Topic: Mobile and Wireless

The 2009 presidential election was the most closely monitored election in US history, thanks in part to the efforts of tech entrepreneurs like David Troy. Troy speaks at the 2009 Emerging Communications Conference about how he and his teams were able to create the Twitter Vote Report, which allowed people to report on poll conditions, and the Inauguration Report '09, a first hand documentation of people's experiences at the 2009 presidential election.

In this presentation from eComm 2009, LiMo's Open Source Committee Chairman, David "Lefty" Schlesinger discusses the meaning of governance, and the advantage of LiMo's approach over those of Google and Apple for their Android and iPhone application development platforms, before opening the floor to questions.

Broadband in the USA is considered to be anything above 200 kb/sec. In Japan and South Korea broadband is defined as 100 mb/sec and above. This Ecomm presentation by Benjamin Joffe discusses striking differences between the Western world's current technological capability and Asia's. From content infrastructure, to business models, to social networking, Joffe explores what can be learned from the Pacific rim's innovations.

Digital broadcasting networks are being developed worldwide to deliver high-bandwidth, real-time content to and from mobile platforms. Francois Lefebvre describes the tension between telco- and broadcast-driven services; telcos tend to promote subscription based services while broadcasters try to extend their free-to-air model. The good news is that breakthrough, open applications are emerging that can deliver reliable and innovative mobile broadcast networks.

How is open-source closed? Andreas Constantinou talks about the relative openness of the "eight centers of gravity" in the mobile industry, and says it's not the licensing, which concerns source control, but the governance, which concerns the product, that developers must watch out for. He explains the mobile phone industry shift and loosely outlines the governance structures of the LiMo, Symbian, and Android foundations.

Michael Calabrese argues that the FCC's apportioning of the airwave spectrum gives a false impression of scarcity. The government's spectrum apportioning doesn't take into account the capabilities and accuracy of today's digital radio equipment, carving unnecessarily wide detours around both federal and commercial properties, and ignoring low-power opportunities. The recent DTV shift freed 18 channels, netting $2B at auction. More can be done to optimize spectrum use.

Congressman John Culberson R-TX is TWL - Tweeting While Legislating. Espousing the power of the "fun" of "town meetings and tea parties," he's committed to bringing the real-time, blow-by-blow of Congressional deliberations to his subscribers. This moderated speech and discussion with Tim O'Reilly draws a loose analogy between technological innovation and government, asking: Are transparency and open access always compatible with deliberative process or innovative development?

Ricky Yuen of Qualcomm catalogs some of the OEM sensors currently or soon available in cell phones. He explains how they are being used, from enabling new UI such as in the Nintendo Wii, to improved navigation. He argues that they can be employed separately and together to improve handset applications ranging from games, to lifestyle, to life-saving.

Everyone uses Linux: if they use Google, trade on-line, or use ATMs. Linux is the most ubiquitous OS in everything from cell phones to TVs, precisely because, Jim Zemlin of the Linux Foundation argues, it is free. As convergence between connectivity and device happens, network carriers and device-makers scramble to control a new service-based distribution. Zemlin urges continued protection and support of open-source through the filing of 'defensive publications' with the USPTO, and participation in several open-source projects.

At the 2009 eComm, Mark Rolston, Chief Creative Officer of Frog Design, talks about a new phase in design exemplified by the likes of Wii and the Android open OS. We currently live in two worlds, the real and the virtual, mediated by 'white boxes' less and less limited by functional distinction. Rolston ponders what we want to do next, what we'll be able to do next, and how the interface device, if there is one, will look and feel.