Mobile Phones of the future

[PFVA63]

Hi,

On the topic of futuristic (or at least a little bit futuristic) cell phones I saw this today.

http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/invisible-smartphone-horizon-130208.htm

 

[Timerover51]

The only thing not mentioned about the remote wireless systems is power. I don't know how much they need, I don't know if a small solar array and battery is enough, particularly if they're using a microwave transmitter to link up with other towers. There's always diesel or some other kind of on site generation. They could also be wired -- it's one thing to wire a few towers, and quite another to get that out to the villages and houses.

Oh, you mean that remote communication systems in Traveller might actually need some power? Considering the Diesel Generator at the base of the cell tower across the street from my house, that might be the case in the real world, but this is Traveller, where the real world never intrudes.

 

[rancke]

Oh, you mean that remote communication systems in Traveller might actually need some power? Considering the Diesel Generator at the base of the cell tower across the street from my house, that might be the case in the real world, but this is Traveller, where the real world never intrudes.

Oh, the real world intrudes quite a lot in Traveller. However, some of us here have the notion that it's more important for a game to be a good game than for it to be an accurate textbook.

Also, we haven't yet gotten used to the notion that we must never never ever have the effrontery to contradict you, on pain of your extreme displeasure.


Hans

 

[giant.robot]

I tend to apply a lot of Earth analogs to my TU as I'm a major commo geek.

In deep space in any system with an Imperial presence you'll find a number of deep system comm relays and beacons. These beacons transmit nav data as well as space weather on a number of narrowband channels. Like NOAA radio fax service. The channels and formats cover a few Imperial and non-Imperial standards. Most anyone with at least some interstellar contact will be able to pick up and decode this data. It's only disabled under conditions of a blockade (war, quarantine, etc).

Naval and scout bases as well as star ports will have their own broadcasts and access services as well. These are often connected to the local civilian data networks as well as their own private nets. Naval bases won't usually offer public civilian feeds but scout bases, x-boat stations, and star ports often will. This way Travelers don't necessarily need local gateways or access accounts. A ship can call up a base and either get their requests routed to the local public nets or access base/station data.

On planet anywhere there's a C or better star port there's at least a geosynchronous set of satellites that offer weather (space and planetary) and navigation data. Imperials often lease out channels on these satellites to locals to provide audio, video, and data feeds (think satellite TV/radio). On worlds with B star ports and better there's at least a public Imperial GPS constellation as well as a satellite communication constellation. If there's a high enough TL (7+) there's likely to be dozens of private ones as well.

Personal comms at TL 8+ tend to look like jewelry or other small devices. These worlds will have pervasive wireless networks. Most of the time access is simply allowed for free or with nominal cost as they're viewed as necessary utilities. Small devices like watches might have holographic or just audio interfaces. There's a number of voice activated services even if the device is just a dumb terminal. Ship computers can obviously connect to local comm networks either wirelessly or via landline. Sometimes worlds have global data networks (like today's Internet) or they just have distributed service providers (a la BBS/Tymnet). The comm nets are just data links of some form. Even basic TL 7 computers can have several access methods and ways to translate access to different media. One service might be a simple directory while another might be Facebook while yet another is a tri-D game server.

X-boats and couriers provide extra-system comms but these intra-system networks are all connected. Unless a local government is highly restrictive of communication or there's an Imperial interdiction of some type data flows freely around a system. Even low TL worlds might have satellite constellations overhead if you've got the equipment to talk to it. A small "old west" mining town on a low TL world might have a telegraph station that is just a sat com or long range radio powered by batteries and a solar panel.

 

[DangerousThing]

IMTU if a system's TL is high enough, then there will almost certainly be a GPS and communications satellites, all other things being equal.

If the planet is a client state of the Confederation (one of many pocket empires), then it will have the satellites regardless of TL.

And if a planet is visited often by traders, they may put a minimal system in place to make things easier for them. But if they can get somebody to pay for it, so much the better.

As for comms, I have comms being equal to personal computers at TL 8, and getting better with advancing tech level. They aren't the equal of a work station of the same TL, but there're still pretty powerful.

 

[Blue Ghost]

I'm sure I've brought this topic up before but I couldn't find it.

Does your Traveller universe have mobile phones? Or an internet for that matter?

I know we have no idea what information technology will look like 40 years from now, any more than the Traveller writers could envisage an iPhone and the internet, however there's no denying that now that that technology is a reality, that level of personal connection to global, stellar or even inter-stellar information will, I think always be around.

So how will the personal information and communications device of the far Future work?
vid-camera, vox/vid-phone, texting, e-mails, file transfer, entertainment (music, movies, TV etc) gaming, identification, payment, funds management, remote conferencing and access to an information and data network that fills the servers of a myriad planets. We already have this (with the exception that our internet covers only one planet)

Will they still be hand held devices, pocket sized, or tablet sized. How about a fold out, customiseable keyboard with a large holographic screen?

Will they have a 'roaming' coverage service, the best and most reliable of which is provided by the TAS and comes discounted as part of membership?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Crow

A combination. By the time a 3I rolls around I'm sure you'll have the option of hardwiring the stuff into your gray matter. The more practical minded will just want something they can wear or carry around.

Just my thoughts.

*EDIT*
The net was being bandied about in the 30s by Ma Bell. Prototype terminals were being invested and touted in commercials in the early and mid 70s by Chevron. Fellow Americans here might remember that big round white desk looking thing with a pic of Andromeda on it. Essentially an oversized PC with 32k memory that looked like a reception desk for a hospital, but was meant for the "student of the future". Miniaturizing those things was also talked about. Calculator watches and TVs were protyped, but the calculators only needed LEDs. The LQD for the TV version was still being researched as "active matrix technology", which was kicked around from lab to lab to lab. I think it finally ended up at Apple, but started out at Westinghouse.

I guess the point here being that there were imaginings back then, but access to the gizmos of tomorrow was selected and reserved.

 

[BytePro]

Wardenclyffe Tower

 

[Blue Ghost]

Interesting tidbit/sidebar here; the first "television" was used as Ascott, or so I rememeber from a James Burke TV series. There was an electrically charged disk that spun on its side and was used to show winners of races, and I think help decide close calls. But, it's been a while, so my memory's a bit hazy. The technology was there either just before or around the turn of the century; 1899 to 1901.