First Apple iPad shown at the Oscars

Filed under: Technology

Apple’s first iPad advertisement just debuted at the Oscars. The official release date of April 3rd was announced several days ago for the Wi-fi version and the 3G version arriving shortly afterwards. If anyone is planning to pre-order, Apple is reportedly going to start accepting pre-orders on March 12th.

See the new Apple ad at: http://www.apple.com/ipad/gallery/#hardware06

Rising Cost of Medical Care in the United States

Filed under: Global Economy, World Events

CNN is running a very interesting story on hospital billing practices and costs. Health care costs in the United States have skyrocketed in recent years to a point where a single major illness can bankrupt an entire family. In the past, malpractice lawsuits and medical errors have increased the cost of practicing medicine and these costs are passed onto patients. But the question of when is it all too much does arise at some point. There is a point where people can no longer afford to see a doctor over a simple illness that could be cured with a small dose of antibiotics. Instead, it develops into a more severe illness which requires a lengthier hospital visit.

The CNN article outlines some of the medical billing practices. When a person is in need for medical care, do they stop and ask how much it will cost for CAT scan or how much it costs for an X-ray? Instead, hospitals and medical offices around the US only state that patients will pay a negotiated rate between the provider and the insurance agency. It is only several weeks later when the final bill comes stating that the patient is responsible for several hundred or thousand dollars of charges. The next time you receive an “Explanation of Benefits” statement in the mail, take a close look at it to see what you are being charged for and how much you’re being charged. The costs can be pretty amazing.

Watch the CNN video at the link before for more amazing charges that medical billing advocates have seen.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2010/03/01/cohen.health.care.bills.cnn?hpt=C2

Happy Lunar New Year

Filed under: World Events

As many people celebrate Valentines Day, today is also a day to celebrate Chinese New Year.  Chinese new Year is one of the most important Chinese holiday which is also known as Spring Festival or Lunar New Year.  The festivities of this holiday typically last for a full week where people travel to see their families whom they may not have seen for the rest of the year.  Friends and family also visit each other and children are given red packets (with money enclosed) by married couples or relatives.

For all that celebrate the Lunar New Year.  Have a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Tiger!

Sametime 8.5 Planning and Deployment Open Mic

Filed under: IBM Software, Sametime

For anyone who did not see the Open Mic posting on the Sametime Support Blog, there is a recording of the open mic which IBM support and development held to address questions on how Sametime 8.5 should be implemented.

http://www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?rs=477&uid=swg21418099

It’s the end of the road for POTS/PSTN

Filed under: Technology

It may not seem like news to anyone now as many of us have already moved from PSTN/POTS services to VOIP and cellular telecommunication providers, but AT&T has stated that it is now time to cut the cord and allow this technological relic to finally rest in piece.  For many consumers, this will not affect anything.  So who does this change affect?  Most people most affected by this change will be those that live in rural areas where there are no broadband ISPs willing to provide service.  People in these types of situations may have to rely in satellite service which is most of the time cost-prohibitive.  Many security systems also rely on an active telephone service, however the good news is that there are a few companies out there that provide alarm services over a GSM connection and existing systems can be retrofitted at a cost. 

Before AT&T can cut the cord on POTS, it is my opinion that cellular service still has to improve significantly to ensure there is sufficient network capacity and coverage to make sure that in case of an emergency, a person can definitely reach that 911 dispatcher.  As the article states, there are some kinks to work out and hopefully a cost reduce for cell service will be in the plan as well.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/185649/atandt_tells_fcc_its_time_to_cut_the_cord.html