Computers & Electronics, here & there, then, now & tomorrow

[robert angel]

OK, Planet Lovers --Have you noticed differences in electronics and computers in your travels? Surprised that so many other countries are still running new installs of Windows XP? My, don't they love free AVG and AVAST Antivirus? (so do I)

How about their phones compared to ours? Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

Why do you usually pay more for a computer or camera & memory in the country where it was built than you would in the USA?

What would they love most in most homes overseas--an Xbox, Wii or Playstation? If you had to guess--because they're too frugal, go ahead! (no cash option)

What's the cheapest and/or best way to communicate with someone far, far away, considering wanting to hear their actual voice talk and/or voice talk and actually seeing them?

How long before we have ten dollar smart fones?

If you have answers or insights into these and other 'electrifying experiences', howz about sharing?

[FlyingMoose]

Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

Most of the carriers have prepaid phones.  I use my phone very little, and it costs about $20-30 per YEAR.  It's T-mobile-to-go, and I think it was $30 for the phone and $100 for the initial card, and I've been putting on a $10 card once a year to keep it activated, and still have over half of my minutes left.

[thekfc]

Surprised that so many other countries are still running new installs of Windows XP?

Compatibility & availability.  Because it is still available & a lot of the "older" programs that people uses are not compatible with other OS.

My, don't they love free AVG and AVAST Antivirus? (so do I)

Because they do not know about it.

How about their phones compared to ours? Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

That would be awesome. My contract have expired for over a year now & I still have not renewed it. I just buy my own separate unlock phone & put in my sim card. I sill have the "grandfather" plan from T-Mobile.

Why do you usually pay more for a computer or camera & memory in the country where it was built than you would in the USA?

To discourage people from buying them in bulk there & reselling it to us at a premium thus taking some profits from the retailers.....just a guess.

What would they love most in most homes overseas--an Xbox, Wii or Playstation? If you had to guess--because they're too frugal, go ahead! (no cash option)

I have all 3 at home.
What I have personally seen in HK ( I did go into gaming arcade in TST) & the Philippines and also playing online with people around the world,  they would go for the PS3 - mainly for Blu-ray. But for strictly games - it would be the X-Box 360. Internationally, the Wii is behind.

What's the cheapest and/or best way to communicate with someone far, far away, considering wanting to hear their actual voice talk and/or voice talk and actually seeing them?

Cheapest would be Free. On YM you can video chat & voice call (free) - all you need are speakers, a cam & mic. 
The best (clarity wise) would be a telephone.

How long before we have ten dollar smart fones?

We already do, you just have to know where to look & how to shop.
I would say give it another year or so - the prices of the "first wave" of smart fones are rapidly dropping.

[z_k_g]

OK, Planet Lovers --Have you noticed differences in electronics and computers in your travels? Surprised that so many other countries are still running new installs of Windows XP? My, don't they love free AVG and AVAST Antivirus? (so do I)

XP is stable with SP3, it has a huge number of software titles available, its very easy to use, its very hackable, you are not forced to update, but the number 1 reason XP is out there is because its free.  Huh?    Vista and 7 and all future MS products have DRM built into the core OS.  XP does not, it will be around for a long time!

How about their phones compared to ours? Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

US Cell phone companies are very smart and all are basically in the business to bleed you dry.  The actual brand of phones mean nothing to a carrier, AT&T, Verizon, etc and really have little value.  What holds value for the carrier are services!  

We have very little choices for phones as compared to Europe and Asia because are carriers work in consortium to limit our services, maximize the charges and lock us out of the real power of phone itself.  Free options and features of your phone are hidden from you with dumbed down and limited firmware on purpose.  This allows the carrier to charge you for features that are embedded with your phone natively and shouldn't cost you any extra to activate!

As far as fixed bills are concerned, that is coming soon, only because carriers are losing customers to other carriers who are charging flat rates.

Why do you usually pay more for a computer or camera & memory in the country where it was built than you would in the USA?

Economic of scale.  The US market will consume pretty much 90% of the product, whereas the locals will purchase much much less.

What would they love most in most homes overseas--an Xbox, Wii or Playstation? If you had to guess--because they're too frugal, go ahead! (no cash option)

Wii first, Xbox, Playstation in that order, just my opinion.

What's the cheapest and/or best way to communicate with someone far, far away, considering wanting to hear their actual voice talk and/or voice talk and actually seeing them?

Phone to phone - Purchase the skype plan and get a local number for that particular country.  Then forward that number to your cell phone where you live.
Magic Jack is a great option also, cheap rates and pretty good sound quality.

Computer to phone- Skype/Yahoo/Google Voice all have cheap rates.  I use Google Voice for business in Nigeria, Cameroon and Tokyo.

Computer to Computer- Skype/Yahoo, work great, voice quality has always been good.

How long before we have ten dollar smart fones?

I think the carriers with start this trend soon!  They could care less about the cost of the phone, because they want to sell services and features.  Retail, you will probably never see a $10 smart phone.  But soon, I predict, you will be able to get a $10 or $20 deal through a carrier, albeit a 2 year plan may be required!

Zulu

[Bob_S]

Why do you usually pay more for a computer or camera & memory in the country where it was built than you would in the USA?

Because they have a highly efficient export-geared production economy with a very sclerotic (socialist managed?) domestic economy.  The tech toys we'll enjoy next year are available in Akihabara now but at twice the price we'll end up paying when it becomes available here.

[thekfc]

The Wii have more internationally  sales that both the PS3 & X-Box.
The Wii is outperforming them both mainly because it is more affordable. Someone with limited income would rather buy the cheaper system. If you were in their shoes & had limited income which would you buy?

But putting aside "popularity" and focusing on "What would they love most in most homes overseas" it would be the PS3 mainly because of the Blu-ray. You get one of the best Blu-ray player on the market & a gaming system combine. Plus Blu-ray movies are readily available worldwide & the the prices are also dropping. I have both a Blu-ray & HD players at home and I DO NOT want to go back to SD DVDs - I will NOT buy a SD movie unless it is NOT available on a HD format.

Phone system:
I always do a video chat on YM with my wife: we saw each other & we heard each others voice, total cost - FREE.
Magicjack price is $40 including the first year of service & $19 for the following year(s).

You can currently get smartphones cheap or free with a plan - well that for the NYC market.

[Capstone]

How about their phones compared to ours? Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

The thing that I like about cell phones in Asia is their ease of use compared to here in the US. All the phones that are sold in China & HK are unlocked, so you just buy a SIM card for whichever carrier that you like and pop it in your phone and you are set. If you don't like the coverage or service from a carrier then you simply just go buy one for a different carrier. And you don't have to buy the SIM cards from an 'authorized dealer' because they can be found anywhere - 7-11 stores, Walmart, Watsons, etc. In HK you can even buy SIM cards from vending machines which are located in many of the MTR stations.

I have a dual SIM card phone that I use while in China in which I have both a Mainland SIM card and a HK SIM card inserted - so I always have service no matter where I am. Everything is pay as you go, so no need for any contracts or even monthly bills, you just load more money onto your SIM card as needed - which you can do pretty much anywhere as well - online, in a 7-11 or even via your phone (direct withdrawal from your bank account). Not to mention the costs are much less than here in the US (especially for data).

[z_k_g]

On the subject of smart phones, this is the result of a cool Billion, with a "B", that MS spent developing the next generation of Smart phone based on Windoze Phone 7 and 8.


http://www.bnet.com/photos/business-blunders-of-the-year/493483?seq=13

Haven't heard of it huh?  Well, like most of MS products, it doesn't work very well, its overpriced and on the day its was supposed to go to market, May 2010, it didn't even have the functionality of the basic smart phones on the market.  

Oh yeah, after a Billion spent, MS canceled the project!  Honestly!

You can't make this up guys!  

MS is one of the few companies that can fail so completely and still stay in business.  Why?  Because the are charging $300+ for Windoze 7, core technology that's almost 15 years old.  If you don't know it, Windoze 7 is Windoze 2000 dresses up and rewritten with the only significant change being DRM (Digital Rights Management) written into the core, and bitlocker, which is only available in the $500 version of the OS!

In real terms, Windoze 7 should cost $15.  

Is this capitalism at work? I mean if you don't want it, don't buy it right?  Not really.  The truth is free markets and choice have nothing to do with the MS Desktop hegemony.

MS has held the world hostage, bought off the entire US congress and every judicial entity that exists (except the European Union) so it can still extracts a premium for Windoze OS.  Our legislators and courts have basically turned a blind eye to MS selling shoddy and overbloated software that doesn't work as advertised.

Just simply look at markets where we have open competition. With all things being equal, the smart phone industry demonstrates the point, the public choose product based upon value, quality, usability, speed, applications and security.  

No one with any sense is choosing Windoze Phone 7, Mobile 6 or any other derivations of the Win Mobile/Phone junk software.  Fortunately only 9% of the buying public has sipped and gulped down the purple MS kool-aid!  In a purely capitalistic environment, MS loses, every time.

Will we have a $10 retail Smart phone without Carrier subsidies?    I doubt it.  You have to remember, Smart phones are not smart without the network.  In fact, the way the carriers have built apps are like crack and morphine, you love them, but you are not only addicted to the drug but tied to hip to the drug dealer (the carrier).  

If apps were just games and calorie counters, I guess you could call the phones Smart!  But even the simplest of apps now require a network connection.  They communicate with an php, media or web server somewhere that provides the content.  Disconnect from the Carrier, your app is dead!

A real smart phone, in my opinion is one that has embedded phone application that required a cheap SIP server phone plan, $2 per month, and a $40 per year unlimited long distance plan, all operating over the ubiquitous TCP/IP network we call the Internet.  

No carrier (ATT, Verizon, Sprint) will have any control whatsoever of your calls, services apps etc.  And most importantly, the CIA, FBI, Homeland security, Defense Intelligence and the most powerful of all entities the IRS will have absolutely no idea where you are in the world!

You won't be a slave to the outrageous "plans", that cost the carriers less than 10 cents per month and they charge you $79.99 per month, and lets not forget the even more lucrative add-on services, texting, data, that are provisioned by the carrier for a fraction of a cent!

A real smart phone should have app(lication)s owned (licensed) by the user for as long as he owns the phone, and they won't be carrier or phone platform specific (written in Ruby, Perl, Php, C++, Java or some other cross platform software), highly portable, so when he buys another phone he would simply require an uninstall and reinstall in your new Smart Phone.

Are these dreams of a visionary?  No, all this technology and integration exists today!  Why are we not using this to create better, more integrated and sleek technology?

Because MS specifically, and the Carriers in general, want to suck every penny out of the US Public as possible.

Just food for thought, and strictly my opinion!

Zulu

[Jedironin]

I can't say I agree with some of your rants about MS, but I DO find it funny when MS releases a new OS, then brags about how well it's selling... I talked to our sales rep. at CDW once, and he told me that about a month or so after a new OS is released, all Authorized Resellers for MS MUST sell the new OS on their new products, or lose their license to sell MS products!     Well, no wonder the new OS is selling so well... they're not allowed to sell the old version!   

Funny thing was, there was such a furor over Vista's problems, that MS was pretty much forced to offer the XP "downgrade" CD so the vendors could stay in business! 

[Ray]

How about their phones compared to ours? Wouldn't be nice to (Like them) to not have a fixed monthly, mandatory cell fone bill, never mind a two year contract?

Where have you been? We use Tracfone and it costs less than $7/mo per phone with no contract. I can buy extra minutes any time if I need them, just like back in the PI.

Why do you usually pay more for a computer or camera & memory in the country where it was built than you would in the USA?

I don’t because I haven’t been to China lately.

What would they love most in most homes overseas--an Xbox, Wii or Playstation? If you had to guess--because they're too frugal, go ahead! (no cash option)

In the Philippines? A sack of rice of course! Why would they waste their hard earned Pesos on stupid video games??

How long before we have ten dollar smart fones?

My phone is smarter than I am and it was free. We’ve had those for many years now.

Ray

[thekfc]

In the Philippines? A sack of rice of course! Why would they waste their hard earned Pesos on stupid video games??

No Tilapia

[robert angel]

Re:

>>Where have you been? We use Tracfone and it costs less than $7/mo per phone with no contract. I can buy extra minutes any time if I need them, just like back in the PI<<

But can you get that arrangement with an Android based phone or Apple iPhone? Or any phone with internet -- video streaming--in short a 'data package' linked phone?


Sure, we've bought 'pay as you go' phones--even some decent LG phones for my wife's merchant marine brother and they're actually pretty good, but still basic.

Some very nice and popular phones are made in Finland and nations other than China.

[jm21-2]

Mine is through boost mobile. Unlimited talk, text, data, and fairly cheap international plans and rates. Starts at $50 then drops every 6 months you pay on time until it gets down to $35. I use it for work too and it would be far more expensive to buy minutes on a pay-as-you-go plan. I tried that for a couple weeks and racked up a  huge bill. It's not a smart phone but can do most internet sites and has a keyboard. You can buy a smart phone but they're too expensive for what they're worth imho.

Compared to boost, service in most other countries is more expensive if you make a lot of calls.

I agree with capstone though...would be nice to have freely interchangeable sim cards on unlocked phones. Mine doesn't even have a removable sim card so I'm SOL traveling abroad.

[Ray]

But can you get that arrangement with an Android based phone or Apple iPhone? Or any phone with internet -- video streaming--in short a 'data package' linked phone?


Sure, we've bought 'pay as you go' phones--even some decent LG phones for my wife's merchant marine brother and they're actually pretty good, but still basic.

 

I have a PHONE to make and receive phone calls and text messages. Everything else is just play crap IMHO.

I don’t need e-mail, Internet surfing, games, etc. in my pocket. I only need a cell phone when I am away from home and I turn that off most of the time anyway. Those folks out there with a phone growing out of their head who just can’t put the damn thing down are all a bunch of annoying zombies to me.

When I was growing up, phones had dials, we shared a party line with a neighbor, and you used a pay phone if you were away from home, so ALL cellular phones are “smart” to me… LOL!

Ray

[Woody]

I have a PHONE to make and receive phone calls and text messages. Everything else is just play crap IMHO.

So you draw the line at SMS and not email? Interesting.

[Ray]

So you draw the line at SMS and not email? Interesting.

For mobile use, yes.

I can send and read e-mail at home and I don't need to do it in the grocery store. Even then, I don't open my e-mail every day anyway. Probably 95% of my e-mail is stupid spam anyway, with an occasional Nigerian scam. 

Ray