Those on AT&T who are not enjoying the carrier's speeds on connectivity may have the possible summer launch of a new iPhone to thank. Ma Bell is supposedly performing massive network upgrades in preparation for a possible June iPhone launch according to Gizmodo. According to the report, AT&T may up its current network speeds of 7.2Mbps on the 3G mobile data network to 14.4 Mbps, with some coverage areas to receive an upgrade to 10 Mbps.
In addition to increasing the data speed, the carrier is said to be switching its data from the 1900 MHz frequency to the 850 MHz frequency. The 850 MHz frequency is credited for holding better signal strength and can operate better in densely populated areas with buildings and trees.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
3G services expected to boost economy
For operators, the issuance of 3G licenses means the beginning of a new round market competition; for equipment suppliers, it means there will be a huge investment cake worth RMB280 billion yuan in the future three years; for subscribers, 3G means the bandwidth of cell phone surfing will be sharply increased and the charge will be cheaper and cheaper. For 3G itself, 3G is a service market. Both the construction and operation of 3G will promote a new development for telecommunication manufacturers.
Wen Jiabao, Premier of State Council, stated when delivering government work report on The 2nd Session of The 11th National People's Congress on March, 5th that technological R&D and industrialization shall be supported and promoted, including such aspects as new energy, biology, medicine, 3G mobile communication, 3-network integration, energy conservation and environmental protection. Before it, only after one week that State Council Executive Meeting approved the initiation of 3G licenses, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of P.R.C. (MIIT) issued 3G licenses to three major operators promptly.
In the early January, MIIT announced that China Mobile Communications Corporation (China Mobile) had been approved to add TD-SCDMA-based 3G business operating permission, China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom) had been approved to add CDMA2000-based 3G business operating permission, and China United Network Communications Corporation Limited (China Unicom) had been approved to add WCDMA-based 3G business operating permission.
For operators, the issuance of 3G licenses means the beginning of a new round market competition; for equipment suppliers, it means there will be a huge cake in the market; for subscribers, 3G means the bandwidth of cell phone surfing will be sharply increased and the charge will be cheaper and cheaper. What's more important, under the current international financial crisis, 3G construction will not only benefit expanding domestic demand and promoting economic stable and rapid development, but also benefit expediting industrial enterprises' structural adjustment and industrial competitiveness upgrade.
Drive RMB2 trillion yuan social investment
Li Yizhong, Minister of MIIT, once revealed that in accordance with their own development plans of the telecom operators approved to operating 3G licenses, around RMB280 billion yuan is planned to directly invest on 3G in 2009 and 2010. Experts analyst that 3G construction could promote the shape-up of such a communication industrial chain that includes 3G network construction, terminal equipment manufacture, operating service and information service. In the future three years, it will even drive the social investment worth nearly RMB2 trillion yuan and drive China's GDP up 0.5 to 1 percent.
Our reporter learned that since the beginning of this round of telecom reorganization, for the sake of taking positive position in the future 3G operation, the three major operators had finished the upgrade and capacity expansion of the current network and the equipment public bidding successively. Besides the former initiated TD network construction, China Unicom is expediting the internal test on the first batch of WCDMA trial network in such eight cities as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Liuzhou, Zhengzhou, Baoding, Wuhan and Wuxi. In this month, China Unicom will officially conduct WCDMA equipment public bidding, and the first batch of WCDMA network will be officially opened in May. According to plans, China Unicom will finish the network distribution in big cities before the mid-2009, and realize the network operation in middle-and-above-level cities before the end of 2009.
Due to technologies, the speed on upgrading and transforming China Telecom's CDMA network will be faster. Industrial experts estimated that China Telecom would be such an operator that could provide overall 3G services the earliest, and the time of upgrade from current CDMA network to 3G-version CDMA2000 only need one month. An insider in Guangdong China Telecom revealed that Guangdong China Telecom would have a mature capacity on issuing 3G numbers by the mid of this year.
"Operators will turn their focus on trying their best to construct 3G network. And the situation of the operators in the future five to ten years will depend on the competitive strength in 3G era. Therefore, under this network construction strategy, it is very likely that operators will take short time and high quality as a goal, not dragging but seeking for quick success." This will play a huge promoting role in the overall telecom industrial chain and national economy development. Liu Yunjie, Director of Science & Technology Committee of China Unicom, believed that the 3G license issuance in China will even play a huge promoting role in the global stagnant market.
Zeng Jianqiu, Professor and Doctoral Advisor of Economics and Management School of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, believed that the driving of 3G demand will be a continuous course and unlikely to invest several hundred billion Renminbi all at once. Issuing 3G mobile communication licenses will exert significant function in driving domestic demand, optimize the competitive structure in telecommunication market and advancing the maturity of TD-SCDMA industrial chain. Speaking in such an aspect, 3G doesn't play industrial cards but national cards. Under the challenge to global economic development, 3G will become a powerful weapon to resist international financial crisis.
3G demand will be released gradually
Zeng Jianqiu also expressed that the driving of 3G demand will be a continuous course, especially in the big country China, to promote 3G networks comprehensively needs several years. Meanwhile, the driving of 3G has a chain relation. 3G itself is a service market. The 3G construction and operation will enable telecom manufacturers have a new development. 3G will play a positive role in driving domestic demand, including promoting the development of China's 3G and global 3G. With the official issuance of 3G licenses in China, telecom operators, equipment manufacturers, cell phone manufacturers and even investors in share market are all itching to share the cake. Seen from the experience of overseas 3G operations, 3G network investment construction will drive the growth of telecom equipment manufacturers' revenue, and the promotion of 3G business will enhance operators' ARPU and their business expansion capacity in some extent. Some consumers expressed that although the 3G operation cost in the early stage is relatively higher, and the price is possibly higher, with the rapid growth of the group using cell phone to surf in the internet, the competition of the three major operators will be fiercer, and the charge on mobile data business will be lower and lower.
Meanwhile, while China's three major operators are expediting 3G network construction, they will also make full efforts to fasten the development of 3G business to let 3G be used widely in terms of education, art, science, office, entertainment, communications, business, work, daily life, health care, first-aid treatment and disaster relief. Therefore, with the new impact of 3G on the consumption mode of information era, compared with the consumption demand stimulated by 3G constructions, the investment scale for the construction only takes up a small part.
Lv Tingjie, Dean of Economics and Management School of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, expressed that the year of 2009 mainly focuses on the fundamental infrastructure construction. Various application developments have an exploring course, so the promotion speed will be low. It is estimated that the blowout growth of 3G application will emerge in the second half of 2009 or in the early of 2010.
Wen Jiabao, Premier of State Council, stated when delivering government work report on The 2nd Session of The 11th National People's Congress on March, 5th that technological R&D and industrialization shall be supported and promoted, including such aspects as new energy, biology, medicine, 3G mobile communication, 3-network integration, energy conservation and environmental protection. Before it, only after one week that State Council Executive Meeting approved the initiation of 3G licenses, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of P.R.C. (MIIT) issued 3G licenses to three major operators promptly.
In the early January, MIIT announced that China Mobile Communications Corporation (China Mobile) had been approved to add TD-SCDMA-based 3G business operating permission, China Telecommunications Corporation (China Telecom) had been approved to add CDMA2000-based 3G business operating permission, and China United Network Communications Corporation Limited (China Unicom) had been approved to add WCDMA-based 3G business operating permission.
For operators, the issuance of 3G licenses means the beginning of a new round market competition; for equipment suppliers, it means there will be a huge cake in the market; for subscribers, 3G means the bandwidth of cell phone surfing will be sharply increased and the charge will be cheaper and cheaper. What's more important, under the current international financial crisis, 3G construction will not only benefit expanding domestic demand and promoting economic stable and rapid development, but also benefit expediting industrial enterprises' structural adjustment and industrial competitiveness upgrade.
Drive RMB2 trillion yuan social investment
Li Yizhong, Minister of MIIT, once revealed that in accordance with their own development plans of the telecom operators approved to operating 3G licenses, around RMB280 billion yuan is planned to directly invest on 3G in 2009 and 2010. Experts analyst that 3G construction could promote the shape-up of such a communication industrial chain that includes 3G network construction, terminal equipment manufacture, operating service and information service. In the future three years, it will even drive the social investment worth nearly RMB2 trillion yuan and drive China's GDP up 0.5 to 1 percent.
Our reporter learned that since the beginning of this round of telecom reorganization, for the sake of taking positive position in the future 3G operation, the three major operators had finished the upgrade and capacity expansion of the current network and the equipment public bidding successively. Besides the former initiated TD network construction, China Unicom is expediting the internal test on the first batch of WCDMA trial network in such eight cities as Shanghai, Shenzhen, Foshan, Liuzhou, Zhengzhou, Baoding, Wuhan and Wuxi. In this month, China Unicom will officially conduct WCDMA equipment public bidding, and the first batch of WCDMA network will be officially opened in May. According to plans, China Unicom will finish the network distribution in big cities before the mid-2009, and realize the network operation in middle-and-above-level cities before the end of 2009.
Due to technologies, the speed on upgrading and transforming China Telecom's CDMA network will be faster. Industrial experts estimated that China Telecom would be such an operator that could provide overall 3G services the earliest, and the time of upgrade from current CDMA network to 3G-version CDMA2000 only need one month. An insider in Guangdong China Telecom revealed that Guangdong China Telecom would have a mature capacity on issuing 3G numbers by the mid of this year.
"Operators will turn their focus on trying their best to construct 3G network. And the situation of the operators in the future five to ten years will depend on the competitive strength in 3G era. Therefore, under this network construction strategy, it is very likely that operators will take short time and high quality as a goal, not dragging but seeking for quick success." This will play a huge promoting role in the overall telecom industrial chain and national economy development. Liu Yunjie, Director of Science & Technology Committee of China Unicom, believed that the 3G license issuance in China will even play a huge promoting role in the global stagnant market.
Zeng Jianqiu, Professor and Doctoral Advisor of Economics and Management School of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, believed that the driving of 3G demand will be a continuous course and unlikely to invest several hundred billion Renminbi all at once. Issuing 3G mobile communication licenses will exert significant function in driving domestic demand, optimize the competitive structure in telecommunication market and advancing the maturity of TD-SCDMA industrial chain. Speaking in such an aspect, 3G doesn't play industrial cards but national cards. Under the challenge to global economic development, 3G will become a powerful weapon to resist international financial crisis.
3G demand will be released gradually
Zeng Jianqiu also expressed that the driving of 3G demand will be a continuous course, especially in the big country China, to promote 3G networks comprehensively needs several years. Meanwhile, the driving of 3G has a chain relation. 3G itself is a service market. The 3G construction and operation will enable telecom manufacturers have a new development. 3G will play a positive role in driving domestic demand, including promoting the development of China's 3G and global 3G. With the official issuance of 3G licenses in China, telecom operators, equipment manufacturers, cell phone manufacturers and even investors in share market are all itching to share the cake. Seen from the experience of overseas 3G operations, 3G network investment construction will drive the growth of telecom equipment manufacturers' revenue, and the promotion of 3G business will enhance operators' ARPU and their business expansion capacity in some extent. Some consumers expressed that although the 3G operation cost in the early stage is relatively higher, and the price is possibly higher, with the rapid growth of the group using cell phone to surf in the internet, the competition of the three major operators will be fiercer, and the charge on mobile data business will be lower and lower.
Meanwhile, while China's three major operators are expediting 3G network construction, they will also make full efforts to fasten the development of 3G business to let 3G be used widely in terms of education, art, science, office, entertainment, communications, business, work, daily life, health care, first-aid treatment and disaster relief. Therefore, with the new impact of 3G on the consumption mode of information era, compared with the consumption demand stimulated by 3G constructions, the investment scale for the construction only takes up a small part.
Lv Tingjie, Dean of Economics and Management School of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, expressed that the year of 2009 mainly focuses on the fundamental infrastructure construction. Various application developments have an exploring course, so the promotion speed will be low. It is estimated that the blowout growth of 3G application will emerge in the second half of 2009 or in the early of 2010.
CDMA 3G Variants (in the IMT-2000 Family)
In this section we cover the following
:: cdma2000
:: cdma2000 1X-EV-DO
:: cdma2000 1X-EV-DV
:: cdma2000 3X
CDMA aficionados are rigorously promoting a technically benign upgrade of existing cdmaOne (IS-95) CDMA networks to faster cdma2000 technology, a CDMA 3G standard that they say can provide the same level of 3G service claimed by W-CDMA/UMTS promoters. There are various types of cdma2000 types, explained below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cdma2000 1X
The 1xEV specification was developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), a partnership consisting of five telecomnunications standards bodies: CWTS in China, ARIB and TTC in Japan, TTA in Korea and TIA in North America.It is also known as High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification. It delivers 3G-like services up to 140 kbps peak rate while occupying a very small amount of spectrum (1.25 MHz per carrier), protecting this precious resource for operators.
cdma2000 1X EV-DO
1X EV-DO, also called 1X-EV Phase One, is an enhancement that puts voice and data on separate channels in order to provide data delivery at 2.4Mbit/s. It was developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), a partnership consisting of five telecomnunications standards bodies. Also known as High Rate Packet Data Air Interface.
cdma2000 1X EV-DV
EV-DV, or 1X-EV Phase Two with promises of data speeds ranging from 3Mbps to 5Mbps. As many as eight proposals have been submitted to standards committee 3GPP2 for the design of EV-DV
cdma2000 3X
CDMA2000 3x is an ITU-approved, IMT-2000 (3G) standard. It is part of what the ITU has termed IMT-2000 CDMA MC. It uses 5 Mhz spectrum (3x 1.25 Mhz channels) to give speeds of around 2-4 Mbps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This first phase of cdma2000 - variously called 1XRTT, 3G1X, or just plain 1X - is designed to double current voice capacity and support always-on data transmission speeds 10 times faster than typically available today, some 153.6 kbps on both the forward and reverse links.
Handset standby times also increase by up to 50%. Users will also be able to benefit from enterprise and consumer applications requiring more bandwidth, including personal information management, telemetry, corporate intranet access, video conferencing, gaming and music on demand.
The increase in voice and data capacity stems inter alia from advances in modulation algorithms, new IP backbones, and new chipsets that support up to 32 simultaneous users on a single chip, a four-fold increase over the previous generation.
While the cdma2000 specification allows for an evolutionary migration to later advances in cdma2000 that use core IP networks and voice-over-IP, the current 1X migration requires relatively modest hardware and software upgrades to existing cdmaOne infrastructure. Even then, operators can upgrade to 1X without having to implement it throughout their entire cdmaOne network, which means they can upgrade certain hotspots that require voice capacity enhancements or higher data speeds.
The strategy also aims to reduce technological risks by phased enhancements of networks with medium rate data services, and then later evolve to higher rate data services so as to avoid uncertainties of ROI that currently cloud the UMTS 3G vision.
cdma2000 can be deployed in existing spectrums such as 1900MHz along with an existing cdmaOne system, overlaying its new feature set and increased capacity on the existing cdmaOne networks. Most importantly, it uses existing (and paid for) 1.25 MHz spectrum.
Handsets using cdma2000 technology will also be backward compatible to the existing cdmaOne networks, so current handsets and features will operate over next generation networks providing continued access both at home and while roaming. Operators who deploy 3G with 1X will still have roaming with worldwide CDMA operators on their cdmaOne networks. Dual mode handsets that allow TDMA/cdma2000 interoperability may also augment the business case for a move by TDMA operators to cdma2000.
The flexible migration from cdmaOne provides a series of upgrades leading to cdma2000's increased voice capacity and Megabit 3G data rates, allowing each operator to upgrade when its individual market requirements dictate without significantly upgrading infrastructure or purchasing new spectrum.
:: cdma2000
:: cdma2000 1X-EV-DO
:: cdma2000 1X-EV-DV
:: cdma2000 3X
CDMA aficionados are rigorously promoting a technically benign upgrade of existing cdmaOne (IS-95) CDMA networks to faster cdma2000 technology, a CDMA 3G standard that they say can provide the same level of 3G service claimed by W-CDMA/UMTS promoters. There are various types of cdma2000 types, explained below.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
cdma2000 1X
The 1xEV specification was developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), a partnership consisting of five telecomnunications standards bodies: CWTS in China, ARIB and TTC in Japan, TTA in Korea and TIA in North America.It is also known as High Rate Packet Data Air Interface Specification. It delivers 3G-like services up to 140 kbps peak rate while occupying a very small amount of spectrum (1.25 MHz per carrier), protecting this precious resource for operators.
cdma2000 1X EV-DO
1X EV-DO, also called 1X-EV Phase One, is an enhancement that puts voice and data on separate channels in order to provide data delivery at 2.4Mbit/s. It was developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), a partnership consisting of five telecomnunications standards bodies. Also known as High Rate Packet Data Air Interface.
cdma2000 1X EV-DV
EV-DV, or 1X-EV Phase Two with promises of data speeds ranging from 3Mbps to 5Mbps. As many as eight proposals have been submitted to standards committee 3GPP2 for the design of EV-DV
cdma2000 3X
CDMA2000 3x is an ITU-approved, IMT-2000 (3G) standard. It is part of what the ITU has termed IMT-2000 CDMA MC. It uses 5 Mhz spectrum (3x 1.25 Mhz channels) to give speeds of around 2-4 Mbps.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This first phase of cdma2000 - variously called 1XRTT, 3G1X, or just plain 1X - is designed to double current voice capacity and support always-on data transmission speeds 10 times faster than typically available today, some 153.6 kbps on both the forward and reverse links.
Handset standby times also increase by up to 50%. Users will also be able to benefit from enterprise and consumer applications requiring more bandwidth, including personal information management, telemetry, corporate intranet access, video conferencing, gaming and music on demand.
The increase in voice and data capacity stems inter alia from advances in modulation algorithms, new IP backbones, and new chipsets that support up to 32 simultaneous users on a single chip, a four-fold increase over the previous generation.
While the cdma2000 specification allows for an evolutionary migration to later advances in cdma2000 that use core IP networks and voice-over-IP, the current 1X migration requires relatively modest hardware and software upgrades to existing cdmaOne infrastructure. Even then, operators can upgrade to 1X without having to implement it throughout their entire cdmaOne network, which means they can upgrade certain hotspots that require voice capacity enhancements or higher data speeds.
The strategy also aims to reduce technological risks by phased enhancements of networks with medium rate data services, and then later evolve to higher rate data services so as to avoid uncertainties of ROI that currently cloud the UMTS 3G vision.
cdma2000 can be deployed in existing spectrums such as 1900MHz along with an existing cdmaOne system, overlaying its new feature set and increased capacity on the existing cdmaOne networks. Most importantly, it uses existing (and paid for) 1.25 MHz spectrum.
Handsets using cdma2000 technology will also be backward compatible to the existing cdmaOne networks, so current handsets and features will operate over next generation networks providing continued access both at home and while roaming. Operators who deploy 3G with 1X will still have roaming with worldwide CDMA operators on their cdmaOne networks. Dual mode handsets that allow TDMA/cdma2000 interoperability may also augment the business case for a move by TDMA operators to cdma2000.
The flexible migration from cdmaOne provides a series of upgrades leading to cdma2000's increased voice capacity and Megabit 3G data rates, allowing each operator to upgrade when its individual market requirements dictate without significantly upgrading infrastructure or purchasing new spectrum.
IMT-2000
In all, these technologies fall under the ITUs generic name of IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunications 2000). But when the ITU tried to unify and standardise 3G technologies, no consensus was reached. There were thus five terrestrial standards developed as part of the IMT-2000 program. Instead, depending on where in the world 3G will be implemented, the 3G standard will be based on CDMA variants cdma2000 or W-CDMA.
CDMA (See our CDMA section)
The new 3G services are almost all flavours of technolgies based on the generic name, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access). CDMA is a digital wireless technology that allows multiple users to share radio frequencies at the same time without interfering with each other. A telephone or data call is assigned a unique code that distinguishes it from others and and since the signals hop among different frequencies.
Current 2G services using the original CDMA "IS-95" technology are know as cdmaOne. 3G services will use new high-speed versions of CDMA called W-CDMA, or its competing technology, cdma2000. (More on CDMA)
Current 2G services using the original CDMA "IS-95" technology are know as cdmaOne. 3G services will use new high-speed versions of CDMA called W-CDMA, or its competing technology, cdma2000. (More on CDMA)
3G Overview
:: 3G Defined
3G (Third Generation) is a generic name for a set of mobile technologies set to be launched by the end of 2001 which use a host of high-tech infrastructure networks, handsets, base stations, switches and other equipment to allow mobiles to offer high-speed Internet access, data, video and CD-quality music services.
Data speeds in 3G networks should be show speeds of to up to 2 Megabits per second, an increase on current technology.
:: 2G/2.5G Defined
GSM for example is a 2G technology. It uses TDMA technology, proving data speeds of 9.6kbps/14.4kbps. The packet radio upgrade to GSM, called GPRS, can have speeds of up to 114kbps. GPRS an interim technology towards 3G, and hence is known as 2.5G. GSM might go the same way as the older first generation (1G) NMT and AMPS networks in 8-15 years because of the use of newer and better UMTS technology (More on GSM) ; (More on GPRS)
3G (Third Generation) is a generic name for a set of mobile technologies set to be launched by the end of 2001 which use a host of high-tech infrastructure networks, handsets, base stations, switches and other equipment to allow mobiles to offer high-speed Internet access, data, video and CD-quality music services.
Data speeds in 3G networks should be show speeds of to up to 2 Megabits per second, an increase on current technology.
:: 2G/2.5G Defined
GSM for example is a 2G technology. It uses TDMA technology, proving data speeds of 9.6kbps/14.4kbps. The packet radio upgrade to GSM, called GPRS, can have speeds of up to 114kbps. GPRS an interim technology towards 3G, and hence is known as 2.5G. GSM might go the same way as the older first generation (1G) NMT and AMPS networks in 8-15 years because of the use of newer and better UMTS technology (More on GSM) ; (More on GPRS)
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The 10 Most and Least Affordable Cities in the US
The National Association of Home Builders has released their Housing Opportunity Index covering the most and least affordable cities in the country. Here's a quick rundown of the top 10 metropolitan areas with a population over 500,000.
View Larger Map
Ten Least Affordable Cities
1. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ2. San Francisco-San mateo-Redwood City, CA3. Nassau-Suffolk, NY4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA5. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL6. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA7. El Paso, TX8. Newark-Union, NJ-PA9. Honolulu, HI10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
Ten Most Affordable Cities
1. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN2. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI3. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA4. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI6. Syracuse, NY7. Dayton, OH8. Akron, OH9. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH10. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
If the big city isn't your thing, you may be more interested in checking into the most and least affordable cities under 500,000:
Ten Least Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA2. Ocean City, NJ3. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA4. Napa, CA5. Flagstaff, AZ6. Medford, OR7. Bend, OR8. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA9. St. George, UT10. Laredo, TX
Ten Most Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. Lansing-East Lansing, MI2. Sandusky, OH3. Lima, OH4. Springfield, OH5. Bay City, MI6. Battle Creek, MI7. Canton-Massillon, OH8. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI9. Utica-Rome, NY10. Binghamton, NY
For more fun stats brought to you by NAHB and Wells Fargo, be sure to head to the official Housing Opportunity Index page below. For a slightly different take, check out last year's guide to the best US cities to live, work, and play. Let's hear how the NAHB's list matches up to your expectations (good god, Ohio!) in the comments.
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) [via Consumerist]
View Larger Map
Ten Least Affordable Cities
1. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ2. San Francisco-San mateo-Redwood City, CA3. Nassau-Suffolk, NY4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA5. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL6. Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, CA7. El Paso, TX8. Newark-Union, NJ-PA9. Honolulu, HI10. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, WA
Ten Most Affordable Cities
1. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN2. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI3. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA4. Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, MI5. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI6. Syracuse, NY7. Dayton, OH8. Akron, OH9. Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH10. Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
If the big city isn't your thing, you may be more interested in checking into the most and least affordable cities under 500,000:
Ten Least Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA2. Ocean City, NJ3. Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA4. Napa, CA5. Flagstaff, AZ6. Medford, OR7. Bend, OR8. Mount Vernon-Anacortes, WA9. St. George, UT10. Laredo, TX
Ten Most Affordable Cities with a Population Under 500,000
1. Lansing-East Lansing, MI2. Sandusky, OH3. Lima, OH4. Springfield, OH5. Bay City, MI6. Battle Creek, MI7. Canton-Massillon, OH8. Saginaw-Saginaw Township North, MI9. Utica-Rome, NY10. Binghamton, NY
For more fun stats brought to you by NAHB and Wells Fargo, be sure to head to the official Housing Opportunity Index page below. For a slightly different take, check out last year's guide to the best US cities to live, work, and play. Let's hear how the NAHB's list matches up to your expectations (good god, Ohio!) in the comments.
NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Opportunity Index (HOI) [via Consumerist]
Belt-Clip Your Cellphone for Better Battery Life
Former Valleywag consigliere Paul Boutin offers up a handful of great, low-tech fixes to your high-tech gadget issues. One of them involves getting your cellphone away from your warm pocket to boost its battery life.
Photo by hsiqueira.
If you're planning to be away from your charger for a stretch, Boutin finds evidence that keeping your phone on a belt clip, away from your 98.6 body oven, or in a hotel fridge overnight, can actually get you a bit more juice.
"Cellphone batteries do indeed last a bit longer if kept cool," says Isidor Buchanan, editor of the Battery University Web site. The 98.6-degree body heat of a human, transmitted through a cloth pocket to a cellphone inside, is enough to speed up chemical processes inside the phone's battery. That makes it run down faster. To keep the phone cooler, carry it in your purse or on your belt.
Most of the other low-tech work-arounds for gadget issues in the New York Times article have been covered here before, including:
Amplifying your keyless entry/car key fob with your head
Drying out soaked gadgets with rice
Boost your wireless signal with homemade wifi extender
Boutin recommends straight-up liquor or Listerine for CD cleaning; we've previously recommended bananas, toothpaste, and Pledge for similar results.
Saving your crashed hard drive in the freezer.
One (relatively) new and notable technique the article suggests for getting more ink out of wasteful cartridges is using a hair dryer:
"The heat from the hair dryer heats the thick ink, and helps it to flow through the tiny nozzles in the cartridge," says Alex Cox, a software engineer in Seattle. "When the cartridge is almost dead, those nozzles are often nearly clogged with dried ink, so helping the ink to flow will let more ink out of the nozzles." The hair dryer trick can squeeze a few more pages out of a cartridge after the printer declares it is empty.
So even if some (okay, most) of this advice seems familiar, the article makes for a great forward or print-out for family and friends always hitting you up for a little gadget triage. Got a favorite low-tech save for seemingly Ph. D problems? Share it in the comments.
Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems [New York Times]
Photo by hsiqueira.
If you're planning to be away from your charger for a stretch, Boutin finds evidence that keeping your phone on a belt clip, away from your 98.6 body oven, or in a hotel fridge overnight, can actually get you a bit more juice.
"Cellphone batteries do indeed last a bit longer if kept cool," says Isidor Buchanan, editor of the Battery University Web site. The 98.6-degree body heat of a human, transmitted through a cloth pocket to a cellphone inside, is enough to speed up chemical processes inside the phone's battery. That makes it run down faster. To keep the phone cooler, carry it in your purse or on your belt.
Most of the other low-tech work-arounds for gadget issues in the New York Times article have been covered here before, including:
Amplifying your keyless entry/car key fob with your head
Drying out soaked gadgets with rice
Boost your wireless signal with homemade wifi extender
Boutin recommends straight-up liquor or Listerine for CD cleaning; we've previously recommended bananas, toothpaste, and Pledge for similar results.
Saving your crashed hard drive in the freezer.
One (relatively) new and notable technique the article suggests for getting more ink out of wasteful cartridges is using a hair dryer:
"The heat from the hair dryer heats the thick ink, and helps it to flow through the tiny nozzles in the cartridge," says Alex Cox, a software engineer in Seattle. "When the cartridge is almost dead, those nozzles are often nearly clogged with dried ink, so helping the ink to flow will let more ink out of the nozzles." The hair dryer trick can squeeze a few more pages out of a cartridge after the printer declares it is empty.
So even if some (okay, most) of this advice seems familiar, the article makes for a great forward or print-out for family and friends always hitting you up for a little gadget triage. Got a favorite low-tech save for seemingly Ph. D problems? Share it in the comments.
Low-Tech Fixes for High-Tech Problems [New York Times]
Monday, February 2, 2009
Five Best Windows System Tray Applications
The Windows system tray can be so much more than a parking lot for programs you don't want cluttering up your task bar. Read on to see the five most popular tray tools readers can't live without.
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite applications system tray applications, with an emphasis on applications that exist primarily in the tray. It was a broader topic to be sure but you replied in force and we've compiled a list of the top five contenders for the crown of best system tray application.
UltraMon
It speaks of the popularity of multi-monitor setups that UltraMon is such a popular system tray application. UltraMon is so feature packed it's nearly impossible to take a single screenshot that captures the usefulness of the application. The most obvious feature UltraMon add from the system tray is the addition of two buttons to the title bar of all open applications. The two buttons you see in the screenshot here—the dual triangles and the box with the arrow in it—allow you to instantly expand a window across all monitors or reduce it to one and to sling a window from one monitor to another with out having to drag or resize. That feature alone is invaluable when you're dealing with dozens of windows across multiple screens, but that barely scratches the surface. UltraMon allows you to create custom shortcuts so applications will always end up the size you specify on the screen you want. You can set up multi-monitor friendly screensavers and wallpaper with Ultramon and enable the Smart Taskbar—a tool that extends your taskbar space across all available monitors. UltraMon isn't free—nor is the $40 price tag pocket change in the current economy—but for users in a multi-monitor environment it would be tough to get more value for your money.
Taskbar Shuffle
Taskbar Shuffle has the distinction of being not only a popular application in this Hive Five but also the only application that actually acts upon the system tray itself. After installing Taskbar Shuffle, you can indulge your inner—and slightly obsessive compulsive—nerd to your hearts content arranging and rearranging the items on your taskbar and system tray. If you've ever been annoyed as hell that somehow an application icon you really want visible in the system tray somehow keeps ending up tucked out of sight, Taskbar Shuffle is a free and effective solution for liberating your programs from their cement shoes. In addition to the obvious and useful program dragging, you can also close applications by clicking their taskbar button with the middle mouse button, tweak the way Windows groups similar taskbar buttons, and assign a keyboard hotkey to keep you from accidentally shuffling things around with some furious productivity-fueled clicking. As an added bonus, Taskbar Shuffle works with the aforementioned multi-monitor Smart Taskbar provided by UltraMon.
AutoHotKey
AutoHotkey is a macro-scripting tool with scripts that—when running—reside in the system tray. The strongest selling point of AutoHotkey is that the scripting language it uses is extremely accessible to new users—especially those with no programming experience. You can use AutoHotkey to do everything from creating simple time-saving typing macros—turning every typed instance of btw into by the way, for example— to creating complex applications, like our very own Texter. Additionally you can also create simple interfaces to allow user input into the scripts and even save your AutoHotkey scripts as executables to use them as portable applications or send them to friends. If all of that seems a bit overwhelming check out our guide to turning any action into a keyboard shortcut—an excellent guide to getting started with AutoHotkey. If you're not interested in writing your own scripts that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the excellent scripts others have written—check out the posts we've written about AutoHotkey scripts and browse the Scripts section of the AutoHotkey community forum to find scripts.
Digsby
If you're looking to cut down on the number of programs cluttering up your system tray and taskbar, Digsby combines the functionality of many separate applications into one. Once configured, Digsby allows you to chat with friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo Chat, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, and Facebook Chat. Additionally you can receive notifications and check email accounts including popular services like Gmail, Hotmail, or any service that supports IMAP or POP. Right from the overview box in Digsby you can mark emails as read or flag them as spam. As if combing most popular chat platforms and email services together wasn't enough to sell most people, Digsby also supports alerts and updates on popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn. From both a time and screen-space saving aspect Digsby is a gem.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a remote file storage and syncing service. The magic behind Dropbox may reside on a distant server, but the convenience sits in the system tray as an always available link to your Dropbox sync folder. Anything you need to access from a remote location can be dragged into the Dropbox sync folder and within moments it will be uploaded to your Dropbox account. Readers have raved about Dropbox since we offered invites to the beta test last summer; thankfully it's no longer in beta, so anyone can sign up. By far the biggest selling point is the dead simple file syncing and the ample-for-most-purposes free 2GB of remote storage. Many readers have noted that thanks to the speed and simplicity of Dropbox they have forgone toting their files around on flash drives. To take Dropbox beyond simply syncing copies of your TPS Reports check out how to use it to sync your Firefox installations and how to use it as the ultimate password syncer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that you've seen the top five applications that bring joy to your fellow readers' system trays, it's time to vote on which one is to be crowned King of the Tray.
If you have your own system tray treasures and tips to share, sound off in the comments below!
Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite applications system tray applications, with an emphasis on applications that exist primarily in the tray. It was a broader topic to be sure but you replied in force and we've compiled a list of the top five contenders for the crown of best system tray application.
UltraMon
It speaks of the popularity of multi-monitor setups that UltraMon is such a popular system tray application. UltraMon is so feature packed it's nearly impossible to take a single screenshot that captures the usefulness of the application. The most obvious feature UltraMon add from the system tray is the addition of two buttons to the title bar of all open applications. The two buttons you see in the screenshot here—the dual triangles and the box with the arrow in it—allow you to instantly expand a window across all monitors or reduce it to one and to sling a window from one monitor to another with out having to drag or resize. That feature alone is invaluable when you're dealing with dozens of windows across multiple screens, but that barely scratches the surface. UltraMon allows you to create custom shortcuts so applications will always end up the size you specify on the screen you want. You can set up multi-monitor friendly screensavers and wallpaper with Ultramon and enable the Smart Taskbar—a tool that extends your taskbar space across all available monitors. UltraMon isn't free—nor is the $40 price tag pocket change in the current economy—but for users in a multi-monitor environment it would be tough to get more value for your money.
Taskbar Shuffle
Taskbar Shuffle has the distinction of being not only a popular application in this Hive Five but also the only application that actually acts upon the system tray itself. After installing Taskbar Shuffle, you can indulge your inner—and slightly obsessive compulsive—nerd to your hearts content arranging and rearranging the items on your taskbar and system tray. If you've ever been annoyed as hell that somehow an application icon you really want visible in the system tray somehow keeps ending up tucked out of sight, Taskbar Shuffle is a free and effective solution for liberating your programs from their cement shoes. In addition to the obvious and useful program dragging, you can also close applications by clicking their taskbar button with the middle mouse button, tweak the way Windows groups similar taskbar buttons, and assign a keyboard hotkey to keep you from accidentally shuffling things around with some furious productivity-fueled clicking. As an added bonus, Taskbar Shuffle works with the aforementioned multi-monitor Smart Taskbar provided by UltraMon.
AutoHotKey
AutoHotkey is a macro-scripting tool with scripts that—when running—reside in the system tray. The strongest selling point of AutoHotkey is that the scripting language it uses is extremely accessible to new users—especially those with no programming experience. You can use AutoHotkey to do everything from creating simple time-saving typing macros—turning every typed instance of btw into by the way, for example— to creating complex applications, like our very own Texter. Additionally you can also create simple interfaces to allow user input into the scripts and even save your AutoHotkey scripts as executables to use them as portable applications or send them to friends. If all of that seems a bit overwhelming check out our guide to turning any action into a keyboard shortcut—an excellent guide to getting started with AutoHotkey. If you're not interested in writing your own scripts that doesn't mean you can't take advantage of the excellent scripts others have written—check out the posts we've written about AutoHotkey scripts and browse the Scripts section of the AutoHotkey community forum to find scripts.
Digsby
If you're looking to cut down on the number of programs cluttering up your system tray and taskbar, Digsby combines the functionality of many separate applications into one. Once configured, Digsby allows you to chat with friends on AIM, MSN, Yahoo Chat, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, and Facebook Chat. Additionally you can receive notifications and check email accounts including popular services like Gmail, Hotmail, or any service that supports IMAP or POP. Right from the overview box in Digsby you can mark emails as read or flag them as spam. As if combing most popular chat platforms and email services together wasn't enough to sell most people, Digsby also supports alerts and updates on popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and LinkedIn. From both a time and screen-space saving aspect Digsby is a gem.
Dropbox
Dropbox is a remote file storage and syncing service. The magic behind Dropbox may reside on a distant server, but the convenience sits in the system tray as an always available link to your Dropbox sync folder. Anything you need to access from a remote location can be dragged into the Dropbox sync folder and within moments it will be uploaded to your Dropbox account. Readers have raved about Dropbox since we offered invites to the beta test last summer; thankfully it's no longer in beta, so anyone can sign up. By far the biggest selling point is the dead simple file syncing and the ample-for-most-purposes free 2GB of remote storage. Many readers have noted that thanks to the speed and simplicity of Dropbox they have forgone toting their files around on flash drives. To take Dropbox beyond simply syncing copies of your TPS Reports check out how to use it to sync your Firefox installations and how to use it as the ultimate password syncer.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that you've seen the top five applications that bring joy to your fellow readers' system trays, it's time to vote on which one is to be crowned King of the Tray.
If you have your own system tray treasures and tips to share, sound off in the comments below!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Best New Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts
No matter what OS you use, keyboard shortcuts are a one-way ticket to enhanced productivity (plus you look awesome to friends and colleagues); Windows 7 has more cool new shortcuts than you can shake a stick at.
Windows 7 boasts a lot of great new shortcuts, but I'm focusing on several of my favorites. Check out the video above for a closer look. For those of you who prefer text to video, here are all of the shortcuts I highlighted:
Win+Home: Clear all but the active window
Win+Space: All windows become transparent so you can see through to the desktop
Win+Up arrow: Maximize the active window
Win+Down arrow: Minimize the window/Restore the window if it's maximized
Win+Left/Right arrows: Dock the window to each side of the monitor (If you've got dual monitors, adding Shift to the mix (e.g., Win+Shift+Right arrow) will move the window to the adjacent monitor.)
Win+T: Focus and scroll through items on the taskbar.
Win+P: Adjust presentation settings for your display
Win+(+/-): Zoom in/out
Shift+Click a taskbar item: Open a new instance of that application
Got a favorite shortcut of your own now that you've installed the Windows 7 Beta? Let's hear about it in the comments. (Apologies for the poor video quality... tried something new, but clearly it didn't work out.)
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