As phenomenal as the advent of the iPhone has been, there has been one constant rub and that's the lack of speed accessing the network. Sales will soon total one million after over half that number were sold over the weekend when the iPhone was first made available. Not only do we need faster speed accessing the network at home, we also need a new wireless network...
Apple's Steve Jobs has advised consumers to use Wi-Fi which you do at home, the office and your favorite Starbucks but most people lock down their home networks for security reasons and it's hard finding free networks and costly to pay another fee. The iPhone uses AT&T Inc.'s EDGE network which the Wall Street Journal called "pokey" and the New York Times wasn't any kinder, calling the network "excruciatingly slow". The Times topped their comment with this cherry: "users almost ache for a dial-up modem." Ouch!!!
There is a solution though. The FCC has a chance to set the rules for the auctions in the 700MHz band being abandoned by U.S. television stations when they must move to digital broadcasts by February 2009. The abandoned spectrum allows broadband signals to travel three to four times farther than signals transmitted in higher bands. In order to compete with other countries we need faster speed on our computers. Let's hope the FCC gets this right...
10 Timeline Memories:
- 1775] Atten-hut: General George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge (MA)...
- 1863] A victory for the North: The Civil Wars "Battle of Gettysburg" ends after 3 days in a major victory for the north as Confederate troops retreat...
- 1912] Diamond Dust: Giant pitcher Rube Marquard ties a major league record with his 19th consecutive win, making him 19-0 for the season...1982] Jackie Robinson becomes the 1st black to be inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y...
- 1924] Tastier than a pigs-eye: Clarence Birdseye founds the General Seafood Corp. Can frozen foods be far away???
- 1950] Miming it: "Pantomime Quiz" debuts on CBS-TV and runs 13 years. The original host was Mike Stokey and Pat Harrington Jr. replaced him for the final year. Hans Conreid and Vincent Price were the best panelists in the shows history...
- 1969] Rock & Roll Tragedy: 1969] 27-year old Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones is found at the bottom of a swimming pool...1971] Jim Morrison, 27 of The Doors is found dead in a bathtub in Paris. He died of heart failure, likely caused by a drug overdose...
- 1978] "Seven dirty words": The Supreme Court rules (5-4) that the FCC has a right to reprimand WBAI New York for broadcasting George Carlin's "filthy words" which would become known as "seven dirty words"...Here's an 11-minute montage of Mr. Carlin through the years: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKhw0kutZxs ...
- 1986] Lady Liberty: The Statue of Liberty is re-dedicated as President Ronald Reagan lights up the statue before a global TV audience estimated to be 1.5 billion...
- 1986] "Happy Trails": Twenties and Thirties crooner Rudy Valee dies while watching television at the age of 84...
- 1989] Record blockbuster: The movie "Batman" sets a record for the fastest $100 million gross (in just 10 days)...
Commentary...
Happy July 4th on this our 231st Independence Day tomorrow. Fireworks displays will be televised live from Boston, Washington (D.C.) and the big Macy's blast from New York harbor tomorrow night but it doesn't matter which fireworks you watch, whether live or televised. Some of the smaller fireworks displays are the best. One of the best I've ever seen was many years ago in Plymouth (MA) with a bunch of Vietnam vets who just happened to be there. With every blast they would shout out the name of a fallen hero in remembrance. I don't think I'll ever witness a more heart-warming experience. However you plan to spend the anniversary of our independence, have a safe and enjoyable one...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Tom Cruise (45), Montel Williams (51), Dave Barry (60), Michael ("Mod Squad") Cole (62), Fontella Bass (67) (check out the outfit Fontella is wearing in this video clip of "Rescue Me"): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXSocE_M1G4 and Pete Fountain (77)...
Timeline Countdown: 1 day until July 4th and 7 days until the All-Star game...
...
Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - Independence Day...
10 Independence Day Memories:
- 1776] We declare: The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence...
- 1802] The Long Gray Line: The U.S. Military Academy opens at West Point, New York on the banks of the Hudson River...
- 1826] President's Day: Former presidents John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die. Adams at 90, Jefferson at 83...1831] James Monroe, our 5th president dies at 73...1872] Calvin Coolidge, our 30th president is born in Plymouth (VT)...
- 1939] Luckiest man: 61,800 pack Yankee Stadium to hear Lou Gehrig's touching farewell speech ("Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth"). Gehrig, afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the fatal disease that will bear his name, retires from baseball...
- 1959] 49 and 50: Alaska and Hawaii (respectively) become our newest states...
- 1969] Pop goes the festival: 140,000 attend the Atlanta Pop Festival featuring Led Zeppelin and Janis Joplin...
- 1970] AT40: Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" debuts...
- 1983] Oh No: Wade Boggs becomes Dave Righetti's final victim as he strikes out and 'Rags' completes a no-hitter against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. And I had tickets for the following day's game...
- 1993] Free delivery: Pizza Hut delivers their blimp to a Manhattan rooftop. The pizza was cold and a refund is given. The blimp is destroyed but no one is hurt...
- 2003] Fireworks for Kobe: Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers is arrested on suspicion of sexual assault at a hotel near Vail (CO). The charge is later dropped because, well, because he's Kobe Bryant. Mrs. B gets some major bling out of it however...
Music Memory:
- 2003] Singer Barry White dies at 58 from renal failure...
"Happy Birthday...happy birthday":
Geraldo Rivera (64), Bill Withers (69), George Steinbrenner (77), Neil Simon (80), Eva Marie Saint (83), Mitch Miller (96), Pauline Phillips a.k.a. Abigail Van Buren ("Dear Abby") (89) and The United States of America (231) and what better way to end than with video clips of fireworks and a clip from James Cagney's "Yankee Doodle Dandy"...Washington D.C. (from 2006): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbBq3apC6Gg&mode=related&search= , Boston (2006): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE3DKzJGoH8 , New York (2005): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCFCggdN3kI&mode=related&search= , James Cagney from "Yankee Doodle Dandy": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDYRjuzE1vI ...
Timeline Countdown: Today is July 4th and there are 6 days until the All-Star game...
...
