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Raw Bytes Computer News KPBX FM 91.1 Radio National Public Radio Network Frank Delaney Producer Broadcast on Wednesday Morning 7:35 AM During Morning Edition Support Public Radio ! The Theater Of the Mind |
In computer news this week 01/14/2009 Do you know what’s been
around longer – personal computers or cell phones - and do you know which
there are more of ? The first
personal computer was introduced in January of 1975 – this was the
Altair computer in kit form that you had to build. The basic
concept of cellular phones began in 1947, when researchers looked at
crude mobile (car) phones and realized that by using small cells (range of
service area) with frequency reuse they could increase the traffic capacity
of mobile phones substantially. However at that time, the technology to do so
was nonexistent. Dr Martin
Cooper of
Motorola, is considered the inventor of the first modern
portable handset. Cooper made the first call on a portable cell phone in
April 1973. He made the call to his rival, Joel Engel, Bell Labs head of
research. Bell Laboratories introduced the idea of cellular communications in
1947 with the police car technology. By 1977,
AT&T and Bell Labs had constructed a prototype cellular system. By 1982,
the slow-moving FCC finally authorized commercial cellular service for the
USA. By 1987, cellular telephone subscribers exceeded one million and the
airways were crowded. Earlier
this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in San Francisco, Microsoft’s
Steve Ballmer stated that it's taken around 30 years for one billion PCs to
be sold worldwide, but considerably less time for the mobile market to hit
four billion units. Over one
billion cell phones were sold in 2007, and estimates show there are up to 7
billion cellphone sin use today. With the
market for computing, web surfing, and entertainment going beyond Microsoft's
core market of the PC and wrapping in ever newer devices - TVs, media
devices, and cell phones - Ballmer's keynote speech was notable for saying
Microsoft had to go beyond "just" the PC. But he
didn’t address how Microsoft, considered an aging giant out of the
current technology loop by many, will do that. Once
again, this all comes down to what people do on their personal computers, and
can those tasks be done – better and less expensively – on different
devices ? Specifically
what can you do on a cell phone better – easier – and cheaper
– than you can on a personal computer ?
We’ll be looking at these issues and testing what personal computer
applications you can do on a cell phone in the next few weeks. |
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For Raw Bytes This is Frank Delaney (C) 2008 MTA Micro
Technology Associates http://www.mtamicro.com/kpbx.html PO Box 31522 Spokane, Wa 99223-1522 (509)624-7230 |
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