+ Mediante el aprovechamiento de poliestireno expandido (unicel) y cristal, alumnos de la Facultad de Química de la UNAM obtuvieron un barniz y un adhesivo para papel, cartón y madera, de bajo costo y amigables con el medio ambiente.

Jesús Gracia Fadrique, del Laboratorio de Superficies del Departamento de Fisicoquímica, informó que también recuperaron material a granel. A partir de envases lograron partículas de diferentes tamaños que pueden moldearse para manufacturar nuevos recipientes.

Estas técnicas proporcionan “tres alternativas económicas y de fácil manejo para la utilización de este material, sea para propósitos originales o para otra utilidad”, dijo en un comunicado de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM).

Explicó que por un lado está el poliestireno conocido como unicel, conformado por partículas que se expanden para formar un material de baja densidad con el que se crean insumos aislantes o destinados al embalaje o contención de alimentos, o para la construcción.

Por el otro lado, añadió, está el tipo cristal, empleado en la industria de los comestibles, comercios y supermercados, aunque es presentado como una lámina traslúcida, es poliestireno.

A escala mundial, esos materiales son una fuente importante de residuos. Se trata de la "basura blanca", que cuando es desechada ensucia por largo tiempo porque su vida media es alta (puede tardar más de 400 años en degradarse). Este fenómeno hace que su acumulación en basureros y cuerpos de agua produzca graves daños ambientales.

“Hay reportes de especies que confunden las partículas de estos envases con alimento, los ingieren y se asfixian, como tortugas y peces”, refirió Gracia Fadrique.

Ante ese panorama, los universitarios se enfocaron a buscar alternativas sencillas y económicas para aprovechar el poliestireno en forma de unicel o cristal y hallaron diferentes ventaja frente a otros materiales, porque puede ser deshecho en disolventes.

A operadora de celular Aeiou (nome fantasia da Unicel) começou a operar em SP em Setembro de 2008.

A campanha inclui a todos, sendo que o nome visa atrair os jovens (“aeiou” é um estereótipo de como os surfistas falam) e usa a internet como canal principal de vendas. O “diferencial” é o preço baixo.

Os planos de investimento devem ter sido prejudicados já que pouco antes do lançamento, investidores americanos pularam fora. Depois disso, investidores árabes negociaram por meses mas a negociação também fracassou.

Alguma dúvida de que se algo não mudar radicalmente o negócio vai por água abaixo? Simplesmente não há como tentar enganar o bom senso. Vamos lá:

1. O que é esse nome?

2. Focar em todos? Como alguém ainda faz isso?

3. Você compraria um produto com essa campanha? Aqui

4. Canal de vendas principal via internet não me parece vencedor para este mercado neste momento. Muito envolvimento com a compra + muitas dúvidas dos consumidores + concorrentes que possuem uma grande capilaridade física.

5. Lançar sem que o plano de investimentos esteja assegurado? Em um mercado competitivo como esse?

6. Se diferenciar por preço? Neste mercado, os principais concorrentes te matam em preço se você começar a crescer um pouco. Você precisa de um diferencial conceitual.

Bom, o objetivo é alcançar 2 milhões de usuários em 3 anos. Nos 5 primeiros meses conseguiram 16 mil. Alguém fica surpreso?

FYI…

Also, just so you know, 3G will NOT be available until later this year… so it is Edge for now… breathe…

For all of you in line reading this on Thursday the 15th of January, YAHOO!!!!  You made.  welcome to the real iPhone experience, no longer is it a dream… you are on the threshold!  For those of you still sitting on the fence, here is what the other’s are seeing, sans (without) iPhone as these shots were taken yesterday.

For those of you who have not been in yet, Unicel is no more.  On Monday all Unicel Corporate stores opened as at&t stores.

Here is what it looks like now…

Inside…


everyone is waiting…

Iphone Kiosk sans iPhone

Any of you with photos of the iPhone waiting line or of your new iPhone, or anything, please post them here and I will post them on this blog today and over the next few days.

Congratulations to Lew on being the first to report back here with a shiny new iPhone 3G!!

That’s right… no new iPhone models, not even a new Mac Mini.  Today’s announcements given by Steve Jobs fill-in Phil Shiller, amounted to a new iWork, iLife and a new 17″ Mac Book Pro.  Oh, and lower prices for songs purchased on iTunes, that is if they are DRM songs of lesser quality than the DRM free versions: $.69

The iLife, iWork, Leopard box set $169
 
Specs on the Enviro 17″ MBP

Well, ok there is an update to the iPhone… or an app.  You can now access iTunes Store directly from the iPhone on the cell phone network!  Big deal.

All in all this MacWorld was a downer as far as the Keynote is concerned.  The big releases will be given likely in February or later by Apple from the Apple campus in Cupertino, CA.

Until then… when AT&T is in Vermont, gut off your lazy duff and go get an iPhone… IMHO you will not regret it.

The closing act, Tony Bennett

Yes, NOTHING that comes out this week or is announced will effect Vermont’s possession of an iPhone distribution here.

We will still get access to the iPhone this month.

The reliable rumor sites state that any iPhone updating is unlikely and I would wager with that.  The updates that Apple needs to make are in the Mac Mini, more monitors, the OS, and the 17″ MacBook Pro.

But how does this effect Vermonters owning an iPhone?  Not at all.  None of it should or would.

Apple has stated that this is their last MacWorld, and Steve Jobs will not even be attending.  What does that mean?  My gut and the rumor mill speaks of Apple not wanting to be controlled by this event as a time to release their products.  So be it.  That means they will drop the planned release dates and use their own.  Makes A LOT of sense.  Why would anyone want to release anything at the lowest retail season in the year… January?

Anyone waiting for a function to the iPhone, like say video, you should know that you can do video, just use the Dev Team’s Pwnage tool(the SIM unlock portion is codenamed YellowSnow) and download it via their installer.  Voila… video.  Cause video is an app, not a hardware function.  Many requests are, and they will be dealt with by the programmers, not the hardware makers.

As for hardware issues and iPhone nanos… in time, just not this MacWorld.  Bets?

“BURLINGTON, Vt., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today announced that AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets will add nearly 75 new jobs in Vermont as a result of its completed acquisition of the Vermont assets of Rural Cellular Communications, a provider of rural and suburban wireless communications services doing business in Vermont under the Unicel brand.

The two companies have a long-standing roaming relationship, and AT&T Mobility is committed to a smooth transition for its customers and employees. Part of this transition includes additional staffing and network support in the state. Candidates interested in a career with AT&T Mobility are invited to apply online (http://www.att.jobs/). Positions include (but are not limited to) wireless sales and sales management.

AT&T’s full portfolio of innovative wireless products and services including iPhone and the Blackberry Bold, will be available at ten former Unicel retail locations in Vermont starting mid-January. AT&T Mobility expects to complete re-branding stores with AT&T merchandise, colors and permanent signage in all retail locations, by the end of February.”

Check out the full story here: ATT, on ATT Acquisition

Thanks to commentator Jackson, for this update!

]]> http://deadmaninc.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/iphone-coming-to-vermont/ Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:49:30 +0000 Dead Man Inc http://deadmaninc.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/iphone-coming-to-vermont/

Better late then never I guess. After 14 months the phone will finally get service in Vermont. According to WCAX.com (one of our local TV stations), after a Verizon-Unicel merger, AT&T was awarded the overlapping service areas to prevent a monopoly.

Vermont may not get 3G coverage for a while, but its only a matter of a few months until it gets some kind of iphone.

Update: Apparently it’s coming earlier than I thought. Mid–January according to the Burlington Free Press.

WCAX.COM | iPhone Coming To Vermont.

December 11th is the official last day to halt ATT… and it seems no one is lining up to stop them. 

I have a reseller from a “non-native” (not a full store but a mini reseller) Unicel store stating that, “…my Unicel contact… her boss is an ATT employee now.”

This morning, after I contacted him to consider a meeting with a Burlington Free Press writer for an interview (which he is not prepared to do), he contacted his Unicel rep and grilled her for me.  I didn’t let him away without her number, so I plan to follow up with my own interview of her sometime over the next day or so.

This is some of what he found out:

1. December 11th is the last formal day to protest ATT taking over “their” part of Verizon’s purchase of Unicel.
2. at least the non-native stores will wait until after the holidays to become ATT.
3. The impression was given that little stores (not native) are not necessarily going to be ATT… meaning that Unicel doesn’t really know what will happen to them. It sounded to him like this is yet to be decided.

I’ll have more as soon as I get my opportunity to speak with that Unicel rep.

Today I spoke with a local Unicel reseller (the owner) in Lamoille County, a personal friend of mine, who after a good year of trying to get info on changing to an ATT rep recieved a call last week from his Unicel rep That he would be switched to ATT in about two weeks.

So there you have it. Before Christmas!

Makes sense to me.

Read any comments for rapid updates.

Well, it was just a false alarm, I’m afraid.  Or relieved… well no not relieved.  I would rather pay less on Unicel when the transition occurs than keep paying out about $25 more per month.  But alas.  AT&T is NOT going to cut me off. 

So have heart all you who are concerned about this.

The delay in getting this posted is due to a call back I was waiting for, but missed regarding getting an upgrade.

I played stupid and pushed the envelope (yes it’s true, to benefit my readers again… shucks), to find out why exactly I am not aloud the subsidized 3G iphone.  The first tier support said it was because I was using too many non AT&T towers, which I already had heard.  Then he followed up with, “that is why the iphone says ‘roaming’ instead of AT&T”.  “But sir”, I replied, ” it never says roaming, it always  says AT&T”.  Well except that time I jailbroke it last year and it said Unicel, but on the standard setup, as it is now it always says AT&T unless I co to Canada.

He was baffled by this and was sending me to the pros, but alas, on my minutes since I was calling the 800# and not 611 which he suggested I shoul dhave done.  So I asked the pros to call me back.  These guys are the supposedly the experts in tower-ology, or something.

They called, but of course it was not when I asked them to and I was on another call which I could not leave.  I do have bills to pay, ya’ know.

So I will call them again… this time with 611… even though I believe, if you are roaming (which we are here), it costs minutes.

I’ll be in touch… but I gotta say, it smells CLOSE.

AT&T is trying to contact me. I’m paid up, and a few postings back you all may remember AT&T wanted to talk to me when I went to get a new G3.

I never got back to them but they had something ‘important’ to talk about according to the Apple sales guy I was dealing with.

For those who are not aware, I have had a 1st Gen since day one. I have made a point of using the heck out of it here in VT. I was not able to get a subsidised 3G due to my “use of the iphone on a roaming network”. If I had chosen to purchase one it would have cost the full unsubsidized cost. Needless to say I declined. I am posting this before I have this conversation.

If I am lucky, they will cut me off and I can get a better deal with Unicel ( my hope all along) though I will miss the visual voicemail.

BTW, this is my first post using WordPress for the iPhone. Kinda cool, gonna try to post a photo, not sure if I can tho.

Apple announced today that you can do your preliminary legwork online, via their Store.  Go here and you can apply for the 3G iPhone online and use two different addresses!  A billing and a “using” address!

here are the screen shots(dbl click to see larger image):

So, here they show that where you live can be different than where you use the iPhone…

I went through most of the process. Please post those of you who go all the way and what your results are.

¿En cuánto tiempo los desechos se reincorporan a la naturaleza? He aquí algunos ejemplos:

• Cáscara de plátano (2 a 10 días)
• Papel (2 a 5 meses)
• Cáscara de naranja (6 meses)
• Envases tetra pack (5 años)
• Filtros de cigarro (12 años)
• Vasos de unicel (100 años)
• Anillos plásticos de six-packs de latas (450 años)

I don’t know about you, but I have been awash in the iPhone 3G buzz.  I spent many hours watching Leo Laporte on Twitlive, twitlive.tv, chatting it up with people in line waiting (far less than the original release date prior to the not so early hours of 8am when doors opened at the Apple Stores).

I have not yet upgraded to the 3G, even though my wife is encouraging me to  do so, so she can have my old version.  But I have downloaded the latest iPhone firmware… version 2.0…

Now this is something to talk about.  The new app store via both iTunes 7.7 (updated on thursday night) and iPhone firmware v2.0 is VERY impressive.  This coming from someone who has been loading 3rd party apps (applications made by someone other than Apple, Inc) for over 7 months.  The loading of the apps and the multitude of apps available is staggering.  I have over 40 new programs running on my iPhone, all but 2 being totally free to install.

I have many I enjoy, but my most used apps are under the “social networking” heading.  

#1: Loopt.  This very cool app uses proximity features (to pin point your location using cell towers/wifi), and the camera to update your status to Twitter and Facebook, or the Loopt users so you can share where you are and what you are doing.  It also has very good features to pull of the web detail of what is in your area: restaurants, hotels, grocery, hardware, etc.  I have encouraged a fellow iPhone 1.0 user to upgrade her firmware and we are presently “ping ponging” on another’s locations and status all weekend. Pinging is sending a update to a friend and their reply with similar info is a pong.  Cute. I am thrilled this one app updates my Twitter feed (twitter.com/radmacdaddy) and my Facebook feed (Facebook.com/radmacdaddy) and my Loopt feed (you guessed it, Radmacdaddy) all in one go, with pics and words, oh and of course pinpointed location.

#2 Super Monkey Ball.  The #1 app in the app store, SMB is fast fun, challenging and captivating.  The graphics are impressive and the sound is strong, I had to turn is right down to not have it too loud.  This is the 2nd app I paid for, and hestitated at $9.99 then was reminded by a reviewer it is comparable to a Nintendo game price.  With 100 levels it will be a while till I get through it since I am not a big game player.  Mostly I got it for long drives for my son… he’ll be busy!

#3 Evernote. Actually more like #1… just in a different category.  If you have not discovered Evernote, get it now.  Whether you are a windows user, or a Mac user, this app is a must have.  It is actually a plugin or applet that allows you to save any webpage or text or image in a notebook linked to your Evernote account.  The cool thing about it is that it is browser based, and thus accessible on any computer you are logged into.  It thus falls under the category of cloud computing; where you are actually accessing your data on the “cloud” or a remote computer in some server farm somewhere.  The iPhone version has a voicenote tool, it utilizes your iPhone camera and whenever you take a note of any kind it uses the proximity tools to mark where you were when you made it.

There is more, which I will bring to light as I get to know them more.  If you have an iPhone or iPod touch you are truly missing out if you do not update to firmware version 2.0.

A Unicel, que tem licença para operar telefonia móvel na região metropolitana de São Paulo, conseguiu um acionista internacional. O acionista é a Hits Telecom, dona da Qanawat, operadora móvel da Arábia Saudita, e que também tem empresas na África.

A Unicel não quis informar quanto o novo sócio pagou por 49% de suas ações. Segundo o site Telecom Online, foram US$ 62 milhões e o acordo inclui a opção de elevar a participação para 75% em três anos.

De acordo com a Unicel, a Agência Nacional de Telecomunicações (Anatel) irá receber, nos próximos dias, um pedido de aprovação da entrada do novo acionista. O executivo José Roberto Melo, que detém 51% da Unicel, continuará na presidência. Ele apontou, em comunicado, que o valor do aporte é “o necessário e o suficiente para dar tranqüilidade e assegurar o pleno cumprimento das metas estabelecidas pela empresa”.

Estadao/RenatoCruz

          I finally broke down and bought a cell phone.

          Just got my first Unicel bill.  Immediately called them and dropped the crazy handset insurance (which I declined when I ordered the service but I guess they know better than me what insurance I need) … $4/month insurance premium for a $20 phone!

          The very nice Unicel lady said, “It was only $20 because you bought a 2-year plan.  If you lost or damaged the phone and needed to replace it today, it would cost $100.”

          Okay, so it’s $4/month for insurance on a $100 item.  At that rate I could buy a new and better phone every two years.  Considering that a year from now I’ll be able to get a phone that will walk the dog, make coffee, and scratch my back for $100, I think I’d rather just upgrade to a new phone every year or two anyway, and keep my old phone as backup “insurance.”  Or even just buy a second phone now for $100 (which I can probably get discounted at less) and be self-insured.

          Speaking of walking the dog … no doubt soon somebody is going to offer — if they have not already — a micro-miniature device on a dog collar with GPS tracking that will tell you within 15 feet exactly where your dog is if they get lost.  They already use it for tracking banded wildlife.  Soon it will be a commodity in every pet store … for about $200 up front and a $20/month service fee.  Maybe it will even automatically call you if the dog exceeds a certain range.

          “Press 1 for your dog’s location.”

          It’s just a matter of time before they have a GPS-tracking microchip implant for pets.  Unfortunately, because my dog is a constant companion, most of the time it would tell people where I AM, TOO!

          FOR YOU, soon enough that will be programmed into your car and your driver’s license — which will be an electronic card — and mandatory.  It won’t be long before any time anybody wants to know where you are, all they need is to punch in your driver’s license number, license plate number, cell phone number, or social insecurity number on a web site or cell phone, and it will show them a map to the exact location of your bones, what direction you are moving, how fast, everywhere you’ve been in the past year, what route you took to get there, how long you spent there, and whether you were sitting, standing, or laying down.

          So bury me with my driver’s license and I’ll be immortal.

          Before long, whenever you exceed the speed limit or run a stop sign in your car, or neglect to put on your seatbelt, your car will blow you in and you’ll get a ticket in the mail, and by email, and by cell phone.  Or maybe the car will just print out the ticket right from the dashboard.  Or even just automatically debit your checking account or credit card for the fine.  They could call it EZStop.

          It’s not a bad idea for law enforcement, but I don’t like my car telling anybody where I am, where I’ve been, and how long I’ve been there.

          Many people will opt to get the GPS tracking implant installed in their children’s heads at birth, in the interest of personal security, until it becomes mandatory in the interest of Homeland Insecurity.  It won’t be long before people start buying cyborg implants, like a TV, radio, phone, video camera and web browser built right into their heads.  At first you’ll have to wear a special hat for it to work, but later it will only take a thought to turn it on.

          I’m serious!  Bionic integration is the future of humanity.  Eventually you won’t be able to get into a store or a government building without it, and if you try, you’ll get an electric shock to the brain, after a nausea warning.  Maybe you won’t be able to start your car or unlock your front door without it.

          It’s not just a possibility, but our destiny.  You WILL be assimilated, if you live long enough.  It will be “necessary” for “Homeland Security.”  (What is “homeland” in a globalized world?  Home is where the heart is, no?)

          But I digress from the Unicel story.

          So the friendly Unicel lady says, “But you can have up to two replacement claims per year.”  (She assumes that six months from now a replacement of this $100 model of phone will still cost $100.  Food prices are skyrocketing thanks to former less developed countries acquiring our excessively meat-eating consumerist lifestyle, but their slave labor wages keep our electronic gizmo prices going down.)

          I guess if I were really clever, I would interpret that by thinking, “Hmm.  I think I’ll just report my phone lost twice every year, beginning tomorrow.  At the end of two years, I’ll have five phones!”  No doubt some people do it.  Tempting, maybe, but I’m not a thief.  That’s the business of “insurance” sellers.

          No thanks, sez me.  I’ll take the $100 risk.

          Besides: after I hung up, I looked at the policy brochure they had sent with my new account paperwork.  The nice lady neglected to mention that it says, “Deductible: $50 per occurrence.”  FIFTY PERCENT DEDUCTIBLE?

          So it’s $4/month “insurance” premium for a maximum of $100 per year of coverage (given that they cover two incidents per year), in the case of this $100 phone.

          By the way, the policy says that they may opt to replace my phone with “refurbished equipment.”  So, after the 50% deductible, they can give me something worth $25 for my $48/year in premium payments.

          I might be willing to pay $1/month for this insurance if it had no deductible.  It is, after all, INSURANCE, where millions of people pay into a pool and only a tiny percentage of them make claims.  At this price, it’s not at all about INSURANCE.  It’s about somebody laughing all the way to the bank with millions of so-called insurance premium payments.

          My renter’s home insurance policy has a premium that is 0.5% per year of total-loss coverage value, and it includes more than just property loss, such as liability coverage, temporary housing after a fire, smoke damage repair, etc.  And they cover full replacement cost, not refurbished furniture.  This phone insurance is FORTY EIGHT PERCENT per year of coverage value.  That’s not “insurance.”  That’s robbery.

          They also hit me for VERMONT sales tax, a NY resident, who bought the service via landline in NY, and had the phone mailed to me (my nearest Unicel store is 35 miles away).  I said, “Huh?”  So did the nice lady.  She said don’t pay it, and it will not be on my next bill.  We’ll see.

          Then there’s $0.99/month added for “fraud prevention insurance.”  I said, “Exactly what does that do?”  She says it protects me against anybody committing anything fraudulent regarding my account.  I’ve been walking around for five decades and did online and electronic activity far more than average for three decades and nobody ever defrauded me in any way regarding any electronic account I ever held, so I want to drop this insurance.

          Can’t.  It’s mandatory.

          Of course it’s added to the $40/month price they quoted me, which makes them … um, not quite honest (or maybe just “inaccurate?”) … because it’s actually $41 to include mandatory insurance to protect them from me being stupid enough to let somebody use my account fraudulently, as if that ever happens.  I have no policy statement detailing exactly what this “fraud insurance” actually covers at the rate of $12/year for the rest of my life, or what the deductible is.  If I spent that amount on additional car insurance or homeowner’s insurance, it would provide a few thousand dollars of coverage.  So who’s going to defraud me of thousands of dollars with my phone number?  What are they going to do?  Order a hundred pizzas in my name?

          Anyhow, the bottom line is that with the taxes and fees, which I was waiting to find out from this first bill, the actual cost of the Unicel Local 800 plan is $50/month.  That includes the 25% in taxes and fees required by law (i.e., for Upstate New Yorkers; your tax mileage may vary).  Just thought I’d mention that, if you’re ever conteplating cell phone service prices.  Add 25% to what they quote you.  No doubt the $0.40 per minute roaming charge they quoted me will turn out to be $0.50.

          The “Local 800 Plan” provides 800 “anytime minutes,” 1000 off-peak minutes (9 PM – 7 AM and weekends, but no holidays), and no roaming charges charges anywhere in NY, VT, NH, MA, and ME, no long-distance charges for calls nationwide, and unlimited incoming calls (except roaming charges for taking incoming calls if I am outside those five states).  Roaming outside those five states is $0.40/minute.  I very rarely ever travel outside of NY and VT … only a handful of times in the past six years.  And I carry an MCI calling card that I can use on any landline or pay phone at $0.03/minute.

          I give Unicel a lot of credit for one thing: every time I call their toll-free support number I get someone on the phone immediately, no waiting, speaking to me in plain American English (no Asian subcontinent bubbly accent), and they are always pleasant and answer my questions satisfactorily.

          By the way, my cell phone does not work at Balsamea.  I’m glad, because taking refuge there means refuge from electronic access by The Borg, too.

- The Balsamean