est. 2007

Barbados Underground

Bringing News and Opinions to the People

Chris Halsall's Open Letter To Barbados Media Houses

media

Dir sirs.

This is an open letter to the Barbados Advocate, and others. This may be distributed and/or reprinted by anyone who receives it. I do hope and expect that the errors and corrections noted below will appear in the Advocate.

On page 14 of the Barbados Advocate, dated 2008.05.14 an article penned by one Kerrie Bynoe was titled “Digital Divide – saying goodbye to analogue TV”.

  1. The definition of “Analogue” is “Something that bears an analogy to something else.” The correct word in this context is “Analog”, which means “Of, relating to, or being a device in which data are represented by continuously variable, measurable, physical quantities, such as length, width, voltage, or pressure.”
  2. The author of the article mis-represents the transition which is occurring in the US (and 33 other countries), and has already occurred in six others. Specifically, the transition to “digital-only” transmission is really moving to High Definition TV (HDTV) (720i, 720p, 1080i, 1080p) from Standard Definition TV (480i, 520i).
  3. The author then suggests (“Are Barbadians Ready?) that the CBC has already made the transition. This is absolutely and completely false. While the CBC has migrated their MultiChoice service to use digital transmission (within the MMDS band in the 2.5 GHz range), they are *not* in any way prepared for HDTV service delivery, and the systemdeployed here is *not* able to handle HDTV signals. To tell the people of Barbados that they are ahead of the curve, when in fact they haven’t even started climbing the slope, is at best inappropriate.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_switchover

On page 9 of the Barbados Advocate, dated 2008.05.13 an article penned by one Kerrie Bynoe was titled “A Copper market in Barbados”.

  1. It is stated that “According to electrician Jason Farley, copper is ideal for wiring because it does not lose energy when the electricity passes through it.” This is completely false. There is *no* metal which conducts electricity without loss (read: resistance) at ambient temperatures. Those materials which do are known as super-conductors, but these must be cooled to only a few degrees above absolute zero (0 degrees Kelvin, or -273.15 degrees Celsius). In fact, the search for a room-temperature super-conductor has been one of the holy grail goals of the material sciences for just short of 100 years.

References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductivity

One might hope that the esteemed and trusted Forth Estate in Barbados would spend the small amount of time required to check and verify technical facts for their printed articles.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Chris Halsall

www.ideas4lease.com

22 responses to “Chris Halsall's Open Letter To Barbados Media Houses”

  1. anotherview Avatar
    anotherview

    So many inaccuracies in a couple articles. Wonder if Carl Moore had a look!

  2. David Avatar
    David

    E-mail: dra_chung@hotmail.com
    To view this and other recent articles and post a comment go to http://dcjottings.blogspot.com

    Source: Jamaica Observer

    We thought it interesting that Jamaica Observer has no problem quoting this article from a blog. The day the media in Barbados prints an article from the blogosphere we will…

  3. Banned Again From VOB and BFP Avatar
    Banned Again From VOB and BFP

    Chris Hall I likes you. BFP ban me so you deserve to get ban too. If B’dos media prints from a blog it should be this one… long winded but still free

  4. The People's Democratic Congress Avatar
    The People’s Democratic Congress

    Yet another so-called economist in Barbados has some thing very outmoded and uninspiring to say about some particular aspects of the social, political, material and financial affairs of the country. This time it is Mr. Tennyson Beckles, who was reported in the Barbados Business Authority, Monday, May 2, 2008, as suggesting that this country’s land use policy is basically limited to two broad options: Land being allowed to fetch its maximum economic value ( whatever that is), and government treating land as having socially important functions.

    Never before in the post-independence history of Barbados have our party observed such abject levels of conceptualizing and thinking on the part of one of those persons who informally belong to the intelligentsia and literati in Barbados. For, with that and certain other kinds of fallacious thinking in Barbados, e.g. like that the cost of living cannot be reduced right now in Barbados, there must surely be the feeling that we in this country have reached a very definite stage of profound intellectual and academic crisis, and one that certainly has very dire consequences for our further progress and development as a country.

    What is even worse, intellectually and conceptually, is that Mr. Beckles goes on to remark in this same column that were government to (greater?) attach socially important functions to land use in Barbados, it would have to find ways to generate foreign exchange at a faster rate than it is consumed, or consumption must be constrained. Surely, it is in this last sentence that we find Mr. Beckles’ stout acceptance of the backward and henious practice of DLP/BLP Governments allowing many of our lands to be quickly sold off to make foreign exchange at given points in time, to be objectionable. Mr. Beckles must be told quite strongly that even with the best combinations (appropriate sectoral mixes) as to how to maximumly utilize our lands (agriculture, housing, tourism, manufacturing, commercial, etc.), there should still NEVER be a belief by him or any one else at any time that land use policy, or lack thereof, must or will be made to stand in the way of our country properly earning foreign exchange. Moreover, as there is always a relationship between land and the foreign exchange earning sectors of the so-called economy, what is so totally clear to many Barbadians is that this inherently price-valueless land is NOT these income-earning sectors, vice-a-versa. Also, what must be said by us is that it is unwise for this so-called economist to think about constraining consumption just to make the poor poorer and the middle classes more stressed in the final analysis, when it is obvious that there are so many political, material and financial obstacles, esp. of a structural functional nature, that presently totally undermine the foreign exchange earning capacity of the country and some of productive sectors ( TAXATION/INTEREST RATES/IMPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES INTO THE COUNTRY CARRYING THE PRICES OF BIGGER AND MORE COMPLEX FOREIGN ECONOMIESetc.) What is also very disturbing about Mr. Beckles’ piece is that in his final sentence he suggests that we would have a great price to pay (what is this price though?) for maintaining local ownership of our lands; such an utterance even without his properly and carefully considering the fact that many of our lands, instead of being “sold” to foreigners, can be leased on a relatively short term basis to them.

    Finally, what we must state for the benefit of the understanding of this scribe and others is that a future PDC Government’s land use policy shall, contrary to Mr. Beckles loose thinking, be never limited to just two broad options, given that PDC has been long resolutely committed to such a PDC government absolutely stopping foreigners from “owning” our lands; given that it will be such a government’s intention to put reasonable caps on the maximum number of acres any Barbadian citizen, or any fully or majority owned business enterprise or entity can owned in the country; its intention to abolish land rent; its objective of making sure that land, whether “bought”, “sold” or “leased”, shall be done so at administrative/nominal costs; and making sure that lands that have been traditionally agricultural will be kept that way, or that where there are idle agricultural lands/agricultural lands converted to other uses, that these lands if as much as possible they can be returned to agriculture, will be done so.

    PDC

  5. Jesus Christ Of Nazerus Avatar
    Jesus Christ Of Nazerus

    Shorten your sentiments nincumpoops

  6. anotherview Avatar
    anotherview

    The carrying of stories by traditional media extracted from blogs is clearly illustrated by the Jamaica Observer. This practice is routinely done in the US and UK. The source of an idea should not be the determinant of whether the Fontebelle press follow a story. That kind of decision making betrays ignorance at an unexplained level.

  7. David Avatar
    David

    In the early part of a DLP government the traditional media has a chance to change the way they want to report news in the interest of the PEOPLE and to protect the integrity of its profession.

    The great irony for them is if they continue with the status quo it will give great currency to the social media and Citizen Journalist. Carl Moore must be cringing!

  8. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    David, added to this is Ezra Alleynes’s column, “Softly as I Leave” where he finally seems to be on the same page as the rest of us. Wow what a change in government can do to a people’s eye sight and understanding! 😀 Anyway read his article and and see if it makes sense to reach out to him, offering BU as a place to post his partisan comments. I happen to agree with him, state who what your purpose is and let us debate the merits of the arguments. With that i am glad that he has own up in a deliberate way that he is a partisan political writer as i am hearten to here Peter Wickham put his Socialist, liberal credentials out in public.

    http://bararchive.bits.baseview.com/archive_detail.php?archiveFile=./pubfiles/bar/archive/2008/May/16/Editorial/57957.xml&start=0&numPer=20&keyword=ezra+alleyne&sectionSearch=&begindate=5%2F1%2F2008&enddate=5%2F31%2F2008&authorSearch=&IncludeStories=1&pubsection=&page=&IncludePages=1&IncludeImages=1&mode=allwords&archive_pubname=Daily+Nation%09%09%09

  9. Bush tea Avatar
    Bush tea

    …..David, you are such a traditionalist…

    …why are you always talking about ‘the traditional media and their need to change…’ The normal mechanism of change is for the old to become irrelevant while the new takes things to a higher level.

    The ‘traditional media’ are ‘dead men walking’, just waiting for the fall… they are already irrelevant.

    Here you are, blazing a trail in innovation and worrying about the walking dead

    ‘let the dead bury their dead’

    I think that the big news with respect to the Advocate in particular, is when they get a story RIGHT.

    Have you ever interacted with some of their ‘reporters’? I am willing to bet that salaries are rock bottom and the output reflects this…

    …best left to their own fate….

  10. David Avatar
    David

    BT we don’t agree that traditional media is irrelevant. Our position is that it needs to improve as other non traditional sources come into the frame. We subscribe to the view that if all of the components in any system are working to optimum performance the sum output should be a satisfactory result.


    Adrian H we don’t have Ezra Alleyne’s email address. Any member of the BU family can feel free to contact Ezra Alleyne to tell him that we would be willing to give him an unfettered voice in the blogosphere. If he feels comfortable starting blog he should consider that too. In fact we would relish the debate with this man who may still have a role to play.We are not sure if he has the testicular fortitude to face the robust exchanges which may occur from time to time. The choice is his to make.

    PS. How could they continue with a column from the Foundation by (Wickham) but jettison Alleyne (Combermere). It’s just not right!

  11. Bajanboy Avatar
    Bajanboy

    Chris:

    Analog is the American spelling of Analogue.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogue_electronics

  12. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    Hey Bajanboy et al.

    Thank you for this. Having been trained in North America, I’m used to the NA forms. Despite the fact the article was speaking within a US context, I respectfully withdraw my issue with the use of analog vs. analogue.

    However, what about the other three points I raised which were about technical errors?

  13. LDwtrz Avatar
    LDwtrz

    Chris…yes the DTV transition happening in the U.S does deal with HDTV, the explanation given in the story is indeed correct. ..http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/digitaltv.html
    the most common information found is about HDTV because that is the benefit to the general audience. That is the benefit the households would recognise immediately…but what was mentioned in the story was correct…the CBC boxes which were mentioned do contain a converter…which is similar to the converter boxes being given to the householders in the U.S

  14. LDwtrz Avatar
    LDwtrz

    If your television set is labeled as a “Digital Monitor” or “HDTV Monitor,” or as “Digital Ready” or “HDTV Ready,” this does not mean it actually contains a digital tuner. Thus, you still will likely need a separate set-top box which contains a tuner in order to view programs in the new digital TV transmission standard (which includes HDTV formats) on such a set.

    Over-the-air digital set-top boxes can be purchased at retail stores. Cable and satellite TV providers also sell or lease digital set-top boxes for their specific services. (Note: the digital set-top box described here is not the same as the NTIA program digital-to-analog converter box, described below, used to convert free over-the-air digital broadcasts for viewing on an analog TV set.)

  15. David Avatar
    David

    Chris like someone said earlier, if we place the newspapers under the microscope we will find errors galore. Carl Moore would like to think that errors remain in the province of the blogosphere.

    Can someone send this link to James Husband, Minister Darcy Boyce or even PM Thompson? Let us duke out this business right now!!!

    David

  16. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    Hello LDwtrz et al.

    I stand by my statement that I feel the article was misleading. Except for “CBC Channel 8” the “traditional” UHF television channels have not been used in Barbados. CBC’s Mutlichoice has always used the MMDS band up in the 2.5 – 2.68 GHz range.

    The consumer excitement about digital TV is the move to HDTV. It costs tens of millions of dollars to migrate a studio and/or a broadcast facility to handle even 720i HDTV.

    If the CBC make a public statement saying they have invested in any HDTV transmission ability, I will issue a public apology. Until then, I feel the consumer has not benefited from the transition to DTV here, and won’t for a very, very long time.

    -Chris

  17. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    Or, put another way…

    What is known as DTV in the US and elsewhere is about transmitting digital signals in the UHF bands traditionally used for analog TV signals. Again, that has *not* been done here, contrary to what the article claimed.

    -Chris

  18. anotherview Avatar
    anotherview

    I am told in Canada and the USA those people who have cable service who would constitute probably 80 % of the population have nothing to worry about when the switch comes nor do they need a separate box. My understanding is the cable provider signal will be modified to accommodate non compliant older non digital TV’s. People who have no cable service will need to buy a box!

  19. LDwtrz Avatar
    LDwtrz

    Unfortunately Chris your choice to stand by your statement has proven that you are not as knowledgeable as you think. I have enjoyed your blog for quite sometime, but I will now have to do the research on my own before I take your word for it. And I advise other persons to do the same.

    Lori

  20. Chris Halsall Avatar
    Chris Halsall

    Dear LDwtrz aka “Lori”.

    Actually, my choice to stand by my statements has not proven anything beyond the fact I am willing to stand behind my statements. (I won’t bother digging up the definition of “proof”… It’s probably spelt differently in England anyway .)

    However, your statement has suggested (but certainly not proven) that perhaps I have more knowledge than some might wish discussed…

    I, like all humans, am not infallible. If I’m wrong about this, or *anything*, I want to know about it. I was raised that it’s OK to be wrong from time to time, so long as you’re right more often. In fact, if you never make mistakes, then it means you’re not pushing hard enough.

    And I do hope you, and *all* readers, “do the research” not just on what I say, but on *everything* which *anyone* says or writes. It’s called critical thinking, and there’s not nearly enough of it — here or away.

    Question everything. Ask questions. Do research. Think!!! We were all given brains — some, but not all, choose to use them.

    As an aside, I do also find it amusing and interesting that this is your (LDwtrz) first appearance here. Do you have a last name which you’re willing to share? An e-mail address? A blog?

  21. Adrian Hinds Avatar
    Adrian Hinds

    This entire article is about nothing. Well, i take that back,… at it’s core it is as if Carl Moore, Louis Tull, or the Whiterabbit where doing what LANGUAGE MAVENS can only do, that is to critique spelling, and grammar mistakes.

    ……Wait uh minute, this article is indeed about nothing. 😀

    Chris don’t you have anything productive to do? schuuupppssssee. 😀

  22. Stephan Avatar
    Stephan

    hello people. I’m well aware I’m late, but I only stumbled upon this blog tonight, and I have to say something, allbeit small and insignificant.

    I’ve lived in the US for just over a year now and am an avid home theatre/HDTV fanatic. And I have to say it’s about damn time someone came out and pointed out the ignorance and ridiculous rubbish that is fed to (less informed) bajans in the local media. Chris, well done! I’ve read your info carefully, and it turns out you’re absolutely correct in the way you describe the the TV signal revolution currently going on in the US. Just tonight I had a discussion with a relative back home re: the odds of CBC/Barbados switching their system over to one capable of HDTV content. As you correctly pointed out, this would be a multi-million dollar project for the CBC, and would not just occur and be mentioned in some newspaper article later on.

    The important take-home message is that digital TV is not equal necessarily to HDTV. I think some people around this blog need to do some wikipedia time!

    Peace!!!

The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.

Trending

Discover more from Barbados Underground

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading