StudioGuy
Sep 26, 10:45 AM
I originally thought that this would make a nice "best" model for the Mac Pro, but the 5160 is surely a great chip. Given the slower clock speed (although not always a good indicator) and more cores, this might be a great chip for a Server, like an updated XServe.
Not sure if the software guys are going to catch up enough in multithreading to make good use of 8 cores, but several folks on an XServe would appreciate it.
Not sure if the software guys are going to catch up enough in multithreading to make good use of 8 cores, but several folks on an XServe would appreciate it.
aristobrat
Apr 20, 09:00 PM
Windows has an option to hide such files. OS/X does not.
Apparently Lion will support that, somewhat. From reading the dev preview thread comments, the default view in Finder doesn't show the user's Library folder anymore.
Apparently Lion will support that, somewhat. From reading the dev preview thread comments, the default view in Finder doesn't show the user's Library folder anymore.
iJohnHenry
Apr 24, 04:52 PM
such that women are more likely to forget things.
So, woman are addle-minded?
I wouldn't wonder, they are kept barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, all in the service of Allah. And proper schooling is only of-late, and just in certain 'forward' Islamic countries.
I declined to read any further.
So, woman are addle-minded?
I wouldn't wonder, they are kept barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen, all in the service of Allah. And proper schooling is only of-late, and just in certain 'forward' Islamic countries.
I declined to read any further.
~loserman~
Mar 20, 06:28 PM
It is wrong? How so? If I burn a track for my wedding video, yes, I'm technically breakeing the law, but there is nothing immoral about doing that. No one is losing out on any money. No one is being hurt. He isn't stealing anything. He's breaking a copyright law that makes no sense in that case.
If you add it to your wedding video for your own use then you are not. If you make copies of the video and give them to the wedding guests then you are.
If you add it to your wedding video for your own use then you are not. If you make copies of the video and give them to the wedding guests then you are.
r1ch4rd
Apr 22, 10:05 PM
In some areas of the US people look down on if you admit that you don't believe in God. People can be very vicious about it and at the work place it's best not to voice your opinion or the Christians will gang up against you. I've seen this happen several times.
That's a real shame and I hope that improves for you. I am proud that we appear to be more open minded on this side of the pond. I have had plenty of people disagree with me, but we can agree to accept our differences.
I was once pointed to an interesting indication of the difference in culture. In the USA I believe the $1 bill contains the phrase "In God We Trust". In the UK, we have Charles Darwin on our currency! He appears on the �10 note and a recent �2 coin. The �2 coin changes fairly regularly though.
That's a real shame and I hope that improves for you. I am proud that we appear to be more open minded on this side of the pond. I have had plenty of people disagree with me, but we can agree to accept our differences.
I was once pointed to an interesting indication of the difference in culture. In the USA I believe the $1 bill contains the phrase "In God We Trust". In the UK, we have Charles Darwin on our currency! He appears on the �10 note and a recent �2 coin. The �2 coin changes fairly regularly though.
nixd2001
Oct 8, 04:38 PM
Originally posted by jefhatfield
one thing is certain, the athlon is faster than the duron, the pentium 4 is faster than the celeron, and the G4 is faster (in photoshop) than the G3...but beyond that, it is hard to get a perfect reading
True, but hardly going to provoke torrents of postings of heated debate and disagreement - surely a necessity in modern society :p
my overclocked 2 cents;)
So that's 2 cents of irrational exuberence then?
one thing is certain, the athlon is faster than the duron, the pentium 4 is faster than the celeron, and the G4 is faster (in photoshop) than the G3...but beyond that, it is hard to get a perfect reading
True, but hardly going to provoke torrents of postings of heated debate and disagreement - surely a necessity in modern society :p
my overclocked 2 cents;)
So that's 2 cents of irrational exuberence then?
Frobozz
Apr 15, 10:12 AM
That was a great video. My brother is gay and life as a teenager was very difficult in the small town we grew up in. Honestly, these lessons are important for all children who are bullied. Those P.O.S. bullies are usually doomed to a terrible life, and those who are bullied can blossom into real people. Folks, I knew a kid who killed himself over a bad report card. It was a straw the broke the camel's back, for sure-- but if you don't give yourself a chance to outlast the bad parts, you're selling yourself short. Give yourself a chance to live long and pass away with a wonderful life full of experiences and love.
I hope that video helps people see past their current predicament with bullies!
I hope that video helps people see past their current predicament with bullies!
darkplanets
Mar 11, 06:38 PM
And this is why we have passive cooling and shutdown systems, so you don't have to rely on mechanical means for core safety. It is my understanding that these reactors should have control rods to pretty much kill the core, however since it's a BWR that doesn't mean the heat will stop. I'll bet money that the safety systems aren't up to par, and since these were constructed in the 80's there certainly isn't any passive control systems.
amaxware
Nov 3, 11:26 AM
To be more clear...
Mac Pro with 1 dualcore Xeon?
A whole line of Mac Pro's then
2 cores
4 cores
8 cores
Mac Pro with 1 dualcore Xeon?
A whole line of Mac Pro's then
2 cores
4 cores
8 cores
snoopy
Oct 11, 12:01 PM
Hate to drop in late like this, but the G3 had the same FPU as the 603, not the better one in the 604. When Motorola built the G4, they did not upgrade the FPU, but added AltiVec. This is what I understand. So, yes, double precision floating point does run poorly, with that old 603 FPU.
dgree03
Apr 28, 09:30 AM
Let me try to explain what I mean from a different angle:
The number of PCs being sold could remain constant and still fall behind tablet sales in the future. Why? The market expands. Think about who could use a mainframe back in the day. Very few companies. Then minicomputers came along and suddenly many more companies could get one. The market expanded, and even if mainframe sales remained constant, minicomputer sales surpassed them.
Tablets will appeal to those who never got comfortable with PCs. Or who never bothered getting one at all. I've personally seen toddlers and 80-year-olds gravitate toward the iPad naturally. It just fits them perfectly. There's none of that artificial abstraction of a keyboard or mouse between their fingers and the device, they just interact directly. It appeals to them.
Someone who uses a PC almost exclusively for email and web surfing will find a tablet appealing to them.
Programmers and professional writers used to keyboards will not find a tablet appealing to them. Not yet, at least.
So when the market balloons yet again to take in the Tablet Era, PCs will continue to be sold, but the number of users in this new market will be larger than the market that existed in the PC Era. Many PC users will move to tablets, and many folks who never enjoyed (or even used) PCs will grab a tablet. It will be bigger than the PC market by 2020.
And by the way, the price premium referred to earlier in this thread? That's unique to Macs versus PCs because Apple does not compete in the low-end of the market. But in the smart phone and tablet markets, there is NO price premium. One day people will forget that Apple ever made "high-priced" items since it simply won't be true compared with the competition.
As for Apple never making headway, they are merely the most profitable computer company on the planet. Nice lack of headway if you can get it.
Oh i completely understand what you mean, thanks for the further clarification.
Lets not forget that we are dealing with a more "computer" savvy generation. Your examples of 80yr olds and infants is generally correct, but when those infants get to school, they will be using desktops(at school.) I think the barrier that existed with PC emergence in the late 80's is still prevalent today, not with the youger crowd anyway.
I think it will get to the point where people will have multiple devices in their homes. Just like people have laptops, desktops, and tablets(like myself) They will each have a place, but I just dont think tablets will run desktops and laptops out of peoples homes and time in the next 10-15 years.
The number of PCs being sold could remain constant and still fall behind tablet sales in the future. Why? The market expands. Think about who could use a mainframe back in the day. Very few companies. Then minicomputers came along and suddenly many more companies could get one. The market expanded, and even if mainframe sales remained constant, minicomputer sales surpassed them.
Tablets will appeal to those who never got comfortable with PCs. Or who never bothered getting one at all. I've personally seen toddlers and 80-year-olds gravitate toward the iPad naturally. It just fits them perfectly. There's none of that artificial abstraction of a keyboard or mouse between their fingers and the device, they just interact directly. It appeals to them.
Someone who uses a PC almost exclusively for email and web surfing will find a tablet appealing to them.
Programmers and professional writers used to keyboards will not find a tablet appealing to them. Not yet, at least.
So when the market balloons yet again to take in the Tablet Era, PCs will continue to be sold, but the number of users in this new market will be larger than the market that existed in the PC Era. Many PC users will move to tablets, and many folks who never enjoyed (or even used) PCs will grab a tablet. It will be bigger than the PC market by 2020.
And by the way, the price premium referred to earlier in this thread? That's unique to Macs versus PCs because Apple does not compete in the low-end of the market. But in the smart phone and tablet markets, there is NO price premium. One day people will forget that Apple ever made "high-priced" items since it simply won't be true compared with the competition.
As for Apple never making headway, they are merely the most profitable computer company on the planet. Nice lack of headway if you can get it.
Oh i completely understand what you mean, thanks for the further clarification.
Lets not forget that we are dealing with a more "computer" savvy generation. Your examples of 80yr olds and infants is generally correct, but when those infants get to school, they will be using desktops(at school.) I think the barrier that existed with PC emergence in the late 80's is still prevalent today, not with the youger crowd anyway.
I think it will get to the point where people will have multiple devices in their homes. Just like people have laptops, desktops, and tablets(like myself) They will each have a place, but I just dont think tablets will run desktops and laptops out of peoples homes and time in the next 10-15 years.
darwen
Sep 20, 01:02 AM
Did I read Hard Dive? Yay for apple putting a DVR in it!
Oh..... you mean they didnt say there was also a DVR program.... well then. It is time to upgrade that Hard Drive and rewrite the OS so it can run EyeTV (haha - EYETV on iTV... That is funny).
Oh..... you mean they didnt say there was also a DVR program.... well then. It is time to upgrade that Hard Drive and rewrite the OS so it can run EyeTV (haha - EYETV on iTV... That is funny).
pirateRACE
Apr 13, 09:04 AM
As a FC editor I'm excited. I can't wait to see what is in store for the rest of the suite.
If it's not your cup of tea, then keep rocking your current version. Amazing films, TV and web material has been made with it.
If it's not your cup of tea, then keep rocking your current version. Amazing films, TV and web material has been made with it.
Lord Blackadder
Mar 14, 04:29 PM
The fact remains that most of America's energy problems are caused by conspicuous consumption.
It's a global problem, though the US is the worst offender. Dealing with the energy crisis must be accomplished by attaking the problem from both ends - renewable sources at one end and lower per capita energy consumption at the other.
The solution does indeed need to be multi-tiered and intelligently applied. I've heard that the Japanese Nuclear plants were built to survive a strong earthquake or a tsunami, but not both. Well what often occurs when you get a strong earthquake offshore? That's right, a tsunami! Brilliant planning!
The current situation certainly exposes flaws in the design of the Japanese nuclear plants. To be fair, the severy of the disaster was extreme, but this is precisely the kind of worst-case scenario designers should have envisioned when they designed the plant. Even now we might see a partial meltdown in the Fukushima plant, though it appears that they've partially restored function to the cooling system. We should all be thankful that this didn't happen in a place where one of those Soviet RBMK reactors is still in operation - that would almost certainly have resulted in a full meltdown.
As for solar, it should be mandatory on new construction in areas such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas. It won't solve our energy needs but it will lessen them. Use the appropriate alternative technology where it will do the most good. Don't try to ship solar generated electricity across the country, just try to take advantage of it in localities that typically experience a number of sunny days.
Solar panels are one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source), and that is always going to cause a lot of resistance. For a homeowner, it's often a break-even proposition if conditions are favorable (but not necessarily ideal), and if the installation is thought out carefully. Wind power is considerably cheaper than solar and functions in places with little sunlight, so it is an important option to consider. In fact, wind power can be even cheaper than "clean coal" plants.
Still, as you say, different solutions work in different places. Reducing our dependance on non-renewable energy sources must involve every means at our disposal, and they must be implemented to maximum effect wherever the conditions are favorable. Solar enregy is insufficient on its own, as are all the other renewable sources of energy. Only a combination of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other sources can begin to generate enough energy to replace non-renewable sources.
And as skunk mentioned above, we need to find ways to reduce consumption on top of all that.
It's a global problem, though the US is the worst offender. Dealing with the energy crisis must be accomplished by attaking the problem from both ends - renewable sources at one end and lower per capita energy consumption at the other.
The solution does indeed need to be multi-tiered and intelligently applied. I've heard that the Japanese Nuclear plants were built to survive a strong earthquake or a tsunami, but not both. Well what often occurs when you get a strong earthquake offshore? That's right, a tsunami! Brilliant planning!
The current situation certainly exposes flaws in the design of the Japanese nuclear plants. To be fair, the severy of the disaster was extreme, but this is precisely the kind of worst-case scenario designers should have envisioned when they designed the plant. Even now we might see a partial meltdown in the Fukushima plant, though it appears that they've partially restored function to the cooling system. We should all be thankful that this didn't happen in a place where one of those Soviet RBMK reactors is still in operation - that would almost certainly have resulted in a full meltdown.
As for solar, it should be mandatory on new construction in areas such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas. It won't solve our energy needs but it will lessen them. Use the appropriate alternative technology where it will do the most good. Don't try to ship solar generated electricity across the country, just try to take advantage of it in localities that typically experience a number of sunny days.
Solar panels are one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source), and that is always going to cause a lot of resistance. For a homeowner, it's often a break-even proposition if conditions are favorable (but not necessarily ideal), and if the installation is thought out carefully. Wind power is considerably cheaper than solar and functions in places with little sunlight, so it is an important option to consider. In fact, wind power can be even cheaper than "clean coal" plants.
Still, as you say, different solutions work in different places. Reducing our dependance on non-renewable energy sources must involve every means at our disposal, and they must be implemented to maximum effect wherever the conditions are favorable. Solar enregy is insufficient on its own, as are all the other renewable sources of energy. Only a combination of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other sources can begin to generate enough energy to replace non-renewable sources.
And as skunk mentioned above, we need to find ways to reduce consumption on top of all that.
Clive At Five
Sep 20, 07:44 PM
We need a way to record our own TV shows from our cable subscription.
Is that legal? If it's not - even if it's blurry - Apple won't do it.
Secondly, if Apple allows you to do that, then you wouldn't buy content from the iTS. That's not what Apple wants.
-Clive
Is that legal? If it's not - even if it's blurry - Apple won't do it.
Secondly, if Apple allows you to do that, then you wouldn't buy content from the iTS. That's not what Apple wants.
-Clive
Sydde
Mar 15, 06:25 AM
I've largely given up on these threads and arguing about my field with people outside my field, but my god awmazz you need to just stop posting altogether...you haven't once had a clue what you are talking about. Sorry, but it's the truth.
All the fission stopped almost 72 hours ago.
Curious. You are suggesting that the control rods are fully seated (we would hope), absorbing the entire natural neutron flux, thus completely dampening the fission process (apart from the normal spontaneous fission of the 235 in the fuel pellets). Yet, the cores are still producing significant heat, sea water is being pumped over them to cool them, a real danger appears to exist. Where is that heat coming from, why, if the fission process has been choked off, are they not simply losing heat (cooling down like a big hunk of metal)? What are we missing?
All the fission stopped almost 72 hours ago.
Curious. You are suggesting that the control rods are fully seated (we would hope), absorbing the entire natural neutron flux, thus completely dampening the fission process (apart from the normal spontaneous fission of the 235 in the fuel pellets). Yet, the cores are still producing significant heat, sea water is being pumped over them to cool them, a real danger appears to exist. Where is that heat coming from, why, if the fission process has been choked off, are they not simply losing heat (cooling down like a big hunk of metal)? What are we missing?
DemSpursBro
Apr 10, 07:00 PM
I'm not sure sure what you mean when you say "for the things it is good at." What do you mean? What things?
The only real advantage, aside from aesthetics, macs have over PC is more user friendly video/music editing. Speaking from experience here,
you can do the same on a PC, but it's slightly more difficult.
Unless you're buying some old/bad brand, a PC will normally give you greater hardware capabilities and you can always dual boot or just only use the Mac OS.
I would like to show this picture that I threw together a couple of months ago.
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4838/macnotworthit.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/macnotworthit.jpg/)
Of course, it's speaking about games, but that also doubles as video/music editing capability.
The only real advantage, aside from aesthetics, macs have over PC is more user friendly video/music editing. Speaking from experience here,
you can do the same on a PC, but it's slightly more difficult.
Unless you're buying some old/bad brand, a PC will normally give you greater hardware capabilities and you can always dual boot or just only use the Mac OS.
I would like to show this picture that I threw together a couple of months ago.
http://img831.imageshack.us/img831/4838/macnotworthit.jpg (http://img831.imageshack.us/i/macnotworthit.jpg/)
Of course, it's speaking about games, but that also doubles as video/music editing capability.
DeepDish
Aug 29, 11:26 AM
How come Dells last half as long? Because they're "better made"? Do they not actually function any more? Or is it that you don't throw and Apple out because of sentimentality?
The only reason we\ve dumped computers at work is because they're not worth upgrading. In the last six months that's included one dell, two PowerMac G4s (although I claimed them) and six iMac G3s. They simply weren't up to (business) task anymore. The oldest computer we have in the office is actually a Dell that we use for one program.
Not out of sentimentality. The other pcs are so cheap, sometimes it is easier to just buy a new one.
The only reason we\ve dumped computers at work is because they're not worth upgrading. In the last six months that's included one dell, two PowerMac G4s (although I claimed them) and six iMac G3s. They simply weren't up to (business) task anymore. The oldest computer we have in the office is actually a Dell that we use for one program.
Not out of sentimentality. The other pcs are so cheap, sometimes it is easier to just buy a new one.
samcraig
Mar 18, 08:24 AM
If you are currently on an unlimited plan, sorry - you can't complain about this new development. You agreed to TOS which stated clearly what you could and could not do with your data. Unlimited data is for PHONE use - not for other devices you can hook up to. ATT and other carrier's bandwidth isn't meant to support as many devices as you want on your unlimited plan.
Now... that being said...
Those who are on a 2gb, or whatever LIMITED plan - should be able to do whatever you want with your data. You've paid for a set allotment - and whether you use that on your phone or elsewhere doesn't matter.
There's a clear distinction between unlimited and capped in terms of what you are ENTITLED to or not.
Now... that being said...
Those who are on a 2gb, or whatever LIMITED plan - should be able to do whatever you want with your data. You've paid for a set allotment - and whether you use that on your phone or elsewhere doesn't matter.
There's a clear distinction between unlimited and capped in terms of what you are ENTITLED to or not.
AJsAWiz
Sep 3, 08:51 AM
[QUOTE=AJsAWiz;10979023]
Since I have an iPad that is really all I need + Verizon. Everywhere I would go where people had no reception (me too with iPhone), I would ask what carrier they use-nearly 100% said AT&T. Then in those same instances/places I would ask people those who could talk freely on their phones what carrier they used and it was like 98 out of 100 said Verizon.
That's why I switched. Got a simple phone-Samsung Haven-2 phones for $60./month, but only 450 minutes (which I never exceeded with 2 iPhones) for around $165./month.
Sure hope the iPad is Verizon compatible soon too.
The upside to having 2 dead iPhones--now we have 2 wifi iPods so all the iPhone apps work on them.:D
You made 2 good points. I have an iPad as well so I all I really would need is a phone to make and receive calls (since my iPhone has failed miserably in that respect). Like you, I'll probably use my iPhone as an iPod touch with WiFi! Thanks for the tip :D
Since I have an iPad that is really all I need + Verizon. Everywhere I would go where people had no reception (me too with iPhone), I would ask what carrier they use-nearly 100% said AT&T. Then in those same instances/places I would ask people those who could talk freely on their phones what carrier they used and it was like 98 out of 100 said Verizon.
That's why I switched. Got a simple phone-Samsung Haven-2 phones for $60./month, but only 450 minutes (which I never exceeded with 2 iPhones) for around $165./month.
Sure hope the iPad is Verizon compatible soon too.
The upside to having 2 dead iPhones--now we have 2 wifi iPods so all the iPhone apps work on them.:D
You made 2 good points. I have an iPad as well so I all I really would need is a phone to make and receive calls (since my iPhone has failed miserably in that respect). Like you, I'll probably use my iPhone as an iPod touch with WiFi! Thanks for the tip :D
Dark
Oct 25, 11:51 PM
I personally really want this revision to made before the holiday season. I'm really in the market for a Mac-Pro and this would be the perfect Christmas/Birthday Gift. It would really upset me to get one and then shortly after Christmas the update it made. I think Apple needs to make better marketing decisions as to when the update their product lines.
Virtualball
Apr 15, 10:06 AM
A lot of you guys are just ridiculous. This initiative is for LGBT support, this has nothing to do with whatever other subset of bullying you support. There are no ends to support groups for people who are overweight or a different race, but you don't see anyone slamming at the doors of the NAACP asking why lesbians aren't allowed in. As noted, being gay isn't the same thing as being fat. While both are terrible for teenage self-esteem, there's a key difference. When people come out, they run the risk of losing friends or even families. I've heard so many sad stories of kids being kicked out of their home for being homosexuals whereas overweight kids deal with people at school calling them fat. I'm not belittling their problems, I'm just saying that gays have it much worse than a lot of people think.
On another note, that was a very touching and nice video. +1 for the It Gets Better campaign!
On another note, that was a very touching and nice video. +1 for the It Gets Better campaign!
Anuba
Jun 7, 07:35 AM
My husband has been an AT&T user for over a decade. He never experienced dropped calls until we started dating and he was talking to me (I'm on an iPhone, he is not).
Right, and during that decade there were no iPhones overloading the networks. Barely anyone used the data traffic capacity back then. With the iPhone, usage of the onboard internet browser on smartphones went up from 15% to 85%. Steve has unleashed hell and now he's poured gasoline on the whole thing by introducing the 3G iPad.
What you have now is a situation with millions of people overloading the network by utilizing their wireless devices in ways the networks won't be able to handle for at least another 5 years, and it's only going to get worse. Netbooks, iPhones, iPads, Androids... sorry, guess we'll have to discontinue voice traffic services, please go back to your land phone.
"Explosion of wireless devices causing data traffic jam" (http://www.physorg.com/news185457426.html)
It's not only a capacity problem, it's also a spectrum problem. AT&T could put up a dozen cell towers in a ring around your house, it ain't gonna do much about the dropped calls. The data traffic jamming is the reason for dropped calls. Voice and data are different services but it's the same network infrastructure equipment handling both services. This equipment uses dozens of different technologies to maximize capacity. Adaptive Multi Rate codecs, Cell Load Sharing, Dynamic Half-Rate Allocation, Frequency Hopping, Intra Cell Handover, DTX Discontinuous Transmission, Fractional Load Planning, Multiple Re-use Pattern... all these technologies are band-aids that milk more capacity out of the network. Each time one of these technologies kicks in during a call, there's a slight risk of the call being dropped, and this risk increases ten fold if the infrastructure is so busy with data traffic it really doesn't have the resources to manage voice traffic properly. As long as the carriers don't get more spectrum, they're stuck in this situation.
"Currently, wireless companies have 534 megahertz of spectrum allotted to them, with an additional 50 megahertz in the pipeline. The industry says it needs at least 800 megahertz more within six years to accommodate demand.
"Spectrum for us is our highway," said Christopher Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group. "But the volume of traffic is picking up. Without more lanes, we'll have more traffic and more congestion," which will result in slower service."
So who are the real culprits in this mess? Well, 1) naive carriers who introduced services the networks weren't built for (they have the technology but not the capacity for this massive volume), and 2) these customers:
"Limited spectrum is only part of the problem, experts say, though an important part. Often, slow cell service is caused by a handful of bandwidth hogs -- watching videos on their iPhones, for example -- in a small area between cell phone towers.
"You have a few users clogging up capacity -- that is not something which can be solved just by providing more spectrum," said Aditya Kaul, director of mobile networks for ABI Research, a technology research firm."
Wanna get rid of dropped calls before 2015? Find the bandwidth hogs in your neighborhood and tell them if they don't stop using 3G like it was regular broadband, you will shoot them. Tell them it's because of them that everyone else who had an unlimited plan will soon have a capped plan, and if they don't stop, everyone will soon be on a plan where they pay by the megabyte.
Right, and during that decade there were no iPhones overloading the networks. Barely anyone used the data traffic capacity back then. With the iPhone, usage of the onboard internet browser on smartphones went up from 15% to 85%. Steve has unleashed hell and now he's poured gasoline on the whole thing by introducing the 3G iPad.
What you have now is a situation with millions of people overloading the network by utilizing their wireless devices in ways the networks won't be able to handle for at least another 5 years, and it's only going to get worse. Netbooks, iPhones, iPads, Androids... sorry, guess we'll have to discontinue voice traffic services, please go back to your land phone.
"Explosion of wireless devices causing data traffic jam" (http://www.physorg.com/news185457426.html)
It's not only a capacity problem, it's also a spectrum problem. AT&T could put up a dozen cell towers in a ring around your house, it ain't gonna do much about the dropped calls. The data traffic jamming is the reason for dropped calls. Voice and data are different services but it's the same network infrastructure equipment handling both services. This equipment uses dozens of different technologies to maximize capacity. Adaptive Multi Rate codecs, Cell Load Sharing, Dynamic Half-Rate Allocation, Frequency Hopping, Intra Cell Handover, DTX Discontinuous Transmission, Fractional Load Planning, Multiple Re-use Pattern... all these technologies are band-aids that milk more capacity out of the network. Each time one of these technologies kicks in during a call, there's a slight risk of the call being dropped, and this risk increases ten fold if the infrastructure is so busy with data traffic it really doesn't have the resources to manage voice traffic properly. As long as the carriers don't get more spectrum, they're stuck in this situation.
"Currently, wireless companies have 534 megahertz of spectrum allotted to them, with an additional 50 megahertz in the pipeline. The industry says it needs at least 800 megahertz more within six years to accommodate demand.
"Spectrum for us is our highway," said Christopher Guttman-McCabe, vice president of regulatory affairs for CTIA-The Wireless Association, a trade group. "But the volume of traffic is picking up. Without more lanes, we'll have more traffic and more congestion," which will result in slower service."
So who are the real culprits in this mess? Well, 1) naive carriers who introduced services the networks weren't built for (they have the technology but not the capacity for this massive volume), and 2) these customers:
"Limited spectrum is only part of the problem, experts say, though an important part. Often, slow cell service is caused by a handful of bandwidth hogs -- watching videos on their iPhones, for example -- in a small area between cell phone towers.
"You have a few users clogging up capacity -- that is not something which can be solved just by providing more spectrum," said Aditya Kaul, director of mobile networks for ABI Research, a technology research firm."
Wanna get rid of dropped calls before 2015? Find the bandwidth hogs in your neighborhood and tell them if they don't stop using 3G like it was regular broadband, you will shoot them. Tell them it's because of them that everyone else who had an unlimited plan will soon have a capped plan, and if they don't stop, everyone will soon be on a plan where they pay by the megabyte.
sblasl
Nov 2, 08:10 PM
Don't know if you saw this article, I thought I would provide it for your review.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Intel_Core_2_Extreme_QX6700/4505-3086_7-32136314.html?tag=cnetfd.mt
http://reviews.cnet.com/Intel_Core_2_Extreme_QX6700/4505-3086_7-32136314.html?tag=cnetfd.mt
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