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Stepping through the processing requirements for MPEG-4
By Chris Basoglu, Director, Technical Marketing, Equator Technologies Inc., Seattle, Wash.
EE Times
January 6, 2003 (1:05 p.m. EST)
http://www.commsdesign.com/design_corner/OEG20030106S0031
culater
ot-Petters Group Launches Polaroid(R) DVD/CD-W Player/Recorder; First-of-its-kind Unit Features Ethernet Compatibility
Wednesday January 8, 10:30 pm ET
MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- The Petters Group today announced the launch of the DVD-DVR 700 Player/Recorder under the Polaroid® brand. This new product allows users to record video content to a CD-rw and replay it on most home DVD players. It also has the capability to download, record and stream Windows Media 9 Series content from disc and the internet to a Polaroid® home entertainment system. The new product can be viewed at the Petters Group/Polaroid booth #16625 at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
ADVERTISEMENT
The technology used for the new product is supported by Aeon Digital, Equator Technologies and Microsoft® Corporation's Windows Media 9 Series. Aeon Digital Corporation's Hardware Set includes the DVD playback subsystem and a CD-R playback/record subsystem. Equator Technology's chip runs the CD drive and works with Microsoft's® Windows Media 9 Series to allow playback and recording. All of these technologies work together in the new Polaroid® DVD-DVR product distributed exclusively by the Petters Group.
The new Polaroid® DVD-DVR unit features a dual DVD player/CD-rw burner device, the capability to stream Windows Media 9 content both from disc and the internet to the Polaroid home entertainment system. The Polaroid® DVD- DVR 700 is the industry's first consumer DVD product to support consumer created content with Windows Media 9 Series Video. The Polaroid® DVD-DVR 700 allows consumers, for the first time, the ability to share media with the PC and stream their favorite Windows Media 9 Series content directly to their TV.
"We are very pleased to be the first to introduce this cutting edge technology to consumers in a reliable, easy-to-use and affordable way through the Polaroid® DVD-DVR 700. Our entire line of Polaroid® brand consumer electronics has been designed to offer consumers the latest technology at affordable prices," said Tom Petters, Chairman and CEO of the Petters Group, which has the exclusive license to distribute the Polaroid® brand of consumer electronics.
Giovanni D'Andrea, CEO of Aeon Digital Corp. states, "Aeon Digital is the first company to license out a hardware set that encompasses Windows Media 9 Series Video encoding. We are thrilled to be working with Microsoft and Equator Technologies to deliver the Next Generation in DVD players to the consumer. We are extremely pleased that the Petters Group has chosen to include our hardware set in their recently announced line of Polaroid consumer electronics."
About The Petters Group, LLC
Minneapolis, Minn. -- The Petters Group, LLC, includes wholesale, retail, finance and fulfillment companies focusing on consumer goods at exceptional prices. With offices worldwide, The Petters Group partners with leading global manufacturers to develop products and brands which it distributes through retail, internet, and catalog channels. The Petters Group has the exclusive license to develop and distribute the Polaroid® brand of consumer electronics in the United States and Europe. Thomas J. Petters is Chairman and CEO of the Petters Group. Mr. Petters has more than 20 years experience in the business-to-business wholesale and retail industries.
About Polaroid® Corporation
Polaroid Corporation is the worldwide leader in instant photography. The company supplies instant photographic cameras and films; digital imaging hardware, software and media; secure identification systems; and sunglasses to markets worldwide. "Polaroid" is a registered trademark of Polaroid Corporation, Waltham, MA. 02451.
About Aeon Digital Corp.
Aeon Digital Corp. is a privately owned company reshaping the way world defines home entertainment. Aeon Digital's Next Generation DVD Hardware Set features a DVD player, WMV9 playback and encoding, CDR-W burner, programmable TV tuner with timer, and an Ethernet port. Working with OEMS, Aeon Digital is enabling consumer products to Record and Play Digitally Today!(TM)
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030108/cgw016_1.html
culater
50+ Seems possible -I guess we'll see/
50+ Seems possible -I guess we'll see/
50+ Seems possible -I guess we'll see/
Massive Data Storage in Tiny Devices
By Syndication
January 10, 2003
http://sci.newsfactor.com/perl/story/20435.html
By using advanced technology developed from IBM research, a microdrive in development at Hitachi Global Storage Technologies -- set for release this fall -- can store over four gigabytes of data on disks roughly the size of U.S. quarters.
A quick look at the new consumer electronics products being developed by companies quickly reveals a fast emerging trend: many devices are turning into smart, digital data devices.
Cell phones already can capture and send digital photos wirelessly. And soon consumers will see wristwatches that can display news and information from the Internet, as well as palm-sized boxes that will contain dozens of full-length, DVD-quality digital movies.
But to cram all of that data into ever-smaller devices, companies are developing novel -- and tiny -- storage devices.
Recently, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, a joint venture between Hitachi and IBM, announced plans to produce an advanced version of IBM's tiny Microdrive hard disk drive.
The miniature storage device measures roughly an inch-wide and functions exactly like traditional hard drives found in any computer. But by using advanced technology developed from IBM research, the Microdrive can store over four gigabytes of data on disks roughly the size of U.S. quarters.
Bill Healy, a manager of Hitachi's mobile storage unit in San Jose, Calif., says that when the tiny drive becomes available by this fall, it will allow for new types of portable multimedia devices.
"I'm really looking forward to Christmas of 2003," says Healy, "That's when you'll start to see digital video cameras that use Microdrive-like devices to store high-quality, DVD-like video."
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Marking Up an Old Memory Idea
But for even smaller multimedia devices -- wristwatch cameras and cell phones, say -- IBM is working on a technology that may make even the Microdrive seem like a boat anchor.
For years, researchers at IBM's research centers in Zurich, Switzerland, have been working on a storage system code-named Millipede. Rather than using magnetic disks, such as those found in hard drives, Millipede stores data using thousands of levers that are about 10 micrometers wide.
The levers are arranged in a square grid and travel along a sheet of thin plastic. To record a bit of data, the tip of each lever is heated to 400 degrees Celsius and "punches" into the plastic to create a tiny "pit."
This technique of storing data is similar to so-called punch-cards, developed more than 110 years ago. But unlike punch cards, the pits can be erased and reused by re-heating the spike's point and melting the plastic film back to shape.
What's more, each "pit" is tiny, measuring only 10 nanometers in diameter. The result? Millipede can store roughly one trillion bits of data per square inch of media -- 20 times greater than what is possible with today's magnetic storage devices.
Making Many More Miniature Marks
Tom Albrecht, manager of micro- and nano-mechanics research at IBM's Zurich research center, says that lab tests of Millipede last year have produced impressive results.
In a three millimeter square array containing over 1,000 levers, millipede was able to store and retrieve a 50 kilobyte digital image file with little difficulty.
But later this year, Albrecht says the IBM research team will be testing a more ambitious Millipede chip that would use over 4,000 levers in a 7 square-millimeter area of plastic. At that level of development, Albrecht expects the chip to handle "several gigabytes" of data.
"That's the whole value proposition of this technology," says Albrecht. "We can [expand] the media to get tens of gigabytes [of storage space]."
What's more, producing the Millipede chip won't require new chip-making processes.
"This is a MEMS (micro-electromechanical system), so basically it is using fabrication technology for microelectronics," says Albrecht. "We don't draw on any [technique] that's particularly difficult to develop."
Crawling Onward
Still, Albrecht notes that the team has much research to do before Millipede crawls out of IBM's labs and into future gizmos.
"There are a number of different issues that have to be answered," says Albrecht. "What is the long term reliability of the read/write process? How does it react to environmental conditions? Can we get power consumption levels and data [transfer] rates that's competitive with other [storage] technologies?"
At best, IBM says that a Millipede-based memory device could be available by the end of 2005.
culater
ot-Visions of 'Smart Living' in the Digital Decade
By Mark Long -- e-inSITE, 1/9/2003
Earlier today during his keynote address at CES 2003, Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates outlined his company's vision of a plethora of new products for enabling 'Smart Living' in the Digital Decade.
Gates kicked off his presentation by showing off a new generation of wristwatches based on Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT). Demonstrating how software can transform everyday devices, Fossil Inc., Suunto and Citizen Watch Co. Ltd. unveiled a new generation of watches based on chips from National Semiconductor and running SPOT software from Microsoft. Scheduled to roll out to consumers beginning in 4Q03, the new 'smart' watches offer advanced features such as customizable watch faces, access to personal messages and appointments, and the ability to receive up-to-date news, traffic, weather and sports information.
'Of all the devices in our lives today, the watch is the only device that people choose to actually wear -- and today, the watch just got smart,' said Fossil vice president Donald R. Brewer.
Gates also demonstrated a portable media player device platform code-named 'Media2Go,' which is designed to give consumers on-the-go access to their digital video, music and photos. Microsoft also announced today that it is working with Intel Corp. on a reference design, and the company is teaming up with Samsung Electronics. Co. Ltd., ViewSonic Corp., SANYO and iRiver to deliver 'Media2Go' devices in the future. (For expanding coverage of the Intel/Microsoft joint effort, see 'Intel, Microsoft Develop Portable Media Player Design.')
Gates believes that smart, connected devices and services based on the new technology will not only simplify the daily lives of consumers but also revolutionize how they keep in touch and have fun. In addition, Gates discussed his company's progress on cornerstone products such as Microsoft Windows XP, the MSN network of Internet services and the Xbox video gaming system.
In particular, Gates noted that over 89 million licenses for the company's Windows XP operating system have been sold to date, either on new PCs or through retail upgrades since its launch in October of 2001. Gates also reiterated Microsoft's commitment to help make wireless access prevalent and accessible, while noting that Windows XP already includes built-in support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technologies.
'Microsoft has always been focused on unlocking the power of computing to help people realize their full potential,' Gates said. 'Through innovative new devices, ubiquitous connectivity and personalized services, we are continuing to deliver on that mission, and on the promise of the Digital Decade for consumers around the globe.'
Gates also demonstrated new Pocket PCs from Samsung and Hitachi, which feature built-in keyboards and digital cameras. The devices are among the first to use the CDMA version of Microsoft Pocket PC Phone Edition software.
Gates announced the retail availability of the ViewSonic airpanel V110 and V150 smart displays, which feature new home-control functionality that will enable consumers to control their appliances from anywhere in the home. Microsoft's Chairman also showed off the DesXcape 150DM from Philips, which is expected to become available to American consumers next month. In addition, Microsoft has announced that BenQ Corp. and Samsung Electronics will soon be delivering Smart Display products of their own.
Gates then proceeded to demonstrate how home video content can be generated through the use of the company's Windows Movie Maker 2 package for Windows XP. whThe content was then run on a Polaroid prototype DVD player, which is based on hardware from Aeon Digital Corp. and Equator Technologies Inc.'s Tetra platform. The Polariod player is also the first to support Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 platform, which offers high-definition playback at nearly three times the resolution of a conventional DVD (See 'Equator Supports HDTV Encoding of Windows Media 9 Content.')
Gates also showed off the first Panasonic DVD player to support HighMAT technology, which has been designed to dramatically improve the storage, arrangement and playback of digital media on recordable discs such as CD-R and CD-RW. The new technology reportedly speeds up startup times while enabling consistent, easy navigation across a broad range of consumer electronics devices.
Gates was later joined by Los Angeles Laker Shaquille O'Neal, who demonstrated the power of online gaming by playing a game of 'Midtown Madness 3,' a new title for the new Xbox Live online game service. Since its introduction less than two months ago, more than 250,000 starter kits for the on-line gaming service have been sold, with gamers spending an average of 2.5 hours per day playing online.
During Gates' keynote address, Microsoft also unveiled DirectBand--a suite of technology products that includes a custom radio receiver chip, a wide area network based on FM subcarrier technology and new radio protocols created specifically to update SPOT-based devices continuously with new information and personalized content.
Gates concluded his presentation with a demonstration that offered attendees a glimpse of the future of smart living in the Digital Decade. Created specifically for CES, the demo showed how all these smart devices, services and connectivity options will come together in the coming years.
'In the Digital Decade, we're starting to see computing technology move
beyond being merely useful: it's becoming a significant and essential part of everyday life,' said Gates in conclusion. 'The potential for all these exciting devices, smart objects and services to enrich and enhance the way we live is truly amazing.'
"Gates then proceeded to demonstrate how home video content can be generated through the use of the company's Windows Movie Maker 2 package for Windows XP. whThe content was then run on a Polaroid prototype DVD player, which is based on hardware from Aeon Digital Corp. and Equator Technologies Inc.'s Tetra platform. The Polariod player is also the first to support Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9 platform, which offers high-definition playback at nearly three times the resolution of a conventional DVD (See 'Equator Supports HDTV Encoding of Windows Media 9 Content.')"
http://www.e-insite.net/commvergemag/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA269697&spacedesc=n...
culater
New Microsoft Devices Shoot From the Hip and the Wrist
By Michael Singer
January 9, 2003
All those rumors that suggested a new handheld device that would let you carry movies around was coming out this week... were true.
But instead of the idea coming from Apple Computer (Quote, Company Info) in the form of a video version of its iPod, it was Microsoft (Quote, Company Info) that has come up with idea of the personal media player (PMP). The company will market the device under the "Media2Go" moniker.
At his keynote Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Bill Gates unveiled a prototype of the device with a 4-inch screen. Small enough to fit in a coat pocket, the device would allow people to take video, still pictures and music with them anywhere they go - on the plane, train, or bus, to the gym, or hand it to the kids sitting in the back seat of the car during a long drive. Microsoft said the first Media2Go units could be ready later this year.
Similar to his address at COMDEX Fall 2002, Gates reiterated the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant's vision for "Smart Living" in what the company is calling the Digital Decade. Gates also introduced a new generation of watches based on Microsoft's Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT), Windows-powered Smart Displays, new Pocket PCs as well as a portable Xbox video game console that could come out in three years.
Media2Go is based on Microsoft's Windows CE .NET operating system. Along with partners like Intel (Quote, Company Info) (providing the 400MHz XScale processor brains in the demo version) and OEMs like Sanyo, Samsung and ViewSonic, the new players will feature with ports to connect them to television sets for broadcast-quality playback. Different types of media can be transferred to the player from a PC or a Personal Video Recorder using a fast USB 2.0 connection.
Intel said it has been working on the PMP concept since Spring 2001. Intel's Emerging Platforms Lab developed much of the new device's framework including high-performance video software (H.264/MPEG 4 Part 10 video codec), a USB 2.0 implementation, hard-drive caching algorithms that let batteries live longer, and working PMP prototypes and reference designs. In September 2002, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based chip making giant partnered with SONICblue (Quote, Company Info) on just such a device that would put XScale chips into a ReplayTV . Intel said it is still helping SONICblue with its version.
On the SPOT
With its SPOT initiative, Microsoft is putting its technology in everyday items like alarm clocks, wristwatches, refrigerator magnets, pens and key chains. Partnerships with Fossil, Suunto Oy. and Citizen Watch have resulted in Dick Tracy-style units that have customizable watch faces, access to personal messages and appointments, and the ability to receive up-to-date news, traffic, weather and sports information.
Microsoft said the watches would receive data streamed over its DirectBand network The system includes a custom radio receiver chip, a wide-area network based on FM subcarrier technology leased by Microsoft and new radio protocols. The watches could debut as early as fall 2003.
"The only screen you carry around with you and you can just glance at is a wrist-sized screen," Gates told Reuters. "If we get five percent or 10 percent of the people who have watches, it's a huge, huge number."
Smart Displays
Gates helped launch Windows Powered Smart Displays by announcing the retail availability of the ViewSonic airpanel V110 and 150 and said they could be programmed to let consumers control appliances from anywhere in the home over a wireless network. He also showed the Philips desXcape 150DM, expected to be available in the U.S. the first week of February. Microsoft also announced that Taiwan-based cell phone maker BenQ Corp. and Samsung have joined its team to deliver Smart Displays. Finally, Microsoft said it would collaborate with Hewlett-Packard (Quote, Company Info) on the development of future Smart Display applications for the home.
CDMA PocketPCs
Eager to maintain its foothold in the PDA sector, Microsoft unveiled new Pocket PCs from Samsung and Hitachi (Quote, Company Info), which include built-in keyboards and digital cameras. The devices are among the first to use the CDMA version of Microsoft's Pocket PC Phone Edition software.
Gates also discussed strong progress on the company's Xbox video game system and even suggested that a portable version of the platform could be available in about three years.
Since the introduction of Xbox Live less than two months ago, Microsoft says more than 250,000 starter kits have been sold. The kits allow gamers to connect their Xbox consoles to the Internet and play each other.
Gates also demonstrated home video content created with the new Windows Movie Maker 2 for users of Windows XP on a Polaroid prototype DVD player. The player, which uses hardware from Aeon Digital Corp, and EQUATOR Technology's Tetra platform, is the first to support the company's recently released Windows Media Video 9.
http://www.internetnews.com/ent-news/article.php/10794_1566781
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Intel to Work with Major Consumer Electronics Companies to Bring `Portable Media Players' to Market
Thursday January 9, 3:01 am ET
Intel and Microsoft Collaborate on Reference Design
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 9, 2003--
International Consumer Electronics Show
Intel Corporation today announced that it is working with Microsoft Corp. to develop a portable media player (PMP) hardware reference design for the new Microsoft Media2Go* software platform. As a result of the Intel and Microsoft collaboration, Samsung Electronics and ViewSonic Corp. will develop Intel® XScale(TM) technology-based PMPs running the Media2Go* platform that will allow consumers to enjoy video and other types of media anywhere they want.
Called the portable video player in its early development, the PMP is a new type of mobile entertainment product pioneered by Intel. PMPs will be small enough to fit in a coat pocket and will allow people to take video, still pictures and music with them anywhere they go -- on the plane, train, or bus, to the gym, or hand it to the kids sitting in the back seat of the car during a long drive. Intel-based PMPs will feature high-quality video playback using an Intel® XScale(TM) technology-based processor. The different types of media can be transferred to a PMP from a PC or a Personal Video Recorder using a fast Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connection.
Intel and Microsoft are working together to develop an initial hardware reference design based on Intel XScale technology and Microsoft's Media2Go software platform. Media2Go is based on Microsoft's Windows CE .NET* operating system and offers consumers the ability to enjoy their videos, music and photos on-the-go.
"Intel and Microsoft are paving the way for device manufacturers to deliver compelling PMP products to consumers quickly and cost-effectively," said Peter Green, general manager of Intel's Extended Computing Division. "Microsoft Media2Go helps make it easier for users to bring media content from the PC to the PMP and takes advantage of the high performance and low power consumption of Intel's XScale processors."
Samsung Electronics and ViewSonic Corp. will develop Intel XScale technology-based PMPs running the Microsoft Media2Go software platform. Both companies will develop PMPs and build on Intel's technology enabling work over the last two years in key areas such as video playback and device architecture. Intel has been working with numerous consumer electronics manufacturers and software providers for more than a year to help bring Intel XScale technology-based PMP products to market.
"Just as VCRs gave consumers the freedom to view content when they wanted to, PMPs will give consumers the freedom to consume content where they want to," Green said. "By working with companies like Samsung and ViewSonic to build these new devices on Intel XScale technology-based processors, we can ensure that wherever they go, consumers will have a high-quality media experience."
Intel's Emerging Platforms Lab has developed key enabling technologies for the PMP, including high-performance video software (H.264/MPEG 4 Part 10 video codec), a USB 2.0 implementation, hard-drive caching algorithms that extend battery life, and working PMP prototypes and reference designs. By combining these technologies with the high-performance and low power consumption of Intel XScale technology-based processors, Intel is creating the foundation for a new category of mobile media devices.
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
Intel XScale is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Intel is a registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
Quote Sheet
At the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show today (Jan. 9), Intel announced that it is working with Microsoft, Samsung Electronics and ViewSonic Corp. to bring Intel® XScale(TM) technology-based portable media players (PMPs) to market that will allow consumers to enjoy video and other types of media on-the-go. The following quotes pertaining to the announcement are from key companies involved in this announcement, and serve as a supplement to the news release issued today:
-0-
Keith White, senior director of the Embedded and Appliances
Platform Group
Microsoft Corp.
"Consumers everywhere are discovering, downloading, managing and
playing back digital photos, music and movies on their Windows PCs.
Media2Go offers consumers a way to extend all that great content
beyond the PC and enjoy it on-the-go," said Keith White, senior
director of the Embedded and Appliances Platform Group at Microsoft.
"We're very pleased to be working with Intel and their Intel(R)
XScale(TM) architecture for our initial reference design, in
particular because of Intel's early efforts in enabling the category."
HS Kim, senior vice president
Samsung Electronics
"Samsung believes that the portable media player represents a
compelling new way to consume digital content," said HS Kim, senior
vice president of Samsung Electronics. "By building these new devices
on Intel(R) XScale(TM) technology, we can help ensure that consumers
will get an affordable high-quality audio and video media experience.
Samsung's PMP will be the companion product of the Home Media Center
PC, which was recently launched in December 2002."
Marc McConnaughey, senior vice president, Advanced Technology
Group
ViewSonic Corp
"As digital content becomes mainstream, consumers will seek access
to their media, any place, any time, anywhere," said Marc
McConnaughey, senior vice president of Advanced Technology Group for
ViewSonic. "With the portable media player, ViewSonic is leveraging
our excellence in visual technology to bring consumers a mobile visual
and audio experience like no other."
culater
ot-Cheap chips seen driving next tech wave
By Reuters
January 7, 2003, 8:30 PM PT
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.--A coming wave of consumer devices featuring ultracheap and powerful microprocessors embedded in almost everything will drive the next decade of innovation in computing technology, a leading trend-spotter said Tuesday.
Paul Saffo, the director of the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Institute for the Future, said the shift to pervasive computing, in which chips are stitched into the fabric of ordinary life, would define technology in the coming years just as the personal computer did in the 1980s, and the Internet did in the 1990s.
"We're in the middle of a 10-year shift," Saffo said in address at the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International Industry Strategy Symposium in the posh golf resort here. "Every 10 years a new technology comes along that drives demand."
Embedded processor technologies that will lead to new applications include cheap sensors, such as those used in global positioning systems and video cameras, as well as radio frequency identification tags, Saffo said.
Proponents of such RFID tags, which store, send and receive data through weak radio signals, believe they will one day replace bar codes and revolutionize the way that merchandise and product inventories are tracked once their price falls far enough.
In a major commercial breakthrough for the technology, the Gillette said Monday that it would begin the first large-scale test of RFID technology pioneered by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The RFID tags, which could send store managers automatic alerts when stocks of razors run low, will be manufactured by Morgan Hill, Calif.-based Alien Technology.
"Philip Morris wants to put one in every cigarette carton sold," Saffo said. "RFID is what will replace the bar code."
The biology and health industries will be particularly hot areas for such technologies, he said. For instance, companies are already working on handheld pocket-sized X-ray devices for use by emergency personnel; consumer cardiac monitors are already being used by athletes at home and on the road.
"The impact of the information technology revolution will be dwarfed by what's happening in biology," Saffo predicted.
The emergence of small, embedded processors is also contributing to a shift away from products and toward higher-margin services, he said. For example, cell phone providers practically give away the handsets and make most of their money on the service they offer.
"The next industry to fall will be the automotive business," Saffo said.
For example, the Mercedes-Benz C Class sedan has 153 microprocessors and features an optional satellite-based communication system that enables drivers to contact car companies to get map and other driving information, stock updates and help in emergencies.
"It's not a car, it's a computer," Saffo said. Soon, "they'll be selling cars at or below cost" because they will be able to make up the difference with service fees.
culater
ADVISORY/Equator Technologies To Unveil Next-Generation DVD Technology at CES 2003
-- Business Wire, 12/13/2002
Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : ADVISORY...for Thursday (January 9) 2003 International CES --(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Public Demonstration of Reference Design Supporting Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series for Home Entertainment Market .TABLE WHO / WHAT: Equator Technologies, Inc., a provider of system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors for video streaming and image processing applications, will unveil and demonstrate a first-of-its-kind enabling DVD technology for the consumer market, based upon the company's proprietary, industry-leading BSP video processor. WHAT/WHERE: Demonstrations will take place at Equator's CES booth (#22197) in the South Hall from January 9-12, 2003. HOW: Contact Shelton PR to schedule a demo and briefing. DETAILS: Equator will unveil an advanced DVD enabling technology for a perspective DVD player/burner combination. Equator's technology will supports a variety of industry-leading codecs such as Microsoft's(r) Windows Media 9 and MPEG-2. Additionally, the company will also demonstrate two other distinct consumer technology applications that utilize its BSP chip family, including: Broadband VOD Reference Platform -- Equator's Broadband VOD Reference Platform provides a hardware and software design reference for an IP-based, video-on-demand set-top box. -- The codec-independent VOD Platform enables shorter development cycles for applications that utilize Windows Media 9 Series, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and other proprietary, low bit-rate codecs, as well as Internet access and EPG capabilities. Embedded Home Video Conferencing -- The Equator Home Video Conferencing Reference Design provides a complete hardware and software solution to integrate IP-based video conferencing functionality into video-centric consumer devices. -- The platform incorporates industry-leading IP-based video conferencing software to deliver the most powerful and flexible VLIW digital media processing technology with best-of-breed video conferencing functionality (high-quality audio, echo cancellation, PBX, QoS).
About Equator Technologies Inc.:
Equator Technologies is a leading provider of high-performance, programmable, power-efficient system-on-a-chip processors designed for video streaming and image processing applications across a wide range of consumer and enterprise end markets. Equator offers the BSP family of Broadband Signal Processor chips, the iMMediaTools(r) software development toolkit, media libraries, and reference platforms for development and deployment of video streaming and video processing systems. With more than 150 customers worldwide, Equator provides solutions to the digital media, digital video communications, video security and surveillance, digital imaging, and automotive video markets. Based on a high-performance VLIW core and optimized for video processing, the BSP-15 family of chips delivers up to 50 GOPS of video processing power. Utilizing Equator's optimizing compiler technology; BSP-15 chips are 100 percent programmable in C/C++, enabling rapid deployment and field upgradeability of new applications and devices. A software programmable BSP-15 chip can replace multiple fixed-function ASICs, thereby reducing both complexity and cost of system designs. Winner of the Fabless Semiconductor Association's "2001 Best Financial Performer - Private Company" award and selected by Cahners Research as the top private company of the 30 best small electronics companies, Equator is a recognized leader in video processing solutions. Founded in 1996, Equator is a privately held company headquartered in Campbell, California, with additional offices worldwide. More information about Equator is available at www.equator.com.
The following are trademarks of Equator Technologies, Inc., and may be used to identify Equator products only: Equator, the Equator logo, Equator Around, the Equator Around logo, MAP, MAP1000, MAP1000A, MAP-CA, MAP Series, BSP, FIRtree, DataStreamer, DS, iMMediaC, iMMediaTools, iMMediaToolsLite, Media Intrinsics, VersaPort, SofTV, StingRay, Dolphin, and Tetra. Other product and company names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleId=NEb1212031.9sw&title=Search+Resul...
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ADVISORY/Equator Technologies To Unveil Next-Generation DVD Technology at CES 2003
-- Business Wire, 12/13/2002
Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : ADVISORY...for Thursday (January 9) 2003 International CES --(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Public Demonstration of Reference Design Supporting Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series for Home Entertainment Market .TABLE WHO / WHAT: Equator Technologies, Inc., a provider of system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors for video streaming and image processing applications, will unveil and demonstrate a first-of-its-kind enabling DVD technology for the consumer market, based upon the company's proprietary, industry-leading BSP video processor. WHAT/WHERE: Demonstrations will take place at Equator's CES booth (#22197) in the South Hall from January 9-12, 2003. HOW: Contact Shelton PR to schedule a demo and briefing. DETAILS: Equator will unveil an advanced DVD enabling technology for a perspective DVD player/burner combination. Equator's technology will supports a variety of industry-leading codecs such as Microsoft's(r) Windows Media 9 and MPEG-2. Additionally, the company will also demonstrate two other distinct consumer technology applications that utilize its BSP chip family, including: Broadband VOD Reference Platform -- Equator's Broadband VOD Reference Platform provides a hardware and software design reference for an IP-based, video-on-demand set-top box. -- The codec-independent VOD Platform enables shorter development cycles for applications that utilize Windows Media 9 Series, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and other proprietary, low bit-rate codecs, as well as Internet access and EPG capabilities. Embedded Home Video Conferencing -- The Equator Home Video Conferencing Reference Design provides a complete hardware and software solution to integrate IP-based video conferencing functionality into video-centric consumer devices. -- The platform incorporates industry-leading IP-based video conferencing software to deliver the most powerful and flexible VLIW digital media processing technology with best-of-breed video conferencing functionality (high-quality audio, echo cancellation, PBX, QoS).
About Equator Technologies Inc.:
Equator Technologies is a leading provider of high-performance, programmable, power-efficient system-on-a-chip processors designed for video streaming and image processing applications across a wide range of consumer and enterprise end markets. Equator offers the BSP family of Broadband Signal Processor chips, the iMMediaTools(r) software development toolkit, media libraries, and reference platforms for development and deployment of video streaming and video processing systems. With more than 150 customers worldwide, Equator provides solutions to the digital media, digital video communications, video security and surveillance, digital imaging, and automotive video markets. Based on a high-performance VLIW core and optimized for video processing, the BSP-15 family of chips delivers up to 50 GOPS of video processing power. Utilizing Equator's optimizing compiler technology; BSP-15 chips are 100 percent programmable in C/C++, enabling rapid deployment and field upgradeability of new applications and devices. A software programmable BSP-15 chip can replace multiple fixed-function ASICs, thereby reducing both complexity and cost of system designs. Winner of the Fabless Semiconductor Association's "2001 Best Financial Performer - Private Company" award and selected by Cahners Research as the top private company of the 30 best small electronics companies, Equator is a recognized leader in video processing solutions. Founded in 1996, Equator is a privately held company headquartered in Campbell, California, with additional offices worldwide. More information about Equator is available at www.equator.com.
The following are trademarks of Equator Technologies, Inc., and may be used to identify Equator products only: Equator, the Equator logo, Equator Around, the Equator Around logo, MAP, MAP1000, MAP1000A, MAP-CA, MAP Series, BSP, FIRtree, DataStreamer, DS, iMMediaC, iMMediaTools, iMMediaToolsLite, Media Intrinsics, VersaPort, SofTV, StingRay, Dolphin, and Tetra. Other product and company names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleId=NEb1212031.9sw&title=Search+Resul...
fculater
ADVISORY/Equator Technologies To Unveil Next-Generation DVD Technology at CES 2003
-- Business Wire, 12/13/2002
Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation : ADVISORY...for Thursday (January 9) 2003 International CES --(BUSINESS WIRE)--First Public Demonstration of Reference Design Supporting Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series for Home Entertainment Market .TABLE WHO / WHAT: Equator Technologies, Inc., a provider of system-on-a-chip (SoC) processors for video streaming and image processing applications, will unveil and demonstrate a first-of-its-kind enabling DVD technology for the consumer market, based upon the company's proprietary, industry-leading BSP video processor. WHAT/WHERE: Demonstrations will take place at Equator's CES booth (#22197) in the South Hall from January 9-12, 2003. HOW: Contact Shelton PR to schedule a demo and briefing. DETAILS: Equator will unveil an advanced DVD enabling technology for a perspective DVD player/burner combination. Equator's technology will supports a variety of industry-leading codecs such as Microsoft's(r) Windows Media 9 and MPEG-2. Additionally, the company will also demonstrate two other distinct consumer technology applications that utilize its BSP chip family, including: Broadband VOD Reference Platform -- Equator's Broadband VOD Reference Platform provides a hardware and software design reference for an IP-based, video-on-demand set-top box. -- The codec-independent VOD Platform enables shorter development cycles for applications that utilize Windows Media 9 Series, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and other proprietary, low bit-rate codecs, as well as Internet access and EPG capabilities. Embedded Home Video Conferencing -- The Equator Home Video Conferencing Reference Design provides a complete hardware and software solution to integrate IP-based video conferencing functionality into video-centric consumer devices. -- The platform incorporates industry-leading IP-based video conferencing software to deliver the most powerful and flexible VLIW digital media processing technology with best-of-breed video conferencing functionality (high-quality audio, echo cancellation, PBX, QoS).
About Equator Technologies Inc.:
Equator Technologies is a leading provider of high-performance, programmable, power-efficient system-on-a-chip processors designed for video streaming and image processing applications across a wide range of consumer and enterprise end markets. Equator offers the BSP family of Broadband Signal Processor chips, the iMMediaTools(r) software development toolkit, media libraries, and reference platforms for development and deployment of video streaming and video processing systems. With more than 150 customers worldwide, Equator provides solutions to the digital media, digital video communications, video security and surveillance, digital imaging, and automotive video markets. Based on a high-performance VLIW core and optimized for video processing, the BSP-15 family of chips delivers up to 50 GOPS of video processing power. Utilizing Equator's optimizing compiler technology; BSP-15 chips are 100 percent programmable in C/C++, enabling rapid deployment and field upgradeability of new applications and devices. A software programmable BSP-15 chip can replace multiple fixed-function ASICs, thereby reducing both complexity and cost of system designs. Winner of the Fabless Semiconductor Association's "2001 Best Financial Performer - Private Company" award and selected by Cahners Research as the top private company of the 30 best small electronics companies, Equator is a recognized leader in video processing solutions. Founded in 1996, Equator is a privately held company headquartered in Campbell, California, with additional offices worldwide. More information about Equator is available at www.equator.com.
The following are trademarks of Equator Technologies, Inc., and may be used to identify Equator products only: Equator, the Equator logo, Equator Around, the Equator Around logo, MAP, MAP1000, MAP1000A, MAP-CA, MAP Series, BSP, FIRtree, DataStreamer, DS, iMMediaC, iMMediaTools, iMMediaToolsLite, Media Intrinsics, VersaPort, SofTV, StingRay, Dolphin, and Tetra. Other product and company names contained herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. http://www.e-insite.net/index.asp?layout=article&articleId=NEb1212031.9sw&title=Search+Resul...
fculater
rstring-thanks-very interesting,culater
Tiny New Hard Drives May Incorporate DRM
By Brett Glass
A consortium called iVDR is said to be readying tiny 1.8" and 2.5" hard drives, with removable cartridges, for introduction at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. While the disks look like a cool idea, it appears that they may be intended as a way of introducing DRM into users' computers as well as into consumer electronic devices of all types.
According to this organizational chart, a key technical working group within the consortium is devoted exclusively to "security" -- AKA digital content "protection" or DRM. So, caveat emptor: While these new drives may be neat and high tech, they may also lock you away from, or restrict your use of, the data they contain.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,3973,805166,00.asp
culater
ot-Microsoft at CES: Something Old and Something New
By Mary Jo Foley
Chairman Gates is expected to offer up more details on the forthcoming wireless SPOT network later this week.
Microsoft is aiming to show that it has more than just business and developer wares up its sleeve, with the lineup of gadget and multimedia announcements it is planning for this week's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2003 in Las Vegas.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who kicks off the annual convention with his Wednesday night keynote, is expected to offer new details and demonstrations of the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) devices he first showed at fall Comdex.
Microsoft and National Semiconductor Corp. have been working on SPOT for three years. Microsoft has been developing a new microkernel-based operating system, written in C#, to power the SPOT generation of .Net-enabled pens, keychains, alarm clocks and other smart devices.
Sources say that Microsoft is working on a nationwide wireless "data delivery service" that will provide real-time .Net Alerts to SPOT devices. Microsoft is expected to showcase this service at CES 2003.
SPOT hardware and services partners could begin rolling out the first SPOT devices later this year, if Microsoft sticks to schedule
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,4248,808366,00.asp
culater
Put the Compact Disc Out of Its Misery
The new CDs: Neither compact nor disks. Discuss.
By Paul Boutin
Posted Monday, January 6, 2003, at 8:26 AM PT
This spring, the compact disc celebrates the 20th anniversary of its arrival in stores, which puts the once-revolutionary music format two decades behind Moore's Law. The IBM PC, introduced about a year and a half earlier, has been revved up a thousandfold in performance since 1983. But the CD has whiled away the time, coasting on its Reagan-era breakthroughs in digital recording and storage. The two technologies, the PC and the CD, merged not long after their debuts--try to buy a computer without a disc player. But the relationship has become a dysfunctional one. The computer long ago outgrew its stagnant partner.
To the new generation of music artists and engineers, "CD-quality sound" is an ironic joke. In recording studios, today's musicians produce their works digitally at resolutions far beyond the grainy old CD standard. To make the sounds listenable on antiquarian CD players, the final mix is retrofitted to compact disc specs by stripping it of billions of bits' worth of musical detail and dynamics. It's like filming a movie in IMAX and then broadcasting it only to black-and-white TV sets.
It doesn't have to be this way. The modern recording studio is built around computers, Macs or PCs. Beefed up with high-performance analog-to-digital converters and super-sized disk drives, they digitize music up to 192,000 times per second, storing it as 24-bit data samples. That "192/24" standard captures more than a thousand times as much detail as the CD's "44.1/16" resolution. Moreover, this music data is just another computer file, an icon on a desktop. Double-click it, and it plays. It would play on your home computer, too, if you could get your hands on it. All you would need to enjoy studio-quality sound at home are high-end speakers or an amplifier with digital connections to your computer. That's the "digital hub" scenario touted by Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and others. Plug everything into a home network, load up the computer with tunes, and press play from anywhere in the house. A three-minute pop song in 192/24 format fills about 200 megabytes of hard-disk space, which means Dell's latest 200-gigabyte drive could hold nearly a thousand of them.
But instead of gearing up for digital home hubs, record companies have rolled out two more shiny-disc formats: DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD. Both sound great, but you're forgiven if you haven't heard of them. Following the radical makeover of consumer electronics in the past two decades, these discs have wandered in like Rip Van Winkle, unaware how behind the times they are.
In sound quality, at least, each disc brings the listening experience up to modern standards. DVD-A, developed by an audio industry working group, pumps up the old CD format 500 to 1,000 times in data density to match that now used in studios. SACD, on the other hand, is based on a new form of digital recording developed by Sony and Philips that converts sound waves into bits (and back again) more smoothly. Both bring studio data to the listener, bit for bit, and include extra surround-sound channels for home-theater systems. Properly engineered, their improvement over CD sound is striking. Can the average person hear the difference? Instantly. As Fred Kaplan noted this past summer in Slate, it's enough to make you buy new speakers.
Yet both kinds of discs, despite being developed in the 'Net-head late '90s, are odd throwbacks to the pre-PC era. Most obviously, they're the same size as the original CD. Can you name any other digital device that hasn't shrunk in 20 years? The players for them are bulky, closer in size to Sony's first CD decks than to Apple's iPod, which holds 400 albums rather than just one.
Flip one of the players over, and you'll find another retro sight: analog output jacks. To prevent buyers from running off bit-for-bit copies of the new discs, gear-makers have agreed not to put digital ports on either DVD-A or SACD players. Yet old-fashioned analog connections erode pristine digital sound and are prone to interference from televisions, lights, and computers--the objects they'll be placed next to in modern homes.
The real deal-breaker is that a stand-alone player is the only kind available. By manufacturers' consensus, there won't be any network ports on the players, nor will there be any DVD-A or SACD drives available for computers. Some makers are promising a digital link from the player to a home-theater console, but it'll be deliberately incompatible with any of the jacks on a computer. In bringing the CD up to date with the PC, the music industry is also trying to split the two technologies asunder again.
It's no wonder that gearheads who buy the latest, greatest everything have ignored DVD-A and SACD in favor of MP3 players and CD burners. Computer-friendly music formats let you archive hundreds of albums on a laptop, create custom playlists that draw from your entire collection, and download them to portable players smaller than a single CD jewel box. Today's fans want their music in a form that fits the pocket-sized, personalized, interconnected world of their computers, cameras, phones, and PDAs. Asking digital consumers to give that power back in exchange for a better-sounding disc is like offering them a phonograph needle.http://slate.msn.com/id/2076336/
culater
Music Biz: Compromise Is Key By Michael Grebb
Story location: http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57104,00.html
02:00 AM Jan. 07, 2003 PT
WASHINGTON -- As digital file sharing, webcasting and other new technologies proliferate, artists and industry officials meeting here said the music business is in jeopardy unless artists, record companies and consumers stop fighting and start compromising.
"People are always looking for what side to be on, and there isn't just one side," said Jenny Toomey, executive director of the Future of Music Coalition, which sponsored this week's policy summit.
"I think we're looking for a kinder, gentler, more equitable model where more people can make a living off of this stuff," Toomey said.
While consumers want easier access to music over the Internet and on multiple devices, artists and record companies are seeking compensation for use of their material.
The tension between those goals has led to lawsuits and bad blood between consumer advocacy groups and industry trade organizations that some say have slowed the introduction of new technologies that could, potentially, solve the dilemma.
One oft-cited example is webcasting, which has been mired in disputes over royalty collection and other matters now before the U.S. Copyright Office.
"The parties are going to have to get some consensus on it," said David Carson, attorney general of the U.S. Copyright Office.
Disputed, among other things, is what technology to use when collecting data on digital streams, as well as how to deal with retroactive royalties, especially considering that many webcasters have never recorded their playlists.
Artists at the conference had mixed views on the file-sharing phenomenon.
"You all decide what it's worth," said musician/songwriter Bob Mould, who fronted the rock band Hüsker Dü. "If at the end of the day you think it's free, then make it free."
Said rock veteran Patti Smith, "For me, I don't really care. The people have spoken. That's what they want to do."
But musician/songwriter Vernon Reid, who led the rock group Living Colour, said more artists need to impress upon their fans that taking music without permission is morally wrong.
"We're experiencing a seismic shift," Reid said. "The artists have to speak to consumers and say, 'Hey, I wrote that song. I did that.'"
Others said the explosion of new music -- partly driven by digital music production technology and the Internet -- has made it easy for bad music to proliferate throughout cyberspace.
"There's an incredible amount of mediocrity," said musician/songwriter Eric Bazilian, formerly of the rock group The Hooters.
John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants said although record labels are fun to bash, they help filter music. Now consumers must do much of that work themselves.
"It's ironic that we'll miss the majors when they are gone," Flansburgh said.
In any event, panelists said the glut of new mediums such as the Internet has created a cultural perception that music has little value.
"If we don't address the quality and character of music, people will continue to steal it because they don't want to buy it," said music attorney Londell McMillan.
In addition, retailers in attendance said the increasing availability of music on the Internet -- along with the prevalence of CD burners and affordable blank media -- has led to massive price cuts on music products.
Some predicted that most record stores will close within the next decade, leaving only mass retailers like Target and Wal-Mart.
"When all these stores close in the next few years, what's going to happen to the music business?" asked Michael Hausman, president of SuperEgo Records, which is owned by independent artist Aimee Mann.
Others, however, said sanctioned downloading and burning is on the rise, suggesting the Internet could more than make up the gap created by closed retail outlets.
Already, Listen.com offers song downloads for 99 cents each -- the lowest price the labels will allow.
"It should be 50 cents, if not 25 cents, per burn," said Tim Quirk, Listen.com's director of editorial/music programming, noting that internal surveys suggest sales would increase 400 percent at those levels. "Within the next year, you're going to see these prices come down." http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,57104,00.html
culater
ot-4 GB Microdrive by fall 2003
By: Jørgen Sundgot, Monday, 06.01.03 10:27 GMT
According to Hitachi, the company will deliver 4 GB of storage capacity on a one-inch disk by this fall, courtesy of Pixie Dust. And, it'll be in CompactFlash Type II format.
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST), a new joint venture between IBM and Hitachi, today announced plans to squeeze four gigabytes of data onto the 1-inch Microdrive, known as the world's smallest hard disk drive. With considerable advances in miniaturization technology thanks to the Pixie Dust concept originally developed by IBM, HGST engineers have overcome magnetic recording challenges associated with developing hard disk drives of this size, and expects the 4 GB Microdrive to be available in the Fall of 2003.
The new drive will use ultra-miniaturized components, including a new read-write head that is half the size of its predecessor and results in a 40-percent decrease in the height at which the head travels above the disk platter. Analogous to a Boeing 747 airplane flying one millimeter above the surface of the earth, the Microdrive's new head technology, called the femto slider head, is so small that it is equivalent in size to a grain of table salt.
Hitachi engineers have also increased the tracks per inch to accommodate the Microdrive's areal density of more than 60 billion bits of data per square inch. This areal density required mechanical tolerances and accuracies to be significantly tighter in order to maintain the Microdrive's data integrity and reliability.
The areal density of the 4 GB Microdrive is made possible by using a new five-layer version of Hitachi's patented "Pixie Dust" media technology. The new data storage technology takes a three-atom-thick layer of the element ruthenium, a precious metal similar to platinum, and sandwiches it between three magnetic layers. Technically referred to as antiferromagnetically coupled media, the ruthenium/magnetic layers enable data recording at ultra-high densities while maintaining data integrity.
Other improvements to the new Microdrive include a data transfer rate increase that represents a 50 percent improvement from the previous-generation Microdrive, which Hitachi engineers go as far as to estimate are faster than all competitive solid-state data storage products available today.
According to Hitachi, HP and Eastman-Kodak are among the companies that are currently evaluating the 4 GB Microdrive, to be available in a CompactFlash Type II card format. The two companies respectively have their handhelds and digital cameras in mind when evaluating the new Microdrive, albeit no current handhelds from HP sport an integrated CF Type II expansion slot.
Hitachi said the 4 GB Microdrive is expected to be available in the fall of 2003, while its pricing would be announced later this year. Meanwhile, the company continues to offer the Microdrive in capacities ranging from 340 MB to 1 GB.
http://www.infosync.no/news/2002/n/2843.html
culater
ot-The big battle coming over the future of smart mobs concerns media cartels and government agencies are seeking to reimpose the regime of the broadcast era in which the customers of technology will be deprived of the power to create and left only with the power to consume. That power struggle is what the battles over file-sharing, copy protection, regulation of the radio spectrum are about. Are the populations of tomorrow going to be users, like the PC owners and website creators who turned technology to widespread innovation? Or will they be consumers, constrained from innovation and locked into the technology and business models of the most powerful entrenched interests?
HOWARD RHEINGOLD: SMART MOBS [7.16.02]
Introduction
In 1999 and 2000, Howard Rheingold started noticing people using mobile media in novel ways. In Tokyo, he accompanied flocks of teenagers as they converged on public places, coordinated by text messages. In Helsinki, he joined like-minded Finns who share the same downtown physical clubhouse, virtual community, and mobile-messaging media. He learned that the demonstrators in the 1999 anti-WTO protests used dynamically updated websites, cell-phones, and "swarming" tactics in the "battle of Seattle," and that a million Filipino citizens toppled President Estrada in 2000 through public demonstrations organized by salvos of text messages. Drivers in the UK used mobile communications to spontaneously self organize demonstrations against rising petrol prices. He began to see how these events were connected. He calls these new uses of mobile media "smart mobs."
For nearly two years, Rheingold visited hotspots around the world where smart mob technologies and societies were erupting. He had some idea of how to look for early signs of momentous changes, having chronicled and forecast the PC revolution in 1985 and the Internet explosion in 1993. He is now sees a third wave of change underway in the first decade of the 21st century, as the combination of mobile communication and the Internet makes it possible for people to cooperate in ways never before possible.
— JB
HOWARD RHEINGOLD has evolved from a modest, quiet, thoughtful working writer/editor into the flamboyant Howard "always ten years ahead of his time" Rheingold. From his dazzling hand-designed shoes to his vividly colored suits and his TV ads for Kinko's, he has invented his own character-spokesman, communications expert, celebrity, lecturer, writer, thinker, wise man, one of the first people to recognize the potential of a new medium for human communication. As Kevin Kelly says: "Anywhere Rheingold goes, I'll be there behind him."
Rheingold is the author of Virtual Reality, and The Virtual Community, and was the editor of Whole Earth Review and the Millennium Whole Earth Catalog. His new book is Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution.
Howard Rheingold 's Edge Bio Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further reading on Edge: "The Citizen" in Digerati
Beyond Edge: Howard Rheingold's Home Page
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SMART MOBS
Smart mobs use mobile media and computer networks to organize collective actions, from swarms of techo-savvy youth in urban Asia and Scandinavia to citizen revolts on the streets of Seattle, Manila, and Caracas. Wireless community networks, webloggers, buyers and sellers on eBay are early indicators of smart mobs that will emerge in the coming decade. Communication and computing technologies capable of amplifying human cooperation already appear to be both beneficial and destructive, used by some to support democracy and by others to coordinate terrorist attacks. Already, governments have fallen, subcultures have blossomed, new industries have been born and older industries have launched counterattacks.
There are both dangers and opportunities posed by this emerging phenomenon. Smart mob devices, industries, norms, and social consequences are in their earliest stages of development, but they are evolving rapidly. Current political and social conflicts over how smart mob technologies will be designed and regulated pose questions about the way we will all live for decades to come.
A number of new technologies make smart mobs possible and the pieces of the puzzle are all around us now, but haven't joined together yet. Wireless Internet nodes in cafes, hotels, and neighborhoods are part of it. The radio chips designed to replace barcodes on manufactured objects are part of it. Millions of people who lend their computers to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence are part of it. The reputation systems used on eBay and Slashdot, and the peer to peer capabilities demonstrated by Napster point to other pieces of the puzzle.
Some mobile telephones are already equipped with location-detection devices and digital cameras. Some inexpensive mobile devices already read barcodes and send and receive messages to radio-frequency identity tags. Some furnish wireless, always-on Internet connections. Large numbers of people in industrial nations will soon have a device with them most of the time that will enable them to link objects, places and people to online content and processes. Point your device at a street sign, announce where you want to go, and follow the animated map beamed to the box in your palm; or point at a book in a store and see what the Times and your neighborhood reading group have to say about it. Click on a restaurant and warn your friends that the service has deteriorated.
The big battle coming over the future of smart mobs concerns media cartels and government agencies are seeking to reimpose the regime of the broadcast era in which the customers of technology will be deprived of the power to create and left only with the power to consume. That power struggle is what the battles over file-sharing, copy protection, regulation of the radio spectrum are about. Are the populations of tomorrow going to be users, like the PC owners and website creators who turned technology to widespread innovation? Or will they be consumers, constrained from innovation and locked into the technology and business models of the most powerful entrenched interests?
Telephone companies and cable operators, with enormous investments in old technologies, are moving to control who can build enterprises on the Internet, and the kinds of enterprises they can create. The expensive auctions of radio spectrum for next-generation "3G" mobile communications are threatened by the emergence of radically more cost effective technologies in the form of grassroots wireless networks.
The entire 1920s scheme for regulating the use of the electromagnetic spectrum is thrown into question by the invention of "cognitive radios" and other wireless technologies that put power into the hands of user communities rather than central broadcasters.
Five Hollywood movie studios and the four giant companies that dominate the global recording industry say they are trying to protect intellectual property, but are backing legislation and "protection devices" that will lock down computers and the Internet into a pay-for-play model in which only the largest players will be allowed to create or distribute content or services online, permitted to create new kinds of computers, or empowered to invent things like the Web.
Although the recording industry succeeded in shutting down Napster, and the legal arguments were about the theft of copyrighted music, the technical significance of peer-to-peer resource sharing is far greater than even the future of the music industry. Seventy million people used Napster within the first months of its existence. When tens of millions of people pool their computing power, many things become possible.
Seti@home uses the idle processing power of millions of PCs to search for life in outer space and other CPU-sharing "distributed computing" networks help search for new medicines, understand the immune system, crack codes, predict the weather. Wireless networks show that communication bandwidth can be pooled. Combining the data storage, computation, and communication power of millions of PCs makes possible entirely new kinds of science, business, and social enterprise, based on the emergent power of millions of individuals.
Combine wearable computing, wireless communications, and peer-to-peer resource sharing, and all the people in a building or a crowd walking down the street can join into ad-hoc networks.
As influential as the Internet has been, it has been, for the most part, confined to computers on desktops. Mobile communication and pervasive computing technologies are permeating every part of our professional and personal lives with Internet-enabled capabilities. Just as the microprocessor and the television screen combine into an entirely new technology with its own capabilities, the personal computer, and millions of computers linked through the global telecommunication network constitute an entirely new technology with its own capabilities, the Internet, the marriage of the mobile telephone and the Internet will result in far more than email or stock quotes in your pocket - the mobile Internet in a computation-pervaded environment will constitute an entirely new medium with its own properties.
Will the architecture and regulation of the emerging wireless Internet be dictated by and empower a few large, highly centralized institutions such as corporations and governments, or will it favor the cooperative innovations of millions of citizens - the way the architecture and regulation of the wired Internet made the Web possible?
The people who make up smart mobs cooperate in ways never before possible because they carry devices that possess both communication and computing capabilities. Their mobile devices connect them with other information devices in the environment as well as with other people's telephones.
Dirt-cheap microprocessors embedded in everything from box tops to shoes are beginning to permeate furniture, buildings, neighborhoods, products with invisible intercommunicating smartifacts. When they connect the tangible objects and places of our daily lives with the Internet, handheld communication media mutate into wearable remote control devices for the physical world.
The cost, size, and performing power of computers, video displays, and wireless communications are moving from the computer industry into the fashion industry, as wearable computers embedded in clothing become cost-effective. Ultimately, with peer-to-peer methodologies, reputation systems that mediate trust between strangers, and ad-hoc broadband networks, wearable devices will be desired, purchased, and used as much for their social capabilities as for their utility as information appliances.
There are the dangers as well as opportunities concerning smart mobs. I used the word "mob" deliberately because of its dark resonances. Humans have used our talents for cooperation to organize atrocities. Technologies that enable cooperation are not inherently pathological: unlike nuclear bombs or land mines, smart mob technologies have the potential for being used for good as well as evil.
Nevertheless, years before the September 11, 2001 attacks, commentator Thomas Friedman prophetically referred to "superempowered individuals" such as Osama Ben Laden who use modern technologies and networked organizations to execute acts of terrorism. RAND corporation analysts have pointed out that the Russian mafia and Colombian narcotics trafficking enterprises use "netwar" methods combining communication networks, social networks, and networked forms of organization.
On the other hand, when cooperation breaks out, civilizations advance and the lives of citizens improve. This is the big opportunity of smart mobs. Language, the alphabet, cities, the printing press did not eliminate poverty or injustice, but they did make it possible for groups of people to create cooperative enterprises such as science and democracy that increased the health, welfare, and liberty of many.
Just as medicine only became an effective weapon against illness when science furnished useful knowledge about the nature of diseases, the most effective use of communication and computer technologies could emerge from new scientific understandings of human cooperation. The most powerful opportunities for human progress are rooted not in electronics but in understandings of social practices. Sociologists, political scientists, evolutionary biologists, even nuclear warfare strategists have contributed the first clues that an interdisciplinary science of cooperation might be emerging.
Mobile communications and pervasive computing have the potential for magnifying cooperation far more powerfully than previous technologies; coupled with new knowledge about the social dynamics of collective action, smart mob technologies could make possible improvements in the way billions of people live.
culater
ot-From the Palm of Your Hand to the Ear of a Nearby Listener
If you find the radio too limiting or repetitive, you may like the Neuros, a new MP3 player that lets you play D.J. and broadcast your mix.
Like most music storage devices, the Neuros, from Digital Innovations, allows users to create playlists of their favorite songs. But this device, which has a built-in FM receiver, can free a playlist from a set of headphones and put it on the air live, though to a limited audience. Using an autoscan feature, the Neuros searches for an available FM frequency to use and sends the music to any radio within its range of 10 to 20 feet.
The Neuros can record music, which can then be downloaded to a computer. Then, using Neuros software and a proprietary online database, the device quickly names the tune and artist.
About the size of an iPod but compatible only with the Windows operating system, the Neuros is at least smaller than a set of turntables. And the amber backlighted screen allows users to sift through their music files more easily in the dark, where the trendiest D.J.'s can often be found.
Filling a 20-gigabyte Neuros ($399) could take up to a full day using the device's U.S.B. 1.0 connection. Songs of average length (about three and a half minutes) download from a computer at a rate of about five a minute.
More information on the Neuros, which will be available in electronics stores in February, is available at www
.neurosaudio.com. Mark Glassman
culater
Data storage veterans
bid on bankrupt DataPlay
By Caron Schwartz Ellis
Staff Writer
BOULDER -- Investors have made a bid to buy DataPlay Inc.’s assets with plans to resurrect business that closed Oct. 11.
DPHI Acquisitions Inc. has offered $1.5 million to purchase the bankrupt company’s assets. DPHI is a joint venture of Boulder-based Almon Ventures and Hexagon Investments.
The deal requires bankruptcy court approval prior to closing, said DataPlay attorney Glenn Merrick. Merrick also indicated that he was in talks with another party that intends to make a counteroffer.
Hexagon, based in Milwaukee, had been one of DataPlay’s investors. Almon Ventures was formed by longtime storage technology entrepreneurs Bill Almon Sr. and Bill Almon Jr., a father and son team “We formed a corporation specifically to acquire the assets of DataPlay out of bankruptcy and operate DataPlay,” Bill Almon Jr. said.
Of the $1.5 million, $1.3 million will go toward paying secured creditors Silicon Valley Bank and Boulder County, Almon said. “The ($200,000) leftovers are for unsecured creditors like the employees,” he said. Additionally, Silicon Valley Bank would be offered an equity ownership of 8 percent of the company.
DataPlay had burned through $120 million in its four-year rise and fall.
“When we buy the assets, assuming we get a positive nod from the court, our intention is to operate as DataPlay,” Almon said. Assets include intellectual property, trademarks and trade names, he said.
The resurrected DataPlay will succeed, Almon said, with a simplified business plan. “We'll be much smaller, much more focused, and much more efficient,” he said. Almon is in discussions with the DataPlay core engineering team and suppliers to ensure they are available when DataPlay reopens it doors. “We think there's a lot of value in many of the people and look forward to be able to work with them,” Almon said.
Although Almon said he is talking with DataPlay’s current landlord, Woody Eaton, the company may move to a small location in Boulder County.
Rather than ponder the problems that led DataPlay to ask for Chapter 11 protection, Almon said he’s more concerned with the company’s successes. “They created an optical reader/writer engine, a digital media, and digital management software that all works,” he said.
Almon believes DataPlay’s ability to write or stamp 500 megabytes of data on a tiny disk will be critical to developing the next optical industry standard. DataPlay uses the same kind of optical technology as a CD or DVD, but in a very small form factor.
Optical technology is useful for both distributing content – music on CDs, software on CD-ROMs, movies on DVDs, etc. – and as a storage mechanism.
Size is important because of information technology’s increasing need for portability, Almon said. “We see the platform as being very versatile for a number of different applications. The approach we will take will focus on the device as a small-form factor storage device used for a number of uses.”The company also will focus on business users, Almon said. “Generally, if you look at how technologies evolve, they are used by businesses, not by consumers,” he said. “The tack that we will take will concentrate on applications where you can start with a better value proposition and cost basis than would be required in consumer electronics.”Both Almons are well regarded in the storage industry. Both were involved in the launch of IBM’s original equipment manufacturer storage business and numerous storage startups. Almon Sr. served as president and chief operations office with Connor Peripherals prior to its acquisition by Seagate Technology Corp. Almon Jr. served as Maxtor Corp.’s vice president, worldwide marketing. Both were key to the 2001 merger of Ecrix Corp. and Exabyte Corp.
“Our offer offers a lot of advantages over liquidation,” Almon said. “It’s an opportunity for Colorado to hold onto a piece of technology.” Contact Caron Schwartz Ellis at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail csellis@bcbr.com.
http://www.bcbr.com/display.phtml?VI=P2127&Section=News&Page=13
culater
Fair Use and Abuse
Get set for an overdue national debate about consumer rights in the digital age
By Gary Stix
The Big Red Shearling toy bone allows dog owners to record a short message for their pet. Tinkle Toonz Musical Potty introduces a child to the "magical, musical land of potty training." Both are items on Fritz's Hit List, Princeton University computer scientist Edward W. Felten's web-based collection of electronic oddities that would be affected by legislation proposed by Democratic Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings of South Carolina. Under the bill, the most innocent chip-driven toy would be classified as a "digital media device," Felten contends, and thereby require government-sanctioned copy-protection technology.
The Hollings proposal--the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act--was intended to give entertainment companies assurance that movies, music and books would be safe for distribution over broadband Internet connections or via digital television. Fortunately, the outlook for the initiative got noticeably worse with the GOP victory this past November. The Republicans may favor a less interventionist stance than requiring copy protection in talking dog bones. But the forces supporting the Hollings measure--the movie and record industries, in particular--still place unauthorized copying high on their agenda.
The bill was only one of a number that were introduced last year to bolster existing safeguards for digital works against copyright infringement. The spate of proposed legislation builds on a foundation of anti-piracy measures, such as those incorporated into the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998, and the No Electronic Theft Act, enacted in 1997, both of which amend the U.S. Copyright Act.
The entertainment industry should not feel free just yet to harass users and makers of musical potties. Toward the end of the 2002 congressional year, Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia and Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, along with co-sponsors, introduced separate bills designed to delineate fair use for consumers of digital content. Both the Boucher and Lofgren bills look to amend existing law to allow circumvention of protection measures if a specific use does not infringe copyright. Moreover, the Lofgren bill would let consumers perform limited duplications of legally owned works and transfer them to other media.
The divisions that pit the entertainment industry against fair-use advocates should lay the groundwork for a roiling intellectual-property debate this year. Enough momentum exists for some of these opposing bills to be reintroduced in the new Congress. But, for once, consumers, with the support of information technology and consumer electronics companies, will be well represented. In addition to the efforts of Boucher and Lofgren, grassroots support has emerged. Digitalconsumer.org formed last year to combat new protectionist legislative proposals and to advocate alteration of the DMCA to promote digital fair use. The group has called for guarantees for activities such as copying a CD to a portable MP3 player and making backup copies, which are illegal under the DMCA, if copy protection is violated.
The DMCA has not only undercut fair use but also stifled scientific investigations. Felten and his colleagues faced the threat of litigation under the DMCA when they were about to present a paper on breaking a copy-protection scheme, just one of several instances in which the law has dampened computer-security research (see the Electronic Frontier Foundation's white paper, "Unintended Consequences": www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/ 20020503_dmca_consequences.html). The legal system should try to achieve a balance between the rights of owners and users of copyrighted works. An incisive debate is urgently needed to restore that balance.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0002080A-730B-1DF7-9733809EC588EEDF&catID=2
culater
ot-Marriott books into Wi-Fi world
Copyright 2002 Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.
Toronto Star...12/20/2002
Lexis Nexis
By Tyler Hamilton
In what's being called the biggest deployment of its kind, Marriott International Inc. plans to provide high-speed wireless Internet access throughout 400 hotels in Europe and North America, including three locations in Toronto.
The global lodging company, which manages about 2,500 hotels in 64 countries, said the wireless service will complement "wired" high-speed Internet service that Marriott-branded hotels currently provide in select rooms and meeting places.
"We do get requests for it from our guests," said Lou Paladeau, vice-president of technology business development at Marriott. "Our plan is to focus on those hotels that are currently wired to have wireless capability by mid-second quarter of next year at the latest."
At least four Marriott hotels in Canada offer high-speed Internet access in their guest rooms, a service that's supplied through Salt Lake City-based broadband provider STSN Inc.
These hotels include the Toronto Airport Marriott, Toronto Marriott Eaton Centre, Toronto Marriott Bloor Yorkville Hotel, and Ottawa Marriott.
Marriott International has a minority stake in privately held STSN, which will also oversee deployment of the service.
The technology will be based on the Wi-Fi or 802.11b wireless standard, making it possible for guests to access the Internet from any location on Marriott hotel property by simply opening a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop. Software in the laptop will automatically detect the network within a 200-metre radius.
Paladeau said pricing has not yet been determined, but the service will likely be offered on a pay-per-use basis or bundled along with in-room high-speed service. He said the company has spent considerable time making sure security -- a common criticism of Wi-Fi technology -- will be strong.
"In the very long term you'll see (this technology) become much more of an expectation," he said. "In the short term, it will remain for us a compelling competitive advantage, because nobody else is able to execute it to the scale and speed that we can."
Last week, Bell Canada announced a three-month project that would give the public free wireless access at a number of Wi-Fi "hotspots" located in Ontario and Quebec, including Toronto's Union Station. Bell is using its payphone infrastructure to link together various hotspots within its network.
Telus Corp. recently invested $ 6 million in Toronto-based Wi-Fi provider Spotnik Mobile, which says it will announce a number of public Wi-Fi hotspots throughout Canada early next year.
Carriers have taken a keen interest in Wi-Fi technology as a complement to their mobile phone networks, which can't provide the high speeds that mobile Internet users increasingly demand. The goal is to establish the largest number of hotspot locations in the race to establish more complete national networks for consumers.
Wi-Fi technology is expected to be a standard feature in about 90 percent of laptops in 2004.
culater
Fair Use and Abuse
Get set for an overdue national debate about consumer rights in the digital age
By Gary Stix
The Big Red Shearling toy bone allows dog owners to record a short message for their pet. Tinkle Toonz Musical Potty introduces a child to the "magical, musical land of potty training." Both are items on Fritz's Hit List, Princeton University computer scientist Edward W. Felten's web-based collection of electronic oddities that would be affected by legislation proposed by Democratic Senator Ernest "Fritz" Hollings of South Carolina. Under the bill, the most innocent chip-driven toy would be classified as a "digital media device," Felten contends, and thereby require government-sanctioned copy-protection technology.
The Hollings proposal--the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act--was intended to give entertainment companies assurance that movies, music and books would be safe for distribution over broadband Internet connections or via digital television. Fortunately, the outlook for the initiative got noticeably worse with the GOP victory this past November. The Republicans may favor a less interventionist stance than requiring copy protection in talking dog bones. But the forces supporting the Hollings measure--the movie and record industries, in particular--still place unauthorized copying high on their agenda.
The bill was only one of a number that were introduced last year to bolster existing safeguards for digital works against copyright infringement. The spate of proposed legislation builds on a foundation of anti-piracy measures, such as those incorporated into the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, passed in 1998, and the No Electronic Theft Act, enacted in 1997, both of which amend the U.S. Copyright Act.
The entertainment industry should not feel free just yet to harass users and makers of musical potties. Toward the end of the 2002 congressional year, Representative Rick Boucher of Virginia and Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, along with co-sponsors, introduced separate bills designed to delineate fair use for consumers of digital content. Both the Boucher and Lofgren bills look to amend existing law to allow circumvention of protection measures if a specific use does not infringe copyright. Moreover, the Lofgren bill would let consumers perform limited duplications of legally owned works and transfer them to other media.
The divisions that pit the entertainment industry against fair-use advocates should lay the groundwork for a roiling intellectual-property debate this year. Enough momentum exists for some of these opposing bills to be reintroduced in the new Congress. But, for once, consumers, with the support of information technology and consumer electronics companies, will be well represented. In addition to the efforts of Boucher and Lofgren, grassroots support has emerged. Digitalconsumer.org formed last year to combat new protectionist legislative proposals and to advocate alteration of the DMCA to promote digital fair use. The group has called for guarantees for activities such as copying a CD to a portable MP3 player and making backup copies, which are illegal under the DMCA, if copy protection is violated.
The DMCA has not only undercut fair use but also stifled scientific investigations. Felten and his colleagues faced the threat of litigation under the DMCA when they were about to present a paper on breaking a copy-protection scheme, just one of several instances in which the law has dampened computer-security research (see the Electronic Frontier Foundation's white paper, "Unintended Consequences": www.eff.org/IP/DMCA/ 20020503_dmca_consequences.html). The legal system should try to achieve a balance between the rights of owners and users of copyrighted works. An incisive debate is urgently needed to restore that balance.
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?colID=7&articleID=0002080A-730B-1DF7-9733809EC588EEDF
culater
plus- We are planning to have products and technology platform demonstrations in several OEM customers' and partners' booths as well as in technology suites and pavilions
culater
WTF-GOOD GRIEF-BABLE TALK-NEED YOU KNOW MORE-
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/profile.asp?User=7272
LOL,culater
ot-Telcos deliver video, voice, and data
Matthew Miller, Managing Editor -- CommVerge, 12/18/2002
Even though we're in the midst of the NFL playoff race, a baseball term—triple play—seems to be on everyone's lips. In this case, the expression refers not to getting three opposing players out on a single play, but to delivering voice, data, and video over a single broadband connection. Slowly but surely, the triple play is becoming a viable option for telcos and consumers alike.
Both cable- and telecom-oriented service providers have long dreamed of making the triple play, each hoping to steal some of the other's bread-and-butter revenue. However, just as cable companies haven't made a lot of headway delivering telephone services, telecom providers haven't had much to brag about when it comes to delivering TV.
Today, however, telco video is transitioning from a pipe dream to a real-world technology that is gradually gathering steam. Equipment available now makes it possible for a carrier to deliver not only phone service but also, via DSL, high-speed Internet access and a TV experience that arrives via a set-top box and can't be distinguished from cable TV.
In 2001, according to market researcher In-Stat/MDR (a corporate sibling of CommVerge), carriers delivered TV service to about 100,000 subscribers worldwide. But the number should reach the millions by 2004, according to Michelle Abraham, an In-Stat/MDR senior analyst. "I'm seeing more and more players getting into the market," she says. "They obviously are getting more requests from customers, and seeing more of an opportunity."
Grass roots
Interestingly, telco TV is putting down its first roots not in wired metropolises, but in rural communities. Small IOCs (independent operating companies) have been among the first to seize upon the incremental revenue of bundling TV along with their data and phone services.
For example, Israel-based Optibase says a rural telco in the US is among the first to place an order for its MGW 5100, a carrier-grade streaming platform launched last week. The modular system handles the delivery of advanced TV services over both traditional ATM-based and newer-fangled IP-based broadband access networks.
Also last week, Next Level Communications announced that three phone companies in South Dakota have purchased its Full Service Access Platform in order to serve TV fans in towns such as Bryant, Howard, Clark, and Lake Norden. Meanwhile, Midwest Tel Net, a consortium of independent telcos serving southern Wisconsin, recently purchased telco-TV equipment from Swedish vendor Net Insight.
In many cases, these rural telcos are stealing customers away from mammoth cable operators. "Their big advantage is that they are the established local company, they've been there for 100 years, and they're involved in the local community," Abraham says. As long as they can offer a TV package equal to cable TV, people are willing to support them.
Moreover, a small company with perhaps 5000 customers needs to make a relatively small investment to get TV service up an running, says Uzi Yahav, director of marketing and business development for Optibase's broadband TV unit. By contrast, the major RBOCs (regional Bell operating companies), thinking about reaching millions of subscribers, would face much larger expenditures. In addition, the federal government offers subsidies to telcos that serve rural markets, which helps such companies justify such investments.
The market won't always be limited to small players, however. "Today, the RBOCs are mainly evaluating the business justification and doing some small field trials," Yahav says. "There is a lot of interest, but I don't think we will see any major deployments in 2003. In 2004 we will see them jumping in with mass commercial deployments."
Looking beyond North America, European carriers, like their US counterparts, are still in the evaluation stage. However, Asia will be a "huge" market, Yahav says. Only a handful of countries are active, including Korea, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan, but they nonetheless represent potential bonanzas. For example, he points out, Korea currently has about the same number of DSL lines as the entire United States.
Though many carriers are focused on taking business from cable companies, some are taking different approaches. For example, Abraham points to carriers in Europe and Asia who offer only a few channels of premium content, which subscribers can consume alongside their existing satellite TV services.
The goods
Equipment providers are working to make telco TV an attractive proposition for carriers to consider. For example, Optibase's MGW 5100 is designed in a modular fashion, allowing carriers to start small and then add capabilities in accordance with real-world business demands, Yahav says. The company expects the first deployments to go live late in Q1 of next year.
The system encodes digital video, transcodes, transmits, and recasts up to 24 MPEG-1, MPEG-2, or MPEG-4 channels at a time. The integrated transcoding feature is especially valuable, Yahav says, because it allows carriers to alter the format and bit rate of video streams, reducing the bandwidth required to stream channels to the user. Competing products require additional equipment to achieve comparable compression gains, he adds.
The system also incorporates support for uploading streamed content to video servers, which would allow a carrier to build a network-based PVR (personal video recorder) service, although Yahav allows that such advanced systems won't be deployed for some time to come.
culater
By: upintime
16 Dec 2002, 06:42 PM EST Msg. 1088530 of 1088534
Spoke to Robert Putnam today. He said the Odyssey 1000 is rolling off the production line. Only place to buy one is from the e.Digital e-tail store. He said a pr is forthcoming. Good luck to all and happy holidays.
culater
Discounters Stalking High-Tech Territory
By CONSTANCE L. HAYS
n a television ad that began showing this year, two guys — fairly cool-looking guys — discuss their need for "a good TV" so they can watch their DVD's. "We're DVD freaks!" one says. The ad is fast paced, it drops names like Panasonic and Sony, and the advertiser is Wal-Mart.
So much for going to a specialty store for that plasma TV, MP3 player or personal digital assistant. Wal-Mart, Target and Kmart are closing in on what was once a specialized segment of retail, stocking their stores with the latest in consumer electronics instead of only the most time-worn products that come with plugs.
"The more these products become a part of your everyday life, the more Wal-Mart will sell them," said Marie Driscoll, a retail analyst for Argus Research. "How many people owned a P.D.A. two years ago? And now they're selling at Target. It's really incredible."
Three years ago, the notion of visiting a discounter to buy an advanced television set was a contradiction in terms. Discounters did not have such products, and the manufacturers rarely considered them to be a respectable outlet. But the difference between the specialty stores and the discounters is narrowing, experts say, especially this year, with no clear must-have products and with the wavering economy holding spending in check.
"When the whole consumer electronics industry was growing, Wal-Mart didn't really hurt anybody's business," said Scot Ciccarelli, a retail analyst for Gerard Klauer Mattison in New York. "But you get a lull in the product cycle, and you notice it."
Like many analysts, he is wary of investing in the specialty chains that once ruled the consumer electronics business. Now that you can buy a personal digital assistant just about anywhere, the formerly plentiful profits on such gadgets have shrunk. Mr. Ciccarelli rates Best Buy neutral and expects Circuit City to underperform other stocks. The share price of both companies has fallen by about half since the beginning of the year.
It is a long way from just last year, when he and others thought that those two companies — benefiting from a consumer demand for home theaters and other comforts instead of travel abroad — could do no wrong.
Wal-Mart's interest in the electronics sector began to intensify about four years ago, when the giant retailer realized the potential of sticking mass prices on high-tech items. It has made runs at other specialty retail sectors, like toys, in the past, though consumer electronics are considered more lucrative.
"What Wal-Mart does is to look at each category it sells and try to figure out how to gain as much market share as possible," said Shari Schwartzman Eberts, a retail analyst for J. P. Morgan Securities. "They will tell you that the square footage allocated to electronics has not changed. What has changed is the kind of products they carry in it."
At Target, the number of electronics products for sale has risen about 20 percent since 1998, a spokesman said. Kmart, struggling to emerge from bankruptcy, sells TV's, digital cameras, DVD players, and video game consoles, among other things, along with all the software to go with them.
"There has been an increase in competition coming from the discounters," said Ann Collier, a vice president who handles investor relations for Circuit City, the specialty electronics retailer that is based in Richmond, Va. Chains like Costco are also featuring electronics more than they once did, she added, and "we know we have to be price competitive with any of the major players in our segment."
But Wal-Mart, with its heft that promises enormous volume to manufacturers, is casting the biggest shadow across the sector.
"Big-screen televisions were very small last year at Wal-Mart," Mr. Ciccarelli said. "This year, they're in 1,500 stores." How about flat-screen TV's, which were emerging on consumers' Christmas lists at this time last year? Ms. Eberts estimates that this year, 60 percent of all the televisions stocked at Wal-Mart are flat screens. And about 150 stores are selling plasma TV's, which offer high clarity, at just under $3,000, according to Ms. Driscoll.
Wal-Mart's strategy has been to identify products with mass appeal and then bring them into its stores. Televisions are an obvious choice. Personal computers are close behind; Wal-Mart this week announced plans to sell a deeply discounted Hewlett-Packard computer and printer.
There are also personal digital assistants, DVD-VCR combos and digital cameras on the shelves. For reasons ranging from briefer product cycles to the increasing sophistication of middle-class consumers, the speed of the transfer from state-of-the-art to state-of-the-Wal-Mart has picked up recently.
"It certainly seems to be a shorter time period than what it used to be," said Gary Severson, who is senior vice president for electronics at Wal-Mart, which is based in Bentonville, Ark. "Mass seems to be gaining appeal for a lot of categories, and electronics is one of those where the customer realizes they don't have to pay a lot of money for everything."
These days, instead of offering only basic items, whether a home theater or a digital camera, Wal-Mart is much more in front of the curve, he added, with products and well-known brand names. And it has added to its advertising to make that clear to shoppers.
"Years ago, mass probably represented more of the older technology at a good price," Mr. Severson said. "What we have worked harder and harder to do is to make sure we are providing good value and that we are topical in what our consumer wants. The curve has moved up to where we can be more on fashion, on trend, and at a good price."
Mr. Severson, who oversees other departments at Wal-Mart as well, says the chain's relationships with electronics manufacturers have improved.
"They've taught us a lot of things and we've educated them about what we can do," he said. He envisions a day, not too far off, when manufacturers will want to introduce their latest models at Wal-Mart.
Target, based in Minneapolis, has gone for exclusivity in the mass market. Earlier this year, the chain began selling Sony boomboxes, clock radios and other items in a special color — a bright yellow-green — available only at Target.
The chief distinction between the discounters and the specialty chains, at the moment, seems to be the training of the salespeople and the sophistication of the products. Training has traditionally been more elaborate at the specialty chains, where some workers are paid on commission, and the most advanced products are usually seen first at a Best Buy or a Circuit City. But this year there is no "hot" item to attract the kind of shoppers who pride themselves on being first with every gadget.
"It's a C-minus kind of new-product environment," said Gary Giblin, an analyst for C. L. King Associates. So the competition lately is mostly over price, and as a result many retail analysts have slashed their expectations for Circuit City and Best Buy, worrying that profits are at stake.
But they should not worry too much, says Lisa Hawks, a spokeswoman for Best Buy, which is based outside Minneapolis. Salespeople are more knowledgeable at the specialty chains, she said, and product selection is more sophisticated. And with prices falling, the retailer is latching onto services like installation to draw shoppers away from discounters.
"We don't comment specifically on our competitors," Ms. Hawks said. "But where I think we do well is where there are customers looking for a total solution." Sales of digital products have been increasing as a proportion of all sales, she added.
Mr. Severson said Wal-Mart was trying to provide more training to the sales staff in its electronics department. That can mean providing a computer that links to the company's Web site, he added.
Other retailers are also in the service business, Mr. Ciccarelli said. Tweeter, another publicly traded consumer electronics chain, is wiring new homes as they are being built, readying them for home theaters once the homes are occupied, he said, adding, "If it catches on, I wouldn't be surprised to see Circuit City and Best Buy get into it." Still, it is more expensive than simply training the employees and organizing the displays in the showroom, which specialty retailers do well already and Wal-Mart has started to copy.
The specialty retailers, meanwhile, are all aiming for sales to hold steady at last year's levels. "They are offering extended payment plans that take you out into 2004," Ms. Driscoll said, "and that's one of the ways they generate business. Wal-Mart doesn't do that."
Copyright The New York Times Company
culater
doni-glad you saw it. I thought of your posts when I read it.Regards,culater
Building Portable Designs Around New Low-Cost DSPs
By Mark Long -- 12/11/2002
e-inSITE
Texas Instruments (TI) has announced two new DSP offerings based on the company's low-power TMS320C55x architecture, including a new dual MAC DSP offering up to 600 MIPS that will be priced at $5 each in 10K quantities when it makes its marketplace debut next year.
In addition to bowing in at an unrivaled price point, the 300 MHz, dual-MAC DSP will feature a power consumption of just under 200 mW.
'With the C5501 and C5502 DSPs, TI has once again raised the bar on the performance, power and price paradigm,' said Forward Concepts President Will Strauss in a statement. 'By delivering higher performing, low-power DSPs at an aggressively low price, TI is paving the way for even greater DSP proliferation, since real-time signal processing is becoming the key ingredient in virtually every innovative, smart, embedded device.'
To be offered in both 176-pin LQFP and 176-pin MicroStar BGA, the 300-MHz C5502 DSP will be priced at $9.95 each in 10K quantities when it begins sampling in 1Q03, while the C5501 DSP will be priced at $5.00 each when it samples to engineers in 3Q03. In addition, TI will be offering a 200 MHz iteration of the C5502 DSP at $7.95 each.
The C5502 DSP's peripheral set will include 32KW DARAM and 16K ROM, 32-bit external memory interface (EMIF), 16 KB of instruction-cache, 16-bit/8bit enhanced host port interface (HPI), 6-channel direct memory access (DMA) supporting internal and external transfers, I2C interface to micro-controllers and codecs for inter-chip communication and up to 76 general purpose I/O pins.
Tailored for deployment in cost-constrained applications, the C5501 DSP will offer the same low-power performance as the C5502 but with a reduced RAM and EMIF capability. In addition, the C5501 and C5502 DSPs are pin-for-pin compatible with TI's C5000 platform devices as well as maintain code compatibility with 30 existing products in the platform.
Both new devices will be supported by TI's Code Composer Studio v2 Integrated Development Environment (IDE), low-cost TMS320C5510 DSP starter kit, the C5502 evaluation module, workshops and on-line training. A series of C55x one-day workshops at locations around the world are scheduled to begin in 1Q03.
Not Just Another Pretty Face
In an interview with e-inSITE last month, TI C5000 worldwide marketing manager Dennis Barrett said that the new Dual-Mac DSPs represent the company's best efforts to enable product developers differentiate their products with more features while achieving longer battery life for their portable designs. Barrett also pointed out that the C5502 will feature a programmable PLL with on-chip oscillator to further simplify the design work of developers.
When the C55x DSP offerings start to sample next year, Barrett wants engineers to know that they aren't just another row of pretty faces in the marketplace. Moreover, Barrett recommends that engineers start thinking of their memory addressing requirements in a new way that departs from the traditional textbook approach.
The new C55x chips will feature an Advanced I-Cache architecture that allow more memory to be put into play and at a lower cost to boot. With the company's C5409 DSP, SRAM access was limited to within the constraints of 64 kW page boundaries. The I-Cache capabilities of the C5502, however, features a unified memory DSRAM/SRAM approach that is more flexible, offering more external memory options as well as reduced latencies, claims Barrett.
During his e-inSITE interview, the TI executive cited as an example the results that third party partner AudioCodes achieved when it ran its G.723.1 algorithm using the C555x I-Cache, experiencing only a five percent degradation versus location memory performance, results that were well within the bounds of acceptability with regards to the algorithm at hand.
Battery life enhancements are another reason for giving the C55x chips a close look. In benchmark testing of the new chips stacked up against a competing product, Barrett said that the new TI devices delivered 8x the battery life of their nearest marketplace competitor. For this reason, Bioscrypt has already tapped the C5502 for deployment in its business-card-sized MV1200 fingerprint verification module, which reportedly will be able to verify an individual identity in less than one second.
'Bioscrypt has chosen the Texas Instrument C5502 processor because of its low power, high performance, and sizeable on-board memory to support the processing requirements of our pattern-based matching algorithm for customized low-cost, low-power applications, said engineering vice president Thomas Reilly in a statement.
D55x DSP Workshops To Put SDK In Play
Beginning early next year, developers will be able to register for a one-day workshop during which they will be taught how to base their next-gen product designs on the C55x DSPs. During the workshop they will be working to put their designs in play using TI's low-cost C5510 DSP kit, which retails for $395.
Co-developed with Spectrum Digital, the C5510 DSK provides the power management tools that developers will need to fine-tune their designs for power consumption efficiency. The DSK bundles together extendable USB plug-and-play hardware, a DSK Code Composer Studio (CCStudio) tools suite as well as the new power management tools, which consist of a software-based power analyzer and a power-scaling library for aiding the evaluation and alteration of system power consumption right at the beginning of the development process, claims TI.
Developers will use the new power management tools to design portable products with longer talk times or that can run on less-expensive batteries. Engineers will use the power analyzer tool to visually measure and analyze power consumption at a core or system level as well as accurately measure power budgets.
With the aid of an oscilloscope and probe, engineers can also collect information on peripheral usage that will demonstrate whether or not a particular peripheral is being used during the execution of a particular function, allowing designers to power down peripherals for the time it takes to perform a particular operation, or reduce power to that area.
The DSK's power-scaling library dynamically scales the CPU frequency and core voltage at run time to ensure that an optimal frequency/voltage combination exists. A separate configuration library is also on tap that will enable the library to be ported to custom hardware or configuration library source files, thereby enabling the developer to use the tool in their final end application.
Other SDK performance-enhancing features include USB emulation and true plug-and-play functionality, together with an RTDX data link for aiding the detection, diagnosis and correction of DSK communications issues. In addition, the DSK board features a standard JTAG interface and embedded JTAG support via USB, a 24-bit stereo codec, four audio jacks, 256KB of Flash memory, 8-MB of SDRAM, an expansion port connector for plug-in modules, and a 5-Volt power supply
http://www.e-insite.net/commvergemag/index.asp?layout=article&articleid=CA264952&spacedesc=n...
culater
Curtain Call
Finally, a Business Model for Music in the Internet Age, and Why the Music Industry Probably Won't Go for It
By Robert X. Cringely
In 1948, CBS introduced the long-playing record album, the LP. The new records spun at 33 1/3 revolutions per minute rather than the 78 RPM that had been the standard for 50 years. This slower speed, combined with the fact that the smaller needle allowed the grooves to be closer together than on the old 78s, made it possible to put more music than ever before on each side of a record. To put the egg precisely before the chicken, what made LPs possible was the material from which they were made -- polyvinyl chloride, generally called just "vinyl." Emil Berliner, the inventor of the gramophone, had come up with 78 RPM by first determining the size of the grooves required by his steel needles, then determining what rotational rate would duplicate the frequency range of his recordings, and that was 78 RPM. The 33 and 1/3 RPM speed first came about as a professional recording standard for talking pictures (Vitaphone from Bell Labs), because at that speed, a record could last the same 11 minutes as the standard 1000-foot reel of movie film. CBS engineers applied this professional standard to the new vinyl material, sized the new grooves to match the frequency response that vinyl enabled and -- voila! -- an LP at 30 minutes per side. Of course, the smaller groove also required a smaller needle, and that, too, was made possible by World War II materials technology. Edison had used smaller needles for his cylinder records, but those needles were made of sapphire and very expensive. By 1948, comparable needles could be cheaply mass-produced.
LPs were better in every way than the old 78s they replaced. Sure, listeners would have to buy new record players, and LPs might cost more to buy, but those were minor penalties for the glories of high fidelity.
Also in 1948, at about the same time that CBS was introducing the LP, RCA was across town bringing out the first 45 RPM single. The 45 used the same materials technology as the LP, but used it to simply make a recording that was the same length as the 78 it was replacing. This meant RCA could re-release its old 78 RPM records in the new 45 RPM format, which certainly set a precedent for what happened 40 years later when CDs did the same thing, replacing LPs. While 45s appeared to be lower tech than LPs, exactly the opposite was true. The CBS engineers had come up with their new standard by trial and error, but RCA engineers used a lot more science to invent the 45. Using calculus, they determined that the optimal dimensions for a recording made at a constant rotational speed (the best sound quality throughout the disk) came when the disk outer diameter was twice that of the minimum recording helix diameter (the innermost groove). That's why a seven-inch single has a 3.5-inch label. Given the CBS groove dimensions, which were dictated by the vinyl material, and targets for bandwidth and maximum distortion, the RCA engineers came up with a rotational speed of 45 RPM. What's interesting about this is that the 45, which was generally thought of by consumers as a cheaper, lower fidelity product, actually had better technical specs than the LP when each was playing on its innermost groove area.
The new 45s were cheaper to make than the 78s they replaced, and lots cheaper than LPs, both from a raw material standpoint, but especially because of the lower cost of the intellectual property (two songs) they contained. Forty-fives worked well in jukeboxes, too, because their large center holes made life easier for robot fingers. The 45s were pretty terrific, though you still had to buy a new record player.
So here it was 1948. One war was over and the next one was not even imagined, America and American tastes ruled the world, and the record industry had just offered up its two best ideas for how music should be sold for the next 40 years. What happened? The recording industry immediately entered a four-year slump as Americans, who couldn't decide what type of records to buy, decided not to buy any records at all.
What happened to the record industry in 1948 was the result of dueling technical standards sowing market confusion. The industry fumbled along until an act of God or Elvis Presley decided which standard would dominate what parts of the business. Forty-fives eventually gained the youth vote, while LPs took the high end of the market. In time, machines were built that could play both types of records, and the two technical standards were eventually marketed in a manner that made them complementary. But that wasn't the original intention of their inventors, each of whom wanted to have it all.
Markets hate equality. That was the problem with this battle between LPs and 45s -- both were better than the old standard, and each had advantages over the other. In the world of music, circa 1948, it just wasn't immediately clear which standard would be dominant, so the third parties in the industry did not know how to align themselves. If either CBS or RCA had been a couple of years later, the market would have had a chance to adopt the first new standard and then consider the second. Everybody would have been listening to more music.
Now jump to the present day when digital music is the norm, but are we talking about CDs, MP3s, or DVDs? It is 1948 all over again. And what's the successful business model? Nobody knows. That's what we've been talking about in this space for the past two weeks. And in this third and final (I promise) installment, we will converge on the technologies and business models that are actually likely to succeed. This is the pay-off, and I want to thank many readers, but especially Tony Castaldo, for getting us here.
The question I posed last week was whether young people would buy music by the minute. Though I thought it was a great idea, the consensus among bewildered parents is that it just won't happen if there is a cheaper -- albeit illegal -- alternative. Once music or video is available digitally to people who have no stake in protecting it, it will be ripped. Copy protection won't work, either.
So digital technology may ultimately mean bands have to make their money the old-fashioned way -- by touring, selling out concerts, constantly writing new music, and ignoring the undercurrent of their older music being free. To those readers who decried my emphasis on rock music examples over classical or jazz, those two genres are already living in the future where musicians survive by performance rather than because they have a recording contract. If they had to rely solely on record sales, Branford Marsalis and Yo-Yo Ma would starve.
Movies can make most of their money from opening in theaters then selling to venues like TV and cable that are too large to air ripped material. But they will get ripped eventually, so they need a business model that treats their property as a fading asset, and therefore front-loads their compensation. Music must follow that model, produce new entertainment that by its nature is impossible or difficult to rip, and that treats their new work as a fading asset and front-loads their compensation into the first few months.
If you want to front-load revenue and add new sources of revenue at the same time, one way is by a return to the old days of entertainment. MGM, in the 30s through the 50s, gave no thought to its film library because there were no re-releases and there was no residual market like cable TV, network TV, video sales, rentals, etc. They not only had to make all their money early: Given the single-screen theaters of the time, they had to make most of it in the FIRST WEEK. Same for early TV, where there was no market after their first release for kinescopes or even shows shot on film. When Desi Arnaz asked for ownership of old episodes of “I Love Lucy,” the network didn't give it another thought since those shows were deemed worthless. Remember, that was when the TV season was 39 weeks long, so there were few summer reruns.
It is easy to see how record companies would probably want to increase their participation in tours, concerts, and other public performances. If an album sells a million copies, that's $20 million in revenue compared to a $100 million concert tour. The key to this is finding a way to sell music in a way that it can't be ripped. What is unrippable is live new music at concerts, or a mix of old hits and new music with the emphasis on performance -- on being there. DON'T sell CDs of new music at a concert. Sell CDs of older stuff, but make buying a ticket the only way to hear a new song in the first three months. After that comes the CDs, then radio, then residual sales by Internet or at concerts for impulse sales. This is analogous to movies, which appear first in theaters, then pay-per-view, then home video, then cable TV, and finally free TV.
This approach actually does make music better by forcing artists to produce more to maintain their lifestyle.
And this leaves a role for the record companies as financiers and promoters. Once again think of the movie business with its action figures, board games, and school lunch boxes. There is a lot of money to be made through coordinated promotion. The record companies need to stop relying on selling recordings and strengthen their hold and position on marketing the band. Studios should stop thinking of themselves as manufacturers stamping out vinyl, and start thinking of themselves as venture capitalists, bringing together professional managers and marketing to exploit talent using a model much like the movie industry.
Of course, this is not the way the music industry is presently being run. The recording industry lives for the moment, and then hangs on to it obsessively. Theirs is not a long-term business model. At least the movie industry has something closer to a product life cycle. The cost of their media drops nicely over time, and they have consumer friendly pricing.
The music industry tends to compensate its talent less well, often leading to an adversarial relationship that sometimes puts the artists (Courtney Love) on the side of the pirates. The music business as it is presently run doesn't have a product life cycle. The media price rarely changes and is usually as high as they can make it. The industry is hostile to consumers. This is already working against the music industry. Over time, the talent will find better venues to sell their work. Customers are obviously looking for a better way to obtain their products. From a technology point of view, the music industry is in an ideal position to benefit from new forms of distribution. But they don't.
An enlightened music company would see itself as being in the venture capital business. They could scout and find bands that had been playing for years, owned all their music, had strong local followings, then help them to grow out of their local markets. This removes a lot of the personnel and artistic uncertainties. And like a VC, they would fund several groups in parallel, then concentrate money on the ones that still make it in a wider market. The pitch to the bands plays on the same motivation of any small company seeking capital. You can keep bootstrapping yourself and maybe, if nobody gets sick and nothing bad happens, you will make it big 10 years from now. Or we can strap a booster rocket on your sled and you can make it national in a year or two.
This new model, which is more Tony's than mine, makes perfect sense to me, if not to a record company exec. What would be interesting, I think, would be to take this VC model to...a VC! Imagine a VC-created music company. I won't even call it a record company. The advantage of VC creation is the money is there, but not the old music. As a new label, everything has to be new, so there is nothing old to be a drag on the business model. I am firmly of the belief that given a $10 million budget, it would be very easy to create and promote a band that could do $40 million per year in business. Repeat that over and over for a few years running, and the average percentage returns on high-tech would look puny.
At the end of the day ,it becomes clear that at heart of the music industry's dilemma is a problem of distinguishing between a "process" and a "symptom." If you don't understand the basic process of something, it is easy to let it become a barrier to progress. You will probably misdirect your efforts, treating the symptom instead. That is what is happening right now as the record companies try to use lawyers and politicians to change what is probably a very natural change in the way the world works.
Change is a part of business. There are processes that drive change. If you recognize them, you can master them and profit from them, inventing LPs or 45s (or CDs or DVDs) to replace the previous technology that you built to replace the technology you also built before that, each time reselling your old library in a new form with huge profit margins. But if you cling to old habits, you miss opportunities and over time endanger your business. The music recording industry is clinging to old habits. The world is changing, as is the way they COULD do business. Consumers are adapting, but the suppliers are not. Economics is like a seismic force. You can flow with the process or resist and cause the pressure to build. When it blows, it blows, and what could have been a process of logical evolution becomes a revolution and all the players change. Maybe that's why Brittany Spears doesn't recorder on the Emil Berliner label.
culater
Replay it again, Sam
Personal video recorders already have Hollywood running scared. Now Microsoft is pushing a new computer that will make trading TV shows as easy as using ... Napster.
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By Farhad Manjoo
Dec. 9, 2002 / "Like Mr. Ed," says Craig Newmark, "I never speak until I have something to say." It's a crisp fall morning in San Francisco, and Newmark, sipping coffee at his neighborhood cafe, is in the middle of a long discussion of the ethics involved in watching television. He's invoked TV's talking horse to explain his fight with TV's fat cats: He's suing the media companies whose executives have been calling people like him -- people who use personal video recorders, or PVRs, such as TiVo and ReplayTV -- "thieves."
But Newmark, the founder of Craig's List, one of the most popular community sites on the Web, wants to talk about more than just television. He prefers to focus on "fairness," a concept that is dear to him, and that he says ought to be at the heart of not only TV but the distribution of all art. Having been indirectly accused by entertainment industry executives and attorneys of "copyright infringement" simply for using his beloved ReplayTV, Newmark has had reason, unlike many Americans, to think about whether the way he watches TV is "fair."
Is he being unfair if he sets his ReplayTV to record an episode of "The West Wing," one of his favorite shows, so he can watch it later? Is Newmark "stealing" from David Letterman -- "my TV pal" -- if he sets his Replay to skip the ads on "The Late Show"? And are artists really going hungry, and is Newmark really killing an industry, if, once in a while, he transfers some of the shows he records on his ReplayTV to his notebook computer, so he can watch TV while he's traveling?
It didn't take Newmark long to conclude that much of what he does with his TV is fair -- his actions are, he thinks, "fair use" exceptions to copyright laws and therefore legal. He insists that he's being equitable, not seeking to hurt artists just so he can have things his way. "When I record programs," he says, "I'm thinking about two things. First, I want studios to make a living at this. I have friends who are artists, writers and filmmakers, and I don't want them to get screwed. I try to be a good guy whenever I can. I use common sense."
And that's precisely why he joined four other ReplayTV owners in a suit against more than two dozen TV and movie companies. Newmark wants a judge to declare, as clearly as possible, that as long as you're using common sense, there's nothing wrong with using a PVR. (In August, Newmark's case was "consolidated" with a suit the media companies filed against ReplayTV maker Sonicblue; that case, which is in the pretrial phase, is slowly grinding through federal court.)
During his musings on the ethics of television, though, there was one thing that Newmark decided not to do with his ReplayTV, even though, technically, there's nothing stopping him. His ReplayTV is the only stand-alone PVR on the market that can transfer shows over the Internet, but "I just don't think that's fair," Newmark says. Sending a program recorded on one device -- whether a network show broadcast for free, or, more troubling for studios, a premium show like "The Sopranos" -- to another device, in much the same way that people routinely do with music these days, "just feels wrong."
Right now, Newmark's objection is almost moot. Entertainment lawyers have suggested that ReplayTV's Send Show feature will be the ruin of the networks, but according to people familiar with the system, only a relative handful of ReplayTV owners ever send shows, because it's a hassle to do so. It takes tech savvy to hook up a ReplayTV to a home network, and -- in contrast to the glory days of Napster -- it takes time and effort to find people to trade with.
But thanks to Microsoft, the TV-show trade may now be poised to explode. In October, the company unveiled Windows XP Media Center Edition, a new version of its Windows operating system that is installed in only a handful of "media" PCs being manufactured by a half-dozen computer makers. XP Media Center is billed as an all-in-one home entertainment system. The PCs come with CD and DVD writers and lots of disk space and processor power, and the operating system has a large-format interface and remote control functionality to control all media applications. The system also has PVR capabilities; just as with TiVo and ReplayTV, users can select a lineup of television shows to record and watch later.
There's one big difference between the Windows PVR and stand-alone devices like ReplayTV: On a PC, you can do a lot more of the things Hollywood hates. Microsoft's PVR software records TV shows into a format that will soon be playable virtually anywhere. The company's new desktop Windows Media Player will be able to play all Media Center's TV files, and Microsoft says it will make available the codes to let other companies' players -- such as RealNetworks', for example -- play the shows as well. Recorded TV shows may also be stored on DVDs and played back on any consumer DVD player. Media Center owners will thus be able to send shows to people who don't have Media Center PCs, using either physical media or the Internet -- a prospect that's got to have the Hollywood executives seeing red.
Microsoft has inserted some content-protection methods into the Media Center, but very few -- or, perhaps, none -- of today's TV shows are broadcast in such a way as to render them protected. This means that at least for the foreseeable future, everything consumers record on XP Media Center will be tradable. Since it takes at least 600 MBs of hard drive space to store a half-hour show, it's unlikely the trade will be as widespread as that of MP3s. But many analysts have noted that college students, who sparked the music trade, are a major target audience for Microsoft's Media Center PCs. College kids have time on their hands, broadband connectivity at their fingertips, and an abiding, cult interest in certain TV shows -- "The Simpsons," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Seinfeld" -- that borders on the obsessive. And if their willingness to trade music is an indication, the students may not share Newmark's ethical unease with swapping TV shows -- indeed, trading TV, which is supposed to be free, would seem easier to justify. All of which add up to this: The possible "Napsterization" of TV is at hand.
Craig Newmark epitomizes the kind of person electronics industry marketers lovingly refer to as an "early adopter." His modest apartment in the friendly San Francisco neighborhood of Cole Valley is decked with many of the gadgets that the industry is hoping most other people will think of buying in a few years' time. In his living room, there's a widescreen TV surrounded by a half-dozen silver audio and video devices, the most important of which are his two ReplayTV units. One is an older model he purchased a few years ago, when he first heard of PVRs; the second is a ReplayTV 4000, whose broadband connection and automatic commercial skip caused 28 media companies, including Viacom, Disney, AOL Time Warner and their subsidiaries, to file suit against Sonicblue last October. They charged Sonicblue with engaging in an "unlawful plan ... to arm their customers with -- and continuously assist them in using -- unprecedented new tools for violating plaintiffs’ copyright interests."
But Newmark didn't buy the ReplayTV as part of a grand scheme to engage in unlawful conduct. He bought his first PVR because he liked the concept, he says, and when he tried it, he was instantly hooked. It's a feeling that many PVR owners report; you don't realize how under the thumb of network executives your life has been until you've been freed by a PVR, until you no longer need to live by a prepackaged schedule stuffed with stupid ads. "Now," says Newmark, "I don't watch more TV, but I can watch more of what I want more of the time." Perhaps that feeling of liberation explains why it's not uncommon to hear people say their PVR "changed their lives," or to hear that TiVo has a Mac-like, cultish fan base. And it's not hard to believe analysts, such as Ryan Jones of the Yankee Group, who predict that by 2007 there will be 19 million PVRs in use around the world.
Microsoft first got into the PVR business with UltimateTV, which is a stand-alone recorder bundled with some satellite TV receivers. But "consumers are increasingly using their PCs for the very purpose of digital media," says Murari Narayan, the director of marketing for Microsoft's Windows eHome division, the group that developed XP Media Center. "People are spending more time on their PCs than on any device in the home other than possibly the phone. And when you think of how much time they're spending on it, you say, 'Wouldn't it be nice for them to also watch TV on this?'"
It is nice. In November, Microsoft sent me a review model of a Media Center PC. When I got the machine, I unplugged my TiVo and set up Media Center in its place; in the couple of weeks during which I tried it out, the Windows system worked rather well. The PVR lacks some of the features TiVo has -- it does not, for example, suggest shows it thinks you'll like -- but its interface is every bit as intuitive as other systems'. Microsoft doesn't charge a monthly service fee for channel guide data, as the stand-alone PVR companies do, but Media Center PCs, at between $1,000 and $3,000, depending on the model, are pricier overall.
The system does have one great advantage over stand-alone devices, however: It's endlessly expandable. It's possible to add space to TiVo, but the practice is complicated and not officially sanctioned. On the Media Center PC, "you start throwing a bunch of TV content on there, the hard disk will be full in no time, and you can easily add another external hard drive," Narayan says. "That is where the flexibility of the PC is an asset for consumers when they do digital media."
There are other reasons to like the flexibility of a PC. The first thing you notice when you start using the system is that all of your TV files are conveniently stored in a folder on your hard drive. It's easy to share them -- burn them on to a DVD, say, or transfer them to another machine on your home, office or dorm network. It's also possible to share files with people you don't know, which is something you can't do with a ReplayTV: If you have a peer-to-peer file-sharing program installed on your Media Center, all you have to do is give the program access to your TV folder, and suddenly anyone using Kazaa or Gnutella has access to your entire week's take of "Friends."
Microsoft calculated, early in its development of XP Media Center, that the flexibility of a PC-based PVR, while good for consumers, would have put the company at odds with media firms. That's why its initial plans for Media Center called for a very stringent TV-content protection system. "Any piece of TV content that came into the hard disk, we said that you could not play it back anywhere else," says Narayan of the original plans. "You recorded a TV show and we protected it on the hard disk. You could burn a DVD [of the show], but only for playback on that PC."
But when Microsoft released its plans for TV copy protection in September, the idea was roundly skewered. Industry observers made the obvious point that young people, who represented a natural market for computers that were good at doing music and movies, weren't going to like having their computers tell them what they could and couldn't do with programs they recorded. At the time, Microsoft defended its system, telling the tech media that it wanted to "balance" the relationships between "the consumer who wants the content and Hollywood, so they feel comfortable with that process and don't clamp down and make that impossible." But the company took the consumer and analyst feedback to heart, Narayan says, and decided to "accelerate" plans to allow media companies to decide which content they want to protect, taking the immediate burden off Microsoft.
Specifically, Microsoft now "respects" a protection scheme called CGMS-A, which is essentially a code that can be inserted into a television broadcast -- much like closed captioning is now embedded -- that explains how that content can be used. If copy protection is turned on in a TV show, the Windows PVR would play back the show only on the computer on which it was recorded. Otherwise, the show could be transferred to any other device.
But here's the rub: "We haven't seen any content that's actually protected," Narayan says. "There may be some instances where people protected maybe a particular pay-per-view show, but we haven't seen it -- though I would hardly say we've done any exhaustive research or testing." The upshot for Microsoft, in choosing the CGMS-A, then, is that it gets to say Windows protects content without actually protecting much content.
Will media companies start protecting their content using CGMS-A? That's hard to say. (All of the companies suing Sonicblue over its PVR features, as well as their lawyers and the Motion Picture Association of America, an industry trade group, either declined to comment or did not respond to inquires regarding PVRs.) At some point, they probably will have a protection system embedded into TV shows, industry experts say; the companies have, after all, leaned on the FCC to mandate that a "broadcast flag" similar to CGMS-A be mandated for digital television. (In August, the commission voted to explore ways of requiring digital TVs to respect such a flag.) But in the short term, at least, there'll be nothing in any episode of "The Sopranos" telling your computer not to distribute the show -- leading, one might guess, to a lucrative cottage industry in the sale of homemade DVD archives of the show.
So far, personal video recorders have been at the forefront of what has been called a "war" between Hollywood and the tech industry mostly because of the recorders' most well-known feature: ad skipping. Some of the industry's most vocal representatives, not to mention their lawyers, have likened skipping ads to "stealing." The public, it appears, doesn't buy into that idea. The industry has said much less about trading TV shows. The media firms' suit against Sonicblue provides a clue as to what some executives think of swapping TV -- they don't like it -- but can they do anything to convince consumers that there's anything wrong with it? Because of the nature of TV, that too seems like a hard sell.
The war over PVRs hasn't gone well for the media firms, at least in the public arena. The ridicule began last May, when, in a widely circulated interview with CableWorld magazine, Jamie Kellner, the CEO of Turner Broadcasting, called skipping ads "theft." "Your contract with the network when you get the show is you're going to watch the spots," he said. "Otherwise you couldn't get the show on an ad-supported basis. Any time you skip a commercial or watch the button you're actually stealing the programming."
Staci Kramer, the reporter, asked: "What if you have to go to the bathroom or get up to get a Coke?"
"I guess there's a certain amount of tolerance for going to the bathroom," Kellner responded. "But if you formalize it and you create a device that skips certain second increments, you've got that only for one reason, unless you go to the bathroom for 30 seconds. They've done that just to make it easy for someone to skip a commercial."
In a subsequent interview with the New York Times, Kellner seemed unmoved by the criticism over his remarks: "The free television that we've all enjoyed for so many years is based on us watching these commercials," he said. "There's no Santa Claus. If you don't watch the commercials, someone's going to have to pay for television and it's going to be you."
Kellner's argument has a rational basis: TV shows are underwritten by ads, and if everyone stops watching ads, networks will have to find another way to finance shows. But his comments seemed to be setting the TV business down the same sorry path the record business has traveled -- accusing its audience of criminal conduct, accusing tech companies of enabling criminal conduct, and protesting any suggestions that media firms move to embrace, rather than resist, technology whose ubiquity is probably inevitable anyway. (When called for comment, an aide said that Kellner preferred not to talk to the media about PVRs anymore.)
Craig Newmark keeps his ReplayTV's Commercial Advance feature turned on, and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with it. "The people in this country gave the networks radio spectrum," he says, "and they were to do something for the public good. Unfortunately, a lot of them have forgotten that." Newmark also doesn't buy the idea that ad skipping will lead to the end of free television. He points out that many experts see ways for the industry to make more money from PVRs by offering additional services: through video-on-demand, for example, which lets people select shows and have them delivered to a PVR, or through pay-TV premium channels in which shows aren't packed into standard 30- and 60-minute time slots. "I'm not an expert," he says, "but even I can see multiple opportunities for media companies to do more with these, to better serve their customers."
But it's hard to see how TV companies could do all of these things in an environment where trading is pervasive. Although some TV shows may seem as if they're on all the time, TV shows make money, especially in syndication, because they're (artificially) scarce resources. There are about 180 episodes of "Seinfeld" in existence, which is about 90 hours of programming. Many Americans have seen most of them, but many wouldn't really mind seeing them one or two more times each. But very few companies have the rights to show these episodes. For media firms, this scarcity -- demand greater than supply -- represents a cash cow: Local affiliates and cable channels can play "Seinfeld" one or two or five times a day and still expect some people to tune in to see the shows, if only because folks can't see them anywhere else.
Banking on this equation, in 1998, Turner Broadcasting purchased the cable rerun rights to "Seinfeld" for $180 million, which, at about a $1 million per episode, was a record syndication deal. The company, which also has rights to "Friends," "Home Improvement" and "The Drew Carey Show," was looking to put together a lineup of 1990s hits that it thought would remain popular well into the next decade.
But what if you'd recorded every episode of "Seinfeld" when it first aired? You could fit the whole series on a $100 hard drive. Or, what if, through your thousands of friends on Kazaa, you had access to every episode of the show? Would you ever need to turn on TBS to watch an episode of "Seinfeld" that someone else had chosen for you?
In their complaint against Sonicblue, several AOL Time Warner companies -- including Turner -- address this issue, saying that the ReplayTV illegally "creates libraries, indexed and stored on the device, containing up to 320 hours" of "unauthorized digital copies" of Turner's works. Presumably, they'd have the same problem with other PVRs, including -- or especially -- the one from Microsoft. (Narayan, of Microsoft, declined to discuss whether media companies had expressed that sentiment in discussions with the company, but he noted several times that the firms are free to protect their content if they want to.)
All through November, while I was trying out Microsoft's Media Center PC, I sent several messages to people who gather to discuss their ReplayTV devices on the message boards at PlanetReplay. Of the half-dozen people who were looking to trade shows with other people whom I contacted, all who responded said they saw nothing wrong with trading or archiving shows. "I don't think I am stealing anything," one person said, in a typical response. "I pay my cable company $35+ per month to watch TV. If it wasn't for Replay I probably wouldn't watch these shows at all."
When asked about the ethics of trading shows, Chad Little, who runs PlanetReplay, wrote, in an e-mail, "Is trading 'Sopranos' to another HBO subscriber unethical? Is trading 'Sopranos' to a nonsubscriber unethical? Is trading 'Friends' to someone who gets NBC unethical?" His answer to these rhetorical questions was vague: "There hasn't been a real 'test' of these ideas," he wrote, though he said that most trading would be ethical, as one could liken it to "trading" VHS tapes.
Cindy Cohn, an attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who is representing Newmark and others in their suit against the media companies, expressed a similar point of view. It's not automatically illegal to trade shows, she says. "For 'The Sopranos,' sending it to 20 different people who didn't pay for the shows, that would be hard to justify. But for our clients and a lot of the users of the ReplayTV, they send it from the one in the living room to the one in the bedroom." Archiving shows, too, she says, can be a fair use of media. "And frankly we've heard some great stories about that," she says. "One military guy who was called up to fight in the Afghan war, who came back months later and he was so happy: All of his shows were there for him. And gee, isn't that what technology is supposed to do? I can't believe this idea that we would deny people the opportunity to let their media fit their lives."
But even if all of these devices could be used fairly and legally, I asked Cohn, couldn't she see the media companies' argument that PVRs, with their mix of ad skipping, trading and archiving capabilities, could make business very difficult for Hollywood?
"I guess I'd want to see some evidence of that," she said. "They said that about the VCR and they were so brilliantly wrong. The entertainment companies screamed "the sky is falling" -- and it wasn't. They're using these new technologies to grow businesses for them, like movie downloads -- so they should get the benefits of these technologies, but not the downsides? I think history has shown that technology has always benefitted the entertainment companies."
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/12/09/pvr/index.html
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ot-The Wi-Fi Boom
By ADAM BAER
N a brisk autumn day in Portland, Ore., Paul van Veen was soaking up some sun as he logged on to the Internet - from a spot in bustling Pioneer Courthouse Square. Mr. van Veen was looking for a job, and he was surfing the Web over a free wireless connection.
These days, Pioneer Courthouse Square is but one of some 140 public spots across Portland with free Internet access using a high-speed wireless technology known as Wi-Fi. The network of such Wi-Fi "hot spots" throughout the city was developed by Personal Telco, a grass-roots, nonprofit group devoted to blanketing the city with free access points.
Portland and Personal Telco are just part of a growing national trend. There are community groups promoting public Wi-Fi access in nearly every large American city, from NYCwireless, which "unwired" Bryant Park and Tompkins Square Park in Manhattan, to KC Wireless in the Kansas City area. They have been joined by independent cafes and restaurants, apartment houses and community centers across the country that view free, easy access to the Internet as a draw for customers.
At the same time, subscription services and pay-as-you-go Wi-Fi hot spots are springing up in cafes, bookstores, hotels and airports, put in by companies like T-Mobile and smaller, start-up competitors like Boingo Wireless and Wayport. Last week, Cometa Networks, a new company backed by Intel, AT&T and I.B.M., said it planned to put a network of thousands of wireless access points across a huge swath of the nation by 2004. The result is a growing array of options for Wi-Fi users and the emergence of a mobile wireless culture that spans business travelers, teachers and students, people relaxing in coffee shops and even moviegoers waiting for the show.
All that is needed for laptop users to wander with Wi-Fi (the name is short for "wireless fidelity") is a piece of hardware called a Wi-Fi card - perhaps a $100 investment - and where the access is not free, a one-time or longer-term service provider. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most users are male, under 40 and comfortable with technology.
The technology is, however, becoming more accessible. People who use paid hot spots like those offered by Wise Zone, Wayport and T-Mobile simply open their browsers to log on. Users of free city networks like NYCwireless are asked to agree to the network's "acceptable use" policy, and if they do, they are on the Internet for six free hours until they have to sign on again.
Wi-Fi is also changing the way that people - at least some young, technologically adept people - go about their work. In Philadelphia, Yvonne Jones, a 33-year-old freelance copywriter, moved her base of operations to a Starbucks about a month ago and said she quickly became "a thousand times" more productive than she was when working at home. "It's not your house, and you are there for a specific purpose, so the 'distractions' aren't that distracting," she said.
Frank Bonomo, who is between apartments and living with his parents on Long Island after losing his job at a dot-com, spends nearly every workday at a Starbucks in Greenwich Village. Mr. Bonomo, 24, is building a freelance practice as a Web producer, managing online advertising and message boards for design firms. He uses an account with T-Mobile to stay in touch with his clients by e-mail and instant messaging. "I commute here from the Island so I can be close to the offices of my three to four regular clients," he said.
Mr. van Veen, who is looking for work as a wireless systems engineering manager, said he was using the public Wi-Fi hot spot in Portland to research a "hot job lead" because the connection was so much faster than his home connection. "At home, you generally use a standard phone line," he said. "This downloads at 200 kilobytes a second, which is just lightning quick."
Actually, under ideal conditions, Wi-Fi offers even greater speeds - 11 megabits per second, exceeding those typically achieved by high-speed home connections through cable modems or digital subscriber lines. Connection speeds slow, however, as a user gets farther from the source of the signal, which has a range of about 300 feet.
Ryan Palmer, a Portland-based consultant who studies human-computer interactions, said public wireless access had allowed him to be more efficient and enjoy himself at the same time. Mr. Palmer, 27, was on a business trip to Austin and wanted to sample the authentic Texas barbecue that he kept hearing about, but he also had some work to finish. He was able to do both at Green Mesquite BBQ, a restaurant with a recently installed free Wi-Fi access point.
"It's nice to surf the Web and enjoy some good food," he said, adding that the Internet connection at his hotel was so slow it was "painful." He said: "I feel empowered. I'm not a stranger in a strange land anymore."
It took Mr. Palmer 15 minutes of fiddling with the settings on his laptop to get a connection at the restaurant. "I had to play around a little bit," he said. "I'm still not confident that someone could walk in off the street and do it."
Not everyone can. Jodi Avant, 41, who is studying for teacher certification at the University of Texas at Austin, uses wireless frequently on campus, where it is widely available. As part of her program, she had to buy an Apple iBook with a wireless card to do schoolwork and communicate with teachers and other students.
She tried and failed to log on to the free Wi-Fi hot spot at a Schlotzsky's Deli near the campus. "I brought it here, set it up and played around with it for half an hour," she said. But she did not know what settings she needed and there was no help available in the restaurant.
Ms. Avant, who lives near Schlotzsky's, visits the restaurant with her children every Saturday. They stay about an hour and use the wireless Internet terminals provided by the restaurant. She checks her e-mail while her 7- and 11-year-old sons play games and her 8-year-old daughter visits sites like www.funjail.com. Ms. Avant said she planned to keep trying to get through to the Schlotzsky's network on her own computer. "It's a lot better than my dial-up at home," she said. "The only downside is I can't print anything."
People who use public Wi-Fi networks have another option: they can use the same setup to connect to wireless networks at home, at the office and at school. Running a Wi-Fi network in an office is only slightly more involved. Janine Kurnoff, who runs a Portland company that trains sales and marketing professionals, has maintained her Wi-Fi network for a year and a half. "There's a little bit of setup involved, but less than an hour of work," she said. "You don't have to configure anything. The computer sees your network and picks it up."
Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, a girls' school in Bellevue, Wash., was part of Microsoft's Pioneer School program on incorporating technology into the curriculum in 1996. Now each student's tuition buys a Wi-Fi-ready laptop.
"There's a lot of instant messaging going on," said Diane Burgess, 39, the school's information technology manager. Ms. Burgess said classes were no longer disrupted by cellphones, parents message their children to arrange pickup times, and students regularly share files for collaborative projects. "Wi-Fi lets them do group work from anywhere on campus," Ms. Burgess said. "It's a really freeing experience."
Beyond the hardware and software difficulties that users like Ms. Avant have encountered at public Wi-Fi spots, there are traffic considerations: connection speeds can slow if the number of users on a network picks up. And some home Wi-Fi users have reported that the systems, which operate on the 2.4-gigahertz frequency, are subject to interference from cordless telephones and microwave ovens. Ms. Burgess said that water, which absorbs the wireless signal's energy much like food in a microwave oven, can interfere with a home network and that glasses, clothes and other clutter can obstruct the signal. "It actually helps me keep my home cleaner," she said. "My kids keep their rooms absolutely streamlined now."
Security is also a concern for open networks. Mark Malewski of NexTech Wireless, a Chicago-based nonprofit group that is trying to organize grass-roots Wi-Fi networks, said there were steps the hot spot operators could take to help. "We have an authentication server that tracks usage," he said. "Without that, a lot of people could plug in an access point and share it with those who could conduct fraudulent activity."
Security concerns will become more important as public Wi-Fi networks spread and more people use them. Statistics on use of the technology are elusive, but according to Gartner, a consulting company in Stamford, Conn., the number of Wi-Fi cards sold in North America this year is on track to jump 75 percent over 2001, with another 57 percent gain over this year expected in 2003. William Clark, research director at Gartner, said that the number of frequent Wi-Fi users was expected to grow to 1.9 million next year from 700,000 in 2002, with the number of public hot spots in North America likely to nearly triple by the end of next year from about 3,300 now.
In fact, this growth is responsible for casual Wi-Fi use beyond the high-tech vanguard. Sherry Bough, 56, and her husband, Bob, 59, live at the Austin Lone Star RV Resort, a gated park with a heated pool, a playground and a Wi-Fi network, for six months a year to be near their children. The Boughs used to order a phone line whenever they stayed in one place for more than a month so that they could use their dial-up Internet connection to track their investments, check e-mail and search the Web. Now they use the park's Wi-Fi network.
"It's amazing how fast it downloads," Mrs. Bough said of the network, which was installed earlier this fall and offers fee-based service by the day, week or month. Still, she said, it took her a couple of hours to connect the first time. "It was a little bit confusing," she said. "To me, that's where they're failing right now." To use the wireless network, the Boughs had to buy a U.S.B. card for their computer and they updated to Windows 98; Mrs. Bough said they also needed to install more memory.
James Westberry, 55, is another part-time resident at Austin Lone Star. He works in Austin, the state capital, when the Legislature is in session, advising lobbyists for small telephone companies like the Eastex Telephone Cooperative, where he works. He goes home to Tyler, Tex., on the weekends.
"I have to have high-speed Internet wherever I'm at," he said. "Otherwise I'd be at a hotel or have an apartment." He uses it to download bills, attend committee meetings online and to check e-mail.
Public Wi-Fi has also begun to change the way people play. Jack Swayze, a 27-year-old technical-support worker in Vienna, Va., gathers with laptop-equipped friends at Wise Zone hot spots around Washington to team up for live-action shooting games like Unreal Tournament 2003 and Medal of Honor, which they play against other Web "posses." "The connection is as reliable and fast as my connection at home," he said.
At the Alamo Drafthouse North, a movie theater in Austin, wireless access is available in the four screening halls. Tim League, the theater's 32-year-old owner, installed the Wi-Fi access in concert with Austin Wireless, which set up the system after he agreed to offer it to viewers free.
Mr. League uses the network to offer Internet-based activities to entertain viewers before movies. He is testing interactive trivia programs and audience polling contests and expects to have one running soon. "I've always thought it strange that the slides you see before movies still exist," he said. "That the practice hadn't changed in 30 years just seemed silly." He shows animated videos that are downloaded from the Web using a Wi-Fi-equipped computer in his projection room. "Viewers also use the Web to research movie facts or catch up on their work or e-mail, though we ask them to close their laptops when the show begins," he said.
Entertainment is the main motivation behind Shane Nixon's experiments with public Wi-Fi. Mr. Nixon, 34, was trying to log on to a Wayport hot spot at the Austin airport last week while he waited for a flight to Bowling Green, Ky., where he lives.
A construction and maintenance coordinator who travels three weeks a month, Mr. Nixon had been using dial-up connections while on the road to chat with his wife by instant messaging and to play card games with her on sites like www .mysticisland.net. He had just installed a wireless network at home so that he, his wife and two sons could go online at once, and he was trying to connect wirelessly on the road for the first time. When he could not log on, he used his cellphone to call Wayport's technical-support number, but his cellphone battery died. Despite the technical problems he encountered, Mr. Nixon said he would probably stick with Wi-Fi. "I'm gone all the time, so that's a way to keep in touch and do something together," he said.
Mr. Nixon noted another virtue of high-speed chatting. "You can talk all night long," he said, "and you don't have a large phone bill."
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Web Radio's Personal Edge
Stripping off the Top 40 straightjacket, online listeners enjoy their own playlists while hearing new music -- and many are buying what they hear
Will Redfield hates traditional radio. For his taste, it has way too many commercials and sound-the-same pop tunes. "I'm looking for real, new rock sounds that get my blood flowing," says Redfield, a 30-year-old software sales manager in San Francisco, who adds, "It's hard to find bands that meet that requirement."
That's why Redfield has turned to Internet radio. For $4.95 per month at Listen.com's Rhapsody Radio Plus service, he can program his own personalized online "station" with six to eight artists that he has chosen. Rhapsody's software then adds 10 or 12 other bands that Redfield is also likely to enjoy, based on their style of music.
It's the perfect solution: Redfield avoids mass-market pop songs and at the same time is introduced to bands he might otherwise never learn about. "Half my problem when I'm listening to songs on the radio is that I don't hear the song title or the name of the artist. Or I do -- and I don't remember it," he says. Not so on Rhapsody, which displays the song title, band name, and album cover for every song -- and provides a link to a place where Redfield can make online purchases of the albums he enjoys.
DISCONNECTED. If you believe the music industry, online piracy is behind the decline in music sales, which fell 7% in the first six months of 2002, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). But the experiences of music lovers such as Redfield suggest that declining sales result more from a disconnect between what the industry wants to push and what consumers want to hear.
Traditional radio, historically the record labels' top promotional ally, plays a tiny fraction of the music released every year. The average radio playlist ranges from 33 to 38 songs. Compare that to Rhapsody Radio, where an average preprogrammed playlist runs to 1,000 songs, and the shortest list boasts 400. Conventional radio's shorter lists help powerful record-company promoters boost sales of artists who make the cut -- but they're increasingly turning off serious music fans.
Certainly teenagers, who represent 21% of CD buyers, are turning their backs on old-fashioned radio. According to research and ratings outfit Arbitron, only 10.7% of consumers between the ages of 12 and 17 regularly tuned into radio during the summer of 2002, down from 11.6% in 1999. Instead, hard-core music fans and tech-savvy teens are turning to Web radio, where the selection of tunes is limitless, searchable -- and customizable.
BEYOND LISTENING. Since 1997, 28 million people have registered for online radio station MusicMatch's free player, and 130,000 have subscribed to its $4.95-per-month service. This makes it the most popular paid-music service on the Net. And more than 4 million people have downloaded Radio Free Virgin's Internet player, which offers 45 online "stations" to paying subscribers and a more limited list free of charge. Virgin's offerings include funk, soul, alternative rock, even a station dedicated to Broadway show tunes.
Online listening often translates into sales: According to Arbitron, online music fans who listen on a weekly basis buy 21 CDs each year. Those who listen at least once a month buy 18 CDs. Compare that with the habits of the average American, who buys 13. Says Bill Rose, Arbitron's director of Webcast services: "Web radio is a great promotional tool. The more people listen, the more they buy."
As recently as this summer, digital-media pundits had all but written off Web radio. The music industry was demanding sky-high royalty fees that threatened Webcasters, large and small alike. And unlike traditional radio, which uses a blanket signal to cover an area no matter how many people tune in, online radio stations must pay to send an individual stream to each listener's computer. Webcasters call it the "paradox of popularity": The more customers you have, the higher the cost of doing business (see BW Online, 6/21/01, "Web Radio Pioneers Sing the Blues", 4/2/02, "Saving Web Radio: The 5% Solution").
P2P RADIO. Today, however, Web radio is making a miraculous recovery. On Dec. 5, President Bush signed into law legislation that will allow small Webcasters to pay royalties as a percentage of revenues, rather than swallow a per-song/per-listener fee. Webcasters with more than $1 million in annual revenues will pay $0.0007 per stream per listener as ordered by the U.S. Copyright Office.
On the technology front, online stations including Radio Free Virgin and National Public Radio are beginning to employ peer-to-peer architecture to lower the costs of streaming. Instead of broadcasting an individual stream to each listener from a central server, the stations enlist the computers of listeners (with their permission) to rebroadcast streams to other listeners nearby. Zack Zalon, Radio Free Virgin's general manager, says this new technology has cut the station's bandwidth costs by an average of 40%.
Best of all, because online radio is streamed, not downloaded, it sidesteps the copyright obstacles that plague even the legitimate services that let listeners download music onto their PCs. With streaming, users can't copy the songs they hear online. That means Webcasters are free to play popular artists who have refused to let their music be distributed (legally) online -- marquee names like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, and Madonna.
SALES INCENTIVE. It may not be too big a stretch to say Internet radio could be a partial salvation for the ailing recording industry. For one thing, online radio solves the vexing "when you play it, say it" problem when DJs don't announce a song's complete details after a 10-in-a-row set. Online, the DJ has no need to name the artist or song title, since all Internet players display that information continuously while the song is on.
And online broadcasters have a big incentive to sell CDs: The royalties they earn on sales after sending listeners to affiliated online music retailers can help offset the royalties they pay on the songs they play. Some stations, such as AccuRadio.com, show listeners pertinent information on the most recent three songs played to encourage CD purchases even after a song has ended.
Internet radio also lets online broadcasters take risks that radio jocks can't. Traditional DJs are discouraged from playing unproven songs or no-name artists for fear that listeners will turn the dial. Online-radio listeners, by contrast, can skip a song they don't like without tuning out. The result: Cyber-radio can be much more adventuresome when it comes to playing unfamiliar fare and introducing new acts.
A NEW RIAA TUNE. When MusicMatch added an obscure track called Double Drums by acid-jazz band Peace Orchestra last August, sales of the group's Reset album surged, though they won't approach the gold or platinum sales marks (500,000 copies or more). Since its release in August, more than 7,000 copies of Reset have been sold. That's about twice the rate of Peace Orchestra's first album, which debuted in early 1999 and has been selling just over 30,000 copies per year. According to MusicMatch, Double Drums' popularity also boosted sales of other acid-jazz albums.
The results are promising enough that even the usually technophobic RIAA is changing its tune. "We agree that traditional corporate radio doesn't always offer the most diverse playlists," says Jonathan Lamy, an RIAA spokesman. "Webcasting offers an innovative and effective way for fans to enjoy more diversity, more artists, and more music."
And most important, it can encourage listeners to buy more music. Thanks to Internet radio, Web technology could finally fulfill its promise of expanding and enhancing the music business, rather than -- as the recording industry has feared -- destroying it.
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