LIME TV vs Digicel's Samsung Galaxy Tablet - Call of Duty Black Ops

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye,

Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie

Anon, Old Nursery Rhyme, which means than Sir Lindsworth Deer wrote this in the Middle Ages

Now that Telecoms Provider Digicel is rumoured to be offering the Google Android 2.2 aka Froyo Samsung Galaxy Tablet possibly in lieu of Netbooks, possibly a celebration of their accidental victory against Telecom Provider LIME vis-à-vis the title “4G” as opined in my blog article entitled “Digicel, the ITU and Samsung Galaxy Tablet - The Sorcerer's Apprentice”, the spotlight now turns back to Telecom Provider LIME and their LIME  TV ?
 

Yes, you heard me right, I did not mis-speak. By celebrating and launching the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tablet ( I dislike the long WWII era Technical name it has!!), Telecoms Provider Digicel  is sending a message to Telecom Provider LIME with regards to their LIME  TV Service which I was trying to point out in a rebuttal to a Mr “Anonymous” from TechJamaica forum member in my blog article entitled “LIME and LIME TV  - Lara Croft Tomb Raider”; the Screen is too small!!

Plus, I am sure after reading my above article, Jamaicans, who may also be fans of Vybz Kartel featuring Russian Jeans n' Fitted (get it on Apple iTunes!), may want to run out and buy themselves Rosaries, preferably the wooden ones blessed by a REAL Catholic Church, as the plastic ones are cheap knockoffs.

That’s right folks!!! Telecoms Provider Digicel, celebrating a victory against Telecom Provider for once, has come out swinging with a powerful left hook against LIME TV, taking advantage of the one obvious problem that the device, that being its size (no pun intended!).

Technology and pricing foibles are pushed aside for this article, as OBVIOUSLY (my voice directed at TechJamaica) Telecom Provider LIME struggling to build out their LIME TV service suddenly springing to action with a LIME TV based on DVB-H should really be the first clue that it was a “VAS within a VAS”, a very exotic and rare kind of Hybrid Network that saves Telecom Provider LIME millions on build-out by monetizing its existing 3G Infrastructure.

Simple, TechJamaica – even the types of phones, which are all 3G and the intention to port the LIME TV service to other smart phones (Hint: 3G phones!) should have been clue enough that the article is basically a form of media obfuscation! Oh I forgot, they don’t now Marketing and Advertising, again their logic and rumor mongering being struck down straight out of left field!

Thus I leave the “techie” stuff to those whose namesake it is to discuss such things and focus on the CNET -esque stuff, mainly aesthetics and Customer Care. In the Aesthetics Department, the smart phones on offer that offends the most, namely the Nokia N77, should not even be in Telecom Provider LIME profile for the LIME TV service.

My scathing criticism of this candy bar masquerading-as-a-smarphone quite easily vilified in my blog article entitled “LIME TV vs Netflix - 101 Dalmations”.

The other two hooligans, namely the ZTE-G N290/Aeon as well as the Nokia 5330 can “gwaan” as we Jamaican would say in our colourful patios, as the screen is relatively large, decent and inconspicuously concealable when in church on a Sabbath – and despite Pastor’s insistence, you just can’t miss the Cricket Match Final, as you have no DVR (Digital Video Recorder). At least, that is what their advertisements suggest, along with possible major traffic disruptions!

But the screen quality is just not acceptable, as neither the ZTE-G N290/Aeon nor the Nokia 5330 supports 1080p video playback with more than seven (7) hours of battery life.

Thus Telecoms Provider Digicel’s choice of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, thought a strange choice as the device is a 3G enabled device, in nonetheless a clever one, as the 7” tablet not only has a bigger screen and is set to kill off Netbooks, Laptops and PC as per my blog article entitled “Tablets and the Future of the PC - Jurassic Park and License to Kill”.

But it is also packing the Big Guns: Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n). This I think is an indication that Telecom Provider is truly a wise company. Albeit the Samsung Galaxy supports 3G, which means that the Customer can easily get a SIM Card from Telecom Provider LIME or Telecom Provider CLARO, the fact that it comes with Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) means that people are spoiled for choice.

Choice between using the Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) from their Zyxtel - WiFi Modem - IX-280P or CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) as I prefer to call this long-winded nomenclature of a contraption from Telecoms Provider Digicel OR paying for Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Networks from Wayne Chen and Lee’s Family owned Dekal Wireless [a Droid] or Nubian-1- Tech Services Limited [Queen Amidala Ship], both of which are great for streaming YouTube, Netflix or even Hulu as per my blog article entitled “LIME TV and Broadcasting - The Andromeda Strain and My Science Project”.

In effect, this is a partnership for mutual benefit without publicly acknowledging it or actually calling it that, between Telecoms Provider Digicel and Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Networks Dekal Wireless and Nubian-1- Tech Services Limited profile in much the same way Telecoms Provider Digicel has partnered with Telecom Provider Sprint via Roaming Agreements as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel and WiMaX 4G Mobile - Sprint, My Brother's Keeper” under the quiet.

Granted, at 7” across, the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tablet is a tad big, but as Telecoms Provider Digicel is the, and I quote “Bigger Better Network”, I guess it is a logical fit, pun this time intended. Streaming is the future of content provision in Jamaica, and with the prevalence of Virtual VISA Credit Cards and PayPal attachable to your local bank accounts to pay for the thirty (30) day subscriptions to Netflix or Hulu as options, choice now abounds among customers as to how they can get their content fix, on a screen that is as realistic as can be.

Throw in the fact that Netflix has gone full streaming, with the potential to make even DVD obsolete, and even May Pen shoppers have a reason to bypass those illegal DVD hawkers selling just outside of Bargain Village – and the reach of the Clarendon Police as per the article “Netflix expects Video Streaming to drown out DVD's”, published Wednesday, November 24, 2010, The Jamaica Observer.

My bad…...did I really forget! People, the Samsung P1000 Galaxy Tablet not only sports 1080p Video playback and HD Video Calling support and a barrage of apps from the Google Android Store but also can be used to stream video games from Steam as well as OnLive Game streaming Platforms such as Call of Duty: Black Ops.

What is not to love, folks! Telecoms Provider Digicel has again scored a coup against Telecom Provider LIME.

Worse yet for LIME TV when next year 2011 AD Telecom Provider CLARO, possibly in a wait-and-see mode, may debut the Apple iPad S as per my blog article entitled “Apple and the iPad 2 - Honeycomb, Chrome and the DragonSlayer”. They better roll out that app/code and the set-top boxes quickly……

Digicel the ITU and Samsung Galaxy Tablet - The Sorcerer's Apprentice

But when to mischief mortals bend their will,

How soon they find fit instruments of ill!

Pope, The Rape of the Lock, III

Telecom Provider Digicel has made history by launching what is effectively the first Tablet in the Caribbean in Jamaica, the Samsung Galaxy Tablet as per the article “Digicel launches Samsung Galaxy Tab across Jamaica”, viewed Tuesday December 21^st 2010, Digicel and repeated in the Gleaner Star Tabloid in the article “Digicel announces launch of Galaxy Tab”, published Monday December 20^th 2010, The Jamaica Star.

No Jamaica Gleaner confirmation and no Jamaica Observer confirmation, so effectively until I see people buying these tablets in Jamaica and walking around doing work on them, I will assume that this is rumour, folks.

Coincidentally, the ITU has now blessed all up and coming High Speed Wireless Broadband Networks as 4G as per the article “ITU blesses U.S Data Networks as 4G”, published December 20, 2010 3:12 PM PST by Kent German, CNET News - Dialed In.

Though John Public is no longer working, I know that these two (2) events are connected; they are not coincidence!

For the specs on the Samsung Galaxy Tablet, my article on Administrator Kirk’s Geezam blog entitled “Samsung Galaxy - Apple iPad's Contender for the Christmas”. For my opinion of the Samsung Galaxy Tablet Apple iPad killing potential, my blog article entitled “Apple and the iPad 2 - Honeycomb, Chrome and the DragonSlayer”.

Trust me, people, it is a bit overrated, with Samsung, armourer to both Google Nexus S and the Apple iPhone and possibly the new Apple iPad S (cause we don’t like number 2!!).

I will neither bless nor curse its potential on Telecom Provider Digicel Network, as it is actually a much more evolved replacement for Netbooks for Customers who have purchase their CPE (Customer Premises Equipment).

Meanwhile Telecom Provider Digicel has gotten off the hook via a technicality. The Holy See at the ITU (International Telecommunications Union), the UN (United Nations) Telecoms watchdog, has passed a decree in Telecoms World on December 6^th 2010.

This decree effectively makes all LTE (Long Term Evolution), WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e) and HSDPA+ Networks in the United States of America and the rest of the free world bear the designation of “4G” as per the article by CNET Reporter Kent German entitled “ITU blesses U.S Data Networks as 4G”, published December 20, 2010 3:12 PM PST by Kent German, CNET News - Dialed In.

To quote the ITU: “It is recognized that [4G], while undefined, may also be applied to the forerunners of these technologies, LTE and WiMaX, and to other evolved 3G technologies providing a substantial level of improvement in performance and capabilities with respect to the initial third generation systems now deployed”.

T-Mobile, which is actually a HSDPA+ Network with speeds capability of up to 30MBps theoretical, was of course elated, much to the charging of Telecom Provider Verizon and Telecom Provider AT&T with their LTE Networks and Telecom Provider Sprint and Clearwire with their WiMaX 4G Mobile (IEEE 802.16d, e) Networks, who have expended billions just to upgrade their Networks compared to the software upgrade necessary for T-Mobile to achieve HSDPA+ - and the Holy See’s blessing. 

It seems that his Most Worshipful desire to acknowledge T-Mobile Network is an insult to the Telecom Provider Cardinals [CEO’s] but who are they to stand against the Pope [ITU] in the Telecom World? He desires to bless all fore-runners of the technology, and so they are blessed. Simple.

Telecom Provider Digicel is now off the hook, but it also means Telecom Provider LIME must rethink their brash statements charging Telecom Provider Digicel for misrepresentation of their network as being 4G as per my blog article entitled “Digicel vs LIME - Mortal Kombat over 4G Title”

It seems that this technicality falls through as even the ITU admits that the criteria for 4G is not, quote “well defined”, thus all fore-runners for now can wear the 4G sash without fear of being charged for false advertising, apparently the reason for their decree.

This as their earlier statements reported by CNET News Reporter Marguerite Reardon in the article “4G: What's in a name?”, published October 21, 2010 12:42 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News - Signal Strength seems to be the cause of the mumbling among the Cardinals of the various Telecom Providers.

Telecom Provider Digicel has finally won something – by default, at least. The case at the FTC (Fair Trading Commission) of misrepresentation by Regional vice-president for legal, regulatory and corporate affairs, Camille Taylor, will be summarily dismissed, as the ITU, the Holy See, has spoken.

The Samsung Galaxy Tablet is also on their Network, apparently a follow-on of the trend of the Telecom Provider adopting Google Android and its spread even to smart phones, two (2) of which they carry, that being the Google Nexus One and the Motorola Droid rebranded the Milestone for the Jamaican market as per the article “Digicel launched the new Motorola Milestone”, published Sunday, July 18, 2010, The Jamaica Observer.

Smugly, it may be Telecom Provider Digicel’s way of celebrating this victory too, by offering their Customers another reason as to why Telecom Provider Digicel are , and I paraphrase, “The Bigger, Better GSM – and now 4G – Network”, as The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) as per the Walt Disney movie, has been found! Ok, back to chastising Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider CLARO!!

Microsoft Windows 7 vs Google Chrome OS et al - 300 and Quo Vadis Dominae

When Liberty is gone,

Life grown insipid and has lost its relish.

Addison, Cato, II, 3

The recent surprise news of Microsoft now canceling its Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) program as of Thursday, December 16^th 2010 AD (yes it is THAT kind of announcement!) has caught many by surprise – and has people like me downloading Office templates in a hurry, lest Microsoft changes their mind!

The article by ZDNet Reporter Ed Bott entitled “Microsoft quietly shuts down Office Genuine Advantage program”, by Ed Bott December 19, 2010, 2:25pm PST, Ed Bott's Microsoft Report -ZDNet caught many by surprise, as I saw it on my FB Page, but did not believe it, so I tried it out.

What could have prompted such an abrupt change of strategy? Google Chrome OS and the new Cr-48 laptops of course!! Not only is this a debut of the power of Open Source and Cloud Computing, effectively a NC (Network Computer) as per my blog article entitled “Google Chrome OS and Open Source - Star Wars A New Hope” but is also bodes well for the concept of free productivity software, such as Gmail and Google being accessible via the Cloud [American colloquial: Internet].

Great news for International Reporters with an Apple iPad wanting to blog or send in reports as the action happens – provided they have Wireless Internet Access handy. However, this is bad news for Microsoft and their proprietary Microsoft Office, which is apparently running scared of Open Source and free (Oh yes! Download Open Office Here !) based on recent attack ads against Open Office as opined by PCWorld Correspondent Katherine Noyes in her article entitled “Why is Microsoft so scared of OpenOffice?”, published Oct 14, 2010 1:02 PM by Katherine Noyes, PCWorld.

Worse, OpenOffice.org, the Open Source Developers Group for Open Office and upon which I am typing this article as a Jamaican in the Third World, has mended fences with Oracle, the owner and creator of Oracle DBA (Database Administration) Software and its other tools and well as owners lock, stock and barrel of Sun Microsystems

This signals a future push into Cloud Based Productivity Database Products based on Open Office Open Source Code as Client Platform – or at least that is my view of the relevance of this partnership as per the article “Oracle pledges support for OpenOffice.org”, published Oct 13, 2010 7:40 AM by Chris Kanaracus, IDG News, PCWorld.

Oracle just tinkering with Open Office just to make Microsoft CEO Bill Gates mad makes no sense, as Oracle CEO Larry Ellison spends too much time waxing his yatch for the next Ryder Cup to be bothered with such things.

The signs are clear: Oracle is powering up for major push into Office Productivity, using the OpenOffice Open Source as a Cloud Based Platform to deliver an integrate Open Office or LibreOffice Platform with integrated VoIP Calling and email, all in one smooth streamlined interface

Meanwhile the Greek army march on, having secure a prior victory against Persians a la Microsoft by securing a US$6.7 billion contract to provide Gmail and Google Voice and Google Docs services to the General Services Administration (GSA) as stated in the article “Google scores big federal Government contract”, published December 2, 2010 9:07 AM PST by Lance Whitney, CNET News - Digital Media.

This was mere five (5) days before the Google Chrome OS and Cr-48 announcement on Tuesday December 7^th 2010, thus a strong indication of the coming possibility of Google Chrome OS also coming to PC as well.

That may well be the case, as being that everything is on shielded servers run by Google, there is no need to install software, as it all runs from within the web browser, a major, if not ironic battle strategy that could see Chrome OS on ANY machine that chooses to run Google Chrome OS, switching productivity from Local based servers and hard drives to Cloud based servers.

Network Administrators are already working with Google to make this a possibility as per the article “IT Controls configure Browser for Enterprises”, published Wednesday December 15, 2010 5:03 pm ET by Mark Long, newsfactor.com, Yahoo News.

Sure does explain Google’s push into Telecoms with Google Voice and now Google Voice integration into Gmail as per my blog article entitled “Google and Google Voice - The World is Not Enough”. Recent tweaks to Google Docs to make it more compatible with Microsoft Word were also a clue.

But possibly the biggest and most dangerous sign is number four (4) computer maker’s announcement of the acquisition of Compellent Technologies by Dell for US$250 million, a oversized (and overpriced!) Data Center.

Possibly with an eye to provide similar services to Cloud Based Google’s Chrome OS Platform as per the article “Dell will buy Enterprise Storage Provider Compellent”, published Monday December 13, 2010 2:22 pm ET by Barry Levine, newsfactor.com, Yahoo News.

Dell, apparently taking no chances after being caught off guard with the Apple iPad and the now ongoing Tablet War as per my blog article entitled “Apple iPad vs HP Slate 500  - The Force Unleashed in the Tablet Wars”, is making what appears to be decisive push towards what increasing appears to be a Cloud Based Open Source future.

So it seems that the cracks are finally beginning to show in the once great and might Persian Empire that was Microsoft. Microsoft’s only major growth area, despite their earned billions in productivity and OS, was really in the Xbox Division, specifically Halo Reach for the year 2010 AD

Microsoft plans to make a yearly release despite the appearance of taking advantage of fan loyalty as opined in the article “New Halo games coming every year from now on?”, published September 22, 2010 12:51 PM PDT by Don Reisinger, CNET News - The Digital Home.

The profit numbers satisfy the pundits on Wall Street, but it speaks volumes for the future viability of a company that makes software purportedly for Business Clients yet issues updates on such a frequent basis for effectively what is a galleon ship with too many creaking holes and sprung leaks. 

But the same Reporter, Ed Bott, noted earlier that Microsoft was slowly losing its market share to Apple and its tightly managed iOS Ecosystem of devices connected via iTunes, with Mobility on better hardware (Hint: Apple iPad Effect!) being the main desire among Consumers as per his article “Microsoft vs Apple: Who's winning? The numbers don't lie”, published October 24, 2010, 6:00pm PDT by Ed Bott, ZDNet.

I say “ironic” earlier, as it was Microsoft CEO Bill Gates who first used this strategy to defeat then entrenched and price Netscape Navigator Brower during the Browser wars in the late 90’s that saw the defeat of paid Netscape Browser by bundled Internet Explorer, now the major browser platform in use and still the number one Browser.

If this general trend follows, then this army of 300 (2006) as per the movie and the graphic novel, will surely fall as the first wave of attack by Open Source and Cloud based computing, led by Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Dell CEO Michael S. Dell, and the Spartans rise against the mighty Persian Army [Microsoft] in a massive Open Source Wave.

Significant for Jamaica as Local Telecom Providers are ramping up their Wired and Wireless Broadband offerings as per my blog article entitled “LIME vs Digicel - The Truth About Charlie”.

Telecom Provider Digicel already has a DataCenter as stated in the article “Digicel diversifies - US$500 Data Center opens November”, published Friday August 28, 2009 by Mark Titus, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner, albeit for Static Data Storage (Data Backup) facilities but upgradeable to Dynamic Data Storage Services (Dynamic).

Triple Play Provider FLOW also has a Data Centre offshore in the Cayman Islands as per the article “FLOW launches Data Storage, other Services”, published Friday July 23, 2010, The Jamaica Gleaner. This is confirmed in the article “FLOW unveils Hi-Tech Offshore Data Storage Facility at CTIO”, published Friday, July 23, 2010, BUSINESS, The Jamaica Observer.

With the possible cost savings of Cloud Computing and the mobility of tablets, and, people, note, I am going out on a very large limb here folks, look for the Corporate Community aka New Kingston, playground of the Young and The Restless in Jamaica to be the initial users of Tablets as per my blog article entitled “Motorola, RIM and the Tablet - Indiana Jones and the Palace of Doom”.

Extinction of the PC an by extension Windows may just be coming to Jamaica early after all, a country long esteemed secretly in the eyes of Silicon Valley as a bellweather as to whether technology developed for Developed Countries aka the USA will catch on in the Developed World aka Jamaica et al. Guess the Deejays needed to pimp the product are not necessary – its cost saving capability of Open Source and Cloud Computing is “bling” enough!

Microsoft COO Steve Ballmer, the question now begs: Quo Vadis Dominae.

Motorola, RIM and the Tablet - Indiana Jones and the Palace of Doom

Power, like a desolating pestilence,

Pollutes whate’er it touches

Shelly, Queen Mab, III

Yes, gentle people in the Tech World, both Consumer Electronics and Software Development, the buzz from the Google Chrome still refuses to die. This is part of the technerati folks, as Developers have since slinked off to their little Skunk Works to test out the Google Chrome OS Cr-48 Laptop that was launched with much fanfare on Tuesday December 7^th , 2010AD as per the article “Google's Chromes updates: Browser, Web Store and Notebook OS will redefine ‘Cloud computing’”, published December 7, 2010, by Sam Diaz, (http://www.zdnet.com) as well as fully detailed in my blog article entitled “Google Chrome OS and Open Source - Star Wars A New Hope”.

The potential for computer makes to use Open Source to build NC’s (Network Computers) similar to Google is now obvious. Albeit the Google Chrome OS is mainly on a bank of servers, characteristic of a NC (Network Computer), thus being imbued with the quick start features of SSD’s (Solid State Drives), people have already managed to put Open Source OS on the otherwise barebones prototype, though I cannot write it here, as that may not be in keeping with the intentions of Google.

Aside from other nuances announced at the launch, there was a bit of fanfare when Google introduced the eager crowd to Google Android OS 3.0 aka Honeycomb, the successor to Google Android OS 2.2 aka Froyo as surmised from the article “Google shows prototype Tablet running Android 3.0”, published Tuesday December 7, 2010 2:01 pm ET by Barry Levine, newsfactor.com as well as the article “Google Engineer Demos Prototype Motorola Android Tablet”, published Tuesday December 7, 2010 5:50 am ET by Mikael Ricknäs, PCWorld Yahoo! News, (http://news.yahoo.com).

Successor? Indeed. Both Google Android OS 2.3 aka Gingerbread and Google Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb are development branches from Google Android OS 2.2 aka Froyo, Gingerbread being designed for the Google Nexus S and Honeycomb for tablets. Thus it was no surprise that at the conference Google debut the Motorola Tablet as per the article “Google shows prototype tablet running Android 3.0”, published Tuesday December 7,2010 2:01 pm ET by Barry Levine, newsfactor.com as well as in the article “Google Engineer Demos Prototype Motorola Android Tablet”, published Tuesday December 7, 2010 5:50 am ET by Mikael Ricknäs, PCWorld Yahoo! News, (http://news.yahoo.com).

Motorola is now finally living up to its potential, to be sure, riding on news of its mobile Division posting a profit with the Motorola Droid series of smartphones running on Google Android as per the article “Android pushes Motorola into black”, published October 28, 2010 4:55 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET - Signal Strength, (http://news.cnet.com). Whether this new Google Android OS will be a hit with the market remains to be seen, as it is optimized for the Tablet interface. It is being assumed at their point that no more codenamed Android OS will be coming out after these two (2) siblings have made their debut. Instead, newer versions of the Google Android OS will branch off from theses new versions, possibly with the version number incrementally increasing.

The design sounds good, albeit the lack of physical buttons in this preliminary device is a bit unnerving as this means that the touch screen interface has to work reliably all the time. Nothing really is known about the Motorola Tablet with Google Andrid 2.4 codenamed Honeycomb, not even the name (may I suggest the Motorola Lightsabre?), except to say it is a dual-core tablet running Google Android 3.0 aka Honeycomb and the 3-D (on a Tablet?) is being done by Nvidia as per the article “Motorola Tablet taps Nvidia for 3D”, published December 7, 2010 3:15 PM PST by Brooke Crothers, Nanotech - The Circuits Blog, (http://news.cnet.com).

It is expected to be a hit, being as they might be the only challenger who can unseat the ever popular Apple iPad as speculated in the article “Motorola most likely iPad Rival”, published August 22, 2010 11:00 AM PDT by Brooke Crothers, Nanotech - The Circuits Blog, (http://news.cnet.com) and my blog article entitled “RIM and the BlackPad - RIM's Black Pad and Steve Jobs the American Ninja”.

RIM, which debut their Tablet now called the PlayBook as per the article “RIM aims to challenge iPad with PlayBook pricing”, published Monday October 11 2010 By Miyoung Kim and Saeed Azhar, Reuters, Yahoo! News, (http://news.yahoo.com) and later corroborated in the article “RIM takes on iPad; downplays Blackberry threat”, published Wednesday November 10, 2010 1:58 am ET by Miyoung Kim and Saeed Azhar, Yahoo! News, (http://news.yahoo.com). RIM may soon be also reaping the surprise success that greeted the HP Slate 500 as stated in my blog article entitled “Apple iPad and the HP Slate 500 - The Force Unleashed in the Tablet Wars”. This is as reports of RIM excellent Fourth Quarter as stated in the article “RIM earnings better than expected”, published Thursday, December 16, 2010 5:12 PM ET, CBC News, (http://www.cbc.ca).

Thus news of the PlayBook landing as early as February 2011 should be enough to get people excited about tablets all over again as per the article  “Blackberry Playbook landing as soon as February?”, published December 17, 2010 7:11 AM PST by Don Reisinger, CNET News - The Digital Home, (http://news.cnet.com). Albeit a tad too late, as the Apple iPad S (no number two thing ‘round here?!) with is two-of-everything design as stated in my blog article entitled “Apple and the iPad 2 - Honeycomb, Chrome and the DragonSlayer”……..

LIME and LIME TV - Lara Croft Tomb Raider

Ah, would but one might lay his lance in rest,

And charge in earnest – were it but a mill

Austin Dobson, Don Quixote

It seems that I, John Public may have stepped on some toes of the Techies in the TechJamaica forum (as they are NOT a blog!!) in asserting that LIME TV is actually a VAS (Value Added Service) within another VAS, specifically a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast – Handheld) being carried island wide via Telecom Provider LIME’s 3G Network.

This after an anonymous individual posted on my blog article entitled “LIME TV vs Netflix - 101 Dalmations” pointing out that LIME TV content came from a partnership with DC Digital – something which I already knew.

Had Mr. “Anonymous” been a follower of my blog and perused my many articles, he would have come across my blog article entitled “LIME TV and Broadcasting - The Andromeda Strain and My Science Project” in which I made mention of the partnership between DC Digital and Telecom Provider LIME, as it struck me odd. My Blogger posse can back me up on that, strength in numbers and all versus the TechJamaica forum.

Odd, as I remember that it was originally Telecom Provider Digicel and DC Digital that were in partnership to launch DigiTV as per the article “'DigiTV launch for 2009' Mobile Provider branches into TV” albeit later comments indicated that it was not feasible as per the article “Digicel diversifies - $500 m Data Centre opens November”, published Friday August 28, 2009 by Mark Titus, Business Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.

I also noted this odd partnership in my well researched my blog article entitled “LIME TV and Broadcasting - The Andromeda Strain and My Science Project” in which I made mention of this partnership and the article “The people and ideas behind Mobile TV”, published Friday, November 12, 2010 BY EDWARD TAYLOR, The Jamaica Observer from which I gleaned the fact that not only was it a partnership with DC Digital, but also that LIME TV was using DVB-H.

This is what prompted me to write the follow up on my blog article entitled “LIME TV vs Netflix - 101 Dalmations”. Alas, it struck me as decidedly odd that the author, a Mr. Edward Taylor, a supposed Consumer Electronics Writer and a Business Processing/Outsourcing Project Manager (what a long title!!!) could have made such a mistake (or is it a deception?!) by saying in his article, and I quote “Thirdly, there is a single antenna for the receiving device for both cellular and the DVB-H services, with low power consumption.

It must be noted that the DVB-H and the GSM Service (cellphone service) are received on different frequencies, so it does not depend on whether you have a 3G, 4G or even CDMA service”.

This is not possible. CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) and its cousin WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is Interference Limiting. This means that two (2) CDMA or WCDMA sources can transmit beside each other or in the same geographical vicinity and not interfere, as they have different Gold Codes and Chip Codes.

Thus relative to each other, any two (2) CDMA or WCDMA transmission sources can co-exist in the same geo-graphical area, even operating at the same frequencies, so long as the Gold Codes and Chip Codes used to decode the CDMA or WCDMA in each source is different.

Examples abound; Telecom Provider Verizon and Telecom Provider Sprint, Telecom Provider in the United States of America, operate on different carrier frequencies but are both CDMA, using WCDMA for their HSDPA+ (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) 3G services respectively.

On both these Networks, people using their Mobile phones cannot talk and use their data services at the same time, not because the CDMA for Voice and the WCDMA interfere, but because Telecom Provider Verizon uses their WCDMA for BOTH Voice and Data at the same time, so the channels carried inside of the WCDMA signal envelope cannot have two signals occupying the same logically assigned channels at the same time.

Or as we Jamaican Technicians say, “two donkey can bray one time, rasta”! It is NOT an example of CDMA signals interfering, as the two (2) Networks are known to share tower space and not have Interference problems, save for Microwave Antennas and their Microwave Radios, which are part of their Microwave Radio Network (American colloquial: backhaul) and Node B equipment that from time to time have Interference issues.

Local examples of this also exist in Telecom Provider CLARO Networks, which now sports a 1900 MHz CDMA Voice Network built from Huawei and a WCDMA HSDPA 1.5MBps 3G Network built also by Huawei that use a 850MHz frequency – and twain do they interfere, seeing the other as background noises, which are squelched out, due to the difference in Gold Codes and Chip Codes.

Great case studies for a paper on Interference!

On the other hand, Telecom Provider AT&T has a GSM (Global Systems) Voice Network and a HSDPA 3.5 MBps 3G Network, also based on WCDMA. The WCDMA does not see the Interference from the GSM, merely squelching it out, which is why such transmission systems can coexist.

But the GSM Network, which is based on GMSK (Gaussian Mask Shifted Keying) is not very noise tolerant, having a range of only 23km radius from the tower as opposed to the 3G Network which has a range of up to 33km radius from the tower from each sector Alpha, Beta and Gamma, Alpha facing due North and the Greek lettering assigned in a clockwise manner.

Thus, for all intents and purposes, the signal coverage is omni-directional, and although they can co-exist in term of hosting and transmission to the UE (User Equipment) from the Mobile Tower, the UE cannot use the 3G Network and make calls at the same time. Ironically, DVB-H, which is also Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM), a fancier way of saying CDMA or WCDMA, also has the same problems.

Mr. Edward Taylor’s assertion that DVB-H (DTT Service) and the GSM (Voice Service), and I quote “are received on different frequencies” suggesting that they can be decoded at the same time without Interference issues, which is certainly not true.

But the smoking gun that indicates that I may be correct in my assertion that Telecom Provider LIME TV Service is actually a VAS (Value Added Service) within another VAS is that later in the very same article, as Mr. Edward Taylor’s goes on to say, quote “Work is currently in progress to enable delivery to BlackBerry and other smart phones in the very near future”.

Since other phones, such as Blackberrys and smart phones do not have the DVB-H codec, Telecom Provider LIME would have to get a Software Developer or simply have the equipment supplier of the DVB-H in collaboration with the handset makers such as RIM of Blackberry develop a rootkit codec that would reprogram the EEPROM (Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) in order to enable the phone to receive the DVB-H signaling.

However, as DVB-H is a close cousin of 3G, both using WCDMA, it logically concurs that Customers with a 3G capable phone are most likely candidates for this codec, as to make an ordinary smart phone receive DVB-H and it has no WCDMA protocols or software codec to build on would effectively mean that Telecom Provider LIME would be rookit’ing regular 2G phones and turning them into 3G phones just to make them receive DVB-H, killing their 3G phone sale business.

Even in more advance Telecom Provider markets such as the US of A, this is NOT done, as Telecom Providers prefer to stream the content over their Wireless Broadband Networks e.g. Youtube, Netflix and Hulu, and charge Customers on a thirty (30) Day Subscription, instead of going this complex Engineering and Media obfuscation route. Worse, clues to Telecom Provider LIME’s real plans lie in Mr. Edward Taylor’s very own words in his own article.

Thus Telecom Provider Digicel, if they are smart, can counter-claim with regards to the charge by Telecom Provider LIME assertion that they [Telecom Provider Digicel] are not 4G as per the article my blog article entitled “Digicel vs LIME - Mortal Kombat over 4G Title” by asserting to the very same FTC (Fair Trading Commission) that LIME TV is not DVB-H. That would be interesting…………

Telecom Provider LIME is counting on the fact that the average Customer, who is not Tech Savvy nor a former Network Maintenance Technician (2001 to 2004) who suggested the idea of WiMaX back in 2002 while at C&W, to not know this.

Using the UE, the Customer will notice that they cannot be able to make a call and watch TV at the same time, as one service would be affected, necessitating that while a call is in being initiated, the Customer will have to turn off the TV Service or when receiving a call, the TV Service will automatically exit.

Knowing Telecom Provider LIME, they may deceive the Customer with a clever trick of making the service automatically return after the call has ended.

Thus the Customer is accepting of the fact that the two (2) services logically cannot operate at the same time without questioning the mechanics behind why that is so. Media obfuscation at its worst!

Worse, LIME TV is actually my suggestion to LIME, inclusive of the idea to use the 3G Carrier to carry the DVB-H, so it is left to the reader as to who to believe, as after all, this is LIME cum C&W, known for robbing Customers. Plus, with no 4” AMOLED phones as asserted in my blog article entitled “LIME TV vs Netflix - 101 Dalmations”, pricing, not my words, may be the deciding factor in the Customers mind, Lara Croft - Tomb Raider (2001) style, starring Angelina Jolie!

Especially as the Customer’s ask: why would I buy a phone with a very small screen, not even a Samsung Galaxy S or a Motorola Droid (my designs!!) to even watch TV when they can stream from the comfort of their couch over the Wireless Internet via their now improved 10MBps Digicel 4G Broadband as well as their now 50MBps and 100MBps FLOW Wired Broadband as per my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers, 100MBps Broadband and the Broadcasting Commission - Redemption Song”?

LIME TV vs Netflix - 101 Dalmations

Under the greenwood tree

Who loves to lie with me,

And turn his merry note

Unto the sweet bird’s throat,

Come hither, come hither, come hither:

Here shall he see

No enemy

But Winter and rough weather

Shakespeare, As You Like It, II, 5

LIME TV just launched with a bang on Monday December 13^th 2010 as stated in the article “LIME Mobile TV goes on sale”, published Tuesday, December 14, 2010, The Jamaica Observer. Albeit the price offering for now is basically JA$250 for a seven (7) day subscription, with a complimentary two hundred (200) bonus minutes as per the article “LIME launches Mobile TV....and it's free for now!”, published Friday, December 10, 2010, The Jamaica Observer

John Public is skeptically sniffing at the offerings and bypassing them, mainly because the Telecom Provider refused to take the advice of several of my blog articles, especially the one entitled “LIME TV and Broadcasting - Hunt for Red October” and especially the article entitled “LIME and LIME TV - From Russia With Love” in which I specified Android phones.

You know, like the Samsung Galaxy S and the Motorola Droid series of phones. Alas, Telecom Provider LIME, in their ill-advised wisdom, chose to go with Nokia N77 phones, which like the Blackberry Storm phones they were trying to sell a few months ago, are being sold to clear out old stock of phones that nobody wants but were ordered because they were cheap.

I know this, as not only did I work at Telecom C&W Ltd (now Telecom Provider LIME) as a Network Maintenance Technician, but more specifically I was stationed at the Pembroke/North Exchange, which ironically is the ONLY C&W Exchange that not only houses a NEC NEAX 61E and Nortel DMS 100/200 switch, but has the odd distinction of having a Customer Care Branch attached to it.

Very odd workplace indeed, the “going-on” between the Technicians and the females in Customer Care being the stuff of legend not suitable for my blog, me being the Voice of Reason, Shakespeare et al. Most of the Jamaican Technicians at Telecom Provider LIME, like the Jamaican Technicians at Telecom Provider CLARO, smoke marijuana (Cannabis Sativa) as can be evidenced by visiting the cell sites, most of which have the plant visibly growing.

The Management of Telecom Provider LIME mainly smoke cigars, while the Management of Technicians at CLARO smoke Salvia, so Miley Cyrus is in good company as per my blog article entitled “Salvia, THC and Shared Dreaming - Altered States meets Inception”.

So I know that Sales are NOT going so well, as Telecom Provider LIME, by going with Nokia N77, a rather horrible phone, is effectively offering a Braised Suckling Pig in Honey Sauce served on a garbage bin cover!

The Nokia N77, if you click on the link, albeit sporting a front and rear facing camera with specs one can peruse from the included hyperlink, has no sex appeal, as it is obviously a candy bar phone running proprietary Symbian with a camera squeezed in on the design. Aesthetically unpleasant, it is not a phone worthy of even ten (10) year olds, as its small screen is not good for even Video Calling. Really Telecom Provider LIME??

I do hope that Telecom Provider LIME really, really is not expecting people to buy such measly small screened phones to watch TV, screens so small that a man with a 20/20 vision cannot even make out the lettering when it is playing video. The ZTE-G N290/Aeon as well as the Nokia 5330 are a bit of an improvement in terms of sexiness and the screen size, if you plan to use them only for TV.

Performance-wise, I would have to consult my trusty CNET peeps, who are more versed, having had these phones in hand to test and assess them  - and conveniently make the test availed to all who desire knowledge of the product.

Thus on this basis, I would pass on the Nokia N77, but stick with the ZTE-G N290/Aeon as well as the Nokia 5330, which looks to be more of a hit. Still hoping that Telecom Provider LIME will soon release the app/codec that will require the firmware of any phone it is installed on, be it an Apple iPhone, Blackberry or Google Android smartphone and enable it to receive 3G.

Yes, you read me right!

3G. Telecom Provider LIME does not have a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast) Network as per the article “The people and ideas behind Mobile TV”, published Friday, November 12, 2010 BY EDWARD TAYLOR, The Jamaica Observer.

Rather, they are using their 3G Network to carry the DVB-H signal to the phone, which then decoded the 3G signal, and translates the DVB-H to Television, DVB-H being a DTT (Digital Terrestrial Television) transmission standard as per my blog article entitled “Broadcasting and Digital Switch Over - Back to the Future to compete with LIME TV”.

Supposedly, it can make any phone receive the 3G signal, albeit this would mean that the user would be unable to watch TV while making a call, thus necessitating that the TV feature via the app/codec be turned off in order to watch TV.

Clever idea, if I ever did say so myself! Telecom Provider LIME has saved themselves a bundle of money by using their HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) 3G service that maxes out at 3.4 MBps (about the same as Telecom Provider AT&T 3G Network) to deliver DVB-H encoded Mobile TV, effectively a Hybrid Network or as some may be inclined to call it, a VAS (Value Added Services) within/delivered via another VAS.

Though not unique, the genius of this system is that by allowing the DVB-H to use the 3G Network, or more specifically the 3G antennas, they avoid having to build out a separate DVB-H Network.

The potential advantage of this system is that it allows Telecom Provider LIME to not only afford the Best of Both Worlds as per the “death” of Miley Cyrus alter ego Hannah Montana as chronicled in my blog article entitled “Salvia, THC and Shared Dreaming - Altered States meets Inception” but also, because it is within the 3G envelope, the signal from this Hybrid Network can be received by any phone, once an active app/codec that can decode 3G signaling is downloaded and installed on the target phone.

The only danger of course, it that hackers, on getting wind of this, may wish to download the app/codec and reverse engineer it in order to intercept 3G transmissions and illegally watch TV or worse, gain unauthorized access to Telecom Provider LIME Wireless Broadband 3G Service.

The best way to combat this is allow the app/codec to record the phone instrument IMEI, SIM card IMSI, UDID, if it is an Apple iPhone and the phone number and compare against the registered information for that phone.

If someone hacks the phone and steals the app/codec and tries to reinstall it on another phone, it will be locked out from accessing the service, as the phone instrument IMEI, SIM card IMSI, UDID if it is an Apple iPhone and the phone number would not match the information in the company’s Main Database or the Centralized Database shared between the Big Three (3) Telecom Provider as per my blog article entitled “CLARO vs Digicel - Cross-Network Flat Rate Calling and MNP Cometh”, and block access to the 3G Network.

Making this app/codec available is a necessity, as although the service offer of JA$250 for a seven (7) day subscription is just for now, the fact that it will be made more expensive in the future does not bode well for the products long term viability. This is the lower priced phone, the Nokia N77 has a poor video playback and the higher end smartphones (may I call them that?) ZTE-G N290/Aeon as well as the Nokia 5330 will obviously be priced out of the reach of consumers.

The Recession in the United States of America is slated to last longer as signaled by Senator Barack Obama, President of the United State of America ban on drilling and exploration in the Arctic for the next seven (7) as stated in the article “U.S. Halts Plan to Drill in Eastern Gulf”, published December 1, 2010 by JOHN M. BRODER and CLIFFORD KRAUSS, The New York Times and the possible coming Second Recession with the recent collapse of the Irish economy as per the article “Ireland keeps corporation tax low”, published Friday, November 26, 2010 by Andrew Bushe, The Jamaica Observer.

Cheaper alternatives, such as Netflix and Hulu, now BOTH at sub US$9.99 for a thirty (30) day as per the article “Hulu officially launches pay service, cuts price”, published Wednesday November 17, 2010 4:48 pm ET, Yahoo! News, still challenge the product, necessitating that Telecom Provider LIME pull out the Big Guns in the form of the Set Top box Partnerships as well as the app/codec that can allow the service to be viewed on any phone.

Otherwise, the myriad of free online streaming services will make winter coats out of LIME TV’s premium content service, no matter how cheap, much as was about to happen in the book 101 Dalmations by Dodie Smith.