The Coming Television RevolutionWritten by Terry Mitchell
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Several entrants into this market have either already debuted or plan to debut sometime this year. Among those are Akimbo (www.akimbo.com), DAVETV (www.dave.tv), TimeShifTV (www.timeshiftv.com), and VCinema (www.vcinema.com). Please see their respective websites for more details, as each one will offer a slightly different variation of IPTV technology. In addition, a joint venture between TiVo (www.tivo.com) and NetFlix (www.netflix.com) will be starting up later this year. TiVo plans to eventually make entire Netflix DVD library available to its customers on an on-demand basis via a broadband connection to a TiVo box and a TV. Other potential IPTV contenders will be announcing their intentions over next year or two. One of these nascent IPTV services headquartered near my home has already started placing "help wanted" ads in my local newspaper. Within next 20 years, all fuss over broadcast TV indecency will become irrelevant, as there will be very little other than news and live sporting events on broadcast TV. The major networks will shift most of their entertainment programs to IPTV to avoid all broadcast content restrictions currently being enforced by FCC. Eventually, broadcast TV will cease to exist. Cable and satellite services as we know them will also become extinct. Yes, there will still be cable and satellite platforms, but they, along with DSL and wireless internet services, will exist merely as conduits for bringing broadband internet into homes and offices. There won't be any more cable and satellite TV, per se. The now 60-year-old paradigm of television schedules in which programs air at specific times on specific days of week will pretty much be a thing of past. Everything, except what's left of broadcast TV, will be exclusively available on demand via an IPTV platform. These developments in no way mean that all TV programming will become more risqué. While there will be plenty of risqué programming available to those who want it, there will an almost unlimited supply of family and religious programs available. With a veritable smorgasbord of entertainment options at your fingertips, there will be something available for all tastes. IPTV may not turn out to be a TV utopia, but it's at least going to come close that ideal.
Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and trivia buff from Hopewell, VA. He also serves as a political columnist for American Daily and operates his own website - http://www.commenterry.com - on which he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.
| | Vacation Break for Electrical MachinesWritten by Thomas Yoon
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Magnetic circuit breakers make use of field strength of magnetic coils to trip a latch that will then open up contacts of circuit breaker. This method is used for high current faults, like in a short circuit. This method is designed to trip instantly. A thermal-magnetic circuit breaker incorporates both a thermal strip and a magnetic coil. This type of circuit breaker is able to protect against momentary overloads as well as high or short circuit current faults. What happens if circuit breaker is placed in a high temperature environment? The thermal bimetallic strip bends on high temperature. In this case, current is not causing high temperature in bimetallic strip, but ambient air is! The current may still be below safe operating rated value for motor. In this case, a compensating bimetallic strip may be incorporated into circuit breaker to eliminate this type of error. These circuit breakers are often used in hot areas like furnace, oven, and boiler rooms. Circuit breakers can be reset very quickly, once they have tripped. Can your break or vacation be reset very quickly too? Don't reset. Take a long break! Until next time... Are You Stumped by Complicated Electrical Calculations? Learn Electro-Technology Calculations for 1st Class Marine Engineers Competency License Exams at Electro-Technology Questions & Answers e-book. Applicable for all electrical installations both on ships and at shore.
Many years of working experience in Marine, Facilities, Construction has given the author material for writing e-books and articles related to engineering, and management. Subscribe to facworld ezine More information at Life on Ships and Mechanical Engineer
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