Don Cayo
Sun

SANYO Internet Radio R227, Sanyo, $220

An Internet radio that lets you listen to thousands of stations and podcasts around the world without those pesky subscription fees. Expected on store shelves in Canada this week, the Sanyo Internet Radio is WiFi enabled and can be used on a secure wireless network anywhere in the house, the office, or your hotel room should you feel inclined to carry it along. It has clock-radio features so you can wake up to the Internet or to FM radio; it has a remote control, headphone jack and output so you can connect it to an external audio system. www.sanyo.ca.

E20 teleconference phone, Tandberg, $1,500

For companies that are cutting back on air travel to meetings, Tandberg, a Norwegian company that has headquarters in New York and Oslo, has a lot of telepresence, high-def videoconferencing and mobile video products. This phone, coming out early in the New Year, puts video and voice calling on every desk and has a high-res Tandberg camera with DVD quality, w448 video resolution and 10.6-inch wide format LCD display. www.tandberg.com/products/

tandberg_e20.jsp.

XD-E500 upconverting DVD player, Toshiba, $160

I had a chance to see this in operation upconverting from 480i/p to 1080p with 24 frames per second capability and, just as Toshiba says, it does bring DVD quality a bit closer to HD and at a price point that won’t break the bank. If you don’t want to scrap your entire DVD library but love HD, it’s an option. You can play around with the settings — sharp, colour and contrast. Check it out at www.toshiba.ca/xde.

Netbook NB100, Toshiba, $470

I have a new plan for mobile computing and that means leaving the clunky laptop on my desk and instead throwing one of the new mini laptops in my purse, where they take up about the same space as a big paperback. And not even War and Peace. Toshiba’s new entry in this market is a bit heftier and heavy-featured than the one offered by Dell and Asus’ Eee PC but it still comes in around a kilogram (2.2 pounds to be exact). It has a 8.9-inch display screen and 160 Gigabytes of hard drive space and it runs Windows XP Home. At that price point, it also beats spilling gravy on my more expensive laptop that sits on the counter while I’m trying to follow an online recipe.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

CRTC grants consumers some added freedom to pick and choose channels in packages

Paul Vieira
Province

OTTAWA — The federal broadcast regulator has denied the request from over-the-air broadcasters to charge cable and satellite operators for their signals, while granting TV consumers some additional freedom to pick and choose what channels they want as part of a cable package.

Those were two main elements of a decision released yesterday from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. The ruling comes after three weeks of hearings held in April aimed at how to rewrite the rules governing the broadcasting, cable, satellite and specialty-TV sectors in preparation of the digital age that starts in 2011.

“From the outset we wanted to make sure the system was as flexible as it could be,” Konrad von Finckenstein, CRTC chairman, said of the commission’s work to develop this potentially groundbreaking ruling.

“We spent a lot time second-guessing ourselves, and trying to make sure we avoided unintended consequences. I hope we have done that but the proof will be in the pudding.”

The majority of changes that make up the decision won’t come into effect until September of 2011. However, one change takes effect Sept. 1, 2009 — that cable and satellite companies must pony up an additional $60 million, or 50 cents a subscriber, into a fund aimed at helping over-the-air broadcasters with local programming, such as local TV news. The CRTC said it does not expect this additional cost to be passed on to cable and satellite watchers.

The headline item during those three weeks of hearings was whether over-the-air, or analog, broadcasters would be able to charge a fee to cable and satellite companies to carry their signals. The broadcasters pushing hardest were CTVglobemedia and Canwest Global Communications.

However, in its decision, the CRTC said: “Although over-the-air broadcasters clearly feel strongly that they need the commission’s assistance in increasing their revenues, the commission does not have conclusive evidence in order to make a favourable determination on this matter.”

However, the CRTC did give broadcasters the right to negotiate with cable and satellite providers to determine compensation for distributing “distant signals,” which allows viewers to watch stations that originate in other provinces.

Meanwhile, in a slight win for TV watchers, the CRTC has provided some flexibility in how households are able to pick channels they want to watch.

The CRTC said it is eliminating “most” rules governing how cable and satellite companies package their channels for consumers. But this freedom is contingent on two conditions: At least a majority of channels, meaning 50 per cent plus one, are Canadian; and cable and satellite providers are willing to offer such a package.

In essence, then, the rules will likely give cable and satellite providers more flexibility in packaging channels for their customers.

Up until now, packaging rules specify that for every non-Canadian specialty service offered, there must be one Canadian specialty outlet thrown into the product mix. The ratio on pay-TV services is five non-Canadian to one Canadian.

© The Vancouver Province 2008

 

Peter Griffiths, Reuters
Sun

LONDON – A “Star Wars” inspired hover chair, a speedy electric motorbike and stereo speakers that cost as much as a small house are among the attractions at Britain‘s biggest gadget show in London this weekend.

Organizers of Stuff Live hope thousands of visitors will forget their financial worries for a few hours and dream instead about the latest high tech toys.

Scores of exhibitors will show off everything from a pocket-sized DJ mixing desk, a solar-powered mobile phone charger and a “robot guitar” that uses tiny motors to tune its own strings.

Among the more unusual items on show is the British-designed Lounger, a chair that uses powerful magnets to float in the air.

Inventor Keith Dixon, of Sussex-based Hoverit Ltd, said he was inspired as a child by the anti-gravity Landspeeder vehicles in the “Star Wars” films.

“The sensation you feel as you lie back and close your eyes is totally different — like floating on a cloud,” said a Stuff Live spokesman. Its 6,000 pound ($9,620) price tag may bring visitors back down to earth with a bump, however.

For those after something less sedate, U.S. company Vectrix has a prototype of a high performance motorbike powered by an electric motor.

The sporty aluminum bike has a top speed of 125 mph, a range of 44 miles and costs nearly 40,000 pounds.

That’s cheap compared to another star attraction: a pair of limited edition curvy metal loudspeakers worth 70,000 pounds.

The Muon speakers, made by Kent-based company KEF, are well over six feet tall and have a thick shell of aluminum to minimize vibrations from the four-way speaker system.

KEF describes them as “a truly contemporary art form appropriate for 21st century living.”

Computer maker Asus will show off a laptop covered in laminated strips of fast-growing bamboo rather than plastic in an attempt to make it more environmentally sustainable.

© Reuters 2008

Gabriel Madway
Sun

SAN FRANCISCO – Hewlett-Packard Co on Wednesday will unveil a new mini-notebook in a move to gain ground in the fastest-growing PC category, which until now has been dominated by its smaller rivals.

Netbooks — ultraportable, inexpensive laptops designed for Web browsing and light tasks — have taken the PC market by storm this year, with smaller computer firms such as Acer Inc and Asustek Computer Inc leading the charge.

HP’s sleek new Mini 1000, costing about $400, is significantly different from the company’s first netbook release, launched last spring. It uses Intel Corp’s Atom processor, and is also substantially less expensive, signaling that the price war in netbooks that some analysts have been predicting may have begun.

Although still a fraction of the overall PC market, netbooks‘ popularity could lead to changes in the pecking order of PC makers and cut into margins and profitability as average selling prices come down.

In the third quarter, Acer gained ground on HP and Dell Inc, with a big assist from mini-notebooks.

According to industry tracker IDC, Acer’s total shipments leaped more than 50 percent, and the company’s share of the overall PC market climbed more than 3 percentage points to 12.5 percent.

HP, although still the top-selling PC maker, saw its overall market share dip slightly to 18.8 percent, and was outsold in Europe by Acer.

Analysts said the company was impacted by its delayed entry into the mini-notebook market.

Bob O’Donnell, vice president at IDC, estimates 10.8 million netbooks will ship in 2008, out of the more than 300 million overall PC shipments forecast for the year. He expects netbook shipments to jump to 20.8 million in 2009.

Carlos Montalvo, vice president of marketing in HP’s managed home business, said the Mini 1000 is a superior product to the “second- and third-tier” offerings from competitors, which he said have been “over-optimized” for size and price, and lack HP’s consistency and quality.

Without releasing specific numbers, Montalvo said HP’s first netbook, which was targeted at the education market, was “phenomenally successful.” However, he said the Mini 1000 is aiming for a broader audience.

The new netbook will start at $399 for a version running Microsoft Corp’s Windows XP, jumping to $549 for a fully loaded model. The company’s first netbook, the 2133, starts at $599 and tops out at $749, features a Via chip and runs Windows Vista.

HP will also offer a Mini 1000 that runs Linux for $379, as well as a special edition designed by fashion designer Vivienne Tam for $699.

The netbooks will all feature a keyboard that is 92 percent the size of a standard keyboard, and will weigh less than three pounds.

NETBOOKS ROLE DEBATABLE

Although Montalvo views HP’s netbooks as complementary products, which a consumer would own in addition to their desktop or full-sized laptop, analysts don’t necessarily see it the same way.

Jayson Noland, an analyst with Robert Baird, said last week that netbooks‘ place in the PC universe is still undefined.

“I don’t think any of us knows yet whether it’s a substitute product or a complementary one,” said Noland. “In some markets in a mature economy like the U.S. or Western Europe it could be complementary, and in an emerging market it could be substitute.”

Also uncertain is netbooks‘ impact on the balance sheet. IDC’s O’Donnell fully expects to see a price war in netbooks, as companies try to boost sales to make up for the low price points.

“If you’re down to $300, then your profit margin goes away, so you have to make it up in volume. Their goal is all about high volume, low margin, and I think that’s going to be a challenge.”

Noland said both HP and Dell have been a little late to catch on to the appeal of netbooks, but he expects them to regroup without much trouble. Dell introduced its first netbook in September.

However, Apple has been openly dismissive of the product.

Apple Inc Chief Executive Steve Jobs, on a conference call after the company’s earnings, said the iPhone does many of the things that netbooks do, and said there were markets that the company was just not interested in.

“There are some customers which we choose not to serve. We don’t know how to make a $500 computer that’s not a piece of junk.”

© Reuters 2008

 

S. John Tilak, Reuters
Sun

NEW YORK – More and more shoppers are willing to spend on gadgets with a touchscreen — even if it means they lose on extra features and better quality.

Touchscreen technology has been sweeping consumer electronics, leaving few devices untouched, and even digital cameras are affected.

Commonly found in monitors in airports, banks and other public places, the technology is now a staple in consumer products, thanks to Apple Inc’s popular iPhone and phones by companies such as Palm Inc.

Joining them are computer desktops, calculators, MP3 players and watches that let users control functions by tapping, sliding or dragging a finger.

Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard Co, the world’s biggest computer maker, launched touchscreen PCs, signaling the trend was spreading to computers. Swiss watchmaker Tissot even has a “T-Touch” line of touchscreen watches.

Customers want touchscreen devices because they are well designed, are “cool” and have no buttons.

“Touch, being one of the five human senses, is a very intuitive way of how you interact with devices,” said Francis Lee, chief executive of Synaptics, whose touchscreen technology is used in devices from Research In Motion’s new BlackBerry Storm to Apple’s iPhone.

In New York, taxis have touchscreen television sets that come with the message: “Touch, don’t press.”

Global touch-screen module revenue is forecast to grow to $6.4 billion by 2013, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 13.7 percent from 2008, according to market researcher iSuppli.

NO MORE ‘TOUCH-ME-NOT’

“There’s one you can touch with your finger. Where is it?” asked one eager shopper visiting a Manhattan retailer.

He found what he was looking for — a sleek, red Nikon camera with touchscreen technology. After fiddling with it for a few minutes, he left as fast as he came in, perhaps turned off by the device’s $329.99 price tag.

Sony has a wide range of touchscreen cameras and demand for them encouraged Nikon to launch the CoolPix S60.

But the technology has its drawbacks. Touchscreens often fall short in terms of functionality and picture quality, compared with devices that are similarly priced.

But many customers do not seem to care. Circuit City Stores Inc sales executive Danielle Brannigan said customers first walk into the store to get a camera without knowing it has a touchscreen feature.

“Then they go ‘Whoo. Touchscreen.’ They get excited like little kids and the first thing they say is, ‘We wanna have this one,'” she said.

Customers who already own touchscreen devices are often the ones who come looking for another.

Vinh Nguyen, a student from California visiting New York City, said he was shopping for a touchscreen camera for his girlfriend because she would have only a touchscreen device.

She already owns an iPhone, a HP TouchSmart and a Nintendo DS with the technology.

Synaptics‘ Lee said there is the same rush for digital cameras as for other appliances introducing touchscreen technology, helped by LCD screens on the devices.

The only device that might remain unaffected could be television. For many couch potatoes, a remote control is all the “cool” technology they want.

© Reuters 2008

Agence-France Presse
Sun

An Internet industry code of ethics intended to safeguard online freedom of speech around the world is to be adopted this week by technology titans including Google, Yahoo and Microsoft.

The U.S.-based Center for Democracy & Technology said that two years spent collaborating with Internet firms on rules of conduct will come to fruition in the coming days.

The code of ethics is a voluntary framework to help protect people who express opinions online in countries such as China, where talk of democracy or criticism of the Communist government is treated as criminal behavior.

Yahoo launched the talks with industry partners, academics, human rights groups and investors to promote a code of behavior for global technology and communication companies operating in “challenging markets.”

“We seem to be getting more grey areas in terms freedom of expression versus censorship, legal versus illegal and border versus non-border,” Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang said while promoting cyber rights in Washington this year.

Yahoo was thrust into the forefront of the online rights issue after the California company helped Chinese police identify cyber dissidents whose supposed crime was expressing their views online.

Google has been criticized for complying with Chinese government’s demands to filter Internet searches in that country to eliminate query results regarding topics such as democracy or Tiananmen Square.

Internet firms contend they must comply with China‘s laws in order to operate there. Yang has called for the US government to devote itself to a political solution to the problem.

The code of conduct is to call on Internet firms to narrowly interpret government requests for information or censorship and to fight to minimize cooperation.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

Gerry Bellett
Sun

The Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about phoney e-mails and blog posts that target consumers and businesses, asking them to register for software using the BBB’s name.

BBB president and CEO Lynda Pasacreta said the messages and posts are part of a “large-scale ‘phishing‘ scam leveraging the trusted nature of the BBB name to entice recipients and bloggers to open messages and access attachments or links.” She said anyone receiving such e-mails or reading blogs requiring an update of contact information and the registration of software with the BBB shouldn’t click on any part of the link or respond to the message, as it would likely allow viruses or spyware to enter their computer.

“The attack has not affected BBB computer systems or networks nor has any data been compromised,” Pasacreta said in a news release.

She said anyone receiving such messages should not open them but forward them to [email protected]. They will be transmitted to the U.S. Secret Service electronic crimes task force, which is investigating the matter.

She said the public can go to the BBB security page at www.bbb.org/securityalerts for updates on the phishing attack. People can also call the BBB at 604-682-2711 for information if they are unsure about any purported BBB e-mails or e-mail [email protected]

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

Sun

1. MacBook lineup, Apple, starting at $1,200

The latest generation of MacBooks have new features, plus new pricing. Although the white 13-inch MacBook is $1,200, the rest of the lineup ranges from $1,399 to $1,749 for the 13-inch version. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook has a new aluminum frame, high performance 3-D graphics and LED-backlit displays which deliver features of the MacBook Pro for considerably less money, even though it’s by no means an economy model, particularly at a time when the free-falling global economy has consumers putting the brakes on spending. If you’re not worried about where the next paycheque is coming from, it’s a notebook of choice. www.apple.com.

2. LifeBook A1110, Fujitsu, $855

If you can’t go those extra bucks for a MacBook, you can opt instead for an interchangeable coloured computer lid for your laptop with Fujitsu’s new LifeBook A1110. Three different lids can switch your look from green mod to butterflies in pink or a Victorian blue print. Under the lid is a 15.4-inch high-contrast crystal view LCD with a built-in camera and digital microphone for photos, videos and teleconferencing. The green labyrinth design ships with the A1110, with the other two lids available at $22 each. www.fujitsu.ca.

3. EVOLTA battery, Panasonic, from $5

Nothing can stop a gadget flat like dead batteries and Panasonic is trumpeting its new EVOLTA AA as the world’s longest-lasting AA alkaline battery in more devices. Apparently these little batteries, which made the Guinness World Records, powered a digital camera through 272 shots, a 30-per-cent hike over Panasonic’s current alkaline plus batteries that lasted for 209 shots. An FM radio played up to 14 hours longer and a remote-controlled car went 14 kilometres farther on the new batteries compared to its performance with Panasonic’s earlier batteries. No word on how long it keeps the Energizer bunny going. www.panasonic.ca.

4. SPA5200 digital, portable speakers, Philips, $60

Hook these compact speakers to your notebook computer via their single USB cable and step up your portable sound. The speakers have their own travel pouch and work with Windows 2000, XP, Vista and Mac OS operating systems. www.philips.com.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

 

Rainy-day photography is in the bag

Sun

Seattle Sling, Camera Armor, $150 US

Keep your camera dry even if it gets completely immersed in water with the Seattle Sling waterproof camera bag. The first in a new line from Camera Armor in its Seattle series bags, the Sling keeps weather and water out with interior dry-bag technology with multiple compartments to stow all your gear. www.cameraarmor.com.

DCP851 docking entertainment system, Philips, $230 Cdn.

Broaden your mobile DVD and video viewing with the 8.5-inch colour widescreen of Philips’ compact DCP851. Watch your iPod videos, DVDs and photos on this portable entertainment system that includes a memory card reader for photo slideshows, zooming, panning and rotating pictures. Comes with a car adapter for on-the-road power. www.philips.com.

Nokia 500 Auto Navigation, $350 Cdn.

Navigate, communicate, entertain — the Nokia 500 gives you the works. It can pair up with a compatible phone that links via Bluetooth for hands-free calling and other phone features. It gives verbal and visual directions and has turn-by-turn instructions. And for mobile entertainment it plays music and movies, or can display photos in several formats. At www.store.nokia.ca.

SlingCatcher, Slingbox, $330 Cdn.

A sling of another sort, the SlingCatcher from Slingbox is now available in Canada through Future Shop, Best Buy, Canada Computers and London Drugs. This media player delivers content — whether it’s broadcast TV, online video, or personal content from your computer to a television. The SlingCatcher comes with a remote control and allows users to access any device connected to it. Using a standard USB hard drive or USB flash drive, you can also put your personal media, including home movies, Internet video and downloads on your television. It comes with three built-in applications including SlingPlayer for television, SlingProjector and My Media — applications that make it possible to deliver content from different sources to your television screen. www.slingmedia.com.

© The Vancouver Sun 2008

Enjoy your computer on big screen or your TV in distant spots

Jim Jamieson
Province

What is it? SlingCatcher

Price: $329.99

Why you need it: You want to one-up your techie friends who already have a SlingBox.

Why you don’t: You’re still trying to figure out how to set the clock on the Betamax.

Our rating:

The SlingBox is one of the coolest tech gadgets to hit the market in recent years.

It allows you to watch your home’s satellite, cable or personal video recording content remotely on a computer that has a high-speed connection. It can also stream media to cellphones and handhelds.

Now the company that makes it, Sling Media, has gone one better with the SlingCatcher — which does two things:

It is a universal media player that delivers TV, Internet video and personal content from PCs to television sets.

With this device you can watch online video from any popular site on the Internet, such as YouTube.com.

The SlingCatcher will also give those who already own a Slingbox the ability to watch their home TV on another TV, say at the cottage or on the road in a hotel.

The device also allows users to watch content from their main TV on another one in the house — which doesn’t sound that difficult until you think about the cost of more than one set-top .

SlingCatcher includes standard-definition and high-definition outputs to connect to a TV including HDMI, component video, S-Video and composite video, as well as analog and digital audio connectors.

It also features a standard Ethernet jack to connect to the home network,

Available at Best Buy, Future Shop and London Drugs.

© The Vancouver Province 2008