines will take their work!
Jamaican and AI - UBI
may become the norm once AI takes over
But
all is not doom and gloom as Dr. Clayton claims.
Jamaica
will easily adjust, by simply switching to UBI (Universal Basic Income),
effectively paying Jamaicans simply to be humans and Jamaican.
Giving
a UBI of say, JA$100000 per month to each and every NIDS card carrying Jamaican,
would become necessary and could be funded via scrapping all of the previous
poverty alleviation programs and unnecessary Ministries of Government, which no
doubt would also become automated.
Truly,
AI taking away jobs is really a good thing; more time to spend with family and
friends, as cheaper AI labour means money shifting back to government to be
spend on UBI so that we can afford to live in a world without work.
Seawater
can be used for more than just salt from desalination. Turns out its pretty
good at keeping thing cool too!
At
least that's the premise of a five month study to be conducted on the
feasability of a SWAC (Sea Water Air Conditioning) System at the Norman Manley
International Airport as reported in the article “Henry
endorses sea water air conditioning study at NMIA”, published Friday,
February 02, 2018, The Jamaica
Observer.
Doris
Engineering Group, a French company, met with Transport and Mining Minister,
Lester “Mike” Henry with a proposal for this idea, which the company is ready
to start in February 2018. It's already been funded from France; we're just the
guinea pig waiting to sign on the dotted line.
Doris Engineering Group
and SWAC – Cooling from the ocean applicable to other companies
Seawater
Air Conditioning uses deep cold water from the ocean to replace the need for a
cooling agent used in most AC units. This deep cold water is pumped from the
sea through a heat exchanger and absorbs heat from the building, cooling the
air in the process, as would a normal Air conditioning unit.
However,
it’s not such a new idea as this explainer video shows; it’s been tried and
tested and is already in use.
Cold
water from lakes or rivers can be used and it has the added advantage of a
reduction in electric consumption of 80% to 90%. Throw in solar power to power
the system and this could be a Net-zero operation.
Hopefully
when the water is returned back to the ocean, no pollutants or contaminants are
pumped back, as many of these systems use additives to prevent the seawater
from causing the pipes to corrode.
Still,
the potential for this system is huge. With such amazing cost reductions, it'll
be interesting to see it implemented not only at the Norman Manley
International Airport but at government facilities located to the sea.
Apparently,
the hackers are taking advantage of open 5555 ports on these devices. Hackers
used a worm to create this network of infected devices to mine for more Monero.
By interconnecting these devices, the hackers have the computing power of
thousands of devices that do not belong to them.
So
how does this hack work?
360 Netlab and the
hackers - Using spare processing power to mine Monero
360
Netlab found that the attack takes advantage of an open port 5555. Hackers
discovered found unsecured Android phones and TVs and infected them with
malicious worm. This worm then looks for more devices to infect, effectively
creating a botnet.
Strangely
the hackers were able to figure out which phones had open port 5555, as they
were not opening themselves as pointed out by Chinese cybersecurity firm 360
Netlab , quote: “The 5555 ADB interfaces of those devices have already been
opened before [they're] infected. We have no idea about how and when this port
was opened yet”.
Something
tells me that there may be even larger botnets out there mining cryptocurrency,
the new wave for hackers. This, after all, is more profitable than deploying
ransomeware, as the cryptocurrency is set to rise in value as their potential
becomes more apparent.
Still,
no harm done but more reason to be careful what you click on!!!
“We
are hoping to start a pilot project next year, using electric buses operated by
the JUTC but, of course, that will be dependent on the availability of the
funding,”
Minister of Transport
and Mining Mike Henry commenting on the JUTC going hybrid by 2020
Resident
of Portmore rejoice!
The
JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Corporation) may soon be going Hybrid after the
construction of the Portmore transportation hub.
So
says Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry, who plans to start a pilot
project for Hybrid buses in the next two (2) years as reported in the article “Henry
looking at going hybrid way”, published Friday, December 22,
2017 By Balford Henry, The
Jamaica Observer.
Minister
of Transport and Mining Mike Henry, who made this announcement back in December
2017, is aiming for an environmentally friendly public transport sector in two
years. The introduction of Hybrid buses, which run partly on battery and partly
on another fuel, is a part of that long term plan.
In
the process, Portmore will also be transitioning to Smart City Status as
pointed out by Minister Mike Henry, quote: “All of this will relate to how soon
we can develop the Portmore transportation centre, which will operate as the
hub of Portmore as a smart city”.
So
what are the benefits of transitioning the JUTC buses from Diesel fuel to CNG
and then to Hybrid?
As
I’d mentioned in a previous article on the JUTC going CNG, a gas based fuel
burns cleaner, give better mileage and is more environmentally friendly. CNG is
used to power vehicles, mostly buses and trucks. However, the infrastructure
for LNG for cooling and compressing, shipping and regasifying into CNG can be
extensive and expensive.
Producing
and transporting LNG is also very energy intensive albeit the fuel is cheaper
than Diesel a pointed out by Minister of Transport and Mining Mike Henry,
quote: “CNG is a cheaper and cleaner fuel than the 'heavy oil' the buses are
now using, but there have been queries and we will have to do a pilot project”.
However,
a hybrid vehicle runs on a gasoline engine and electric motor. The Vehicles
wheels and transmission are powered by the electric current from the Li-Ion
batteries, with a gasoline powered generator turning on every now and then to
recharge the batteries.
Generators
are a more efficient in converting chemical energy in gasoline to electrical
energy than a gasoline engine is at converting the same chemical energy to
mechanical energy. So expect the JUTC buses to be practically zero emission,
making them truly environmentally friendly.
Golden Dragons with CNG
- An expensive but necessary test run for Electric Vehicles
About
5-7 “Golden Dragon” buses being built in China for the JUTC will arrive fitted
with CNG facilitation for the pilot program in 2019. If all goes well, then all
JUTC buses will be retrofitted to be CNG, with a potential Hybrid upgrade in
2020.
To
achieve this, the import duty on electric vehicles would have to be removed,
facilitating the importation of Li-Ion Batteries or buses already pre-built
with Hybrid technology in them.
Even
more interestingly, the generators used in the Hybrid buses may actually end up
being CNG Generators. Interesting times indeed for the JUTC as they go Hybrid
in 2020, heralding the coming of Electric and CNG vehicles to Jamaica!