Malthus

I've been more than a month without posting and although I would have liked to write something more about the MWC all the travels and social compromises refrained me to do so.
I would like to write, nevertheless, about something that appeared in a conversation in one of my last business trips. It was about the present financial crisis and its relationship with the energy crisis. The argument was that as our hunger for oil and other resources is so big and our wastes would need three planets to be naturally degradated, we are facing the end of our economic and technological progress.
My point was that this is actually what was pointed by Malthus: The catastrophe in front of a peak on demand and scarcity of resources. Malthusian theories demonstrated wrong because they did not take into account one endogenous factor, i.e. Technological progress.
It is right that we have a problem of scarcity with the present resources and that this trend is not sustainable in the long run, but the solution is not stopping the wheel from spinning, but invest in research and apply an economic rationallity to the resources and reflex in its price the actual costs of consuming these resources.

From a Physics perspective we have not reach in any way the limit of energy consumption nor of space occupied: Only a small fraction of the energy that comes from the sun would be necessary to supply the present energy needs and vast areas of the earth remain deserted.
This does not mean that things will get on track alone and we have to do nothing. We have a tough task in front of us, but if we realize of the importance of the problem and strongly believe that altogether we can find a solution, it will come.

GSMA Mobile Asia Congress news

These days the Mobile Asia Congress of the GSM Association is been held in Macau. From the first speeches some interesting news extracted from the Mobile Business Briefing of the GSMA:

GSMA CEO: Digital Dividend key to future growth
GSMA CEO Rob Conway used his opening keynote address at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress yesterday to call on governments around the world to free up further Digital Dividend spectrum for mobile use. Conway said that further mobile use of the spectrum ? which is becoming available due to the shift from analogue to digital TV ? would be a "major economic stimulus" that could help governments address the current global financial crisis. "Broadcasters have plenty of spectrum and using some of that spectrum for wireless is far more efficient and a much bigger boost to the economy than any TV channel," he said. "We all know the studies which show how mobile can increase GDP."
Conway added that the success of mobile broadband had meant that new spectrum is required to meet capacity demands and noted that future mobile standards such as LTE will also benefit from the new airwaves. "LTE depends on harmonised spectrum and LTE is the future," he said. Citing GSMA research, Conway said that network costs in lower frequencies such as 700MHz are around seven times cheaper than 3.5GHz, making network expansion into rural areas more economically viable and ensuring greater 'in-building' coverage. "The lower the harmonised frequency band, the greater the incentive for investing in LTE networks," he said. Conway hailed the recent decisions in France and Switzerland to make Digital Dividend spectrum in the 790-862MHz frequency band available for mobile use, but criticised the situation in Spain, which is allowing broadcasters to block the release of Digital Dividend for mobile. Elsewhere in his address, Conway pledged his support for measures aimed at increasing network efficiencies and reducing costs, such as network sharing between operators, and the deployment of energy efficient base stations.

And another one on NFC (Near Field Communications):

GSMA pushes for NFC handsets
The GSMA has called for full Near Field Communications (NFC) functionality to be built into commercially available handsets from mid-2009. Such a move would give a big boost to mobile payment services, it said. The Association's board also announced its support for the 'Single Wire Protocol' (SWP) standard that defines the interface between a mobile phone?s SIM card and its embedded NFC chipset. It is the NFC chip which communicates with contactless readers so users can make financial transactions over short distances, for instance using a debit or credit card to buy small items in a convenience store or a ticket on public transport.
A number of mobile operators are already conducting trials of NFC services as part of the GSMA's Pay-Buy-Mobile initiative. The GSMA claimed that the trials ? being conducted by nine operators, including South Korea's KTF, and Taiwan's FarEastone, in eight countries ? have already shown a growing consumer demand for mobile payment services. Further trials are planned by 15 operators in 14 countries. Encouraging results from Taiwan found that 90 percent of people felt positive toward the new service, whilst over 90 percent of triallists in France said they found contactless mobile payment convenient, fast and easy to use. This latest development follows issue of a detailed Device Requirement document by the GSMA in July to a wide range of vendors and suppliers in the Pay-Buy-Mobile ecosystem. The GSMA revealed that 37 key players responded, giving an understanding of the core requirements for any SWP/NFC device.

More information in Mobile Asia Congress website and the GSMA official page.

New Apollo Program

Some days ago I read in the Time magazine that Obama is really committed to start a New Apollo Program related to achieving for the US energetic independence. This is a Kennedy's size program and I really agree that a superpower like the US must be involved in any big achievement regarding this topic in the present time.
Europeans are really committed to the ITER initiative to find an alternative to Oil in Nuclear Fusion. The US has also relationship with this project but I see the approach of the US more broad. I guess that several different approaches will be established in the first times, then select two or three of them, the most promising, and progress them to final stages. Just then will be a bet for only one of them, but once it is seen its final viability.

And all this in a 10 years time frame. I think that this is fairly possible and it could bring two things to the present world: An objective to fight for in turmoil times and a long term solution to Oil dependence. I am sure it will not mean ending with Oil, oil is useful for several applications, but it can reduce the widespread presence of it. An in times of economic crisis public investment and spend is capital to find the way out.

Related to this today I found an interesting video in youtube on conmuting in DC...



Bravo Obama!

Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona and NFC

Last Friday, while I was going to watch a cinema movie to Gràcia, I was shocked after what I watch underground. As can be seen in the following pictures, in Universitat Underground station there is an access barrier that is activated with NFC... this has been a big surprise because I have not found any official announcement in the net, but they have installed this access barrier and also a "recharge point" near the ticketing machines...






It does not seem supported by any mobile operator, as the logos and information there was unbranded. I guess they are using Nokia 6131 NFC enabled phones that does not use the SIM card for storing the sensitive data but an "embedded chip" that is inside the handset and managed over-the-air... will continue investigating.

Magic Black Box

As I previously introduced, for the Austrian last business travel I prepared a device as to impress my colleagues ;-) From this aim resulted the Magic Black Box, also known as I.M.W.V.S. (Integrated Mobile-Webcam Visualization System) :-D. Is basically a device to display in a computer screen a Mobile Handset display. It is useful to beam this screen and make live demos with big audiences.

In the following picture you can have and idea of the external look of the MBB.



Here a screenshot of how a beamed screen would look like.



Components

There two main components for building this device:

* Lifecam VX-3000
* Cardboard Box

The webcam original look



The displaying software and webcam features can be found at the Microsoft Website

The original cardboard box look



Assembly



This is the camera with its base unscrewed as to reduce the volume occupied. Note that there is a piece at the bottom of the camera, where the screw was attached, that may be used to pin the camera vertical if a suitable hole is done at the bottom of the cardboard box.



This is the cardboard support as to keep the camera fixed even when the box is moved.



These are views of the situation of the camera inside the box. The clips in the sides are removable so if the box must be transported unfolded it is easy and fast to unmount it.



These slits are where the folding handset is put in. They are, of course, in the side in front of the camera.




Final views of the present Magic Black Box configuration with a folding handset. Note the hole to pass the webcam USB cable by.
Further Developments
It would be quite interesting to improve it allowing to suit different handsets thant the folding ones!!!

Alive

I am Alive!!! I have just returned from a business travel to centre Europe (Vienna, Bratislava...) and have some things and thoughts to share... but I have no time :-( Hope soon to show here my new development... the Magic Black Box!

Technological Darwinism

Today I've read and article on the recent achievement of a teenager with the iPhone. It seems that this guys have connected the iPhone to the forbidden networks of Orange, Movistar and Vodafone. This is not a great novelty because each day thousands of cellular phones are unlocked in order to work with any network provider and in fact, it is a feature, the unlocking mechanism, guaranteed by the GSM standards in order to boost competition. The news, for me, comes from the fact that the unlocking procedure has engaged a token I did not now yet. It is the TurboSIM. What is the TurboSIM? Well, I would say it is something like a parasite in the biologic scale. It presumably filters the Cellular Phone - SIM Interface communication in order to take profit of it and send the suitable commands to get some functionality. It would be nice to see how it works (it is announced as Open Source) and which is the very change for the market dynamics the providing of such a "revolutionary" token but it looks like by now it is impossible to get one!!

Projects & Future

Today a person from Telefonica has promptly installed the telephone and ADSL lines and finally I'm a wired person. It's been hard doing the MSc. first with the UMTS connection and the last time even without these. ONO has disappointed me in a deep way. I asked for the broadband service almost four months ago and I'm still waiting to receive the documentation... a pitty.

Talking about work, I decided to accept the offering to became part of the Telecommunications department as a Project Manager. So, in a few weeks I'll start to develop a more market prospective and customer related work. It's been sad to leave the R&D crowd but I guess is a good change for my professional future. Hope to keep the leading position in the innovation and socioeconomic management framework the company has stablished and don't lose the technological contact I'm nowadays having.

Finally, as the access lines to the telephone and Internet network have been installed at home, I'm start playing with them and try to develop a lightweight fax/email gateway and exploit it. I don't know if I'll have time but think it can be fun.

Invention and Innovation

One of the most important concepts, or better, difference between concepts, when analysing the present society and its changes is the one between Invention and Innovation. I'm not completely sure about one the best definition for each of these words is but what I'm absolutely sure is that the difference is clear, once analysed, and easy to understand. When we talk about innovation we usually think in the changes that mean the fact that things are done, from its appearing, slightly differently, either for a new machine or for a new process. Maybe the change is not revolutionary itself, and usually are the kind of things that we see as logical and that we say "How can be that nobody has thought on it before?". Examples of these are kind of innovation are the Ikea way of selling furniture (dismounted and in packages) or the delivery of prepared food to home. Invention, in another way, mean to us something not thought or not done before. A machine or tool able to make something not done before (like a light bulb) or a light saber.
An invention can produce and innovation, but it is not necessary. Also an innovation could be based in an invention but it couldn't. Those concepts are complementaries but do not mean the same, although sometimes we tend to misuse them. The main difference between Invention and Innovation, to return to the start of the post, is the fact that innovation has consequences in the performance. When the concept innovation is used we are saying that things are done with less effort or in less time, or lately in a cleaner way. The use of a lighting screwdriver can be fun, but it is hardly going to mean that the electrician will fix the TV in less time. If something can be done, formally a process, with less effort it can be an innovation, though no revolutionary invention is used. Think in the no-stock production of automation plants. The simple fact of having no stock and receive the goods just in time provided the producers a way to reduce costs and time in the car making process.

To end with, just think that sometimes small changes, although not revolutionary in itself, could give a footprint of colosal dimensions. Or haven't you heard the story on the flying olive?