Imagine getting email and data over the radio. A 22-year-old has developed a software that lets one do just that. Radio reaches every corner of India. Small transistors are cheap and easily available. Vinny Lohan has found a way to send computer data over normal radio waves. He believes that the idea could get all India online in a jiffy.
"Computers are all about zeros and ones. Be it video or text or music, to a computer, it is all zeros and ones. Since that's so, we asked ourselves, can we take a book or a video and convert it into music. And then send it over the airwaves. Turns out the answer was yes," Vinny said.
All it needs is OneBeep, the special software that Vinny and his friends wrote together. To send a file, be it video or text, the broadcaster simply selects and drags it into the software. OneBeep converts that data into an audio file, which is then transmitted over the airwaves.
Listeners can plug in their radio to a laptop or a cheap tablet computer, using a normal headphone jack. OneBeep software installed on their machines, will automatically convert the audio files back into data. It's like getting email over the radio.
OneBeep CEO Vinny says, "It's a bit like bit-torrent. When you are downloading something, the software is intelligent enough to know when something is paused and when it is restarted. We break digital data into packets. The software is converting audio into packets of data on the computer. Say your signal is weak or your battery died. When it restarts, it starts from the place it left off."
OneBeep needs absolutely no changes to the existing radio stations. And so, it's got attention. In 2010, Vinny and his team bagged the third prize in Microsoft's Imagine Cup - a worldwide contest for tech innovators. But their idea does have a few drawbacks.
First off, it's slow. Sending just 2 MB of data can take upto 40 minutes. Second, the idea itself isn't new. HAM radio operators have used a somewhat similar software since the 1970's. Third, it could be misused by terrorists. But Vinny thinks he's got that base covered.
"Each radio frequency transmission needs a government licence. Most amateur transmitters have a range of 20-30 metres. Anything stronger than that can easily be traced. If any unauthorised frequency transmissions take place, the army will be privy to that," Vinny says.
But because it's so simple and easily adaptable, Vinny's idea still has potential. Rural school kids can use OneBeep to download assignments overnight. Community radio stations in villages can also use it to transfer panchayat related files.
India will soon adopt Digital Radio Mondiale, a new technology which besides great sound, offers file transfers on the radio. But that is still a few years away. OneBeep already works and Vinny wants to offer it for free on the web. He wants to kick off a tiny revolution and give rural India a taste of the internet over the radio.
( IBN Live )
"Computers are all about zeros and ones. Be it video or text or music, to a computer, it is all zeros and ones. Since that's so, we asked ourselves, can we take a book or a video and convert it into music. And then send it over the airwaves. Turns out the answer was yes," Vinny said.
All it needs is OneBeep, the special software that Vinny and his friends wrote together. To send a file, be it video or text, the broadcaster simply selects and drags it into the software. OneBeep converts that data into an audio file, which is then transmitted over the airwaves.
Listeners can plug in their radio to a laptop or a cheap tablet computer, using a normal headphone jack. OneBeep software installed on their machines, will automatically convert the audio files back into data. It's like getting email over the radio.
OneBeep CEO Vinny says, "It's a bit like bit-torrent. When you are downloading something, the software is intelligent enough to know when something is paused and when it is restarted. We break digital data into packets. The software is converting audio into packets of data on the computer. Say your signal is weak or your battery died. When it restarts, it starts from the place it left off."
OneBeep needs absolutely no changes to the existing radio stations. And so, it's got attention. In 2010, Vinny and his team bagged the third prize in Microsoft's Imagine Cup - a worldwide contest for tech innovators. But their idea does have a few drawbacks.
First off, it's slow. Sending just 2 MB of data can take upto 40 minutes. Second, the idea itself isn't new. HAM radio operators have used a somewhat similar software since the 1970's. Third, it could be misused by terrorists. But Vinny thinks he's got that base covered.
"Each radio frequency transmission needs a government licence. Most amateur transmitters have a range of 20-30 metres. Anything stronger than that can easily be traced. If any unauthorised frequency transmissions take place, the army will be privy to that," Vinny says.
But because it's so simple and easily adaptable, Vinny's idea still has potential. Rural school kids can use OneBeep to download assignments overnight. Community radio stations in villages can also use it to transfer panchayat related files.
India will soon adopt Digital Radio Mondiale, a new technology which besides great sound, offers file transfers on the radio. But that is still a few years away. OneBeep already works and Vinny wants to offer it for free on the web. He wants to kick off a tiny revolution and give rural India a taste of the internet over the radio.
( IBN Live )
The Mexico City-based court handed down the ruling last Thursday, Eduardo Gallastegui said. "It's the third time Apple has lost," Gallastegui said, adding that "iFone is fully entitled to the use of its brand name."
In 2009, Apple filed a complaint against iFone with the Mexican Industrial Property Institute, or IMPI, demanding that firm stop using its brand name because the phonetic similarities could confuse users.
iFone - a provider of software for call centers - had registered its trade name in Mexico in 2003.
But the petition was denied after authorities found that iFone - a provider of software for call centers - had registered its trade name in Mexico in 2003, four years before Apple did.
The Mexican firm later filed a countersuit for damages and to block Apple from selling its flagship smartphone product in Mexico. Major telecom companies in Mexico could also be affected by the court ruling.
Leading Mexican cellphone provider Telcel began marketing the iPhone in 2007, offering a plan that included unlimited Internet access. Telcel and No.2 wireless operator Movistar, a unit of Spain's Telefonica, announced that they would begin selling the much-awaited iPhone 5 Friday.
( IANS )
RxCues "The Permanent Address for Every Medicine"
A new online listing platform exclusively designed for promotion of Pharmaceutical and other Licensed Medical Products. It's unique for listing of medicines.
End users ( Consumers ) can easily search the available medical products from all different companies ( as the listing grows ) and sort them based on quality and cost. They can have alternative list of products with similar contents and sort them as per requirement and availability.
It is useful for the promotion of unique branded products especially for small research firms with small marketing budgets. Manufacturers can list down their product catalogue at free of cost.
The criteria for search is based on either brand name or content with its strength. One can easily find the detailed listing of products with similar contents by just single click.
A new online listing platform exclusively designed for promotion of Pharmaceutical and other Licensed Medical Products. It's unique for listing of medicines.
End users ( Consumers ) can easily search the available medical products from all different companies ( as the listing grows ) and sort them based on quality and cost. They can have alternative list of products with similar contents and sort them as per requirement and availability.It is useful for the promotion of unique branded products especially for small research firms with small marketing budgets. Manufacturers can list down their product catalogue at free of cost.
The criteria for search is based on either brand name or content with its strength. One can easily find the detailed listing of products with similar contents by just single click.
