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Duke, just one thing before putting it to rest. These "kids" you speak about, who are garnering salaries comparable to what Fred is making, earned four year degrees from state colleges or universities. (not Community Colleges)
talons - the only acceptable reason for the bonuses would be if management has locked in strong, reoccurring revenue contracts in the IFE, automotive and multiple O1k OEMs, which will be made public in the next 3-6 months. Anything less and I too will be seething.
Previous post not on newswire (yet)
e.DIGITAL DELIVERS
WIRELESS MP3 HEADSETS
FOR MAJOR OEM CUSTOMER
(San Diego, CA - July 1, 2003) - e.Digital Corporation (OTC: EDIG) today announced the on-time fulfillment of its design and development project for Softeq Development Corp. announced earlier this year. The project, commissioned by Hewlett-Packard through Softeq, required a custom designed MP3-based wireless headset.
The headsets mechanical, hardware, software and firmware designs were all developed by e.Digital and use e.Digitals patented MicroOS Operating System. The headset incorporates embedded flash memory containing prerecorded audio files that will interact with strategically placed transmitters.
The major OEM customer for these wireless headsets will be named later this year.
"This delivery completes our first project with Softeq and represents over $1.2 million in orders and development," stated Fred Falk, president and CEO of e.Digital. "Working with Softeq and Hewlett-Packard has been a great experience and we look forward to possible product extensions and follow-on orders as well as new project opportunities with them."
"We challenged e.Digital to leverage their portable design capabilities and provide our customer with a product that could benefit millions of users," said Christopher Howard, President of Softeq. "This product required stringent technical as well as functional specifications, all of which e.Digital met or exceeded."
"This has been a very exciting project for e.Digital," noted Atul Anandpura, e.Digitals vice president of research and development. "We have been able to showcase a wide range of our design capabilities, our patented technologies and innovation in a single product."
About e.Digital - e.Digital Corporation specializes in technology innovation and applications integration through engineering partnerships with leading original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) designing, licensing, branding, and manufacturing digital audio, video and wireless products and technology platforms. The Company also sells its Odyssey 1000 digital jukebox through selected e-tail and retail outlets. Applications for e.Digital's technology include delivery and management of open and secure digital media with a focus on music, voice, wireless and video players/recorders, automotive infotainment and telematics systems, portable digital music players and voice recorders; desktop, laptop, and handheld computers; PC peripherals; cellular phone peripherals; e-books; video games; digital cameras; and digital video recorders. Engineering services range from the licensing of e.Digital's patented MicroOS file management system to custom software and hardware development, industrial design, and manufacturing services. For more information on the company, please visit www.edigital.com.
About Softeq - Softeq is a privately held corporation specializing in system integration, project management, and product development for Fortune 1000 companies worldwide. For more information on the company, please visit www.softeq.com.
# # #
CONTACT:
e.Digital Corporation: Robert Putnam, (858) 679-1504, robert@edig.com
db - I think it will be "buy on the news" from now on. Many have gotten burned (myself included) buy before the meeting and then having no "meat" in that meeting.
It's truely MIR. From her own board:
Message 6773 of 6773 / Previous / Next [ Up Thread ] Message Index Msg #
From: "maryinred12" <maryinred@r...>
Date: Wed Jun 25, 2003 2:30 pm
Subject: Rally thoughts
IMO this rally is not due to the News of the "firmware"
upgrade...but simply one of those typical causal events of the
investors/loaners taking their profits out of supporting the
company...
this happens every time.
Mary
PS I too think it's really fishy how these new investors who put up $1.1 million and within 3 weeks (or so) almost doubled their money. And yes, I do think they sold into this rise.
Interesting article about HP & WiFi
Projectors soon to meet WiFi
MARGI SYSTEMS, HP EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE WIRELESS PACKAGE
By Jon Fortt
Mercury News
Wireless technology is coming to projectors, those mainstays of business conference rooms and PowerPoint presentations.
Fremont-based Margi Systems is expected to announce next week that it is working with Hewlett-Packard and other projector manufacturers to make them ready to connect to PCs and handheld computers using WiFi. Margi, whose ``Presenter-to-Go'' products connect mobile devices to projectors, based the wireless package on the Texas Instruments DisplayConnect chipset.
The wireless package, which Margi plans to license to projector, laptop and handheld computer manufacturers, includes the reference board for integration into projectors, and software for the laptops and handhelds.
Why do projectors need to be wireless?
The company said the technology will enable two laptops to quickly pass command of the projector to one another, or allow one laptop to more easily control more than one projector. Margi chose WiFi rather than Bluetooth for the wireless connection so that it could smoothly handle transitions and video.
``The companies that are most likely adopters of it are the ones who have already taken the plunge into WiFi,'' said Forrester Research analyst Charles Golvin. ``For those companies it's a good application.''
The project announcement is the latest example of companies grasping onto WiFi as a way to solve technology problems in businesses and homes. In the past several months companies have announced more plans to use WiFi for Internet phone calls, or to move sound and images between home appliances.
chwdrhed - I thought you were the one last week who kept saying, "Give me .20...now give me .21..." and they gave it to you.
chwdrhed - Are you chanting up this move? :)
Sentinel - See.... it works!
Sentinel - What did I tell ya! Keep going buddy LOL
Sentinel - ask is .18. You should talk more often, they listen to you. LOL
chwdrhed
Sell two days after I sell and make an extra 25%. LOL
CHWDRHED!
You sound like ME LOL! The only exception is that my "M.O." is that when I buy, it always goes down. So, I won't buy. The very best of luck with your latest purchase!
Jobs is incredibly naive. I saw his schpeel on the news last night when he said that the time expended on downloading music from "illegal" sites would be like working for minimum wage versus paying 99 cents for "clean" copies from Apple's site. PLEASE!!!! The "art" of downloading from Kazaa is to que up 50 or so selections, press go and walk away. And for the kids under 14 years of age without jobs, well, they'll spend their 99 cents a pop elsewhere.
But Anyway - It was only a matter of time. Can you believe that she was so naive to think the hackers wouldn't retaliate? What an ego, both Madonna and the labels.
sky - I suggest you open and check if the microdrive was shipped with it. I'm still trying to straighten out the fiasco I had w/ my MXP order.
Gilga
Thanks for the info. If possible, could you please scan and post those handouts here on iHub. TIA
Merry Christmas to me...
Just bought an MXP 100/340. First time I put money towards the company and got something other than a kick in the teeth (sorry- I had to say that).
LGJ - nice work
Just for yucks..take this poll...
Nightly Busines Report is taking a survey regarding " What do YOU think about air travel?
It very short and give you an opportunity to tell them what you think would help air travel...
(I suggested adding personal entertainment devices) just for yucks :)
http://www.nbr.com/beta347/satgpoll/satg_poll.asp
Intertrust sold to Sony
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Nov 13, 2002 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ --
InterTrust Technologies Corporation (Nasdaq: ITRU) the leading inventor of
digital rights management (DRM) and trusted computing technologies, announced
that it has executed a definitive merger agreement with Fidelio Acquisition
Company, LLC, a company formed by Sony Corporation of America, Royal Philips
Electronics, and certain other investors. Under the merger agreement, Fidelio
will acquire InterTrust for approximately $453M cash on a fully diluted basis.
Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Fidelio Acquisition Company is
required to commence a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of
InterTrust common stock for $4.25 in cash by November 22.
InterTrust's Board of Directors has unanimously approved the acquisition and has
determined that the transaction is advisable and in the best interest of its
shareholders. All InterTrust board members owning shares, including Victor
Shear, Founder and Chairman of the board of directors, have agreed to tender all
their shares of InterTrust common stock, representing approximately 20% of the
outstanding common stock, into the tender offer. The transaction is subject to
customary conditions for a transaction of this type, including regulatory
approvals.
"By supporting the acquisition of InterTrust, Sony and Philips, two great,
global technology companies, are clearly endorsing the importance of
InterTrust's broad, trusted computing/DRM patent portfolio," said Victor Shear,
InterTrust's Founder and Chairman. "We believe that our IP portfolio can enhance
Fidelio's partners' and customers' ability to execute their business agendas for
both the media and enterprise markets."
"We are pleased that Sony and Philips are part of the acquisition of
InterTrust," said David Lockwood, InterTrust President and CEO. "This
transaction will promote the development of digital media and commerce. Through
more widespread deployment of our inventions, consumers and businesses will
benefit from the secure distribution of digital content."
Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor to InterTrust in this
transaction.
Packers
I had a problem with the Collier planfor the very reason it now ended. I jumped onboard because I agreed with the idea of providing our technology to others so THEY could produce the actual product. Take our smaller pieces of many pies. The economic environment forced us to go on our own. Maybe since we had some exposure with our product, maybe reverting back to the old business plan may work out.
*Footnote- the use "we" and "our" used as a nonspecific reply.
Major studios to launch Net movie rentals
BROADBAND-ONLY SERVICE OFFERS MAINSTREAM SELECTION
Dawn C. Chmielewski
Mercury News
Five major motion picture studios today plan to launch an Internet movie rental service that positions Hollywood for the day when computers emerge as the hub of digital home entertainment.
MovieLink is the first among a handful of nascent online movie ventures to offer a full library of recognizable, mainstream movie titles for rent. It boasts a collection of more than 170 contemporary and classic films, including ``A Beautiful Mind,'' ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'' and ``Breakfast at Tiffany's.''
And while no one expects proceeds from online movie rentals to surpass DVD sales or Blockbuster video rentals anytime soon, the Internet could emerge as a powerful new way to bring entertainment into the home.
``We are entering the beginning of a long-term business, running on a five-year business model,'' said MovieLink chief executive Jim Ramo. ``What we're hoping to do is make Internet Protocol another entry point into the home, along with cable and broadcast.''
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal and Warner Bros. jointly formed MovieLink in August 2001, partly as an act of self-defense. The unauthorized file-swapping phenomenon that Napster popularized had expanded beyond music to movies and television shows, with the rise of new peer-to-peer networks like Morpheus and Kazaa.
By May, movie industry consultant Viant reported a 20 percent surge in online movie piracy. -- fueled by brisk illicit online trading in box-office hits like ``Spider-Man'' and ``Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.'' The Boston market researcher estimated that as many as 400,000 to 600,000 films were traded every day across file-swapping networks.
Fear that the movie business would be ``Napsterized'' prodded the studios to offer a legitimate way for consumers to get movies online.
``Sometimes, preventing something from happening is just as important as a big revenue opportunity,'' said Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros. executive vice president of business development. ``From our perspective at Warner Bros., trying to get ahead of movie piracy on the Internet is a huge imperative . . . We don't think that a legal solution alone is going to prevent piracy from happening. ``We have to be out in the marketplace with a product that is convenient, priced appropriately and high quality.'' That's exactly what MovieLink is going to provide for us.''
Studio and MovieLink executives set modest expectations for the venture. It is a broadband-only service, marketed to the 20 percent of American households with Internet connections and computers fast enough to download a 380-kilobyte movie file in about an hour.
Pricing and terms are set by individual studios, with rental fees ranging from $1.99 to $4.95. Consumers download a film to their computer hard drive and keep it for up to 30 days. Once they begin to watch the movie, the rental clock starts ticking. They can watch it for 24 hours, then the movie is erased from the hard drive.
Ramo expects MovieLink will appeal to young, Internet-savvy users who may have grown disaffected with the unpredictable quality of movies traded via file-sharing service -- or to laptop-toting business travelers looking for a new diversions to break the tedium of cross-continental flights.
``Movielink is going into this with their eyes wide open. They recognize that the idea of watching a movie on the PC is a total non-starter,'' said Steve Vonder Haar, an analyst for Interactive Media Strategies, a consulting group in Dallas, Texas. `They're targeting very viable niches for this -- the traveler with the laptop.''
Vonder Haar said MovieLink will serve as a giant test-bed for the studios, allowing each to learn what forms of digital entertainment consumers are willing to pay for. The lessons learned will enable the studios to be ready, once advances in high-speed Internet access, wireless home networking and sophisticated set-top boxes make the digital living room plausible.
``MovieLink is pretty much setting the stage,'' said Vonder Haar. ``When the consumers act ready with the type of digital equipment that can capitalize on that type of content, you can bring the two sides of the equation together.''
MovieLink's success is anything but assured.
Jupiter Research analyst Lydia Loizides cites the fate of Intertainer, an independent online movie rental service that boasted many similar features -- namely, quality mainstream movies at an affordable price. It suspended operations in September, after attracting just 240,000 subscribers.
Loizides said research reveals what most consumers already know -- fewer than 10 percent want to watch a full-length movie on their computer monitor.
``MovieLink proves the infrastructure can be built to deliver movies on demand. It proves that studios can work together. It doesn't prove there's consumer demand, she said. And it doesn't prove there's a market. ``I think that that's the most important point. This is an evolution in entertainment on the PC, but it's not a revolution. We've been here, we've done that and we've seen it fail.''
Yair Landau, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said the MovieLink is an investment in the film industry's future.
``This product offering is less about what it is today than what it will become,'' he said. ``It's less about current Internet to PC than it is about where broadband Internet is going to multiple devices.''
Password for chat please. TIA
New TiVo is worth seeing
LEIGH DYER
Staff Writer
Darn, I may have bought TiVo too early.
For those who haven't yet heard, TiVo is the best-known name of the technology that allows incredibly versatile recording of TV shows in digital format. Competitors SonicBlue and UltimateTV have also jumped into the market.
TiVo is the system that runs digital video recorders made by Sony, Phillips and others. The recorder, shaped like a video cassette recorder but without any openings, holds up to 30 hours of TV shows on a hard drive. No tapes or discs are needed.
While it's up to four times more expensive than a VCR, it offers unbeatable digital picture quality and all sorts of cool capabilities (see sidebar).
But the folks at TiVo have come out with a new gizmo that may soon make mine seem downright primitive.
The new recorders, called TiVo Series2, are available at Best Buy stores in an exclusive marketing agreement.
First, the new recorders have doubled the standard recording capacity to 60 hours, meaning users could keep a decent library of movies on hand and still have plenty of room for weekly broadcasts of "The Practice."
The real news is the recorders are set up to combine the best features of your VCR, your digital cable box, your computer and the Internet. They are set up for "future entertainment options" including downloaded music, digital photos, video games, and Internet radio and video.
But the days of TiVo replacing most of those other gadgets are still a ways off, TiVo spokeswoman Rebecca Baer said.
The first, a music service from Real Networks similar to its Internet music service, is due later this year. The rest will come over the next few years.
"TiVo subscribers will not need additional equipment, but will need a broadband connection (such as the one available locally through Time Warner Cable) for most of these services," she said.
The Series2 recorders are equipped with hookups called USB expansion ports, which become the way for new services to feed into the machines. Each new service requires a separate fee.
As cool as the new entertainment options sound, those service fees can add up. All TiVo systems must be used with a monthly subscription fee that recently rose from $9.95 to $12.95 a month (or, users can opt to pay a $249 lifetime fee). And until the Series2 and similar devices become more common, most folks won't be ready to give up their monthly Internet or cable service fees.
The new TiVo is priced just shy of $400. For those who don't want to navigate the tangle of installation wires themselves, Best Buy will send pros to your home for an additional $100 installation fee.
The earlier-generation TiVos were available at Best Buy just after the holidays -- when I bought mine -- for at least $100 cheaper with a rebate that has since expired. (The earlier-generation machines are still available at Circuit City and Tweeter for the same price as the Series2; meanwhile, a decent VCR can be had for less than $100).
For those who are entertainment technogeeks who like to try new gizmos, the new generation of TiVo might be something worth taking the plunge on now.
And for those waiting for TiVo and its competitors to be as accessible as VCRs and DVD players have become, it's not time to buy yet.
But it may be soon.
Gateway--behind the music?
By Michael Kanellos
Special to ZDNet News
April 26, 2002, 4:25 PM PT
[TalkBack!]
Gateway hears the music.
The Poway, Calif.-based PC manufacturer is examining a number of strategies that could effectively turn the company into a player in the music publishing and distribution business.
Gateway already maintains a site, MusicZone, where select singles can be legally downloaded, but in the future the company's involvement could extend to launching Web sites with a larger selection of music; it may even promote new and upcoming artists.
<script></script>
"We are actively in discussions with major and independent labels and (are) talking with established acts about bringing the music-business model into the present day," said Brad Williams, a company spokesman.
Digital technology is changing the traditional relationship in the music industry between artists, publishers, distributors and consumers. The shake-up has opened the door for new players. With the advent of MP3 files and recording CD drives, the PC has become the nerve center of the home stereo.
File-swapping networks have also changed the way music is bought and sold. Instead of buying a complete CD, people can go online and get singles from famous as well as unsigned acts.
Gateway can take advantage of both of these trends, said David Turner, senior vice president of sales and marketing at the company. Although it has retrenched in the past year, Gateway is still one of the biggest PC manufacturers in the United States. It also has a large network of stores and a strong Web presence. The basic infrastructure exists, therefore, to turn Gateway into a channel for entertainment distribution.
So far, Gateway executives have not specified exact plans that the company will pursue, but they have indicated that it could position itself as a conduit for content from established and new artists. Turner also indicated that Gateway is contemplating bypassing the titans of the music industry if necessary.
"We have retail stores that aren't beholden to the music industry," Turner said. "There are a lot of artists out there."
Gateway CEO Ted Waitt is also known to be a music fan. The ponytailed Waitt currently stars in a television commercial where he drives a big rig and sings duets of "Whip It" or "Sundown" with a cow. The ads promote Gateway PCs and legal music downloading.
"We have retail stores that aren't beholden to the music industry. There are a lot of artists out there."
--David Turner, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Gateway
Waitt is also an investor in Palm Pictures, a record and film production company started by Island Records founder Chris Blackwell.
The ad campaign has drawn the wrath of the recording industry, but Gateway executives have countered that it is promoting only legal music downloads. The company has also spoken out against a bill proposed by Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings, D-S.C., that would place the onus of copyright protection on hardware manufacturers rather than the studios or distributors.
"The Hollings bill seems to go too far," said Turner. "The solution is going to have to be collaborative."
Creating stronger ties with the music industry could also allow Gateway to better differentiate itself from competitors. The company is trying to carve out a niche in the industry that would insulate it to some degree from the rampant price cutting of larger companies like Dell Computer and Hewlett-Packard.
In late 2000, Gateway launched a line of consumer-electronics devices to separate itself from the pack. Months later, these products were shelved in a corporate overhaul.
Enhancing PCs by optimizing them for entertainment or including music with them could be less risky because it's adding on to something the company is already selling. Additionally, Gateway's larger music strategy opens up the opportunity to develop a recurring revenue stream, he said.
"We think we will be positioned as a digital-solutions retailer (in three years)," Turner said.
Some DivX connections/info...
http://www.divxnetworks.com/press/pr_detail.php?pr_id=21
(take note of who is backing Lockstream - DivX partner.......
About LockStream (DivX Parnter)...
LockStream Corporation creates software that secures content delivery across all platforms and wireless devices
LockStream to Collaborate With Texas Instruments to Provide Mobile Digital Rights Management Software on Next-Generation Mobile Devices
Wireless carriers, handset manufacturers and content owners benefit from LockStream’s DRM solution optimized on TI’s OMAP™ platform
BELLEVUE, WA – (Feb 19, 2002) – Recognizing the immediate need to ensure the fast, secure and seamless distribution of digital media, including music, software and video, onto 2.5G and 3G mobile devices, LockStream Corporation and Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) today announced they will work together to create practical solutions for the secure delivery of digital media in the wireless space and beyond.
Already selected by major players in the mobile communications industry, LockStream’s Digital Rights Management (DRM) solution will now harness the high performance and low power of TI’s OMAP™ processor platform to further enhance the consumer’s mobile device experience, while ensuring that copyrighted material remains protected when transmitted on next-generation mobile devices. LockStream’s DRM solution, optimized for TI’s high-performance, power-efficient OMAP application processors, will enable wireless operators and handset manufacturers to quickly and easily offer mobile device users access to an array of digital media, including music, software and video.
“Digital Rights Management is essential to deliver rich media and applications over 2.5 and 3G networks,” said Paul Werp, worldwide marketing manager for TI’s OMAP platform. By leveraging the high performance and power efficiency of OMAP processors, LockStream will be able to deliver a carrier-grade DRM solution, which will generate new and expanded wireless services for consumers and help speed the transition to 2.5G and 3G.”
LockStream’s DRM software suite includes the Secure Package Creator application, which allows media assets to be placed in a secure format so that they can be protected during delivery; the License Generator application, which manages the creation of licenses that determine how digital media can be played or rendered across various consumer devices; and the Secure Package Reader application, which provides the consumer with media playback on various client applications, including LockStream’s Morphing Player customizable interface.
“With this new offering, wireless device manufacturers and operators are now in a position to integrate LockStream’s Digital Rights Management software with little or no effort. LockStream’s Secure Package Reader and Morphing Player software optimized for TI’s OMAP processors allow for efficient playback of secure media on devices regardless of operating system or device form factor”, said Peter Baer, executive vice president.
LockStream Corporation is a member of TI's OMAP™ Developer Network, a group of software developers writing wireless applications for mobile Internet devices. OMAP developers enjoy a variety of tools and support to enable rapid application development for leading operating systems and programming languages plus the opportunity to collaborate with a range of developers designing applications such as multimedia, security, location based services, mobile commerce and gaming. OMAP developers also benefit from TI’s fully open OMAP platform, which has been selected by Nokia, Sony, Ericsson, Palm, Sendo, HTC and others for their 2.5 and 3G wireless devices. For more information about the OMAP Developer Network, please visit www.ti.com
Handset and other device manufacturers using TI’s OMAP processors can easily include LockStream’s Secure Client Reader and Morphing Player software in their devices today.
About LockStream Corporation
LockStream Corporation creates software that secures content delivery across all platforms and wireless devices. Developed by senior technology and media experts, LockStream´s software is the first solution to offer unparalleled security, wireless distribution and brand management capabilities. Industry leaders including AOL Time Warner, Artisan Entertainment, Audax Group, Encore Venture Partners and ING Barings back LockStream. Founded in 1999, LockStream is headquartered in Seattle, with offices in New York, London and Tokyo.
Treo - CompUSA ad (link)
http://www.compusa.com/product_images/pdfs/ads/070402/pg10.pdf
Also selling the Handspring Treo in the same ad
http://www.compusa.com/product_images/pdfs/ads/070402/back.pdf
Voice-controlled devices are making headway in the home
By Neil McManus
New York Times
Be careful what you say around the house. Your appliances may be listening.
Voice control, long the stuff of science fiction and computer lab experiments, is popping up in more and more mundane household devices like clock radios, MP3 players, television remotes, telephones and light switches. You no longer have to push buttons or twist dials to listen to music or brew coffee: You simply tell your appliances what you want, and through built-in microphones and microprocessors they understand and obey your commands.
These low-end voice controls are not designed for space travel but rather to make everyday devices easier to use. A voice-activated television remote, for example, can spare you from having to remember hundreds of channel numbers. And even relatively simple voice-controlled devices like light switches can be a boon to people with physical disabilities or to people with poorly placed wall switches in their basements.
Oh, and yeah, voice control is also kind of fun.
``Sometimes voice control doesn't really start from a need -- it starts as a feature,' said William Meisel, the publisher of Speech Recognition Update, a monthly newsletter. ``Manufacturers say, `This is a feature that will make us look high-tech and distinguish us from the other guys without costing us too much.' '
It is a feature that could find its way into many more living rooms and kitchens. Todd Mozer, chief executive of Sensory, a company based in Santa Clara that makes specialized speech recognition chips for appliances, said that more than 15 million such devices had been sold worldwide. If you include cell phones with voice-dialing, the estimate rises to 100 million.
Not lifting a finger
After seeing ads for a number of voice-activated appliances, I started to fantasize about never having to lift a finger around the house. I wanted to give orders to my appliances. They would listen and obey. I would be king of the house. The clock radio, the television set, the lamps -- all would be my trusty servants.
I sampled six voice-activated devices, all recently released. VOS Systems offers a voice-operated dimmer switch for lamps for $35 and a voice-activated module for appliances for $30 that can be used with any AC device. KashNGold's InVoca line includes a voice-activated clock radio for $100 and a television remote control for $100. Then there is the Gigaset 4215 voice-controlled wireless phone from Siemens ($180) and a $239 voice-controlled MP3 player, the MXP 100 Sport from e.Digital.
I tried the VOS appliance module first. After glancing at the manual, I plugged a lamp into the device and the module into a wall outlet. My wife came in the room just as I said, ``Lights.' The lamp turned on! Buoyed by that success, I hooked up the television remote and the lamp dimmer switch in the living room and the clock radio in the bedroom. The appliance module was dispatched to a boombox in the kitchen.
As it turns out, these devices have to be taught to respond to commands, and the procedure is slightly different for each appliance. That typically involves saying a keyword three or four times until the device is satisfied that it can pick it out in a noisy room. For example, training the television remote required punching in each channel number, then repeating the keyword I chose for that channel. I also programmed macros, or single commands that trigger a sequence of responses. For example, the phrase ``Play tape' turned on the television, tuned in Channel 3, turned on the VCR and pressed the Play button.
The training process can be pretty humbling. First of all, you are talking to a household appliance. Second, you are saying the same words over and over, hoping to get your point across. It's embarrassing when you say something important and somebody doesn't understand. It's even more embarrassing when that somebody is your toaster.
I am not the first person to be taken aback by the training required for some voice-controlled devices. ``That's where a lot of people get into trouble,' said John Lockyer, a senior technical adviser at Smarthome, a home-automation and smart-appliance retailer based in Irvine. ``They expect it to be like `Star Trek,' where voice recognition recognizes all voices, all languages, and it knows what you want it to do. But there can be a great deal of setup time. In the case of the remote control, you have to teach it that CNN is on Channel 35.'
Even worse, some of the devices talk back. A synthesized female voice in the television remote kept criticizing my delivery. I would utter a command like ``TV power,' and she would reply, ``Too soft.'
After completing the training process with all of the devices, which took about three hours, we had a peaceable kingdom. I would say, ``Radio on,' and the clock radio would turn on. When I said ``Sports,' it would tune into a sports talk station that I had programmed. When I walked into the living room and said ``Lights,' the lamp obeyed. ``TV power' turned on the television set, and when I said ``Discovery' the cable box clicked over to the Discovery Channel.
Then the poltergeist struck. It started with the living room lamp, which would turn on and off seemingly at will. The clock radio soon started doing the same thing: We would come home to an empty house and find that the radio had turned itself on and tuned in to an oldies station.
Then the sassy television remote started making programming decisions. Something about the voice of Bernie Mac, star of the Fox sitcom of the same name, kept making the remote switch channels. Once a movie commercial set off the remote signal to turn up the volume. That triggered the remote again. The set grew even louder. I managed to jump on the remote and turn it off before the speakers exploded.
Right around this time, my wife went to visit her sister 3,000 miles away.
Better control
To find out how to control my appliances a little better, I called Mozer at Sensory. The solution turned out to be voice spotting, a feature that Sensory includes on its chips that involves using a specific keyword to get a particular device's attention before uttering a command.
``We had one customer who did a voice-activated fireplace,' Mozer said. ``You don't want your fireplace to accidentally go on, so there we used a gateway word. You had to say `Superfireplace' or something like that first and then `Turn on.''
Peace was restored in our house after I retrained the appliances by using voice spotting. Instead of just saying ``Sports' to my radio, I would first say, ``Radio.' Pause. An LED on the radio turned from orange to green, showing that it was ready to accept my command ``Get sports.' The radio might mistakenly hear its keyword, but it would rarely follow that up by also mistakenly hearing a command.
After that problem was fixed, I started to appreciate the convenience of using voice interfaces. It's a lot easier to say ``TV . . . HBO' than to remember and punch in a two- or three-digit channel number for every channel. It's also nice to be able to control the television while eating.
Fujitsu To Introduce New 2.3GB And 1.3GB Removable Storage Products With Hi-Speed USB 2.0 Interface
(sounds like another job for Micro OS)
BusinessWire 03/13/02
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2002-- New Consumer-Focused DynaMO 2300 Removable Storage Product Ideal for Data Back Up and Archiving Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. (FCPA), a leading provider of storage solutions, today announced an exciting product roadmap that includes 2.3GB- and 1.3GB-capacity Magneto-Optical (MO) removable storage products with the new Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface targeted at consumers who require durable, high-capacity, cost-effective external storage. Today' roadmap announcement expands Fujitsu' DynaMO product line to include an external model of its popular 2.3GB capacity MO drive, with three and half times greater in capacity than that of traditional CD-RW discs, to compliment its current DynaMO 2.3GB internal drives shipping today. The new drives, the 2.3GB DynaMO 2300U2 and the 1.3GB DynaMO 1300U2, available this summer, also have the new Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface, offering end-users durable, reliable, and cost effective removable storage solutions for intensive digital audio and video, data backup, and demanding desktop applications. With Fujitsu 2.3GB MO disks priced at $30 (MSRP), the capacity milestone is particularly significant to meeting end-user demands in the removable storage landscape. The reliability, durability and low cost of Fujitsu MO disk technology combined with the Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface offers a significant value proposition to customers. Increased data transfer speeds and plug-and-play simplicity allowed by Hi-Speed USB 2.0 is well suited for traditional MO applications including audio/video capture and playback, system backup, archiving, and more. The new Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface, that will be implemented on Fujitsu' new DynaMO U2 drives, allows data transfer speeds up to 60 MB/sec -- 40 times faster than the data transfer using the USB 1.1 interface. Additionally, the two new DynaMO drives are fully backward compatible with earlier versions of Fujitsu' 3.5" MO disks (in 128MB, 230MB, 540MB, and 640MB capacities). For interest in purchasing and for more information on Fujitsu' MO drives and media, please visit Fujitsu' MO website at http://www.MOstorage.com/. All current MO products are also available through distribution partners including Arrow Electronics, Inc., Avnet, Inc., Ingram Micro Inc., Microland Group, and Tech Data Corporation. Protecting Investments in Data Magneto-optical storage backs up and archives data produced in office, home, or industry application that requires high capacity, reliable, removable storage. Magneto-Optical technology is highly resistant to data loss as a result of shock, vibration, moisture, dust and magnetic fields. About Fujitsu Fujitsu is a leading provider of Internet-focused information technology solutions for the global marketplace. Its pace-setting technologies, best-in-class computing and telecommunications platforms, and worldwide corps of systems and services experts make it uniquely positioned to unleash the infinite possibilities of the Internet to help its customers succeed. Headquartered in Tokyo, Fujitsu Limited (TSE:6702) reported consolidated revenues of 5.48 trillion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. Internet: http://www.fujitsu.com. About Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. (FCPA) conducts engineering and marketing activities in San Jose, CA and sales operations throughout the United States. FCPA' current product and service offerings include hard disk drives, tape drives, magneto-optical drives, scanners and scanner maintenance. FCPA is located at 2904 Orchard Parkway, San Jose, CA, 95134. For more information about Fujitsu products and services, call us at 800/626-4686 or 408/432-6333 or use our Internet Web site at http://www.fcpa.fujitsu.com. Statements herein are based on normal operating conditions and are not intended to create any implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. reserves the right to modify at any time without notice these statements, our services, products, and their warranty and performance specifications. DynaMO is a registered trademark of Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. Fujitsu and the Fujitsu logo are registered trademarks and The Possibilities are Infinite is a trademark of Fujitsu Ltd. All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.
Copyright (c) 2001 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
Email from Qdesign
Hi xxxx
Yes, we're working with a variety of firms to bring out digital audio players beginning in the first and second quarters of 2002. Stay tuned for more announcements.
Thanks for your patience,
Chad
==========================================
Chad York
Systems Administrator/ Technical Support
QDesign Corporation
604-688-1525 ext 225
mailto:cyork@qdesign.com
==========================================
-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxx@aol.com [mailto:xxxxxxx@aol.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2001 7:41 AM
To: support@qdesign.com
Subject: Digital Audio Players
I've read about your QDX format and the features seem great. Which DAP's are using your format, where can I find them and will I be able to get them in time for the holidays?
I appreciate your assistance.
Think - Edig "Viaggi"(travel) IBM "Travelstar"
From CeBIT PR-
Also, e.Digital's HDD-based portable digital jukebox design, incorporating an embedded IBM Travelstar mobile drive will be on display. This jukebox design features a larger storage capacity, much smaller size, better audio quality, and a lower retail price tag than existing jukebox-type products available on the market today.
FWIW-EDIG not in new Iomega/TI Player
Iomega has a long-standing relationship with TI, who builds a channel chip for Iomega's Zip drives, as well as a preamp IC for the Zip and PocketZip drives.
While it does take considerable resources to change host processors between generations, the Iomega design team believed that it was worth the effort. Says Jones, "One of the reasons we're doing it is because of the cost savings. If we can write the code ourselves, which we're doing on the TI part, then we own the code. Therefore, we don't have to pay any royalties."
http://pd.pennnet.com/Articles/Article_Display.cfm?&Section=Articles&SubSection=Display&...
Read-while-write—not just for cellular phones anymore
Doug Wong, member technical staff, Flash Memory Products
Memory Business Unit, Toshiba America Electronic Components
Flash memory devices have evolved considerably since their invention in the mid-80s and have become the nonvolatile memory of choice. Today's flash devices have the ability to erase a subset of memory (typically a 64-kbyte block or sector) in addition to erasing the whole chip. But one of the more useful improvements to NOR-type flash has been the development of read-while-write (RWW) devices from various manufacturers. Marketed under several different names (simultaneous read-while-write, dual operation, dual-plane, background operation), RWW offers the ability to read program code from one part of the flash memory while simultaneously programming or erasing another part of memory. It's almost like having two flash chips in one.
RWW devices were originally developed in response to demand from the cell-phone market, but all systems needing to store any kind of customization data could benefit by using this type of NOR flash. Before the availability of RWW devices, phone makers needed to add a small EEPROM to their phones to store system parameters and user-entered data like names and phone numbers. In addition, programming code was generated from flash memory. Even though the memory contained empty space that was used to store data, in a limited RAM system like a phone, it was inconvenient and sometimes dangerous to transfer both erase and program code to RAM. Instead, this operation required two flash arrays on one chip, allowing program execution to continue from one array while erasing and reprogramming a portion of the other.
The development of RWW ICs eliminated the space and cost of a separate EEPROM. These parts remain completely compatible with standard non-RWW flash ICs, and an RWW device can be used in place of standard flash.
To perform block erasure or word programming, a specific command sequence must be written to the flash chip. For example, four consecutive write cycles are typically needed to program an address location. Before the advent of RWW parts, the microprocessor had to fetch its instructions from a physically different chip (RAM or flash) because the four consecutive write cycles couldn't be interleaved with read cycles. With RWW devices, however, as long as the read cycles take place from a different bank in the memory, interleaving read and write cycles can be done.
In an RWW flash, instead of one large memory array with one set of sense amplifiers, the array is split into two or more banks, each with its own amplifier set, each bank functioning as an independent chip. Within a bank, it's not possible to read instructions from one part of the bank and program or erase another part of the same bank. Therefore, the availability to two banks makes RWW possible.
RWW devices are useful in any system that needs to store and update user information or system parameters. With appropriate software, one bank can serve as either an EEPROM or flash disk. As software becomes more complex, the ability to do in-system updates or bug fixes will become mandatory. With RWW devices, this need can be accommodated by storing the boot and flash erasure and reprogramming code in one bank, and all other system code in the other bank.
By allowing the ability to read from one bank while simultaneously programming or erasing another bank, RWW flash fulfills the promise of true in-circuit reprogrammability. A superset of standard NOR flash devices, it has the same pin-out, algorithms, and functionality, and is especially useful in embedded systems with limited RAM, which require a nonvolatile parameter or file storage.