Sunday, March 20, 2011

Australian Lab Notes - December 2010 - Steve Turvey

Ever since watching the children’s cartoon, The Jetsons as a child, I have always wanted a video phone. (Truth be told, I have always wanted my own robot and flying car that folded into a suitcase too.) We have been living and working with video phones for quite a while now in the form of video conferencing units and, of course, 3G video capable mobile phone.

As much as spin doctors at Apple Inc. would like us to believe otherwise, we have had the option of video calls on our mobile phones way before the iPhone 4. While the iPhone video call is undoubtedly better quality than a 3G video call, the iPhone actually cheats and places the call over any available local wireless access point and the internet. Essentially the iPhone is a hand held video conferencing unit.

We were recently testing dedicated video conferencing units at the TestLab. The reason we spend large sums of money on such technology is that there are sound business reasons for doing so. We would not go to the great trouble of face to face meetings if there was not such value in the relationship, in the expression and in the nuances that face to face conversations convey.

There is simply no way most of us would negotiate a pay rise, undertake a job interview or purchase a new house over the phone. Why? Simple because we are at a great disadvantage if we cannot be there to read the relationship we carry out with the other party.

Coincidentally, while musing over such drivers of video phone calls, there was quite a stir in the media regarding the wearing of religious garments in public, in particular the Burqa. The French were discussing the possibility of banning the garment and a similar debate emerged Australia concerning the moral, religious and security issues of the veil. I was fascinated by the arguments for and against the Burqa. They range, of course, across religious, cultural, sexual and individual grounds, but the one most relevant to this particular discussion was about its impact on a security-minded world. The argument follows that if you have to remove a motor cycle helmet in the bank or airport (it is a form of disguise concealing the identity) the Burqa, religious ramifications aside, also plainly hides the wearer’s identity in much the same way.

It’s not my place to decide on what is appropriate. But it does amuse me somewhat that my dream of a The Jetsons-esque science fiction future, one that is becoming a fantastic reality through high quality video conferencing technology, is still impacted by thousand-year old culture and tradition. Even so, I’m confident that video communication with, or without a Burqa, is still a science fiction milestone.

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