When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell

Когда шотландец Александр Грэм Белл изобрел телефон в 1876 году, это была революция в области коммуникации. Впервые, люди могли говорить друг с другом на большие расстояния почти так ясно, как если бы они находились в одной комнате. В настоящее время, хотя, мы все чаще используют Белл изобретение для электронной почты, факсы и Интернет вместо того, чтобы говорить. За последние два десятилетия стало новые средства устной коммуникации: мобильный телефон.Современный мобильный телефон является более сложной версией двусторонней радиосвязи. Традиционное двустороннее радио является весьма ограниченным средством коммуникации. Как только пользователи переехали из диапазона вещания области друг друга, сигнал был потерян. В 1940-х годов исследователи начали экспериментировать с идеей использования ряда радио мачты, расположенных вокруг сельской местности забрать сигналы от двусторонней радиосвязи. Вызывающий объект всегда будет в диапазоне от одной мачты; когда он переехал слишком далеко от одной мачты, следующая мачта будет забрать сигнал. (Ученые, упоминаемые каждой мачте стойки как отдельная «ячейка»; именно поэтому во многих странах мобильные телефоны называются «мобильные телефоны»).Однако 1940-х годов технология еще довольно примитивные, и «телефоны» были огромные ящики, которые должны быть транспортированы на машине.The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modern mobile handset. As soon as his invention was complete, he tested it by calling a rival scientist to announce his success. Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modern cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became synonymous with the “yuppie”, the new breed of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us swore that we would never, ever own a mobile phone.But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had evolved into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags. In every pub and restaurant you could hear the bleep and buzz of mobiles ringing and registering messages, occasionally breaking out into primitive versions of the latest pop songs. Cities suddenly had a new, postmodern birdsong.Moreover, people’s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. Once a time and place had been agreed, people met as agreed. Somewhere around the new millennium, this practice started to die out. Meeting times became approximate, subject to change at any moment under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it’s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face-to-face. It’s the perfect communication method for the busy modern lifestyle. Like email before it, the text message has altered the way we write in English, bringing more abbreviations and a more lax approach to language construction. The160-character limit on text messages has led to a new, abbreviated version of English for fast and instantaneous communication. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you’re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing “Will B 15min late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! :-)”.Mobile phones, once the preserve of the high-powered businessperson and the “yuppie”, are now a vital part of daily life for an enormous amount of people. From schoolchildren to pensioners, every section of society has found that it’s easier to stay in touch when you’ve got a mobile. Over the last few years mobiles have become more and more advanced, with built-in cameras, global positioning devices andinternet access. And in the next couple of years, we can expect to see the arrival of the “third generation” of mobile phones: powerful micro-computers with broadband internet access, which will allow us to watch TV, download internet files at high speed and send instant video clips to friends.

Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years. If he were around today, he might say: “That’s gr8! But I’m v busy rite now. Will call U 2nite.