Cell Phones and Connectivity

My family had a German student staying with us for a few months. It is fun having someone from overseas becasue we get to learn about other cultures and other countries. Something that she said was very interesting in the context of this blog - she was amazed at the South African relationship to cell phones. Everybody has one and that is just what life is like! In most of the families that she met every person , from child to Granny, owns and uses a cell phone (see Market Tree Consultancy stats). They are part of our lives.

Part of the reason for this is because cell phones are so inexpensive. Some stores offer contracts from as little as R5 per month. There are entire stores devoted to cell phones and some that only sell cell phone accessories. There is great competition between Cell C, MTN and Vodacom and this can only make things better for the consumer.

Information is power, so in a country with extremely low internet use South Africans should use their phones to gain access to the internet. It is incredibly silly that we do not use this valuable resource when we have such access to it. The potential is massive, if people can learn to use the technology available.

The internet offers work opportunities in the form of job searches and internet-based businesses. People are making money through blogging, advertising and working for other internet companies. The information available can help you study or learn a new skill. The net also allows for meeting new people, sharing ideas and communicating in entirely new and exciting ways.

Using cell phones in South Africa for internet access could really help to reduce the digital divide in this country as well as the economic and educational gap between the haves and the have-nots.

Happy Slapping

This was a difficult thing for me to research because I am a sensitive soul and found some of the clips available on the internet to be quite disturbing. I guess it is something that people want to see, but I don't know why... I guess human nature is twisted.

For those of you that don't know, happy slapping is when someone picks a target at random and attacks them while a friend video tapes it. These videos are distributed via internet and cell phones. Cell phones are the main instruments used for recording and distributing these actions and, thanks to the internet, it has become a problem in many countries around the world. I find it terrible that cell phones are being used for such destructive purposes, but it is because they are so portable and convenient, with many modern phones having excellent video quality.

A few months ago Carte Blanche ran an article on the problem and many people, particluarly parents and teachers, consider this to be a major contributor to bullying and violence in schools. It just shows the negative impact visual media and participation in the production of visual media can have on society. If these youngsters (it is mostly young people involved) think that it is ok to be violent then I fear for their future - I am guessing it will propably involve a lot of heartache and trauma.. ..and probably jail.

There is a lack of accountability in these cases and so people feel that they can get away with it. If you can get away with it then why not do it? Getting into trouble is what keeps the average person well behaved. We have a sense of consequences, but being distanced from the action relieves these feelings. A good thing is that if the perpetrators are traced then there is fairly concrete, indesputable evidence against them and this has lead to prosecutions and jail sentences.

Police have in some circumstances used cell phone video and photos to track people involved in crimes, such as riots, and they provide important evidence in court. Another positive thing about these films in that they provide multiple viewpoints in situations and can provide coverage of incidents when news institutions have not yet reached the scene.

I was going to put a link to some happy slapping sites, but I realised that all I would be doing is adding to the problem. People do these things because there is a demand for it. Instead I put up some YouTube videos (bottom of the page) of Anti-slapping! This movement encourages random acts of kindness. I think that this is a great idea because, just as happy slapping is said to encourage violence and bullying, I believe that this encourages caring and brotherly love! If you want to see more anti-slapping videos then visit http://www.anti-slapping.net/ for some really good ones.

What is in a Name?

A cell phone is a cell phone, right? I don't think so! Well, names create meaning that help us understand what is around us, and I don't think that "cell phone" quite does it. Look at cars... you could be driving a sedan, a sports car, a hatchback, a bakkie... you get the picture. Different names tell us a lot about what something is, and what it's significance is. I think that cell phones need some sort of classification.

I am sure that the term "cell phone" was originally good enough, I am sure "car" was too, but there needs to be shift to make things clearer. Through the convergence of technology, a phone is no longer just a phone and may be able to connect to internet, or take photos, or draw pictures, or watch films, or play music, or do all of these! We need a distiction to prevent this sort of thing:

"You have a cell phone don't you?"

" Yes, of course I do, but how does that help?"

"Well, just take a picture and mms it to me."

"Ah.... I went for the GPS option instead of the camera."

"Hmph."

Which is what happened to me the other day.

We have reached a point now with this technology to start classifying it. Hey, some devices are barely phones anymore, but come with a phone incidentally, like my Mom's GPS system. I noticed this when I borrowed her phone and could not actually find any of the phone functions, but could quite easily find the quickest route to drive Cape Town.

The Dangers of Cell Phones

A cell phone seems harmless enough, but in the UK they are getting worried. Studies have been done that show drivers are four times more likely to crash if they are talking on their phones and they are of the opinion that hands free kits don't help very much. The UK Police are planning to ban the use of phones completely while in the car - it is just too distracting. Insurance companies and the police are able to use cell phone records to see if the driver was on the phone when an accident happened and this could result in a person's insurance being denied or a jail sentence.

Drivers are not the only ones at risk. Pedestrians are also getting into trouble as they are falling off pavements, crashing into each other and getting hit by cars. Another British study revealed that 48% of people using phones for chatting or texting would step out in front of cars, while ipod users were much more cautious. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1885775.stm

The situation has catastrophic potential if you have a pedestrian and a driver having a chat at the same time!

The whole idea of having your phone records checked opens up the issue of surveillance, control and privacy. Where will the line be drawn? Surveillance is great for a parent to keep track of their child and for police to track down criminals, but when does a parent monitoring a child become invasive? How do we control who has access and who does not? There are so many ethical and legal questions There is potential for mis-use and invasion of privacy, which is probably already happening. This is an issue with many modern technologies, such as cameras, internet, satellite as well as cell phones. To me, the benefits outweigh the dangers. However, for many companies, trade secrets and confidential deals could mean the difference between keeping a competitive advantage and loosing everything. The privacy of celebrities might be at risk, or the victims and witnesses of crimes could be tracked by those whose freedom they threaten. The potential problems for some people is enormous.

There are many benefits of this same technology that are quite impressive, aside from tracking down people talking while driving. Cameras monitor streets and businesses; satellites broadcast television and radio all over the world, as well as controlling armies, planes and ships; cell phones allow for almost immeasurable communication possibilities.

Open the Pod Bay Door

The birth of the revolutionary ipod series has evolved into a technological creation that changed the way millions listen to music. these small easy to use devices are capabile of storing gigabytes of data meaning you can have all your favourite music albums in the palm of your hand.

This revolutionary device has however moved into broader spheres than just music. First introduced in October 2001 the launch of this technology started with the release of what was called a 'Mac compatible product'. The name for the ipod was only founded when Vinnie Chieco saw a prototype and the thought of futuristic technology came to mind with the a phrase that was said on the discovery one space space ship. "Open the pod bay door, Hal", which was made in reference to the white EVA Pods on the spaceship. it was thought to be a perfect name for this new inovation as this creation by Apple, Computer Inc seemed so advanced and futuristic. But, the name ipod was previously patented by Joseph N. Grasso for internet kiosks. The name ipod however was attained by Apple, Computer Inc. in 2003 through the registration of the trademark by the USPTO with commercial use begining in 2004.

Initially ipod research and its creation was based on creating a mass music storage device, but with technological change Apple decided to venture further into the capabailities of the ipod not only within the music spectrum. Since the release of the first generation, the breakthroughs in technology have resulted in the new generation ipods seeing the intergration of colour, video, larger storage capacity. In 2007a huge leap was taken with safari browser, multi-touch, wireless access to iTunes and YouTube. This revolutionary media device has more recently seen the intergration of cellular technology into its features and some inovators have taken ipod technology a step futher into the vehicle industry and even the fridge in you kitchen!

Then and now

Gone are the days where it was an event to go and watch a film. Nowadays movies are as accessible as sliced bread. Not only can we hire movies to watch on DVD but we can also download them onto our computers, cell phones and ipods.

my boyfriend recently attained the new nokia n95 8g which comes with the Spiderman 3 movie loaded onto it. This to me seems slightly over the top why would anyone want to watch a feature film on a tiny screen but then again that’s just my opinion. It seems to me that technology is no more about making life easier or more simple for us but simply about make the latest and coolest thing that will appeal to the target market. I mean really how many people are going to sit and watch a 2hour movie on there cell phones???

Obviously I am one of very few who share the same view, as N95's and other phones with similar functions are selling like hot cakes. I must admit I too own an N95, but I never watch movies on mine or make much use of its other brilliant features, I bought it for its excellent camera which I make use of constantly. But I can’t help but wonder do we indulge in these gadgets simply because we want to be able to boast that we have the latest and coolest gadget?

Has this innovation had a positive or negative affect on the film industry? One could argue either way.

Blending the Old and the New

I was reading a reveiw about a play called "Dead Man's Cell Phone" on the New York Times website. Just goes to show how much cell phones have become a part of culture. No more Shakespeare - here we are blending new technology with the old medium of the theatre. Sounds like one that would be really interesting to see, especially in a country that values cell phones so much. Pity is is in the USA and not here because I would love to see it.

There have also been some films revolving around cell phones. I am thinking of "Cellular", where a young man answers his cell phone to find a kidnapped woman on the other end of the line. The whole experience both ruins his day and forces him to grow up, changing his life forever. It makes sense that transformation would be a popular theme tied to cell phones as they have changed our lives so drastically. Another film is coming out soon called "One Missed Call". As far as I can tell it is the "Fear dot com" or "The Ring" of cell phones. If you listen to the voice message left after the missed call then you have X amount of time before you die. So we have a thriller and a horror and I can only wonder when we will have comedy, romance and drama revolving around the cell phone. Maybe "The Dead Man's Cell Phone" will be adapted for film, then it would become part of popular culture.

A comment about a ringing phone demanding to be answered is made and it is so true! You cannot resist a ringing phone unless under threat of harm, or humiliation! The shock and horror when a lecturer threatened to confiscate a students phone last year was felt by the whole class. Did he not realise that it might be an important call? Of course we all realise that it should have been set to silent, but to take such a drastic measure as confiscation! Then again, that is what happens in the play and it leads to all sorts of interesting events.