Motorola’s DroidX
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband on August 31st, 2010
Fatal flaw drivers won’t work with Windows 7, Vista, or XP 64 Bit Operating Systems
by Mark Hewitt
When the iPhone 4 antenna problem hit the streets you could chalk it up to a young inexperienced RF design team; after all the iPhone is principally a hand held computer with a RF frame added on. However Motorola has been building Cellular phones and radios for decades and missing the importance of device interoperability is inexcusable.
I received my DroidX with eager enthusiasm last month; quickly setting up my accounts making sure the applications and work flow of my daily life was programmed into the device. However when plugging in to my Windows 7 Desktop I quickly noticed an error in loading the Motorola Device drivers – and finally after the need to also install a Verizon application the message “Motorola does not support 64 bit operating systems at this time”. WOW what a slap in the face 64 bit operating systems have been in use for over a decade and though I must admit I skipped the whole Vista period virtually every desktop and new laptop computer in the market today are all loaded with the Windows 7 64 bit operating system.
I do admit that the Apple platform is becoming more appealing every day however then I would just buy an iPhone – though I don’t like the coverage from ATT nor do I appreciate Apples tight control over competitive applications on the iPhone and iPad. Verizon and Google should never have allowed this to go public without testing and confirmation that the platforms we all use every day were working and supported.
So Verizon, Google, and Motorola – one step forward and two steps backwards – I hope this is a lesson that will not be forgotten soon especially looking forward to new versions of Droids and Tablets.
Think before you “Post”
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband on August 12th, 2010
by Mark Hewitt
Digital Security
Facebook, Google, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, all have made the world a smaller place; family’s are able to keep up with each other, events like births, proms, weddings help bring us much closer than ever possible. This is a great thing; that is until you become the target of thieves, stalkers, and identity theft.
Not thinking about a post and a shared event or photo can have devastating effects – see the news about a Facebook post that led to a home robbery; or Adam Salvage of the TV show “Mythbusters” who posted a photo of his jeep in front of his house giving the public his home address by accident.
We can accidentally post pictures that and posts that persons can use to invade our lives – here is a link to a great feature with 12 suggestions for how to protect your privacy and security –> 12 Steps toward privacy and security.
So next time you do a post, photo, event, blog comment; think about it!!
What does Apple and BP have in common?
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband, Physics, Science and Engineering on July 3rd, 2010
iPhone 4 Antenna
by Mark Hewitt
I could only guess why Apple did the antenna design they used for the iPhone 4 however I can guess that it most likely had to do with an attempt to not violate the Nokia patent. The engineering mistake that placed the dual antenna arrays on the outside edge of the iPhone is a first year product engineering mistake – one that I would not assume Apple made due to lack of senior engineering expertise. We knew this kind if design was flawed at Motorola in the early 90’s and Nokia was the first to lead the Cell phone market with it’s famous body antenna design.
Apple and HTC have been hammering away at each others patent portfolio when most of the actual intellectual property patents are completely obvious to any designer in the industry. I would expect they will wipe out each others patent claims and in light of the recent Biliski case Read the rest of this entry »
TEDx on the Oil Spill
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Cooperatisim, Earth Day, Economy, Health & Wellness on June 28th, 2010
Brown Pelican covered in BP Oil
by Mark Hewitt
This morning a live event sponsored by TED called TEDx OIL SPILL if you have time please log in and watch this FREE web event.
The opening speaker was the Grandson of the legendary explorer Jacque Cousteau – Phillepe Cousteau who spoke of an unprecedented disaster as this spill could not have happened at a worse time for the ecosystem of the gulf – virtually all species breeding season is now so the future generations of the entire ecosystem is at risk.
Cousteau also quoted the preamble of the US Constitution declaring that our Democracy is in jeopardy as a result of this environmental disaster.
Editorial comment: Why have we not treated this unprecedented environmental disaster as a threat to our National Security – technology exists within our Military sector to map the oil giving the clean up a far better view of where and how much oil is in the Gulf directing cleanup crews to harvest and remove this toxic material from our delicate ecosystem?
The second question is why are we allowing dispersants to be used in this disaster – this is unproven and greatly increases the cost to remove the oil from the environment? My only conclusion is that BP has no intention of cleaning or removing the oil from the Gulf.
Howard University first to develop a Microgrid
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Building Information Modeling, Cooperatisim, Earth Day, Economy, Science and Engineering on June 25th, 2010
Alternative Energy
Today Pareto Energy and Howard University announced the first every MicroGrid partnership. Organized around co-generation technologies the proposed MicroGrid will allow highly efficient technologies to simultaneously produce electric and thermal energy used for space heating and cooling among other things.
The build out will take about two years to complete and based on the Memorandum of Understanding (”MOU”) the engineering phase will begin immediately. Howard University is only one of five academic facilities in the nation with a core competency in SmartGrid and MicroGrid design and development. Guy Warner, founder and CEO of Pareto Energy when asked about MicroGrids is quoted “They’re also efficient, secure and often renewable energy sources that create jobs while eliminating the threat of power interruptions that cost Americans billions of dollars every year”
Earth Day – what we have learned
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband, Cooperatisim, Earth Day, Economy, Health & Wellness, Physics on April 17th, 2010
by Mark Hewitt
Earth Day Coopertisim
April 22nd 2010 On this auspicious 40th anniversary of Earth Day I would like to take a moment and reflect not only on how important Earth Day is to our growing awareness of how important Mother Earth is to our quality of life but also to reflect on our own evolution and perhaps even speculate on what one possible future may bring.
Earth Day did not just happen, it was an eight year journey seeded in the grass root movements growing from the Viet Nam war and Read the rest of this entry »
FCC releases National Broadband Strategy
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband on March 17th, 2010
by Mark Hewitt
With a lot of fan fare the FCC released the long awaited National Broadband Strategy. This country has not had a national policy on broadband “Ever”. The US Broadband Coalition organized by Broadband advocate Jim Baller issued a “Call to Action” which was an industry wide effort to urge the FCC toward building the initial document you see today and suggested the framework that is mirrored in that document.
The Plan is available from the FCC web site –> National Broadband Plan – hundreds of features and opinions are flooding the press and blogs daily.
One local paper in Sarasota focused on the impact of the National Strategy; Michael Pollick an award winning local journalist posted a segment on just how Sarasota benefits from access to competitive broadband access – the segment focuses on the local wireless provider that I helped launch a couple of years ago and how broadband itself has become a goldmine.
There will be many battles as the status quo fights to hold on to their legacy – so watch the air waves and keep a critical eye – don’t believe it just because it’s in print or on CNN – Broadband is the new lifeline!
Managing Complexity
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Building Information Modeling on December 27th, 2009
by Mark Hewitt
During our evolution as a species mankind has created social and political systems that have
The Games that People Play
tended to rise and fall based on complex systems. Complex systems tend to reach a point where failure is the only option as has recently been proven with our credit based economic system. Economists and fund managers have been making this statement for many years declaring our system of credit based currency to be unsustainable.
Complexity in currency is only one faucet of social and political complexity our system of laws and security fall into the same unsustainable path – one of my favorite speakers on this topic is Barry Schwartz – his TED presentation on our “Loss of Wisdom” sums up our human values and actions.
ABC did a couple of shows giving us an example of how Modern Game Theory helps us to understand the ebb and flow of not only ourselves but the things around us. In this show PrimeTime producers take six teams and set them free in Read the rest of this entry »
The US Broadband Coalition Adoption & Use Report
Posted by Mark Hewitt in Broadband on November 13th, 2009
Friday the 13th seems to be a day for good luck as the FCC holds a special meeting to accept and comment on the US Broadband Coalitions 
Adoption and Use report. Part of the FCC’s goal to see comments on the developing National Broadband Strategy.
You can find a copy of the Adoption and Use Report here –> Adoption & Use
You can watch the event via webcast from the FCC at 1:00 ~ 3:00 pm EST today –> FCC Webcast
If you find youself in Washingto DC today – you can attend in person: 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC
Case: Ave Maria Smart Campus
Introduction:
Ave Maria is a town 20 minutes east of Naples and then 10 minutes south basically in the middle of the swamps. We all know about the success story of Domino’s pizza. Well the guy who started Dominos got tired of collecting airplanes apparently up in cold Michigan, and decided to create a town with a Christian values from scratch. A friend of mine contacted me and asked me to come down and meet Bryan Mehaffey who this post will discuss frequently. I had heard stories about how Ave Maria was a show case for Smart Building design. So both Mark Hewitt and I got in the car and made the trek from Sarasota Read the rest of this entry »