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My Favorite Buzzword: Get ready for the Wireless MAN, baby. Or short for Wireless Metropolitan Area Network. > All About The MAN
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Alice Hill's Technology
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Oh No - the FREE PC is Also Back
Nothing spelled failure more than the 90's "Free PC" concept. Users agreed to watch occasional ad interruptions and in exchange got a PC they could buy for $300 anywhere else. Now a British company is trying the same, and will undoubtedly discover that impoverished subscribers are no big hot demographic for advertisers just barely getting over the downturn. Kiosks Are Back, Baby!  The
concept of the in-store e-commerce kiosk never really caught on
because you were, uh, in the store already. But a
company called Software to Go is betting that a new
type of kiosk that dispenses CD-ROMs of popular software is the
ticket. CompUSA has rolled out some kiosks in Dallas, San Francisco,
and Seattle stores already as part of a test, and will eventually have
this offering in over 288 stores. But why limit this capability to
software and even to stores that sell software? Can't they burn DVDs
too and put one of these in an airport, or a coffee shop with WiFi or
anyplace you may be where you may need software?
Oak Furthers Wine's Anti-Cancer Potential
 Wine
is good for you, but did you know that the oak barrel that holds
tomorrow's red wine may be helping to prevent cancer. The secret
according researchers,"Acutissimin A-- which was first discovered in
the bark of oak trees. The researchers found that ingredients of red
wine possess two molecules that can potentially react to form
acutissimin A. During storage, the alcoholic liquid then extracts a
whole bouquet of substances out of the oak barrels, indeed, when the
team tested samples of red wine that had aged 18 months in oak
barrels, they found two types of acutissimin compounds, A and B.
RFID Chips and Fish  When
Life Gives You Lemons Department: 3G got kicked around
the block for its bulky handsets with no battery life. That's why
we applaud Vodaphone's recently announced plans to market 3G as a laptop
add-in. "The handsets will arrive next year, but until they can offer
better services than at the moment, we will not sell them," said Vittorio
Colao, head of Vodafone Italia. Music Downloads Only Benefit Hardware Companies Music downloads at .99 a pop sounds like a jingle in the pocket until you look closer. Steve Jobs has admitted that the leading music store iTunes is not a profit making venture. "Most of the money goes to the music companies," admitted Jobs. "We would like to break even/make a little bit of money but it's not a money maker." So where is the money? It's in all the iPods Apple sells. Dell is doing the same with an MP3 player, but to the rest sans hardware? Sorry gang.
Super LANBOY!
Scooters of Mass Destruction?
 Last
month a man in San Francisco
attacked a
three year old girl with his Segway, and now the folks at DARPA are
considering deploying Segways as military robots. The
Segway Robotic Mobility Platform (SRPM) had received funding and is
working on outfitting Segways with sensors and other add-ons for robotic
combat. A lot you can say here, including the fact that this is a rare
instance of a consumer technology moving to the military, but it would
make a great Star Wars scene.IBM gets Chip Circuits to Draw Themselves Nanotechnolgy is getting a boost today as IBM begins to unveil its latest breakthrough. Scientists at IBM have developed a way for polymer molecules to essentially assemble themselves into specific patterns. The patterns will then be used as the template for making ultra microscopic circuits.
Disappearing Ink to Save Paper
 Toshiba
has developed an erasable ink that may someday allow all paper to have a
second or third round in your printer. Consisting of three ink compounds,
two combine to create color while the third if activated reverses the
other two. Translation: the page is wiped clean. Paper
waste accounts for over 40 percent of all office waste, and only 60
percent of paper is recycled.Off the Topic: Changing Careers Great article from Fast Company that explains why traditional career books and advice fall short. Their advice: "Test and Learn" or more of a trial and error way of seeing what intrests you rather than developing a plan. Too complicated to explain here, but a very interesting read during a very turbulent time. Motorola Delays Camera Phone Motorola, the biggest U.S. cell-phone maker, said Thursday that a shortage of parts is further delaying deliveries of its new camera phones. The problem is hurting it more than other manufacturers because of the extremely limited supply of the smaller camera technology it uses for its clamshell handsets. Motorola's V series camera phones are small, flip-style products that the company is counting on to retain and attract new customers amid increasing competition. The company had acknowledged earlier this fall that its camera phones were being delayed. Wi-Fi Will Be the Next Dot.Com Crash? Hopes that the roll-out of wireless broadband networks, so-called WiFi hotspots - will result in a profits bonanza will be dashed, the technology consultancy Forrester has warned. Very interesting article on why hotspots may not be that hot long term. New Credit Card Shaped USB Drive Fits in Your Wallet 
The Freecom USB card is a 1GB flash drive that fits in your wallet. Those
who have experienced keychain overload with all the mini
ATM and USB keychain drives flooding the market, being able to tuck a gig
in your wallet is pretty cool. Japan Develops First Walking Chair  Japanese
researchers unveiled the world's first two-legged walking robot, capable
of carrying a human being, which many hope could prove a boon to
wheelchair-bound people and help move heavy goods on uneven land. The
prototype robot, codenamed WL-16, took two years to develop. Maybe it's
just us, but that looks like one steep fall if it tips
over.Cell Phone Shortage After a 100 million unit miscalculation in 2001, mobile handset makers scaled back manufacturing and may as a result be facing a disaster of a different sort this year. Handsets are flying off shelves and shops are already running out of popular models.
Wait Until Next Year to Buy That Flat Panel TV
Shoppers looking for deep bargains on expensive flat-panel televisions will find only marginal discounts as the holiday season heats up, but experts say prices will tumble by some 30 percent in 2004. Alice and Bill agree - January is the best month for some deep discounting, so if you can hang on, a nice LCD with an even nicer price tag will be just around the corner.
Coolest Gadget: VW Plays Music as it Drives
Around Your LP
 We
love this gadget! The Vinyl Killer is a little VW van that circles an LP
and plays the album out of its tiny speaker as it drives around
the record. Innovative and unique. Nice. Costs 69 pounds from a
UK
website. Still looking for a US site that sells this. Stay tuned (so
to speak.)Sony's New Blu-Ray Storage  Sony
has begun shipping its blue laser Professional Disc for Data (PDD) optical
drives and media. According to The Register, "The system, which offers up
to 23GB of storage capacity, is being initially aimed at system
integrators and OEMs, but Sony expects to offer product under its own name
during Q1 2004. Sony is pitching PDD against today's DAT, CD and DVD
back-up and archiving systems. The electronics giant touts the format's
capacity and data transfer speed of 11MBps - more if data compression is
turned on."
HP to Launch Music Store Who Doesn't Have a Store Department: Looks like Hewlett Packard plans to launch a music download service first quarter 2004. Anyone else? Anyone? Wireless Patch Kills the Liquid Lunch For those who came of age in the seltzer era of the early and mid 90's, literally no one I knew ever thought about ordering a watery O'Douls yet alone three gin martinis at lunch. In fact, I actually clocked only four lunches outside the CNET office if anyone is counting. But for those hold-outs, a new technology keeps track on your lunchtime libations. Ending Microwave and WiFi Conflict Microwave ovens and home WiFi networks (not to mention 2.4 GHz cordless phones) often mean a world of colliding signals and noise. Until now. Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered a way to kill the "noise" made by microwave magnetrons. Of course that means buying a new microwave that is not even on the market yet, and the fact that WiFi will probably use another slice of the spectrum by then anyway, but way to go Univ. of Michigan! Portable Phone Numbers Cost Big Bucks Sure you can transfer your current cell phone number over to your new service. No problem --except that maybe you're going to need a new phone to do it. Apparently not all phones are friendly to all services or vice versa. No big deal, right? You just shell out the early closing fee for your current plan, sign up for the new plan, and pay for a new phone so you can keep your number. Now really, you knew they were going to figure out some way to get their hand in your pocket, didn't you? Microsoft Calling? If Voice over IP (VoIP) wasn't hot already, Microsoft is apparently preparing to jump into the enterprise VoIP market with a line of office "soft" phones. Which can only mean devastating phone viruses are just around the corner.
Cash Machine Infected with Worm
 According
to New Scientist, "Cash dispensing ATMs belonging to two
US financial institutions were shut down when the computer worm Welchia
invaded their embedded Windows XP operating systems in August. Diebold,
the Ohio-based company that makes the machines, revealed the security
breach." Which can only mean that a gas pump worm is not
far behind.
SBC and Movielink Team Up
SBC Yahoo DSL subscribers will get a chance to download and rent movies thanks to a new agreement with Movielink. If you haven't tried MovieLink, the premise is simple. You set up an account, and download a movie onto your hard drive. You have up to 30 days to view it and once you start viewing it, you can watch it as many times as you like during a 24 hour period. My only complaint with the service is a too-high price per rental (often almost $5.00) and a less than robust selection. Here's hoping they can get the pricing and selection in gear, because the service and quality is fantastic. Portable Numbers Don't Bring Stampede Looks like the ability to keep your phone number and move it with you to another cell phone provider is appealing but did not cause the mad rush carriers felt would happen. According to USA Today: "Monday felt 'like a typical retail day," says Pamela Reeve, CEO of Lightbridge, which processes customer applications for cell phone carriers: "To the extent that anyone expected a volcano because of number ... portability, we didn't really ... see that." Human ATMs  RFID
chips are getting even more coverage this week as Applied Digital
Solutions annouced the plan to imbed RFID chips under human skin to allow
for cash withdrawls. Seems like a pretty extreme thing to do in place of
carrying a simple plastic card, espcially since RFID is
raising howls of protest from privacy advocates.Electronic Nose to Replicate a Dog's Sniffing Skill Now Smell This Department: A new technology called "dog on a chip" may soon make drug sniffing dogs obsolete. Researchers at Georgia Tech (Alice Father's Alama Mater) have developed a sensor that is more accurate and faster than other sensors and drug-sniffing dogs. That may be, but nothing strikes terror into a smuggler than the site of a German Shepard heading their way. Technology Removes Need for Human Pilots New Buzzword Department: Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles or UAVs are the fancy way of saying drone. Drones are quickly being used to do everything from monitoring traffic to dropping bombs and that is just the beginning. Some commentators have even suggested that Lockheed Martin's high-tech F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may be the last inhabited fighter plane needed. At the very least, analysts say, drones can be used for potentially dangerous environmental monitoring, such as checking air quality for chemical and biological weapons. Video Game Console Market Entering Downturn Video games are besting the box office again this year, but not all is rosy in Mario-Land. According to a new study, the gaming console market is heading for a cyclical spiral with shipments expected to fall more than 2 million units below 2002's tally. It may just be that everyone has a Playstation2 and it's time for some new innovation on the hardware side. For Sale Soon: A Wal-Mart Notebook? Wal-Mart may considering its own line of notebooks according to PC World. The retailing behemoth has approached a Taiwanese notebook maker about whipping up a product line. We'll be waiting for the Safeway File Server.
More Strange Uses for USB: The USB Christmas Tree
Light
 First there was the USB toothbrush and the the USB coffee warmer, nothing says holiday cheer better than the USB Christmas Tree. Only $9.99. Yule. Camera Phones Rival DVD players as fastest growing Devices According to USA Today, the camera phone is the fastest growing consumer eletronic device ever, besting the previous record set by the DVD player. I have to say, I was skeptical about camera phones until I got one, and now delight friends and ever nearby restaurant patrons with casual and fun snaps. Snaps to that. Internet "Addict" Says He Needs Understanding Now We've Heard It All Department: A German man accused of running up over $1,000 in online charges while surfing porn sites at work, is claiming he is addicted to Internet porn and has a serious condition he needs help with. "I am an addict and as such am unaccountable for my actions," he told the court. "I need therapy and understanding, not dismissal from my job." Pickpockets Turn to Cell Phone Technology We have never liked Bluetooth as a connectivity standard, but now it seems pickpockets are going high tech and hacking into cell phone data using a loophole in Bluetooth security. According to security experts, people in crowded areas can be vulnerable to high tech pickpockets who sniff out Bluetooth phones and nab data and addresses. Bluejacking - or using Bluetooth headsets to jump into a nearby phone's call is another popular pastime among technical pranksters, but this new more sinister activity is bringing a whole new meaning to data mining WiFi Continues to Grow A total of 707 million people are expected to be using Wi-Fi by 2008, up from 12 million in 2003, according to Pyramid Research. Microsoft and Partners Delay SPOT Watches  SPOT
was a technology Microsoft quietly unveiled as the next generation smart
wristwatch. Partners including Citizen, Fossil and others planned to roll
out these new watches during Comdex week, but it is unclear why the plug
was abruptly pulled till first Quarter 04. Citizen said
it may not ship a SPOT watch after all. SPOT watches were supposedly to
bring us closer to a wireless device that would blast live news and
weather to your wrist. See SPOT not run. Not run SPOT, not run.CDs Could Be History in Five Years' A new device that functions like a solid state memory stick could replace traditional CDs in five years time. US scientists at Princeton in conjunction with HP have developed a new polymer that when combined with thin-film silicon creates a device that acts like a disk but is simpler and faster to use than burning a CD. Now if they could devise one standard so we don't have 50 different media types and readers mucking up the whole thing.
New AliceHill.com Tech
News Section Launches
New FM Radio
Snorkel Digital Guitar to Debut in 2004  Time Magazine
named Gibson's upcoming digital guitar one of the best innovations of the
year and we agree. Designed with a built-in microprocessor, the analog strumming
is instantly converted to a digital signal and pulled out of the guitar via an
Ethernet connection. Bill recommends waiting for the WiFi version
that will in inevitably follow, but for now, this was one major leap
forward for one very venerable instrument.Sony to Launch New Portable Video Player  After the shame of
Apple's iPod stealing its thunder and the fact that Sony should have had a
digital music device on the market long before anyone else, looks like the
company is turning up the volume on a new hand-held video player. Not sure why
they aren't calling it the Watchman, but hopefully the Giga Pocket will spell
relief for Sony's embattled electronics division.New Tivo Lets you Burn DVD Copies of Your Programs  At last! After
struggling to get video out of TiVo and converted to the PC and then burned on a
DVD, Alice can finally do it all in one simple move thanks to Phillips new TiVo
with DVD. Doesn't come cheap, but if you have ever struggled with converting
video back and forth from digital devices, this product is a godsend.Ultimate Technical Web Directory from Google:
n o n - t e c h d i v e r s i o n s
Understanding
Low-Tech Wines Wine Sites:
Previously on AliceHill.com.....
IBM's Innovative Card-Sized PC |
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copyright
2003, Alice Hill, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Best
Use of RFID: According to IOL Technology from Australia,
"Australian fisheries investigators have wrapped up an illegal poaching
operation after inserting microchips into fish and then tracking them to
the culprits' freezer." 
Hear
that? It's a LAN party calling you. So take your game on the road with
Super LANBOY. Its durable anodized aluminum body packs 9 drive bays. Two
low-speed 120mm fans, including one with mesmerizing blue illumination.
And a windowed side panel that lets you show off your drool-inducing rig.
So pick up a Super LANBOY. And travel easy. 16.5"(H) x 17.1"(D) x 8.2"(W),
8.8/11.5 lbs (net/gross), with free carrying strap, from
Now you can
marvel at undersea life while listening to your favorite FM radio station,
thanks to the AquaFM radio snorkel. Alice can barely get an FM
station in her hilly San Francisco home, so she wonders about underwater
reception, but the product is being wisely promoted as a tour package for a
diving company. Using the base station, a tour company can broadcast music and
information to the divers below. Which, if you think about it, is pretty
great.
Hey Gang:
