The Vocoder - Early Telecom Technology

A vocoder, IPA: [ˈvoʊkoʊdər] (a portmanteau of the words voice and encoder), is an analysis / synthesis system, mostly used for speech in which the input is passed through a multiband filter, each filter is passed through an envelope follower, the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated, and the decoder applies these (amplitude) control signals to corresponding filters in the (re)synthesizer.

It was originally developed as a speech coder for telecommunications applications in the 1930s, the idea being to code speech for transmission. Its primary use in this fashion is for secure radio communication, where voice has to be encrypted and then transmitted. The advantage of this method of "encryption" is that no 'signal' is sent, but rather envelopes of the bandpass filters. The receiving unit needs to be set up in the same channel configuration to resynthesize a version of the original signal spectrum. The vocoder as both hardware and software has also been used extensively as an electronic musical instrument.

The vocoder is related to, but essentially different from, the computer algorithm known as the "phase vocoder".

Whereas the vocoder analyzes speech, transforms it into electronically transmitted information, and recreates it, the voder (from Voice Operating Demonstrator) generates synthesized speech by means of a console with fifteen touch-sensitive keys and a foot pedal, basically consisting of the "second half" of the vocoder, but with manual filter controls, needing a highly trained operator.[1] - Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocoder

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T-Mobile Makes Changes and Falls in Line

I went into a T-Mobile store last night to do some research and found out they are changing two of the features that made them different than the other carriers:

1. Their smart phone lineup no longer has Wi-Fi capabilities that will allow you to browse the Internet. However, the phones that do come with Wi-Fi will allow you use the connection to improve your signal.

2. If you purchase a smart phone and add a data plan after June 6Th, you will not be able to drop the data plan.

These changes make sense for T-Mobile, but it takes some of the allure away from being a T-Mobile customer. It's important to know what contract you are getting into, but even more IMPORTANT to know how much room you have for modification while in your contract. Two years is a long time and your standards of living may change. Think forward.