Monday, September 27, 2010

Why Can't Duke Keep the Power On?

Well, it happened again. I came home from work today and sure enough the clock on the stove and the one on the microwave announced that again we had a power outage. I’m not sure if the hamsters at Duke’s generating plant got tired or a misdirected squirrel got toasted in the lines. All I know is that we lost power … again!

Now I realize that I live on a semi-rural road, but Harrison Township is hardly considered the boondocks (unless, of course, you happen to live in Hyde Park…but that’s another story). I have not done a scientific survey and I have not documented every outage, but I can say that there are more power outages in our area than there should be.

My wife and I joke about it. The sky turns dark, the clouds billow and before the rain falls or the lighting brightens the sky, off go the lights and the computer and the TV and clocks and the stove and... Clear days and peaceful nights are not immune to these interruptions of our power. In fact, most seem to happen when Mother Nature is on her best behavior.

It is not just my house. My office is across the street from one of Duke’s two main distribution sub stations serving all of downtown Cincinnati. There, too, the power goes off several times a year.

For sure the big rain storms will happen and the errant driver hitting a pole can’t be prevented. Those are not the outages I am complaining about nor the once in a century wind storm of September 2009. It is the almost weekly interruptions that are driving me up the proverbial tree.

So why is this happening? One would think that with our level of technology such interruptions would be the exception, not the rule. I really don’t know for sure, but I have a hunch. I think that a high level of prevention and infrastructure improvements have fallen victim to the bottom line. Expenses for these things really don’t immediately help Duke’s profit. With companies looking for the short term gain, long term costs can get put aside. This is especially true when the consumer has no option. We aren’t going to make our own electricity. Switching to another provider doesn’t help since Duke and Dominion or any other provider still must use Duke’s lines and distribution system.

So what are we to do? Where did I put that flashlight? Thanks for letting me vent.

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Why Can't Duke Keep the Power On?

Well, it happened again. I came home from work today and sure enough the clock on the stove and the one on the microwave announced that again we had a power outage. I’m not sure if the hamsters at Duke’s generating plant got tired or a misdirected squirrel got toasted in the lines. All I know is that we lost power … again!

Now I realize that I live on a semi-rural road, but Harrison Township is hardly considered the boondocks (unless, of course, you happen to live in Hyde Park…but that’s another story). I have not done a scientific survey and I have not documented every outage, but I can say that there are more power outages in our area than there should be.

My wife and I joke about it. The sky turns dark, the clouds billow and before the rain falls or the lighting brightens the sky, off go the lights and the computer and the TV and clocks and the stove and... Clear days and peaceful nights are not immune to these interruptions of our power. In fact, most seem to happen when Mother Nature is on her best behavior.

It is not just my house. My office is across the street from one of Duke’s two main distribution sub stations serving all of downtown Cincinnati. There, too, the power goes off several times a year.

For sure the big rain storms will happen and the errant driver hitting a pole can’t be prevented. Those are not the outages I am complaining about nor the once in a century wind storm of September 2009. It is the almost weekly interruptions that are driving me up the proverbial tree.

So why is this happening? One would think that with our level of technology such interruptions would be the exception, not the rule. I really don’t know for sure, but I have a hunch. I think that a high level of prevention and infrastructure improvements have fallen victim to the bottom line. Expenses for these things really don’t immediately help Duke’s profit. With companies looking for the short term gain, long term costs can get put aside. This is especially true when the consumer has no option. We aren’t going to make our own electricity. Switching to another provider doesn’t help since Duke and Dominion or any other provider still must use Duke’s lines and distribution system.

So what are we to do? Where did I put that flashlight? Thanks for letting me vent.

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Monday, September 20, 2010

TV on the Go

With college and professional football season in high gear, the newspaper supplements and direct mail advertisements are full of new ways to “keep up with the game” while on the road. Mobile TV, Flo TV, and other technologies are the new “must haves.” While the devices and the programming may at first glance seem familiar, they are very different from what you use today to watch TV.

Most providers of these services are touting the fact that you can watch hundreds of TV programs anywhere you wish. While these claims are often true, there are a few things you should keep in mind before you decide to sign up.

First of all, you want to be able to watch the programs so you need to have a phone that supports these video services or a special stand alone receiver. The receivers come in various flavors. There are models for hand held use, table top viewing, or for in-car installation.

The services employ different transmission technologies from those used by regular broadcasters or cable providers to send TV channels to your home. The mobile devices required for these services can not be used to watch regular TV channels and visa versa. Since the small portable receivers look very much like the battery operated mini DTVs that have been available for years, one could presume that you can use the new and old devices interchangeably. You can’t.

You can’t receive these services in all areas of the country, so before you sign up ask to see the coverage area map. Even if you are located in an area that is indicated on the map as being “covered,” you may wish to take a loaner device and make sure. The channels are broadcast using some of the same technologies used by mobile phones and wireless broadband and, as such, are prone to many of the same reception issues.

There is a growing catalog of channels and programs offered by the leading TV services like ABC, CBS, ESPN, CNN etc. Some of the programs are the same as you will see on regular broadcast channels while other programs are developed especially for the small screen size of the portable devices.

Some of the services require a multi-year contract and a monthly fee. Many mobile carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint offer the service as an add-on. Depending on the programming package you chose, you can expect to pay between $15 and $50 extra per month on top of your regular mobile bill.

In a couple years, as more bandwidth becomes available and transmission technologies become more reliable, there will be other mobile TV services coming on line. Also look for devices that can receive multiple formats to be available, so you won’t need a bag full of different devices in order to watch the various services.

Labels: , ,

TV on the Go

With college and professional football season in high gear, the newspaper supplements and direct mail advertisements are full of new ways to “keep up with the game” while on the road. Mobile TV, Flo TV, and other technologies are the new “must haves.” While the devices and the programming may at first glance seem familiar, they are very different from what you use today to watch TV.

Most providers of these services are touting the fact that you can watch hundreds of TV programs anywhere you wish. While these claims are often true, there are a few things you should keep in mind before you decide to sign up.

First of all, you want to be able to watch the programs so you need to have a phone that supports these video services or a special stand alone receiver. The receivers come in various flavors. There are models for hand held use, table top viewing, or for in-car installation.

The services employ different transmission technologies from those used by regular broadcasters or cable providers to send TV channels to your home. The mobile devices required for these services can not be used to watch regular TV channels and visa versa. Since the small portable receivers look very much like the battery operated mini DTVs that have been available for years, one could presume that you can use the new and old devices interchangeably. You can’t.

You can’t receive these services in all areas of the country, so before you sign up ask to see the coverage area map. Even if you are located in an area that is indicated on the map as being “covered,” you may wish to take a loaner device and make sure. The channels are broadcast using some of the same technologies used by mobile phones and wireless broadband and, as such, are prone to many of the same reception issues.

There is a growing catalog of channels and programs offered by the leading TV services like ABC, CBS, ESPN, CNN etc. Some of the programs are the same as you will see on regular broadcast channels while other programs are developed especially for the small screen size of the portable devices.

Some of the services require a multi-year contract and a monthly fee. Many mobile carriers like Verizon, AT&T and Sprint offer the service as an add-on. Depending on the programming package you chose, you can expect to pay between $15 and $50 extra per month on top of your regular mobile bill.

In a couple years, as more bandwidth becomes available and transmission technologies become more reliable, there will be other mobile TV services coming on line. Also look for devices that can receive multiple formats to be available, so you won’t need a bag full of different devices in order to watch the various services.

Labels: , ,

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Online Info Requires Critical Analysis

One of the truly wonderful aspects of the Internet is the fact that we can find information quickly about almost any topic. At light speed from almost any location, a pub or library, we can find answers to questions of critical or trivial importance. Google has become a household word. Each day millions of us search for information and in seconds we get answers to our queries which once would have taken hours or even days to retrieve. Wikipedia has replaced the iconic Britannica or World Book as the place to go when in doubt.

News reporting, too, has undergone exponential change in the speed with which it delivers facts and opinions. There is no question that we have more news and information. There is no question that we have it faster and in a more convenient form. There are, however, big questions about the veracity of that information.

Earlier this month Mike Wise, a Washington Post reporter, posted a fake report on his Twitter account to demonstrate how quickly such a report would be picked up by online news aggregators and published without any verification of its content. The post on his Twitter feed, @MikeWiseguy, was a reference to the length of the suspension handed down to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as a penalty for an offseason Georgia nightclub indiscretion. Even though it had not yet been determined by the NFL, within minutes his tweet was picked up as “fact” by several respected news organizations. The experiment, while calling attention to the serious inadequacies of online information, also resulted in Wise’s suspension by his employer. The Post saw the stunt as calling the newspaper’s credibility into question.

Talk to any teacher and they will share with you the challenge they face getting kids to use the Internet with a critical and skeptical mindset. The democratic approach of information collection and analysis pioneered by Wikipedia is fraught with issues of accuracy. Inaccurate information is not new. For sure all printed material is not factual, but the filter of the time it takes to produce and distribute “hard copy” does make it much different from contemporary digital media.

Wise’s experiment demonstrated that information, regardless of its accuracy, can reach a world wide audience in minutes. Opinion can easily morph into fact. Outrageous claims about a President’s birth certificate or NASA’s fake moon landing become credible to some because they are repeated.

Perhaps the next iteration of online news reporting and information collection will incorporate more checks and balances to assure that facts are facts and opinions are labeled as such. Even if this happens, new media and new online research techniques require our ability to critically question what we read, hear and see on the Internet.

Perhaps the 1993 The New Yorker said it best with the publication of the now famous cartoon depicting a conversation between two dogs in front of a PC. The caption read “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog.”

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Online Info Requires Critical Analysis

One of the truly wonderful aspects of the Internet is the fact that we can find information quickly about almost any topic. At light speed from almost any location, a pub or library, we can find answers to questions of critical or trivial importance. Google has become a household word. Each day millions of us search for information and in seconds we get answers to our queries which once would have taken hours or even days to retrieve. Wikipedia has replaced the iconic Britannica or World Book as the place to go when in doubt.

News reporting, too, has undergone exponential change in the speed with which it delivers facts and opinions. There is no question that we have more news and information. There is no question that we have it faster and in a more convenient form. There are, however, big questions about the veracity of that information.

Earlier this month Mike Wise, a Washington Post reporter, posted a fake report on his Twitter account to demonstrate how quickly such a report would be picked up by online news aggregators and published without any verification of its content. The post on his Twitter feed, @MikeWiseguy, was a reference to the length of the suspension handed down to Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as a penalty for an offseason Georgia nightclub indiscretion. Even though it had not yet been determined by the NFL, within minutes his tweet was picked up as “fact” by several respected news organizations. The experiment, while calling attention to the serious inadequacies of online information, also resulted in Wise’s suspension by his employer. The Post saw the stunt as calling the newspaper’s credibility into question.

Talk to any teacher and they will share with you the challenge they face getting kids to use the Internet with a critical and skeptical mindset. The democratic approach of information collection and analysis pioneered by Wikipedia is fraught with issues of accuracy. Inaccurate information is not new. For sure all printed material is not factual, but the filter of the time it takes to produce and distribute “hard copy” does make it much different from contemporary digital media.

Wise’s experiment demonstrated that information, regardless of its accuracy, can reach a world wide audience in minutes. Opinion can easily morph into fact. Outrageous claims about a President’s birth certificate or NASA’s fake moon landing become credible to some because they are repeated.

Perhaps the next iteration of online news reporting and information collection will incorporate more checks and balances to assure that facts are facts and opinions are labeled as such. Even if this happens, new media and new online research techniques require our ability to critically question what we read, hear and see on the Internet.

Perhaps the 1993 The New Yorker said it best with the publication of the now famous cartoon depicting a conversation between two dogs in front of a PC. The caption read “On the Internet, Nobody Knows You're a Dog.”

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Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Internet Based Phones Not For Everyone

Just when many of us are getting comfortable using our mobile phones to make calls instead of using the old hard wired land line from “Ma Bell,” another digital twist to this simple task surfaces. I am referring to making phone calls, from your home or cell phone, using the Internet instead of traditional phone networks. The technical term of this technology is “Voice Over IP” or “VOIP” (voice communication using Internet protocol).

The traditional hard wired telephone networks have not changed in basic design for years. They are based on having a dedicated wire going from a central office to each phone on the network. You have a wire connecting your house to the network and all your neighbors on the street have separate wires as well. Voice over IP uses the Internet so your calls and your neighbors’ calls and your kid’s Facebook posting and that YouTube video you are watching and that email being sent to your good friend in Estonia are all sharing the same Internet.

You may have read that Google is the most recent competitor to enter this burgeoning market. Watching late night TV you will see several others. There you will find promotions for magicJack, Vonage, Skype and others. While they are all a bit different, they have in common the use of the Internet for the backbone of the service.

As you consider using one of these services there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you must have a high speed Internet connection available. In our area for most of us that means you need RoadRunner from Time Warner or ZoomTown from Cincinnati Bell. Also, you must have a computer connected to the Internet and running 24/7 to use the services.

The next important things to remember is that these services are not all the same. For example, magicJack allows you to use the regular telephones in your house to place and receive calls from any phone, traditional hard wired, mobile, or VOIP in the world. Skype uses your computer’s microphone and speakers rather than a traditional telephone handset.

Some of these services are free, others charge for all or some of the features. If you make lots of international calls, there are significant savings. If you like to make video calls to family and friends, some of this technology is wonderful. There is no question that all of our communications will one day flow over the Internet; much of it does already. In my opinion, for the vast majority of us the traditional phone and the mobile phone system is just fine for now. They are inexpensive, reliable and easy to use.

Labels: , ,

Internet Based Phones Not For Everyone

Just when many of us are getting comfortable using our mobile phones to make calls instead of using the old hard wired land line from “Ma Bell,” another digital twist to this simple task surfaces. I am referring to making phone calls, from your home or cell phone, using the Internet instead of traditional phone networks. The technical term of this technology is “Voice Over IP” or “VOIP” (voice communication using Internet protocol).

The traditional hard wired telephone networks have not changed in basic design for years. They are based on having a dedicated wire going from a central office to each phone on the network. You have a wire connecting your house to the network and all your neighbors on the street have separate wires as well. Voice over IP uses the Internet so your calls and your neighbors’ calls and your kid’s Facebook posting and that YouTube video you are watching and that email being sent to your good friend in Estonia are all sharing the same Internet.

You may have read that Google is the most recent competitor to enter this burgeoning market. Watching late night TV you will see several others. There you will find promotions for magicJack, Vonage, Skype and others. While they are all a bit different, they have in common the use of the Internet for the backbone of the service.

As you consider using one of these services there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, you must have a high speed Internet connection available. In our area for most of us that means you need RoadRunner from Time Warner or ZoomTown from Cincinnati Bell. Also, you must have a computer connected to the Internet and running 24/7 to use the services.

The next important things to remember is that these services are not all the same. For example, magicJack allows you to use the regular telephones in your house to place and receive calls from any phone, traditional hard wired, mobile, or VOIP in the world. Skype uses your computer’s microphone and speakers rather than a traditional telephone handset.

Some of these services are free, others charge for all or some of the features. If you make lots of international calls, there are significant savings. If you like to make video calls to family and friends, some of this technology is wonderful. There is no question that all of our communications will one day flow over the Internet; much of it does already. In my opinion, for the vast majority of us the traditional phone and the mobile phone system is just fine for now. They are inexpensive, reliable and easy to use.

Labels: , ,