Mobile Internet Services For Inter City Train Passengers

This article covers my recent experiences using VIA Rail Canada's passenger mobile internet service while travelling from Toronto to Montreal. These types of services have become more and more prevalent over the past few years. VIA was an early adopter; having launched their initial mobile internet service in 2006 and then upgraded in 2010 and 2011.

VIA Rail Canada was one of the first rail companies in the world to provide mobile internet services to its passengers in 2006. The service is provided on its 42 trains in its central Canada corridor between Windsor Ontario and Quebec City covering about 700 miles. At the outset the service used a combination of satellite and a pair of 2G mobile connections. In 2010 the service was revamped to use a pair of 3G mobile connections; abandoning the satellite connection entirely. Service was fair to good according to accounts I have found on the internet, blogs, and Twitter.

A complete forklift upgrade was done over the course of 2011 and 2012. The new service is installed on the 42 train fleet and is comprised of 6 aggregated HSPA+ mobile connections, an on board server and controller, in coach passenger access point (B,G), and a wireless N mesh network connecting all coaches.

VIA is marketing this service as part of its "Human Way to Travel" campaign theme; stressing the service as a productive use of journey time to work or for leisure such as social networking, booking activities at destination, finding information on what to do upon arrival at destination, or just reading online newspapers or browsing the net.

I have had the opportunity to travel many times on business and for pleasure on VIA Rail and I have always been impressed with the overall performance of the mobile internet service; which is currently offered on a complimentary basis. After connecting your device to the wifi access point you are offered a choice of languages for the service; English or French. You then must accept some terms and conditions; upon which you are brought to a landing page about the services offered by VIA Rail. From there you can navigate the internet.

I have been able to work on files through a VPN connection to my office servers; editing and updating text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. Also accessing web mail systems such as Gmail is a breeze. Browsing the web is also quite fast. Other things I have done are accessing streaming music services such as Accuradio and Tunein without a hiccup. I have viewed and updated my web photo albums on Picasa without trouble. I have also done some online shopping and online banking. I have even seen passengers using Skype video calling. But streaming video is hit and miss however in this environment and sites such as YouTube are blocked for performance reasons, to preserve bandwidth and to maintain a good user experience. This is understandable in this shared mobile environment where bandwidth available from mobile networks is a limiting factor. But you can still access news media video sites such as major daily papers,CNN or CBC for example. But as I mentioned videos can be a hit and miss affair.

So as a user experience goes this service is quite good for a free service. How long will it be cost free though? As can be imagined it could be costly to provide this service. VIA estimates that over 20,000 passengers use the service and that traffic is reaching over 1 terabyte per week on average. Twitter and Facebook feedback are generally positive, supporting my own personal experience.

As with any mobile network there are a few zones along the way where performance may drop off. One area is along Lake Ontario where performance goes from very good to good or fair. But at 100 MPH, these areas soon zoom by and performance picks up quite quickly.To VIA's credit they indicate these known areas in their information about the service and on a map published on their site and in their passenger magazine. Technical support is available as well over the phone and by text message.

Most trains I have taken are 3 or 4 cars long and I would estimate that about half of the passengers are using the service. This would be anywhere from 80 to 100 connected users on a full train. I have taken several measurements with tools such as Speedtest. This gives you an idea of user experience. My average download speed measured is about 2.75mbps with peaks of 5mbps and higher. Upload speeds average around 1mbps and peaks of 3mbps do occur. I have done these measurements with both a Windows laptop computer and my Samsung Android tablet. These speeds are adequate for what the service is intended to be. According to VIA it is best used "for web browsing and email"; but by my experience you can accomplish a whole lot more.

So overall the VIA Rail wireless internet service is reliable and fast. VIA has also recently introduced a media portal server on some of its trains to compliment the wireless internet service. This portal provides daily news highlights and a few rerun TV shows and documentaries. This indicates VIA's commitment to developing and improving this service for its passengers.

I do recommend that you try VIA and its wireless internet service if you happen to be in their service area. Train travel is far less stressful than flying and can be a productive use of time as well.

by Mike Gaudreau - Boomer Technology November 30, 2012

Wallets for Women and How They Differ From Men's

Leather wallets are among the most popular of its kind mainly because of their durability, versatility and beauty. Indeed, most of the iconic, classic and trendiest wallets for women are made from leather with accents. Of course, wallets are also made from other materials like fabric, plastic and even metal but leather still dominates the market.

Function, Form and Fashion

Before we go into the differences between men's and women's wallets, we have to know the similarities between the two products. This way, we are better able to appreciate the subtleties of wallets as designed for either gender.

Wallets must serve a practical function first and foremost. Designers and manufacturers of these products provide for compartments in which to store important objects like coins and currency on one hand as well as credit cards, debit cards, driver's license, identification cards and other documents on the other hand. Obviously, the size of the wallet determines the quantity and quality of things that can be securely placed in it.

Then, the wallet should also conform to the personal sense of aesthetic of whoever is using it - form and fashion. Wallets for women, be it in fabric or leather wallets, are in the forefront of such a requirement mainly because wallets are part of their personal accessories instead of just being a functional item.

Differences in the Genders

With that being said, here are a few of the differences between wallets designed for men and for women. Take note, nonetheless, that there are wallets designed for both sexes so much so that you can purchase these products as gifts for everybody in your circle of family and friends.

• Women's wallets often have more compartments than those designed for men. The compartments are more numerous because women tend to place more things in their wallets from the usual currency, coins and cards to the pictures, mementos and other odds and ends with sentimental value. As a result, women's wallets tend to be larger, too.

• There are more embellishments on wallets for women, too, which are mainly added to satisfy the fashion demands for these types of personal accessories. Keep in mind that each season, new lines of wallets are being introduced to complement the clothes on the runway. Embellishments include metal hardware, stitching, quilting and possibly semi-precious and precious gemstones.

• The choices for women's wallets in terms of material are more numerous than those available to the men. Women have the choice of leather wallets accented by fabric or fabric wallets accented by leather, among other choices. Men usually only have leather as acceptable materials for wallets, be it for casual or for formal affairs.

With these differences spelled out, you will understand why wallets for women are also designed to fit into a larger purse or bag. Women will think twice about placing their wallets inside their jeans' pockets or in inside their suit pockets - a bag is always necessary for wallets to be safely stored away from pickpockets and the like.

In conclusion, the most important thing about choosing wallets of whatever material is to ensure that it serves a functional purpose first and then answer fashionable requirements second. This is all too true with wallets for women and there's no doubt about it.

Shannon Brown Dunk Or His Workout Secret Revealed

Shannon Brown's dunks are just as impressive as his vertical. The 24-year-old Los Angeles Lakers guard has one of the highest verticals in the NBA (44.5 inches)! And he is only 6 foot 2 inches tall (not 6'4 '').

Of course Brown was disappointing in this year's NBA Slam Dunk Contest (February 2010). He did not even advance beyond the first round. But most experts agree it was not his appearance in this contest. In fact, Brown has been dunking for a long time:

It was going into my freshman year at Tim Hardaway basketball camp. I knew I could do it. I was trying it in gym class my eighth grade year before that summer camp, and it was not working for me.

Although Brown did some weight lifting in high school and college, he basically eliminated weight training from his workout routine since entering the NBA. In fact, Brown sticks mostly to push-ups and almost does not train his legs! So, for some parts it must be in his genes: the fast twitch fibers are working at their best. But of course it's only one side of the coin. The other side is practice that starts already as a kid. However, there is one thing that Brown constantly has been working on and still does: core strength. It's his small secret ...

When it comes to jumping core strength is extremely important. Without core strength you can not create the body tension that is essential in the jumping process. Core muscles allow the transfer of powerful movements of the arms and legs. Exercises that improve core strength are:

- Push Ups
- Abdominal Bracing
- V-Sits
- Crunches
- Back Bridges
- Squats
- Oblique Twists
- Lunges
- Superman exercises

But as you are probably not as athletically gifted as Shannon Brown you also need to work on your calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes muscles.

Grow Your Retail Business With Implementation of Mobile Technology

The global retail industry is progressing fast while undergoing a series of transformations. However, having a mobile app for the retail operations is still pointless for many etailers and store retailers. However, the scenario has become quite different now. Operating a retail business without mobile app will lead entrepreneurs to face many difficulties in exploring the new opportunities in terms of wider customer connect.

Importance of Mobile Apps in Retail Industry

Mobile technology has become an inherent part of human lives. Thus, having a retail mobile app will greatly help businesses to offer easy access to product and store information to the customers. The retail owners must start thinking about connecting customers by deploying the mobile technology. Customers will prefer buying products from your store when they will find:

• Relevant product information which, are easy-to-access from their smartphones.
• Easy and quick product availability status.
• Estimated date of delivery of the product.
• Smartphone compatible payment modes like Apple Pay and PayPal.

Having these facts in mind, a retail mobile app will greatly help customers to stay ahead in the competition and maximize revenue to a huge extent.

Following here are some of the paramount benefits of building a mobile app for retail businesses.

Mobile Coupons for Greater Customer Acquisition

While considering this connected and fast-paced world, we can find almost every product everywhere. So, the quest lies that how to drive customers walk into your retail store? The traditional advertising methods like sign boards or television are expensive indeed. On the contrary, you can easily reach a huge cluster of audience by promoting unique selling points and in-store discounts via a mobile app or website. The customers can redeem these mobile coupons at the point of check-out counter.

Personalized Service with Geo-based Technology

Geo-based Technology helps retailers to track location of the customers and figure what they have been actually looking for. Collecting this significant information will allow them to send push notifications to customers along with custom discount coupons. Implementing geo-based technology will help entrepreneurs to track the existing customers near to their physical stores and drive them to make repeat purchases.

Streamlined checkout process

Mobile technology works as a growth booster and helps retailers to build long-lasting relationship with customers. With the upsurge of eCommerce, the retail industry faced serious losses as because online shopping offers greater convenience to buyers. Visiting a physical retail store and standing in long queues to make payments is certainly quite tiresome. On the contrary, online shopping allows customers to buy by just making a few clicks. Considering this loophole, retailers implemented the mobile technology and introduced the mobile credit card readers and 'Scan & Go' payment apps for dispersing the queues.

Considering the aforesaid advantages of implementing mobile technology into retail business, etailers must build a mobile app for making the entire shopping experience more convenient and more fast.

Cool Educational Tech Gadgets For Students And Teachers

Digital technology has gone leaps and bounds in various industries, such as automobile, telecommunication, television, information technology and gaming where a big chunk of purchases today are digital. The educational sector is not left behind; the revolution in technology has created gadgets and gizmos with an educational slant that really broadened the gray matter.

If you are a student you can make use of the touch pen that enables you to simultaneously work with your teacher on an interactive whiteboard. This excellent device can help you clear all your misconceptions and concentrate on the lecture and interact with your teacher. A classroom performance system or a classroom response interactive device is yet another remarkable creation. It is a handheld clicker that enables teachers to receive immediate feedbacks from students on lesson plans and tests. You no more have to raise your hand or wait for your turn to answer the question your teacher has asked just respond by pressing a button on this amazing handheld device. This device is capable of performing multiple functions and it is useful at places where public poll or surveys are required.

If you are a teacher the mobile interactive whiteboard tablet is for you. With this gadget you can freely roam the classroom while insert, write or draw images on the handheld device which are projected on a larger screen in the front of the classroom. Technology has put an end to the days of turning your backs on your students while writing on the blackboard. This interactive whiteboard allows you to have a better eye contact with the students and you can see their faces when they are puzzled. The interactive whiteboards allows you to have more hands-on with your students and take better control of the classroom.

These hi tech instructional tools will enhance learning, many schools and educational institutions have started spending more money on such educational gadgets to improve the performance of their students and teachers both. Students enjoy using interactive whiteboards and classroom management issues are studied. The interactive slate board is a gadget that provides teachers to interact with students more effectively. The teacher can correct the student easily if a mistake is made while the student is delivering a presentation. These educational gadgets have brought the teachers and students even closer. Furthermore, the teachers can easily rate the performance of each and every student in the class.

The interactive sound system is another gadget that asserts teachers and students that have larger classrooms. Teachers or students can wear it around the neck or tuck it in to the shirt and be audible. The teachers can easily save their voices and allow back benchers to be able to listen with clarity.

These gadgets encourage interactive, healthy and interesting classroom sessions and add value to the educational system. The students find learning interesting with these amazing gadgets and are able to interact with teachers. It is expected in future that as technology advances there will be better gadgets available in the market which will make meetings, classroom sessions and lectures more interactive and productive.

Living Will Attorneys Will Provide You With What You Need

Our own temporary demise is not something we normally want to think about. Unfortunately, we do indeed have to face reality. If you plan ahead of time for this your family will greatly benefit. Planning your estate is the next logical step. If you want to find out why an attorney attorney is needed to make sure that your final wishes are successfully handled out, read on.

Too many people have fallen for the misconception that effective estate planning is simply writing out a will and figuring out what songs you want played at your funeral. Do a couple of things, and bam. Now your estate is ready for the day you're ready to come home! This belief is false, and following it could result in your family being hurt emotionally and financially.

While key to the process, writing a will will not the end all to estate planning. With the way that tax laws have been written in recent years, so much more is needed. The laws governing trusts and estates is so complex that often we must turn to a New York estate planning attorney in order to make sure that they have every aspect of their estate taken into account.

Once your will has been hammered out and you have set up any and all trusts you desired, your will next want to determine who the executor of your estate will be. If you do not the state will designate one for you, and this may lead to conflicts and delays in the estate distribution process. Your best choice would be to hire an executor lawyer to carry out this task. An executor lawyer worth his salt will be an expert in the estate and trust laws of your state, and he can make sure that the whole process is handled out smoothly and efficiently. He will know all of the ins and outs of the related laws and will make sure that government does not take any more than it is owed.

Living will attorneys are another group you should consider hiring. By setting up a living you will be making sure that your wishes will be carried out in the event you are incapacitated. Someone can be assigned power of attorney and will have the appropriate documents to know exactly what those wishes are.

An expert estate attorney NY will be able to perform all of these tasks. Do not let estate planning fall by the wayside. Get someone to help you with it now!

Huawei Mate 9 Review

Huawei has unveiled the new flagship mobile phone Huawei Mate 9 recently. In this article, I will tell you something about this new product. Let me show the specifications of it first.

Huawei mate 9 specifications:

Screen: 5.9-inch 1080p display

CPU: HUAWEI Kirin 960, Octa-core CPU (4 x 2.4 GHz A73 + 4 x 1.8 GHz A53) + i6 co-processor

RAM & ROM: 4GB RAM + 64GB ROM

Main camera: 2nd generation Leica camera with 20MP Monochrome + 12MP RGB, F2.2

Battery: 4000mAh (Typical Value) Li-Polymer Battery, Supports SuperCharge 5A

Feature: support Google Daydream VR platform

As usual the Mate Style

Generally speaking, the new Huawei mate 9, as usual, goes on the business-style of Mate series mobile phones. From the packaging design, we can see that there is a very bright red cola symbol on the bottom of the box, showing that it is the second cooperating product from Huawei and the Leica camera manufacturer.

In terms of the appearance design, on the front cover, there is the 5.9-inch FHD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Combined with the 2.5D curved glass, it provides the excellent visual enjoyment when you play games or watch videos. However, there is a small flaw that the screen still retains the black-edged design. On the central place of the bottom, there is a USB Type-C interface, which supports 3.5V-5V / 5A fast-charging function. Except for that, both sides of the bottom, there are the speaker holes.

The main design of the back cover is concentrated in the upper part. The fingerprint recognition module is still set on the back cover (while Huawei Mate 9 Porsche Design version is set on the front cover). Above it, there are the dual cameras. On both left and right sides, there are the flash and laser focus sensors. By the way, the familiar Leica logo is marked in the middle of two cameras.

Powerful Processor Configuration

Mate 9 is configured with a HUAWEI independent researching and developing Kirin 960, Octa-core processor, which is better than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 in the aspect of performance. Beside, it comes with Mali-G71 MP8 GPU for graphics. And it packs in 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage (Supports an external Micro SD card up to 256GB).

Once again cooperating with Leica

Huawei had cooperated with Leica at the first time in the design of Huawei P9 phone. Relying on the common design with Leica, Huawei has taken a qualitative leap in mobile phone's photographing function. Then, the Mate 9 is the second product they cooperate with.

The Huawei Mate 9 sports a second-generation Leica Dual Camera with a 12MP RGB sensor and 20MP monochrome sensor. The RGB sensor captures vivid colors, while the monochrome sensor picks out the finer details.

Summary

To sum up, Huawei mate 9 adds the 2nd generation Leica dual cameras to make it have more fun in photography. Beside, the powerful Kirin 960 processor ensures the smooth operation. If you like this Android mobile phone, you can have a try!