The problem: every mobile phone manufacturer has its own battery charger standard. When you change phones, you acquire a new charger too. Either you throw out your old charger, or (like me) you amass a collection of functioning but useless chargers.
Is there a better way?
For Gûnter Verheugen, European Commission Vice-President responsible for enterprise and industrial policy, the answer is "yes!".
The Commission now proudly presents an agreement under which phone makers agree on a common charger format, based on the mini-USB socket, for the entire European Union. According to the Commission, this will reduce manufacturer costs, improve energy efficiency, and reduce the number of chargers thrown away when consumers buy new phones.
I'm all in favor of a mobile phone battery charger common to most or all manufacturers. But I'm also a natural skeptic, with some questions:
Will there be political follow-up? European elections were held earlier this month. A new Commission will be named. Verheugen is at the end of his term. He has not tried to legislate on this point while in office, and he will no longer be in office to oversee the implementation of this measure.
Is this measure too little, or too much? Couldn't standard-setting or norm-making bodies have reached the same outcome, without involving the European Commission? If the Commission isn't a superfluous fifth wheel, wouldn't legislation have made more sense (because of a more certain outcome)?
According to the Commission, the agreement applies only to data-enabled mobile phones. What benefit will the agreement have for other phones, such as the simplest voice-only phones? For the Commission, apparently none.
According to the agreement (section 4.2.1), manufacturers can achieve compliance by making available an adaptor, for example a manufacturer-specific cable between the common charger and a headset. Doesn't this undermine the goal of a common charger?
According to the Commission, you "will not need to buy a new charger together with every mobile phone". Will manufacturers really offer handsets without chargers? Will manufacturers, including those not in the handset business, offer chargers as a stand-alone product?
In the wake of entertainer Michael Jackson's death at age 50 on June 25, commentators have been listening for a response by the White House and proclaiming a connection between Michael Jackson and Barack Obama.
Most of these commentators stress some form of causation, along the lines of: because Michael sang, Barack could run. Others seem to expect some sort of bond or special relationship between the two men.
This talk is silly.
Jackson and Obama are two famous American black men born within a few years of each other. So far as I can tell, that's all the two share. Jackson sold a lot of records, and Obama won a lot of votes.
Some commentators seem to make a "wasting racism" point: the racism historically inherent in the American population was chipped or melted by artists like Jackson, thanks to his "crossover" appeal. The point seems to be: popular culture has a special power to influence durably (white) people's views of minorities.
Rather than influence, doesn't popular culture instead mirror (popular) opinion of difference?
I think less of Michael Jackson and more of the "Miami Vice" television series (that started in 1984) or the "Lethal Weapon" motion pictures (that started in 1987), both of which depicted teams of policemen, one white, the other black.
But then I think some more, and I remember Bill Cosby in "I Spy" (that started in 1965) or Greg Morris in "Mission: Impossible" (that started in 1966). If there's influence going on, wouldn't these two series have somehow paved the way for Michael Jackson?
La marche des fiertés (“gay pride”) est passée à côté de mon quartier du
Marais, à Paris. Entre chars et banderoles, quelques 500 000 personnes
ont marché le long du boulevard Henri IV. C’était un beau jour d’été,
il faisait chaud, beacoup ont bu dans la rue.
Longtemps après le passage du cortège, une fois la nuit tombée, il restait une montagne de détritus le long du boulevard : cannettes, bouteilles (en plastique ou en verre, souvent brisé), cartons, gobelets, mégots, papiers.
Je ne reproche rien aux organisateurs de la marche, ni aux marcheurs confrontés aux poubelles débordantes. Je critique surtout les services municipaux d’entretien et de nettoyage. En effet, ces services semblent avoir nettoyé la rue, mais ri
en que la rue, laissant ou poussant tout objet sur le côté. Ainsi, les véhicules ont pu rouler sur un pavé propre, tandis que le piéton devait éviter du verre brisé, des tas de cartons et des cannettes errantes.
Swine flu has reportedly infected more than a million Americans.
In France, swine flu is still treated as an exotic import, a public health problem that possibly can be avoided and that probably lies off in the future.
Most French news coverage concerns school closures. Ten schools have been closed:
Three neighboring schools in Paris;
Schools in Viry-Châtillon, La Garenne-Colombes, Asnières, Bourg-la-Reine (all Paris suburbs);
Two schools in the Morbihan (in Brittany, in the west of France);
One school near Toulouse (in southwestern France).
The school year ends next week, so the impact of a school closing is not great. This having been said, I've come across no data or convincing explanation of the efficacy of school closures: as the come after a student has fallen ill with the flu, hasn't there already been an opportunity to infect classmates, friends, and family?
The French Institut de veille sanitaire, which monitors public health, reported 234 confirmed swine flu cases in France. (The total climbs to 239 in you count confirmed cases in French Polynesia (2), Martinique (2), and Saint-Martin (1).) An additional 220 cases are being investigated. No deaths in France have been attributed to swine flu.
I suspect that the market in France anticipates public health news. At a supermarket near my Paris apartment, adjacent to tissues were a large supply of surgical masks, sold in boxes of 100 masks each.
Albert Camus died in an automobile accident. So did Lady Di.
French drivers have some bad habits: they drive too fast, and they drive after drinking.
But the trends are positive. Overall, French road safety is improving:
For each of the past seven years, fatalities and injuries have decreased;
Since 2002, deaths from automobile accidents have fallen 55% (the reduction is smaller for motorcyclists);
France’s relative standing among its European neighbors has improved, when measured by fatalities per million inhabitants (France ranked 15th in 2001 and 9th out of 27 in 2007);
Since, 2002, average vehicle speed in France has fallen by 11 km/hr (to 80.6 km/hr, or 50 mph);
Seat belt use in France nears 100%;
In six years, 12,000 lives have been saved or spared, thanks to accidents that didn’t occur (graph from the French 2008 road safety report).
This last point has become the focus of a new safety campaign in France.
Historically, the French authorities have taken a “shock and awe” approach, simulating accidents with strong visuals. These campaigns have been eye-catching and effective, but some recent campaigns leave the accident off-screen. In this video, the viewer never sees an accident, but instead witnesses the impact of “the call”, when a next of kin is informed of a fatality:
The latest safety campaign takes a different approach. It shows ordinary people, doing ordinary things: Jean-Pierre is waving; Elodie is starting a puzzle; Caroline is looking for something; Michel is taking a second helping of pasta. What makes each of these unremarkable people exceptional? They are among the 12,000 whose lives have been saved thanks to accidents avoided.
The campaign is brilliant. A prominent photo that illustrates a headline; a few lines of text that explain why the image matters; a call to continue (or to “keep going”). A style totally unlike prior “shock and awe” campaigns. The whole point of the campaign is that an accident hasn’t occurred. The sight of Jean-Michel literally stopped me in my tracks; I had to learn more.
The campaign is also timely. French motorists will soon leave on summer vacation. Some will be tempted to drive too fast or after drinking. The authorities are also starting to feel pushback from motorists, upset about being pulled over and fined for “minor” infractions. Particularly bad or unfortunate drivers can ultimately lose their licenses, for a time, and face higher insurance premiums. By putting a face on accidents avoided, the authorities are taking a different approach.
