Don't SWEAT it... Day One

I stole this idea entirely from Ricky because I was all thinked-out from the brainstorming of 2D game ideas. We were supposed to think of as many game ideas as possible. They didn't have to be feasible, or even very good. Here's the full list:

1. Escape from the Zombie Apocalypse
2. Extreme Accountancy
3. Mario Gets the Groceries
4. Hockey Players Beating the Crap out of Eachother
5. Beat the Crap out of a Mac
6. Beat the Crap out of a Vista PC
7. Drive Highway 99
8. Drive Down No. 3 Road
9. Extreme Underwater Basketweaving
10. Beat the Crap out of Gary Bettman
11. Poutine-Throwing in Quebec
12. Stop Gang Crime
13. Register Your Firearms
14. Clean the Chimney
15. Barbecue a Deer
16. Shovel the Driveway
17. Do your: Homework
18. Do your: IT Project
19. Do your: IT Blog Posts
20. Do your: IT Assignment 2A
21. Find Something to Do at Lunch
22. Brainstorm Game Ideas
23. Do the Shopping
24. Rob a Bank
25. Sneak out of the House at Night
26. Sneak out of the House at Night II: Steal Daddy's Car
27. Fill up on Gas
28. Drive through Richmond
29. Make Soviet Russia Jokes
30. Help Cloutier Stop a Beachball
31. Mario With a Lightstaber
32. Go 4x4-ing
33. Drive through Kentucky in your 1986 Z28 Camaro
34. Drive a Lamborghini to Catch Italian Criminals
35. Drive a Porsche to Catch German Criminals
36. Drive a Lada to Catch Russian Criminals
37. Drive a Ford to Catch American Criminals
38. Drive a Toyota to Catch Japanese Criminals
39. Drive a Kia to Catch Korean Criminals
40. Drive an Aston Martin to Catch English Criminals
41. Smuggle Drugs out of Miami
42. Evade the Cameraman
43. Blow the Dust out of your SNES Cartridge
44. Help Shane O'Brien Stop His Own Goal
45. Solve: IT Problems
46. Solve II: Tech Support
47. Solve III: Help your Grandmother with her AOL
48. Where in the World is Liam Clarke?
49. Justify Buying a Mac
50. Try to Save your Photoshop Project in IT
51. Try to Load your Photoshop Project in IT
52. Rollllllllll up the Rrrrrrrrrrrim to Winnnnnnnnn
53. Take Transit into the Downtown Core
54. Wait at the Border
55. Get your NEXUS Card
56. Get your Passport
57. Get your Passport II: Before Summer Starts
58. File your Taxes
59. Buy an Affordable Home in Greater Vancouver

His account of the entire day is on his blog.

Well, at least we're better than Engadget

We may not exactly be your comprehensive source for all information and news 3G... but at least we're better than Engadget. My, how the mighty have fallen.



Dear Engadget,

We told you this day would come; that is to say, the day where you are knocked off your poncy diamond-encrusted news throne and into the black abyss of ignominy. I guess that's what you get when you become Sony- and Apple-bandwagoning pikeys. I suppose we should congratulate you for finding what everyone thought was rock bottom, and smashing through it like a nuclear bomb through paper. For this, we thank you. We admit, we couldn't have gotten to where we are now without your fall from forgottenness to complete discomfiture.

In closing: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *cough* ha ha ha ha ha ha ha *wheeze* ha ha.

Sincerely,

TGT (The Thirdgen Times)

What comes after 3G?

Did you fail math in Kindergarten? 4G, duh. Oh, you want to know what 4G actually means? OK.

4G will be the generation where cellphones cease running on specialized radio networks. 4G will be the generation where cellphones become IP-based and run off what is basically a specialized "internet". Cellphones will basically become WiFi devices that run on a different frequency than WiFi. Voice calls will no longer be actual voice calls, but will become a digitized form called a data call, which is kind of similar to VOIP (Voice Over IP) that you can get for your landline. With VOIP, instead of an analog signal (or an analog signal converted to digital then converted back to analog) being sent over the telephone line, you are sending a signal that starts off as digital and remains digital. It is basically a two-way streaming audio session. 4G cellphone networks will run on the same principle. With the arrival of IP-based cellular telephony should come cheaper data rates. As it stands today, it costs about $45/mo or more for an unlimited data plan. The cellular companies say this is because it requires specialized hardware and software to provide a gateway to the internet from the cellular network, (and they're right, they need huge switches that can cost tens of millions of dollars) but the main reason is because they can get away with it because we don't have the competition in Canada like the United States (where an unlimited plan can cost $35 or less). Since the phones are already accessing the IP-based "internet" network, it is easier to provide a gateway to the actual internet.

The technology that will be powering the 4G networks is called LTE. Almost all carriers have planned to go with LTE for their 4G network (since nothing else exists yet). LTE will use a MIMO channel access method that will provide a throughput maximum (tested) of 326.4 Mbit/s using 4 antennas. The optimal cell size of an LTE network is 5km, which is very good. 30km has good performance, and 100km has acceptable performance. Sub-200ms latency is achievable using small IP packets. The mobile spectrum available can be sliced into 1.5Mhz slices, which is almost unheard of for a full radio channel. LTE also has the ability to broadcast the DVB-H standard of TV broadcasting, allowing direct TV broadcast to your phone.

So how much is this all going to cost me?

In short? Not much. In fact, nearly every new phone model released in the last year is capable of 2.5G or 3G data transmission. EDGE and EVDO are both technically 3G technologies, although 3G can be used as a technical term or simply as a term to divide different generations of technology. And since EDGE and EVDO run off of the existing 2G cellular protocols (GSM and CDMA) no new hardware is required to utilize these new data technologies. I can't think of a single phone carried by any current wireless provider that cannot utilize either 1xRTT, EVDO, or EDGE.

If you want to take advantage of the (relatively) blazing-fast speeds that 3G data services such as HSP(D)A, you will need to get a new phone. You will also need to make sure that the phone you do get is compatible with the specific band that the provider offers. For example, Blackberry is selling the Storm as a HSPA-compatible device. Telus offers it for sale. While you may be dissuaded by the HSPA-compliant advertising, the Blackberry Storm operates on the UMTS 2100MHz band only. Telus is only going to operate the UMTS 1900MHz band, since that's all they have a license for. These are things that you have to watch out for when you're considering buying a current-generation cellphone that touts support for 3G technologies.

Similarly, don't get caught up in the whole 3G craze in the first place if you can avoid it. If you don't browse the web or use e-mail on your phone, then you really don't need to upgrade until CDMA is no longer offered, which won't happen for a long time. AMPS was operated underneath CDMA and GSM for 6 years because of all the businesses and people that did not want to pay to upgrade to digital (keep in mind that this was when phones were the size and weight of a cinderblock, and cost more than the car you had to put it in.)

If you really don't feel like upgrading right now, you don't need to. When the time comes to renew your contract or you find a good deal on a phone that supports all the new technology, go for it. Until then, your current 3G phone will do fine for all intents and purposes.