Phil Says Six More Weeks of Winter!
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow so there are six weeks of winter so you might as well grab the USB Cup Warmer!
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Miscellaneous
Lafley on P&G’s Gadget “Evolution”
The consumer product giant’s CEO discusses its move into devices, addressing users’ experiences, and Gillette’s competitiveness.
In addition to becoming the world’s largest consumer products concern, with its planned $60 billion acquisition of Gillette (G ), Procter & Gamble (PG ) — best known for brands like Crest, Tide, and Pampers — is moving into gadgets.
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Trend: VoIP to Continue Explosive Growth
By John Brandon
The wireless networking world continues to expand and evolve. As it does, so will the ancillary technologies that depend on hotspots and ubiquitous coverage. Such is the case for voice over IP (VoIP), the Internet phone phenomenon that will become the buzzword for 2005. Already, companies such as Linksys and Netgear are prepping for a momentous reception from gadget hounds, home networking enthusiasts, and early adopters. Yet, there are clear indications that VoIP will reach the public consciousness as well.
For starters, Wi-Fi has become much more common at city parks, backyard barbeques, college campuses, basketball arenas, and just about everywhere in between. In some areas, there’s nowhere you can’t get wireless access. Second, broadband access is now in one out of every four homes, which means they enjoy a consistent, reliable, and high-quality Internet connection. Third, while cell phones are highly portable, calling plans during peak hours still run high, while VoIP service costs only about $20 per month.
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Study: Gadget prices fall
By Dinesh C. Sharma, CNET News.com
Prices of technology gear declined by 18 percent in November compared with the same period last year, according to data released Wednesday by market researcher NPD. The fall in prices can be attributed to Black Friday promotions, the market researcher said. (Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days of the year.) NPD’s consumer electronics price watch covers 27 product categories, including televisions, PCs, cameras and media players. The prices of nine types of products fell 10 percent or more compared with their October prices, NDP said.
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Internet Telephony Products: Skype and SunRocket
By I.J. Hudson, Tech Reporter
Skype is VoIP software from the same folks that gave you Kazaa, the peer-to-peer music sharing program. It’s Internet phone – your voice turned into packets of data, sent through the Internet to another computer and turned back into voice. All you need is a high speed connection, the free software and a headset.
For those who’d rather just dial the phone, there are other Internet phone companies ramping up, like Sunrocket. Hookup appears simple. Plug a cable from your high speed internect connection to SunRocket’s device, called a Gizmo.
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World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em for Mobile Phones
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 24, 2005– MFORMA Group, Inc. and WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:WPTE – News), announced the release of World Poker Tour(TM) Texas Hold ‘Em, a new multiplayer mobile poker game that is coming soon to mobile phones everywhere and incorporates elements of World Poker Tour (WPT), the highest rated TV series in the history of the Travel Channel. World Poker Tour, one of the world’s leading poker brands, and MFORMA, the world leader in mobile entertainment, are collaborating to capitalize on the current poker phenomenon and the accelerating demand for casino-style mobile games. World Poker Tour Texas Hold ‘Em features real-time, six-player capability. World Poker Tour, which reinvented poker as a televised spectator sport, will launch its third season on March 2, 2005 and airs every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on the Travel Channel.
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Upcoming Japanese Tech
By Martyn Williams, IDG News Service
The New Year holidays are a quiet time in Japan, when few new products surface. However, electronics companies are still developing devices that will debut in the weeks and months to come, and gadget lovers can look forward to some innovations. At the top of the list for cool new toys of 2005 is a digital video processor from Sony that improves on HDTV. Other innovations to watch for include IO Data’s custom USB storage device, DoCoMo’s cell phone with a combo speaker/screen, a revamped Ricoh digicam, and–also from Sony–a megascreen “Dream Theater.”
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Online addicts can’t imagine life without a Net connection
By Corilyn Shropshire, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
More than 137 million Americans spend at least part of their day online, and when it is unavailable, many suffer withdrawal much as they would if they had to go without coffee or cigarettes. They have come to rely on the Web to manage increasingly hectic personal lives, and can’t imagine life without it.
“The Internet really is one of the primary tools that people use to balance work and personal life,” said researcher Ben Jacobson, whose Evanston, Ill.-based firm Conifer Research recently conducted a study to gauge what happens when ordinary Americans are forced to stay off line.
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Brave new world: Convergence
By: Mukul Sharma
What is convergence technology and how is it going to better our lives in the future? Convergence technology is the latest buzzword. This means things like refrigerators that are e-equipped to routinely check foodstuff stored inside them and, on detecting any lack thereof, can automatically order the item(s) using the Internet protocol.
Then there’s television. Soon there won’t be. Instead we’ll have an email and world radio empowered downloading device with stereo compatibility enabled with computer-ready software that would not only double as various electronic musical instruments but will also be able to take video pictures of people watching it and show the same in real time on screen so that they can immediately see themselves as they were a few milliseconds earlier.
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Skylink Security Products Empower Home Owners
by Jim Bray, TechnoFile Magazine
You’d almost think that with all of the two way home and business security companies advertising you hear these days that there’d be no room for smaller, more personal home protection systems. But of course you’d be wrong.
The equipment is from a company called Skylink. They have a bunch of little gadgets you can use to keep an eye on your personal or corporate realm, and the ones I’ve been trying interact with a little base unit that uses LEDs that flash–accompanied by a plaintive beeping noise–if something’s amiss chez vous.
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