Carnival of the Mobilists #21

You can find the latest edition @
http://www.mopocket.com/2006/03/the_21st_carnival_of_the_mobil.php

Some interesting thoughts on cellphone culture from Howard Rheingold and Mimi Ito.
I completely agree that the most important applications of the next generation of mobile culture will be those that are adopted or appropriated by kids on the streets of Shanghai or Rio or Bombay (probably not Milan), places where competing technologies, landlines, broadband, etc, are less reliable or widely available and mobiles are the main form of voice/data access.

A few articles applauding the EU's decision to abolish roaming charges within Europe
I think this is the wrong way to go about this (maybe its an American view) as a market as competitive as wireless should be able to set competitive rates without interference. If all carriers are setting the same price, then its either that they need the revenue or they're in collusion with one another. If it made no economic sense, then at least one of the carriers would be advertising no roaming charges to grab more customers. If they're in collusion, then the anti-trust laws should be invoked against them. Setting prices seems a bit arcane.
It appears to me like this is a decision to prove that the EU commision is doing something rather than a decision that will actually produce tangible results to users at large.

Some interesting questions about skyping.
What don't Iike about Skype? The free version that is. It adds to the unmanageable interruptions in my lie. Landlines or mobiles come with voice mail. Messaging enables me to send back a response when I have the time. But Skype. If I don't answer the call, then that conversation is lost. Either I or the perosn that called have to remember to retry. And if you do answer, then whatever you were doing is interrupted. Its a 21st century technology wrapped in an early 20th century mentality. I need a service that lets me manage my interruptions better. Cause there are so many of them. Skype's not it.

And much more....