Costliest & Cheapest 10 cities in the world

Costliest 10 cities in the world

#10 Geneva - Switzerland

Last year, Geneva ranked #3. The current cost of living index is 124.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $5.63

5 years ago: $4.87

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $8.19

5 years ago: $7.62

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $2.04

5 years ago: $1.47

#9 Caracas - Venezuela 

Caracas ranked #34 last year. The current cost of living index is 126.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $9.40

5 years ago: $2.25

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $18.14

5 years ago: $4.32

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $0.02

5 years ago: $0.02

#8 Paris - France

Paris ranked #6 last year. The current cost of living index is 128.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $8.95

5 years ago: $10.10

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $9.45

5 years ago: $7.83

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $2.38

5 years ago: $2.35

#7 Zurich - Switzerland

Zurich ranked #1 last year. The current cost of living index is 131.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $6.08

5 years ago: $5.52

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $16.74

5 years ago: $11.34

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $2.01

5 years ago: $1.47

#6 Singapore - Singapore

Singapore ranked #9 last year. The current cost of living index is 135.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $3.25

5 years ago: $2.67

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $25.65

5 years ago: $20.77

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $1.74

5 years ago: $1.24

#5 Melbourne - Australia

Melbourne ranked #8 last year. The current cost of living index is 136.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $4.87

5 years ago: $3.18

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $25.03

5 years ago: $15.39

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $1.49

5 years ago: $1.02

#4 Oslo

Oslo ranked #5 last year. The current cost of living index is 136.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $6.31

5 years ago: $4.25

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $17.58

5 years ago: $16.28

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $2.61

5 years ago: $2.00

#3 Sydney - Australia

Sydney ranked #7 last year. The current cost of living index is 137.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $5.03

5 years ago: $3.33

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $25.38

5 years ago: $17.87

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $1.50

5 years ago: $1.04

#2 Osaka

Osaka ranked #4 last year. The current cost of living index is 146.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $7.94

5 years ago: $4.54

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $17.55

5 years ago: $9.09

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $1.96

5 years ago: $1.27

#1 Tokyo - Japan

Tokyo ranked #2 last year. The current cost of living index is 152.

Loaf of white bread:

Today: $9.06

5 years ago: $6.44

Bottle of table wine:

Today: $15.95

5 years ago: $11.78

1 liter unleaded petrol:

Today: $1.97

5 years ago: $1.31

Cheapest 10 cities in the world

# 10 Tehran, Iran

Originally called Ray, this city is Iran’s 32nd national capital and has been that way for 220 years. Home to the sixth tallest tower in the world, the Milad tower, it is among the largest cities in Western Asia. The average price for a 1 kilogram loaf of bread was roughly  $0.26.

# 9 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

The gateway to two of the holiest places of Islam, Mecca and Medina, this Gamma World city is one of Saudi Arabia’s main resort cities and the second largest city next to Riyadh. Gassing up with unleaded petrol won’t hurt your pockets much, being among the 10 cheapest places to live, the average price of a liter of unleaded petrol in Jeddah is unbelievably low at $0.13.

# 8 Panama City, Panama

This beta world city is situated at the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, and has been labeled one of the seven wonders of the modern world. From a large belt of tropical rainforests to luxurious hotels, this city is one of the top 5 retirement places in the world.

# 7 Colombo, Sri Lanka

Kolamba or harbor in early Sinhalese is the origin of this city’s name. As a harbor that was already popular to international traders since 2,000 years ago, it became the capital when Sri Lanka was turned over to the British empire in 1815 and even until it gained its independence in 1978.

# 6 Bucharest, Romania

The European Union’s 10th largest city by population has been sometimes called “Little Paris” and it became the capital of Romania in 1862. For wine lovers, the average price per bottle is $3.77.

# 5 Algiers, Algeria

Famous for its white buildings glimmering in the sun, Algers la Blanche, used to have the 50th highest cost of living in the world in 2007. Now, for a little over a quarter, you can already buy 1 liter of unleaded petrol. Ready for a roadtrip?

# 4 Kathmandu, Nepal

Situated in an ancient lake basin, Kathmandu is Nepal’s center for commerce and industry. Tourists are also enamored with the sights and sounds of this culturally and religiously rich city. An average loaf of bread costs just over a dollar.

# 3 New Delhi, India

Even though New Delhi is considered the most expensive city in India according to Mercer, to the rest of the world, it is the second most inexpensive.

# 2 Mumbai, India

Bombay, as it was originally called, has the highest population in India and the fourth in the world. Despite it’s affluence in commerce and entertainment, it is head to head with Karachi as the cheapest city to live in. Because of differences in income households have lower spending power, keeping the prices at a minimum if following the standards of the West.

# 1 Karachi, Pakistan

The City of Lights, as Karachi is also known, is this year’s cheapest city to live in in the world. According to The Economist’s Worldwide Cost of Living Index for 2013 survey, the price of a kilogram of a loaf of bread is around 1/5 that of how much the same weight of bread is in Tokyo, the most expensive city to live in the world.

Cell Phone History

1st cell phone to today

Origin

Cell phones may be new devices, but they originated in the 1920’s. Radios were used since 1921. Features were put into these radios in the 1940’s, and they were used by police. The concept of the cellular phone was developed in 1947 which originated from the mobile car phone. The concept of the cellular phone was produced by Bell Laboratories.

1st cell phone by Motorola

The first actual cell phone was made in 1973 by Martin Cooper of Motorola and other assisting inventors who used the idea of the car phone and applied the technology necessary to make a portable cell phone possible. Cell phones were first made available to the public in 1984. Back then, they were very large, expensive instruments.

The Federal Communications Commission made a regulation that limited radio-spectrum frequencies. This is the reason only twenty-three simultaneous conversations were possible in the same service area. In 1968 the FCC decided to increase the frequencies to allow research for better connections. The FCC worked together with AT&T and Bell Towers to establish broadcast towers. The towers were small with low power and covered a “cell” that was a few miles in radius, but actually covered a larger area. This allowed calls to pass from tower to tower.

Inventors

Martin 1st cell phone inventor

Martin Cooper pioneered Motorola’s research for cellular phones. He was raised in Chicago, and attended the Institute of Technology in Illinois where he obtained a degree in electrical engineering. After working for the navy he also worked for a telecommunications company, and got a job with Motorola in 1954. Cooper worked on the first portable handheld police radio. He was also the first to ever make a phone call using a cellular Phone.

 Some of the other people that aided in the invention of cell phones include Richard W. Dronsuth, Albert J. Mikulski, Charles N. Lynk Jr., James J. Mikulski, John F. Mitchell, Roy A. Richardson, and John H. Sangster.

Motorola 1st cell Phone Company

How They Work

Cell phones originated from the radio, and evolved into the telephone. Each city is divided up into cells that allow frequencies to be transferred. Each cell has a hexagonal shape with a tower in the center (base station), and a building that contains radio equipment.

internal part's

Every carrier within a city uses the same central office, the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO). A cell phone carrier is usually allowed about 832 radio frequencies to use per city. With the analog system, one cell phone uses 2 frequencies per phone call, but each cell has about 56 voice channels available which means that 56 cell phones can be in use at one time. This all increases with digital systems and makes cellular phone work more efficiently.

When the cell phone is activated it searches for a System Identification Code (SID) on a control channel. A SID is a different 5 digit number that is assigned. The control channel is responsible for allowing the phone and base station to communicate about call set–up and channel changing. If a control channel cannot be found then the phone is out of range and has “no service”. When the cell phone gets the SID, it is compared to the SID that has already been set in the phone and if they match then this means two cell phones of the same home system have been connected. Also, the cell phone gives off a registration request. The MTSO keeps a record of the phone’s location in order to know what cell it is in when in needs to ring. Once the phone rings and the cell has been determined, the MTSO chooses a frequency pair that the phone uses to take the call. Over the control channel the MTSO communicates with the cell phone to determine which frequencies to use. Then the cell phone and the tower switch with those frequencies and the call is connected. If the cell phone reaches the end of the cell the strength of the signal diminishes so the MTSO allows the 2 base stations to connect and get on a control channel to decide which frequency to switch to.

How it work

Safety and Risks

When the first cell phones were made in 1984, there were many health risks. Cell phones emit radiation that could be harmful. No testing had been done prior to releasing these phones to the public. The radiation could possibly lead to brain cancer with long-term use.

Cellular phones give off an electromagnetic energy which is a type of non-ionizing radiation. This is similar to the radiation naturally found in thunderstorms. The RF electromagnetic energy that cellular phones create can penetrate through a body. The main factors for the depth of penetration and how much is absorbed come from how close the phone is held and how strong its signal is.

It is possible that cell phones can cause serious health issues such as cancer, epileptic seizures or sleep disorders, changes in brain activity, and reaction time, but nothing has been definitely proven

Using a cell phone while driving can increase the risks for accidents. They may interfere with medical devices. These include pacemakers, defibrillators, and hearing aids. Cell phones also interfere with aircraft electronics.

SAR, (specific absorption rate), has a limit of 1.6 watts per kilogram to decrease the health risks.
Hands free phones and devices can be used while driving to prevent traffic accidents, although it is best to refrain from using phones completely while driving.

1st cell phone

Original Structure

The first cellular phones to be created were very large and bulky. This made them difficult to carry around. The first cell phone come to the market in 1984 from Motorola and weighed 2 pounds. It was a DynaTac 8000X which was selling for $3995. A few years later, in 1991 the Motorola MicroTac Lite was created which cost $1000.

Present Structure

The structure of cellular phones has evolved. They have decreased drastically in size and weight. Currently the smallest cell phone in the world weighs slightly more than a pack of cigarettes and is 68 X 38.5 X 22 mm. Cell phones are now so small that they can be carried around more conveniently, but are very easy to loose. They come with numerous features and functions. There are different styles of cell phones such as a flip phone or the slide phone.

It is easy to customize a cell phone by choosing the model, color, style, its features and functions, and size. There are even phone covers that change the face design of the phone. Various accessories are available such as car chargers, belt clips, glowing antennas, and data cables.

Future Cell Phones

Some predict that the cellular phone will completely take over, and wirelines will hardly be used by the year 2010. With the expansion of the wireless lines area codes that distinguish between states will also lose importance.

Future cell Phone

First there are a couple changes that the wireless industry must make. Reception and coverage areas will increase. This way making long distance phone calls from all over the world will be possible without interruption. Technological advancements such as TDMA, CDMA, and GSM already provide clear calls.

Calling restrictions on time will no longer exist so that calls can be made at any time conveniently. More efficient networks that require fewer costs will allow carriers to offer only unlimited calling plans.

References:-

 History Of Cell Phones.

Farley, Tom. "Mobile Phone History.

Bellis, Mary. "Selling The Cell Phone. 

Safety and Safe Use of Cellular Phones. 

Do Cellular Phones Pose Health Risks?. 

Cell Phone Features.

Cellular Phones - Industry Overview.

How Cell Phones Work.

Smallest Cell Phone In The World.

The Future of Cell Phones.

History of Cell Phones.

 Martin Cooper - Inventor of the Cellphone.

10 Places that we should see before we die

Everyone, even you, has a list of the top 10 places to visit before you die, right?

It doesn't matter whether you live in a modern, advanced, big, or a small town, there always comes a time when you get tired and bored of seeing the same thing from your window, walking the same streets, and seeing the same people. That's why it is important to travel, because aside from developing your inner, cultural world, traveling offers you what your brain desires the most: the change of atmosphere, a new scenery, and escaping from the typical day-to-day routine.

In fact, famous Latin philosopher Saint Augustine once said:“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

Everyone likes to travel, but it becomes really hard to choose a destination for your next visit. Despite the saying "It is a small world," there is an enormous amount of opportunities to see something really exciting, and this is why choosing one destination may be a bit challenging. This makes compiling a list of the top 10 places to visit before you die even tougher, but we're up for the task.

Those who have traveled will agree that one may spend his entire life on the roads trying to see everything, but will end up only seeing a fraction of everything that's possible. It doesn't matter whether you are traveling on a budget, or if you have got your own plane, the world offers jaw-dropping opportunities for everyone.

From amazing waterfalls, canyons, and other marvels of nature, to old romantic cities, or monuments built by human hand hundreds and thousands of years ago, our list is definitely worth including in your next vacation plans. So, instead of laying at home, wondering what is out there, don't let your passport gather dust in the drawer, take it and get going. The world is calling. Let's look at the top 10 places to visit before you die.

 

No.10 Great Wall of China, China

The largest monument that was ever built by humanity is the Great Wall of China, which is thousands of miles long and passes through 156 counties, and has about 7,000 lookout towers. Even though the initial scope of this structure, built 2,000 of years ago, was to keep away the enemy tribes, today it is a very popular tourist destination.

 

No.9 Grand Canyon, U.S.A.

Mother Nature has enormous power, and the Grand Canyon in North America is proof of it. The sight of this river-created canyon, which is 277 miles long and 18 miles wide, will make your jaw drop.

 

No.8 Pyramids of Giza

Many mysteries surround the construction of these huge pyramids, which are part of a massive mausoleum complex in the heart of the Sahara desert. No one knows exactly how they were built, but one of the theories--no joke--involves aliens. The tallest of the Pyramids of Giza, the Great Pyramid, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

 

No.7 Stonehenge, U.K.

Another mystical place on our list is Stonehenge. No one really knows what was the initial meaning of this huge 25-ton sandstone blocks was, though there are many theories. However, its mystery, combined with an amazing view created by the setting sun, causes a magnificent glow through the arches, and makes it a place definitely worth seeing before you keel over.

 

No.6 Easter Island, Chile

Everyone has probably seen statues of "Moai," massive stone heads that were carved by the natives of Easter Island to commemorate their ancestors. Today, there are 887 statues remaining, the largest weighing 82 tons. The island also offers many opportunities for those who are passionate about hiking and scuba diving.

 

No.5 Chichen Itza, Mexico

Not only Egypt is famous for its pyramids. The old Mayan city Chichen Itza offers another masterpiece of human architecture: El Castillo, a 78-foot, 91-step pyramid. Some other attractions on the site include the Temple of the Warriors, the Ball Court and Tzompantli, the Wall of Skulls. One of the most thrilling views are offered by the El Castillo pyramid at sunset, when shadows create an illusion of  a large serpent slithering down the pyramid.

 

No.4 Taj-Mahal, India

In 1632, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan started building a white marble mausoleum in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. As a result, he built one of the most beautiful palaces in the world, a real masterpiece of the Muslim art in India, and also one of the most admired.

 

No.3 Paris, France

There is a romantic hidden in each of us, and France's capital, Paris, is the best place to reveal it. You can go together with your significant other, or with your family, it doesn't matter, because Paris will find something to amaze you. The list of interesting things to see in Paris might be very long, but some of the most beautiful are the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, Versailles, and the "Disney Land" theme park.

No.2 Sydney, Australia

Despite the fact that Australia is located relatively further than any other places from our list, its largest city, Sydney is a really awesome place to spend some time. Warm, mild climate, together with many sightseeing activities, the most famous of which is the Opera House (in the picture), are just several points in favour of visiting Sydney.

No.1 London, U.K.

The magnificent city of London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is the place that everyone must visit. Being one of the biggest urban areas of Europe, London has many places of attraction to offer like the Big Ben, Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace. The beauty of this old, historic city, and the large amount of places to see, made it one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, let alone the entire world.