U.S. spearheads creation of powerful system of Internet links putting unused TV channels to work

Vito Pilieci
Sun

An international initiative spearheaded by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission could see Canada blanketed in early 2011 by cheap, high-speed Internet with the potential to change the way we share information, make cellphone calls and watch TV.

Earlier this month, the FCC launched the a training initiative designed to educate non-U.S. regulators about the potential of so-called “white-space” broadcasting — unused digital TV channels on the dial.

Unlike other wireless technologies, TV signals white spaces are not affected by concrete, trees, or shrubs, and do not require a clear line of sight.

By using the existing TV broadcasting network, the new technology could encourage more competition among Internet providers and, possibly, lower fees for Internet access. Without the need to lease cables or set up new towers, new Internet providers can set up quickly and at low cost, and offer coast-to-coast Internet access.

“Our founder, Larry Page, calls it Wi-Fi on steroids,” said Jacob Glick, Canada policy lawyer for Google Inc., which has been one of the most vocal supporters for white spaces. “For the average person, there will be many more choices on where, how, and how much you pay for your broadband Internet connection.”

The new technology will use the digital TV broadcast rollout in the U.S. — which will replace the existing analog TV broadcasts as early as Feb. 17 — as a medium to distribute Internet signals. Because it’s using the broadcasting network, anyone able to pick up TV signals will be able to tap these Internet signals.

Canada is to shut off analog TV in February 2011, and white-space technology could be implemented here at that time. That’s why Canadian regulators are listening intently to their U.S. colleagues.

The FCC has researched white spaces for years and wants to share its findings about the technology.

New cellular phones are being planned that would operate independently of existing networks, and would instead access the Internet through white-space technologies and send and receive calls over the Web. High-definition TV broadcasts and movies can be streamed through white spaces directly to a person’s laptop, BlackBerry or iPhone.

“It takes images and sound and sends them great distances with no distortion,” said Jake Ward, a spokesman for the Wireless Innovation Alliance, which has been lobbying for white-space technology to be approved for general use. “Given we have this empty space and you can move information further and faster, this is incredibly important to the wireless industry.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Program works with wireless devices, but users must agree to monitoring

BRIAN WOMACK
Sun

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular Internet search engine, is adding a mapping feature that lets users track the locations of their friends, a bid to expand the frontier of social networking.

The Latitude program, a feature in the mobile version of Google Maps, will work with wireless devices in 27 countries, the company said Wednesday. A wife could use it to see if her husband is on the way to meet her at a restaurant. Or someone in Los Angeles might notice if a friend is visiting from New York.

“It really enables a new type of social interaction,” said Steve Lee, product manager for the mobile version of Google Maps. “It increases our user base and also increases the amount of usage per user.”

The company is counting on Google Latitude to help expand beyond Internet searches and raise its profile in social networking. Google plans to build a base of customers for the feature before it considers offering space to advertisers. The company currently gets most of its sales from text ads that run near search results.

Google Latitude uses wireless networks, the global positioning system and mobile-phone towers to pinpoint users. The service will initially be available on most Research In Motion Ltd. Black Berry phones with colour screens, as well as newer devices running Windows Mobile or some Symbian software, including Nokia Oyj smart phones.

Users can upgrade their mapping software at http:// Google. com / latitude. An Apple Inc. iPhone version also is coming “very soon,” he said.

Google isn’t the first company to try the idea. Software developers have created location tracking programs for the  iPhone, for instance. Still, the popularity of Google Maps may broaden the appeal of the feature.

Latitude is an opt-in program, meaning users have to agree to be tracked by it. Google also lets people limit their location information to a city, if they’d prefer not to be watched so closely. Or they can hide their location temporarily.

Locations can be seen on  mobile phones and also on personal computers via the iGoogle site, which lets users personalize their Google applications.

The primary goal is to have your message read

Misty Harris
Sun

Size matters when it comes to an e-mail’s subject line, according to a new study of more than a billion e-mails, but it’s not the only consideration for Canadian job seekers, corporations and even parents who want their messages to stand out amid fierce inbox competition.

The research conducted over a one-year period by the world’s largest permission-based e-mail marketer found that while shorter subject lines generally outperform longer ones, word choice and order are also “vitally important” to decreasing the probability e-mail will be deleted before it’s even opened.

“Significantly more people will see a subject line than its accompanying creative,” says Thane Stallings, senior analytic consultant at Epsilon, which has offices in Canada and the U.S. “The way in which content and brand messaging are positioned can be as important to e-mail success as the number of characters in the subject line.”

The study, published this month, looks at roughly 1.1 billion e-mails sent by retail and consumer services companies between June 2007 and June 2008. In each of the two industry groups, an increase in subject-line length led to a decrease in both opening and click-through rates, though the correlation was much smaller than expected.

“The length of your subject line does have an impact,” says Stallings. “But it’s not the only thing to worry about.”

Since Sharon Houlihan was let go from her IT job last summer, she’s been using e-mail to contact prospective employers. For her, as for many others seeking work in a crippled economy, getting “e-noticed” has potentially life-altering implications.

“A place to live, food in my fridge and my car (are) all on the line,” says Houlihan, a Vancouver Island woman seeking Internet work. “At this point, no work means that all goes.”

Generally, Epsilon finds the best choice is to front-load a subject line by putting the most important information first — a strategy not lost on the top executive at Toronto-based Apex Public Relations.

“It’s important to be succinct and get to the point quickly,” says president Pat McNamara, who also favours the inclusion of “power words” such as change, move, surge, break, refuge and impact. “Something that reads like a catchy headline appeals.”

Carol Panasiuk, who as senior vice-president of brand marketing firm Cohn & Wolfe sends roughly 100 e-mails a day, is highly aware of subject-line techniques when crafting professional messages. With her personal correspondence, however, she admits to erring on the side of the dramatic.

“I sometimes put HELP! as my subject line when I need to get my husband’s attention,” says Panasiuk. “I don’t really like to mislead people with come-ons but if you can make it somewhat humorous, that’s great. My cousin sent me an e-mail with the subject line: ‘Recession is over.’ I opened it up to see pictures of him having fun on vacation in Arizona.”

Taking into account the ways in which people receive their e-mail is also important. Epsilon found that 57 per cent of e-mail recipients only see the first 38 to 47 characters of a subject line because of default settings by their e-mail domains and mobile devices.

“It has to work regardless of (which) e-mail tool I use,” says technology expert Cynthia Ross Pedersen, entrepreneur-in-residence at Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. “Worst case, a poorly chosen subject line won’t make it past the spam filters.”

But her real pet peeve is a subject line that’s disingenuous.

“Don’t send me one more insincere ‘Dear Cindy’ e-mail,” says Pedersen. “Personalization is more that putting my name on an e-mail — it’s delivering content that’s relevant to me.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

Gillian Shaw is The Vancouver Sun’s digital life writer, and a tweep. A relative newbie, she remembers the terror of her first ‘tweet’ — oh my goodness, what if someone is reading this? And her most embarrassing mis-tweet, although if you think she’s

Gillian Shaw
Sun

[email protected]

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/gillianshaw

IT’S ALL ABOUT SHARING INFORMATION

Vancouver social media expert Rebecca Bollwitt is a pro at encapsulating a lot of information into her 140-character tweets.

When I wrote on Twitter that I was working on this beginner’s guide, she shot back with: @gillianshaw – profile pic, bio, link, “@” people, and follow. Twitter startup basics 😛

ROUGHLY TRANSLATED, THAT MEANS:

– Make sure you put a profile photo on your Twitter page. Bollwitt says people may even recognize a custom profile icon or image more than your profile name.

– Learn to correctly add Web links to your Twitter updates.

– Always use the @ symbol with user names when you are referring to people on Twitter. It’s also a great way to get the attention of new/potential followers.

– Focus on following other people on Twitter — don’t worry so much about who is following you. Bollwitt points out it’s all about communication and the stories, information and conversations you’d like to pay attention to.

– On the other hand, Bollwitt warns you don’t want to be the person following 1,000 people and only have 10 followers; that makes it look like you could be running a spam account.

Source: Rebecca Bollwitt: www.miss604.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Marke Andrews
Sun

Every year, Canadians get rid of 70,000 tonnes of electronic equipment, the equivalent of 2.6 million computers. And while there are plenty of companies that say they recycle computer hardware — which contains such toxic substances as mercury, lead, barium and cadmium — all too often it is shipped overseas to Asia and Africa, where impoverished adults and children expose themselves to environmental danger, sometimes melting the lead in a frying pan that will later be used to cook the family dinner.

One Vancouver recycler guarantees its practices are above board. Free Geek Vancouver, a non-profit recycler, is the only British Columbia organization — and one of only two in Western Canada — approved by the Basel Action Network (BAN), a Seattle-based watchdog for the dumping of e-waste. (The 1989 Basel Convention reached an accord among 170 nations that led to the 1995 Basel Ban, which forbids developed countries from dumping their hazardous waste shipments in developing countries. However, the ban is not enforced.)

Free Geek Vancouver, which recently received a $42,000 enviroFund grant from Vancity Credit Union, accepts 24 tonnes monthly of old computers, printers, fax machines, scanners, computer-related hardware, games consoles and cellphones at its East Vancouver warehouse.

Once a computer reaches Free Geek, the five staffers and more than 800 volunteers test and assess the equipment. If a computer fails — meaning it is deemed too old, too slow or too damaged to be rebuilt — it is marked with an X and is stripped of its recyclable parts. What’s left goes to a Canadian smelter.

Computers that pass are rebuilt by the volunteers who, while not getting paid for their work, receive a free rebuilt computer after helping to rebuild five of the units. For the volunteers, many of whom have no experience with electronics, they learn how a computer works and how to keep it running in a pressure-free environment.

“We tell them not to worry if they break something, because it was donated,” Ifny Lachance, one of the five staff coordinators, said.

Free Geek pays its overhead and its staff from what it earns from scrap sales (one-third of revenue) and from sales at its on-site thrift store (two-thirds of revenue), where people can buy rebuilt computers and working parts like motherboards and processors.

Material on the rebuilt hard drives of donated computers are rewritten four times to ensure that data are secure and cannot be copied. Failed hard drives are crushed and then smelted.

Lachance maintains that every step of the Free Geek’s e-waste process is transparent, every bill of lading available so that the trail of material can be traced. For this reason, BAN has embraced the Vancouver organization.

“Free Geek Vancouver went a little bit beyond our standards, and it’s very rare to find a recycler who does that,” said Sarah Westervelt, BAN’s e-stewardship director, which audits companies and organizations. “They absolutely walk the talk. We’d love to clone them all around the globe.”

RECIRCUITING

Organization: Free Geek Vancouver

Address: 1820 Pandora St.

Website: freegeekvancouver.org

Materials recycled: Computers, computer parts, printers, fax machines, scanners, games consoles, cellphones.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

Gillian Shaw
Sun

From a standing start in 2007 to projected sales of 50 million mini-notebook computers this year, the “netbook” is taking over as the new must-have tech toy for 2009.

And while it’s small enough to look like a toy computer, it’s a powerful business tool, with wireless Internet built-in for anywhere, anytime computing.

In its predictions for 2009, Deloitte says we can expect to see the tiny notebooks popping up as giveaways or heavily subsidized offerings — like cellphones are now — as companies seek to woo cash-strapped consumers.

Whether low-cost or no-cost, if you are new to netbook computers there are a few things you should know before you tuck one into your purse or knapsack.

– It is not your desktop computer; it is not even your laptop. It delivers well on its limited range, but don’t throw away your desktop computer and wonder why you can’t load humongous programs onto your tiny netbook.

– As a companion computer for your heftier notebook or desktop, it gives you mobile computing with built-in WiFi, usually Bluetooth. Many have Web cams built in, as well as stripped down offerings that make it best for e-mail, Web surfing, uploading photos or videos to an online site, and other simple tasks.

– Learn to love the cloud. Netbooks rely on “cloud computing” — that is, applications that you access online instead of loading onto your computer hard drive. Think Google docs, online photo editing — whatever task needs doing, likely there is an online offering, often free, that will fit the bill.

– Small is beautiful — losing the weight is great for your health. Most of the netbooks are in the one-kilogram (two-pound) range. Your chiropractor and physiotherapist will thank you.

– Decide what is most important to you and read the specs, not just the price. Try out the various models. Is an eight-inch screen enough for you? They range up to 12.1-inches with Asus’ new S121. Try out the keyboards — the handiest, smallest models also have keyboards to match, so if you are all thumbs and you’re defeated by your BlackBerry, consider one with a keyboard closer to what you’re used to.

– Check battery size. Three-cell tends to be standard, but for computing on the go, you might opt for the longer lasting six-cell. In Canada, most netbooks start around $350 and go up depending on features. The Consumer Electronics Show earlier this month showcased some of the latest offerings in netbooks, among them:

S121, ASUS

From netbook pioneer Asus — which first launched the successful Eee PC, a netbook that the Royal Bank gave away as an incentive to new customers for a while — is the senior sibling, the S121. With a 12.1-inch screen and weighing 1.45 kg with a hefty (for a netbook) hard

drive storage of 250 GB, it’s more of a hybrid than some of the smaller, less-powerful netbooks. For many computer users, it may be all they need. www.asus.com

MINI 2140, HP, FROM $500 US

With a 10.1-inch screen, the new HP mini-notebook fits in the range of LG’s X110 — slightly larger than the smallest netbooks, and at 1.19 kilograms a bit heavier. If you find yourself squinting too much at the smaller screen, consider going with a 10-inch. Price depends on the model: More storage and more memory come in the higher-priced versions, but all three in the lineup have WiFi, Bluetooth and build-in cameras. www.hp.com

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

 

The new version contains everything needed for boardroom presentations

HARRY WALLOP
Sun

LAS VEGAS — The ultimate Swiss army knife for the modern man — with fingerprint recognition, Bluetooth and a laser pointer — has been produced by Victorinox.

The company — which has made pocket knives for more than a century and still supplies the Swiss army — has also come up with a version of the latest model that dispenses with the knife altogether to address the problems faced by travelling businessmen at airport security.

The PresentationPro is designed for use in the office, containing all the tools necessary to deliver boardroom presentations. Its 32-gigabyte memory stick can contain hundreds of thousands of documents, the laser can be used to point at projected images and the Bluetooth technology means that, with a press of a button, the tool can double as a computer mouse.

The most sophisticated part of the tool is that the memory stick is security protected by the owner’s fingerprint.

Martin Kuster, the designer, said: “ It doesn’t matter if you lose it, no one can hack into the information.”
The technology also allows you to put all your passwords for Internet banking and shopping websites on to the penknife. Not only will the information be completely secure, but if the stick is plugged into your laptop, you will not need to remember the passwords — it will automatically remember them for you.

Tom Dunmore, the editor-inchief of the gadget website Stuff, said: “ Victorinox have done some amazing things to the Swiss Army Knife in recent years. But this latest version is the ultimate 21st-century tool for businessmen. It is very clever indeed.”

Charles Elsener, the chief executive of the company and greatgrandson of its founder, said: “ My great-grandfather would be very surprised by how far we have come. But his vision was to invent a tool for life. And this is exactly that. Just a modern version.”

The gadget, which is likely to cost £ 250 ($ 450 Cdn) when it goes on sale this year, was unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Victorinox, which makes 13 million tools every year, was founded by Karl Elsener in 1884 after he was dismayed that the Swiss army was using German knives.

The company f irst started adding technology to its knives six years ago, with recent models containing a digital watch or 8GB memory stick.

Sun

1. Clickfree Transformer Cable, Storage Appliance Corp., $ 60

The backup experts at Storage Appliance have just released another handy device for ensuring you don’t lose all that important data when your computer suffers a breakdown — or is stolen. The Transformer USB cable turns an external hard drive into a Clickfree automatic backup. Since it works with any external hard drive, including ones from Clickfree competitors, it saves a lot of time and trouble in setting up backup software to do the job. Plug it into your computer, connect the external hard drive and it will search, organize and back up PC data and files. www. clickfree. com.

2. Wrap920AV, Vuzix Corp.

Are they sunglasses? Or is it big-screen viewing? Both, according to Vuzix, which has combined the projection of a virtual 60-inch screen ( as viewed from close to three metres) with a pair of sunglasses. With optional 6-Degree of Freedom tracking sensor and optional stereo/ camera pair to combine virtual reality with reality — as in taking a tour of New York City accompanied by an animated tour guide. Compatible with a range of devices from all iPod and iPhone models with video output, to portable media players, video cameras, cellphones with video output, DVD players, PCs and laptops with S-video and others. Available starting in spring of this year. www. vuzix. com.

3. Psyko 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones, Psyko Audio Labs Inc. $ 300

This Calgary company has walked away with honours at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show for Best of Innovations Design and Engineering in the headphone category. The difference, says Psyko Audio CEO James Hildebrandt, is that his company’s technology delivers every sound to both ears instead of delivering left sounds to the left ear and right sounds to the right. The headphones, scheduled to be available early this year are promising to deliver gamers a new surround-sound experience. ww. psykoaudio. com.

4. Zoom H4n handheld recorder, Zoom

Another CES launch, Zoom’s H4n is the next generation and billed as the company’s most sophisticated handheld recorder yet. Built-in X/ Y stereo condenser mics allow variable recording patterns at either 90 degrees or 120 degrees. Incorporates popular features from the H2 including Broadcast Wave Format, compatible time stamp and track market functions and auto-record and prerecord features. Comes with a one gig SD card, wind screen, microphone clip adapter, AC adapter, USB cable, protective case and Cubase LE recording software, with remote control an optional extra. Read more at www. samsontech. com, the U. S. distributor.

COPY PROTECTION: Big record labels change their tune

Province

NEW YORK — Apple Inc. has reached a deal with major record labels to sell digital songs without the copyprotection software that had prevented fans from sharing music bought from its iTunes store, the maker of the iPod and iPhone said yesterday.

The company also said it would start selling over-the-air download songs for its popular iPhone 3G and introduce variable pricing at the iTunes Music Store, with songs priced at 82 cents, $1.18 and $1.54 starting in April.

Phil Schiller, Apple’s vice-president of marketing, announced the longexpected changes at the Macworld Expo trade show in San Francisco.

Copy-protection software, also known as digital-rights management, has proved a controversial topic with music fans and record labels alike.
DRM was designed to prevent fans from illegally sharing digital downloads on file-sharing services. But it also prevented many fans from moving their own songs between devices and became increasingly unpopular.

Apple founder Steve Jobs publicly called on major record labels to drop DRM in February 2007. But the labels had resisted his call, even though iTunes is the world’s biggest digitalmusic retailer, with more six billion songs sold since 2003.

The labels had agreed to allow other retailers, including Amazon.com and Napster, to sell DRM-free songs in a bid to help increase competition. ITunes has more than 70 per cent of the digital-music market in the U.S.

ITunes will offer all 10 million songs free of digital rights management by the end of the quarter, Schiller said.

The DRM-free songs will be sold as higher-quality 256-kilobyte-per-second AAC encoding for better audio quality. Most DRM-free songs are sold in the more popular MP3 format.

Sun

1. The Laptop Pillow, Intelligent Forms Design, $ 100
Is your notebook computer starting to feel like an oven on your lap? Vancouver company Intelligent Forms Design has a pillow out that’s a new twist away from the conventional laptop trays and cushions. The heat-shielded cushion I tried out is the log design and it delivers ergonomic support in a pillow that looks a little like a cross between an X and Os game and a wacky kid’s pillow. Filled with buckwheat hulls it works though, keeping my computer stable, letting me keep my cool and looking cool all at the same time. The cushion also comes in a Button version and the Terrapin. A company that specializes in sustainable home product designs, Intelligent Forms uses recycled and organic materials in the pillows. The Log Pillow is constructed in the model of a stack of logs or beams with the pieces snapping together. www. intelligentforms. net

2. Soda Cup Phone, $ 13 US plus shipping
Not surprisingly, this novelty communicator shot around the blogosphere faster than a phone call when it showed up at www. sourcingmap. com. Just what you need for t h e bar or yo u r kitchen counter, a pop cup that hides a phone. Stand on any flat surface to hang up, pick it up and you’re connected. The only giveaway is the little coiled line coming from the bottom. Available online at: www. sourcingmap. com.

3.Chumby 2009, $ 200 US
I was hoping to find a cute little Chumby in my Christmas stocking. This lovable gadget takes what you like best off the Internet and delivers it to you away from the desktop of your computer. You can keep up with weather, news, celeb gossip, music and other content in your lineup. Connect it to your Wi-Fi network and use your computer to stream your Internet favourites from more than 1,000 widgets in more than 30 categories. Check it out at www. chumby. com.

4. Pogo Sketch Stylus, Ten One Design, $ 15 US
There was already a Pogo Stylus to let you use your iPhone or iPod Touch even i f you suffer from klutzy fingers or no one thought to give you iPhone gloves for Christmas. The Sketch from the same company works with the newest MacBook multitouch trackpad letting you turn your notebook into a pen table for drawing programs. It has a soft tip that lets you glide over the display surface of your iPhone or your notebook’s trackpad. Like its predecessor it works with the iPhone and iPod Touch, useful if your manicured fingers have trouble on the touch screen or you can use it to draw or sketch characters. Made of a light-weight aluminum allow, it’s available online at www. tenonedesign. com.