How Much "G" Do I Need?

Today’s ROI Topic is “How much G do I need?”

One of my favorite movies is Lethal Weapon (1987) with Danny Glover and Mel Gibson. I happened across this film on TBS not long ago and joined the movie at the scene where Danny Glover is on an overpass using what we used to call a “Bag Phone”. I recalled my first Bag Phone, Motorola I think, with its sleek and stylish nylon black bag and shoulder strap (which was required to carry the 4.6lb mobile device).
I suspect that that phone, being as old as it is was probably a 1G phone.

I mean it’s old so it G count had to be low right?

Now we all have the power of tripple G, except my Dad, who because of where he lives may still have 2G service, but uses 3G network card for his computer.

So what happened to 1G and 2G? How did we get to 3G? I hear Sprint is about to release 4G! If I am in the right place can I use 4Gs? And is that place the famous G Spot I am supposed to find?

I am often surprised at how many people don’t really understand what the heck the G is, but value it’s importance so much during the purchase of their phone and the all-important data plan that now must inevitably now accompany all cellular purchases.

Let’s face it; I was befuddled when they started adding lemon-freshened borax to Fab detergent. Did I need Borax? Why was Lemon chosen? Why couldn’t I get pigmy-orange freshened bleach added to my detergent? So it’s no wonder that the mystery of the G is still an ever perplexing topic of concern for many.

Well my friends my ROI today is to demystify this great G and it’s culmination of marketing perplexity and sales propaganda so that the common cell phone user (Mom) can denote for themselves the importance of their G.

The G in this case does in fact refer to the generation level of the cell phone provider’s network services. Moreover this has come down the common factor of the network data speed for the phone provides. I don’t want to dispel the authority of such governmental agencies and organizations that would pretend to regulate these standards, but in reality it’s mostly marketing hype. But in my meager attempt I shall offer some form of explanation for the common folk among us.

1G – First Generation – This was the old analog (non-digital) wireless phone system. It was slow, had static, and it worked just better than a beeper at getting information transferred.

2G – Was the term used for phone networks that enable the use of digital signals. This was supposed to end the static and signal issues where phones faded in and out of range. (Someone explain that concept to my IPhone please)

3G – This was the term given when multimedia support was added to cell phones. Photos and video could be sent over the wireless networks to the devices allowing the true advent of the “smart phone”. The Windows Mobile Phones, Treo, and the Blackberry devices spearheaded this and the Apple IPhone helped secure this marketing extravaganza.

4G – The next “Generation” of service is poised to emulate the internet in the real-time wireless world providing true Internet Protocol (IP) like addressing and routing to the cell phones and smart devices much like the internet. Think of it as a wider range extension of your home PC wireless network. This should have more bandwidth (that’s another topic all together) to allow for more data, game playing, file sharing and streaming media to your device. Now maybe we can all just get an application for our phones that let us call home and talk to someone, that would make me a real happy camper!

So there you have it friends and loved ones. The G is demystified for you. It’s a lot of hype, it’s a lot of marketing, but it’s really just a way to say “Oh Yeah, well our service is newer and better than yours, but we can’t really prove it”.

Until next time, Take Care and Call Your Mom.

Revisit Your Roots

Today’s ROI Topic is “Revisit Your Roots”

Let me preface this with a clear apology to Mr. Alex Haley for a slight plagiaristic approach with the term “Roots” and admit boldly that I shall make no references to Chicken George in this excerpt. Nor shall I be admitting anything about the need for supplemental hair coloring or Rogaine. This session is about the need to stop and revisit for a moment the things that shape us and who we have become in our lives, and then, perhaps pay homage to some of them.

To frame this more let me admit to my recent acceptance of social networking and the discovery I didn’t expect to make through it. A while back I joined Facebook and was very pleased to discover through a few selected friends that many and I mean MANY of my old and dear friends from my young formative years were already using the system.

This prompted some research whereby I discovered that the fastest grown demographic right now in social networking sites is the 45-55 year old population. Maybe we are all looking to reconnect or seek some sort of past connections and validity to what we are or perhaps where we are now.
For me, as I see it, it was a fluke that I ended up connected on the system to so many good friends whom I allowed time and work to disjoin me from. I cannot speak for others, but suspect that similar contemplation would reveal a combination not too different from my own.

So I planted my seed with the first post on Facebook and waited by my computer… waited… went for coffee but took my Iphone with Facebook app loaded… and I waited some more. Oh how I waited and watched that screen. Hand on the mouse, refreshing the webpage over and over again. Time appeared to be mocking me in my suspense filled moments. After all, I put up a photo, I posted a message, and I gave the darn thing my email address. Look at the work I put in to this effort people! And still I waited… Can you imagine that it took almost twenty minutes after I setup my account for my first friend request to come in!

So, as it goes, one friend became two friend, and so on and so on and so on… Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful (Sorry if you didn’t get that little pun)

What I discovered was that as the friends in this social networking extravaganza exploded it became apparent that these are not new friends at all. These are the people who I grew up with. These are the people who shared critical life shaping times and experiences with me. We lived our formative years in partnership and fun with each other. We had loves and heartache; we had drama and joy together. We watched the drinking age go from 18 to 21 for goodness sake! We saw the original Smokey the Bear on TV and watched that Indian cry over litter next to the highway (if you don’t remember that you are too young to read this)

So I say to all of you, slow down and reflect on those times and the lessons you learned. Remember the people and find them. Seek them out and make it a point to reconnect to them, to as many as you can. Nothing I have ever done has helped me find this level of clarity, peace, and a sense that no matter what the world and the economic times today can put in my path, I will be able to deal with.

I am not discounting my current friends, my career, or family in any way. I am telling all of you from my heart that there is more. There is a refilling of good nature and a firmness you can rely on when you reach back to those roots and recall the foundation you are built upon.

Our lives are like a very old and long book that we read a bit of every now and then. Sometimes it helps to go back to the preface or early chapters and reacquaint one’s self with the primary character again.

Take Care and Reach Out!