Sun

Kensington Pico FM Transmitter for iPod, $70.

Okay, we know there are now about half a zillion iPod gizmos, but here’s one you might like to consider for that new Nano you just got for graduation. This one is thin (and we all know you can’t be too thin) and will allow you to transmit quickly to your car radio by using the iPod screen for a quick hit of station info. All you have to do is select a clear FM space on your dial and then select that on your iPod and, bam, you’ve got music. Or you can do the same thing in your home by connecting to your stereo tuner. Stations have also been pre-set.

Lenovo 3000 V100 12-inch widescreen notebook, starts at $1,200.

Are you what Lenovo defines as an “on-the-go small business customer seeking powerful performance?” Well, hey, then this could be for you, with its one-button recovery system that allows you to instantly escape those nasty viruses. It also offers automatic updates of Lenovo software. The V100 — which offers Intel Core Duo processors — has an integrated optical

drive. The screen allows for as much as four additional spreadsheet columns to what you get from a standard 12-inch display.

Soundtech Professional Audio Lightsnake USB Intelligent Instrument Cable, $70 US.

Let’s say you play guitar and you have a real need to record your talents straight to your PC with the minimum fuss. Well, here’s the Lightsnake which won “best in show” at the recent National Association of Music Merchants show in the U.S. It allows you to connect your guitar directly to your PC and make use of such software as Apple’s GarageBand and Sony’s Acid Music Studio. And no need for drivers with newer computers.

Tekkeon myPower 1140B for iPod rechargeable battery and portable dock (in black), $70 US.

And you thought you’d get away with just one iPod device this time around, but here’s another. It’s actually the old Tekkeon MP1140 white model in black, so that it goes neatly with the iPod photo. As well as the boost in battery power, the myPower includes high speed FireWire and USB 2.0 ports to sync with the iPod, plus a line-out port connection to a stereo and external speakers. Oh, and there’s a five-volt charging output so you can keep your mobile phone working as well.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Cool stuff is now available at the right price to put you in home-theatre heaven

Grant Mckenzie
Sun

When it comes to electronics, there is a certain sweet spot where price meets lust that propels the consumer to eagerly climb aboard.

DVD players didn’t begin selling by the tens of thousands until they broke the $200 barrier; new DVD movies began to fly off the shelves when they snuck under the $25 mark; and Apple’s 99-cents-a-song deal turned millions of illegal MP3 downloaders into a formidable legion of paying music lovers.

The sweet spot, I believe, has now been reached for the drool-inducing, high-definition, widescreen plasma television.

Every man wants one, but until now the beckoning bank of glistening, colourful, so-detailed-you-can-see-just-how-desperate-those-housewives-really-a re widescreen displays at the electronics store have made the women in their lives use the chequing account balance as ammunition against purchase.

Well, weep no more my salivating brothers, for the new 42-inch widescreen plasma from Panasonic (TH-42PX60) just broke the $3,500 barrier.

The reason this news makes your legs feel a bit rubbery is that Panasonic’s display is so crisp and vibrant it makes watching television exciting again. Hook this display up to a digital cable or satellite box, tune in to one of the high-definition channels for the first time (most of the mainstream channels such as CBC, ABC, FOX, NBC, CBS, PBS, etc., broadcast in high-definition) and you’re likely to weep like a little girl.

Sports have never had so much punch, travel shows on PBS will give you wanderlust, and the creepy-crawly things on those half-dozen C.S.I. shows will give you nightmares.

When you walk into an electronic store and look at the bank of televisions, you’ll instantly know which one is the Panasonic by the quality of the picture. Using ninth generation glass and a high-definition resolution of 1,024 x 768, this puppy boasts 10,000-1 contrast, 1080p digital processing, 29 billion displayable colours, two HDMI inputs, digital audio out, simulated surround sound speakers, and more geekiness than you can stand all wrapped up inside a sleek 102 x 70.5 cm (40 by 28-inch) cabinet that’s only 9.5 cm (3.7″) thick. It can either be mounted on the wall or placed on a TV stand.

Out of the box, this display is ready to go and can be set up in under five minutes. However, a display this cool deserves a few little extras to make your home-theatre experience all it can be while making your friends and neighbours really jealous.

I’m a big believer in getting the best value for my money without sacrificing quality (which is why I recommend the Panasonic over the equally impressive, but much more expensive Pioneer model).

In keeping with this credo, I turned to Logitech for a 5.1 surround-sound system that will rock your socks off. Logitech’s Z-5500 system has an awesome 10″ subwoofer and five stylish satellite speakers that will make you think the Martians truly have landed if you drop in War of the Worlds. This system also delivers superb quality in the stunning quiet moments at the beginning of Master and Commander where the wind blows and the brass ship bell peals.

Some people pay thousands for a quality sound system, but for 99 per cent of people, it really is a waste. You’ll love the sound the Z-5500 pumps out, and you can find it for a street price of under $300.

Another Logitech product that I find comes in very handy for those late-night viewing sessions when everyone else is asleep, is their Wireless Bluetooth Headphones ($179.95). The Bluetooth wireless transmitter simply pops into the headphone jack on your TV or sound system and sends the sound to your headset without the need for wires. If a movie gets too scary, for example, you can hide behind the couch without missing a single, ear-shattering shriek or strangling yourself on cord. The headphones sound great and also work with your MP3 player, stereo or computer.

Naturally, you’re going to want a good DVD player. The buzz at the moment is all about high-definition and the battle between Blueray and HD-DVD. My advice, forget about it until the dust settles, the bugs are worked out, and the prices hit the sweet spot. At the moment, the geek factor is too high and the value is too low.

In the meantime, you can get almost the same high-definition quality with your existing DVD library if you play them in the affordable and very cool new upconverting DVD player from OPPO.

The DV970HD ($149 US at www.oppodigital.com) uses some impressive technology to scale your current 480i (lines of resolution; the more lines, the better the quality) DVDs up to the high-definition standard of 720p or 1080i. This translates into a more-detailed image that takes full advantage of your new TV.

But even more impressive is that the OPPO player can read just about any disc you throw at it. If you have movies or downloaded television shows (something a lot of networks are now making available on their websites) saved in the popular DIVX format, you can simply burn them to DVD without conversion and the OPPO will play them. In fact, you don’t even have to burn them to DVD as the 970HD has a USB port to plug in a portable hard drive or USB flash key and read your movie from there.

The variety of formats this player supports (DVD-Audio, Xvid, Super Audio CD, etc.) will make you giggle with geeky glee. It even has a 4-in-1 memory card reader for showing off your digital photos. And for those who like to collect movies from other regions (such as British mysteries), the 970HD can be easily made multi-regional with the push of a few buttons.

When you add in that OPPO supplies a high-quality HDMI cable with its player, you quickly realize that this is probably the best deal on the market.

Finally, to make everything work together as smoothly as possible, I can’t recommend the Harmony 880 universal remote high enough. Available from Logitech for just under the $300 mark, this is by far the easiest universal remote I have ever used.

By plugging it into your computer, the remote connects with Logitech’s web site and walks you through the simple procedure (i.e. you don’t have to know any manufacturer’s product codes) to program the commands for all your devices. This procedure also determines how you use your devices, such as if you use your surround-sound system with the DVD player, but not with the TV, etc.) Once that is done, a colour LCD screen on the remote allows you to watch TV or switch to DVD with the click of one button, and control every device with just the one remote.

replaced six remotes with the Harmony 880 and not only am I in geek heaven, but even my wife seemed impressed by the new lack of electronic clutter.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

Sun

SAN FRANCISCO — Google Inc., the most-used Internet search engine, released a new version of its satellite mapping software that includes three-dimensional life-like images of buildings. Google Earth 4 was made available as a test version Monday. The software is free and includes a new user interface, Google said. Google is making improvements to Earth, software it acquired in 2004, and its maps website as it battles Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. for a larger share of the ad market for local businesses.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Jim Jamieson
Province

Computers are becoming as commonplace and utilitarian as any household appliance, but that doesn’t mean users shouldn’t pay attention to security. Any computer that’s connected to the Internet can make our lives more efficient and enjoyable. But it can also wreak havoc through the loss of personal information leading to identity theft.

“A computer has become just another tool for us, just like an automobile,” said Derick Wong, senior security product manager for Microsoft Canada.

“With an auto we put in electronic alarms or The Club to keep people from taking it. So we have to educate users that The Club has to be on their computer to keep it from being hijacked.”

Wong said Internet attacks are trending more toward social engineering, where the recipient has to click on a file or go to a website.

“The bad guys are banking on the [lack of] education of the users, not being careful of what attachments they open,” he said. “We’ve been trying to push education for a long time, but you have to keep drumming it in. It’s like drinking and driving.”

Wong said that, at minimum, users should make sure their operating system and antivirus software are updated regularly, have a firewall installed and never open an e-mail attachment unless certain of its origin.

Microsoft also offers PC security tips at www.microsoft.ca/protect.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

 

USA Today

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) — Google  is going back to the future by reinventing the spreadsheet as a Web-based application, seeking a simpler on-ramp for consumers to input data into databases, the company said Monday.

The Web search leader will begin a limited trial Tuesday of the classic software application defined by its grid of rows and columns and simple calculating capabilities that allow users to enter and organize information in structured form.

The electronic spreadsheet pioneered in 1978 by VisiCalc is remembered as the PC era’s first “killer application.”

The Mountain View, California-based company said its free, Web-based application can be shared with up to ten users simultaneously, improving upon a key limitation of Microsoft.’s  Excel, the dominant stand-alone spreadsheet.

“Many people already organize information into spreadsheets,” said Jonathan Rochelle, product manager for Google Spreadsheets, as the trial product is known. “Where they are struggling is to share it.”

Google is joining a variety of Web start-ups that already offer Web-based spreadsheets, including JotSpot, a company founded by Internet pioneer Joe Kraus, Thinkfree Corp. and Smallthought Systems’s Dabble DB. Microsoft has begun offering its own add-on technology for sharing spreadsheets.

For now, the Google Spreadsheet, which can import or export data from Excel’s .xls format or the open Comma Separated Value (.csv) format, is aimed at small work teams in social life or small business, not big enterprises, Rochelle said.

The program is designed to help people organize their own information and make it more easily accessible to others via the Web. Data in the spreadsheets are saved automatically with each user action over the Web onto Google computer servers.

Google Spreadsheet relies on technology the company acquired from a small Wall Street software developer it bought last year called 2Web Technologies, which in 2004 introduced tools to convert Microsoft Excel spreadsheets into Web services.

“What is missing is the ability to share data more easily,” Rochelle said.

Users can sort data and take advantage of 200 functions and common spreadsheet formulas for doing basic calculations of numerical data. Google is working on improving printing, charts, filtering and “drag and drop” features, he said.

Rochelle said his company would be studying how much demand there is for Google Spreadsheet to work with Google Base, an online database service that allows Google users to post various types of information online.

“Databases in themselves are really hard to program,” said Charlene Li, an Internet analyst with Forrester Research. “What people use spreadsheets for is low-end databases,” she said.

Google Base is viewed by analysts as a stepping stone into the classified advertising or e-commerce markets, by helping users feature relevant information on Google’s main search index, the Froogle shopping site and Google Local search.

Google Spreadsheet is one of a string of user productivity applications that Google has been testing, including the Writely word processing application it acquired earlier this year and its internally developed Google Calendar.

Users interested in experimenting with the application can go to Google Labs (http://labs.google.com/) to sign up Tuesday. An undisclosed number of users can join the initial trial phase on a first-come, first-served basis, it said.

Jim Jamieson
Province

Carmanah Technologies has launched a new solar-powered LED airfield light that it feels will illuminate the way to the high altitudes of the aviation market.

Art Aylesworth, CEO of the Victoria-based solar-power company, said the A704-5 — the company’s first airfield light to include wireless control — represents a breakthrough point in Carmanah’s pursuit of the lucrative airport market.

“It’s quite pivotal for us,” he said. “This is the first second-generation product for us in this area. In the beginning, they were just marine lights re-purposed.

“Our [aviation] customers liked our product, but they wanted the features they had with the [traditional] systems. Until we proved the technology was going to be welcome, we couldn’t invest in all that research and development.”

Carmanah also is an international player in solar-power systems and equipment and LED-illuminated signage. Besides airfields, the company provides solar-power lighting systems to the marine and roadworks industries.

Its self-contained products can be seen readily in and around Greater Vancouver. There are about 200 solar-illuminated bus shelters using its patented technology in Vancouver, while Vancouver International Airport uses Carmanah’s aviation lights for runway construction projects. As well, the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project is using the company’s solar-powered flashing roadway beacons.

Aylesworth said the A704-5 has many improvements, such as re-tooled optics that are designed for aviation and feature greater visibility. But the most important improvement is full wireless control — just like the traditional technology Carmanah’s lights replace, said Aylesworth.

“Previously, we would have a light that would come on when it got dark, then we gave it an on-off switch,” he said. “Now it is fully programmable from the tower so you have light only when it’s needed.”

Aylesworth said the primary markets for the device are the military, which often requires fast deployment, secondary airports that are not lit or not fully lit, and international airports, which may install the Carmanah product as backups for existing wired runway lights.

The publicly traded company has sold 215 of the A704-5 already at about $2,495 US each. Carmanah, which has about 250,000 product installations worldwide, brought in revenues of about $7.5 million in aviation markets in 2005.

Aylesworth said the unit’s cost is greater than a traditional airfield light — typically around $300 US — but the differential is offset after costs for trenching, wiring and installation are added in.

Carmanah employs 157 in Victoria, its research and development centre, and 230 worldwide.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

Jim Jamieson
Province

As Internet connectivity expands through wireless networks, and home and office work environments blur, malicious hackers will continue to threaten consumers and businesses alike, a computer security strategist says.

Andrew Berkuta of global-security company McAfee said wireless networks often provide a smorgasbord of opportunity for hackers — whether they are set up in the home or in metropolitan areas.

“A lot of people buy a [wireless router], plug it in and if it’s working, it must be fine,” Berkuta said yesterday in an interview.

“People have to be educated to harden up their systems, make sure their security is turned on.”

More than a third of wi-fi networks in London, New York, Frankfurt and San Francisco had basic security features turned off, according to a 2005 survey of the networks by RSA Security Inc.

The survey said companies are exposing themselves to “drive-by hacking,” where snoopers walk or drive around cities targeting vulnerable wi-fi networks. As if Internet surfers didn’t have enough to worry about, Berkuta said a feature built into some newer computers provides another potential access point for hackers.

Called “Wake on LAN,” the feature is a network standard that allows a computer in sleep mode to be brought up to full power remotely and asked to complete tasks.

If not configured properly, it can leave a computer vulnerable to hacking, Berkuta said.

Berkuta said that because so many home computers are now being used partly for work activities, the advice for both businesses and consumers is similar: Use an up-to-date security product that addresses every type of threat.

© The Vancouver Province 2006

 

Other

Download Document

Virgin Mobile in Canada says its looking at starting the same service this fall

Gillian Shaw
Sun

Cellphone users in the United States can earn free airtime by looking at online ads or responding to text-based advertising, and Virgin Mobile Canada says it plans to launch a similar service in Canada starting this fall.

Trading talk time for eyeballs, Virgin Mobile USA announced Tuesday that under its new program SugarMama customers can opt to watch streaming video ads or SMS messages in exchange for topping up their air time.

And in case the ad watchers think they can cheat to run up their free minutes, they must answer questions to prove they were paying attention.

Correct answers can earn minutes of free airtime, up to 75 minutes a month in the program which starts June 14.

“This is truly a win-win situation for everyone involved,” said Dan Schulman, chief executive officer at Virgin Mobile USA, said in a release announcing SugarMama. “Through this multi-faceted service, Virgin Mobile customers will earn free minutes as well as exclusive access to unique content and offers.

“Our partner brands will be able to enrich the lives of Virgin Mobile users while customizing how they engage with our base — all while adding a smart and targeted mobile channel to their media mix.”

The program, billed as a first for North America, is being watched with interest by Virgin Mobile Canada, a 50/50 venture of Bell Mobility and Richard Branson’s Virgin Group, and separate from the U.S. company.

“We are really interested to see how they do with the program, and we are currently testing the idea with our existing customers,” said Paula Lash, spokesperson for Virgin Mobile Canada. “You could definitely see us launching this kind of program sometime in the fall. That’s the current goal.”

Lash said while the company is only testing the concept now, the next phase would probably involve a test of the service as a lead-up to rolling out a full program.

“It is incredibly innovative and pretty new,” she said. “Everyone is interested in how people are marketing on mobile phones, so this is an interesting program.

Virgin Mobile USA has partnered with Microsoft’s Xbox, Pepsi-Cola North America, will initially feature Diet Mountain Dew, as well as The American Legacy Foundation’s national youth smoking prevention campaign.

“We’re always seeking opportunities to learn from our customers how we can deliver the best gaming experiences possible on Xbox360,” said director of Xbox marketing Chris Di Cesare said in the release. “Virgin Mobile’s SugarMama program provides us with a new way to drive consumer awareness yet gain valuable insight from our customers that helps us continually deliver new breakthroughs in gaming entertainment.”

Virgin Mobile USA customers must be 13 years of age or older to use the program.

SUGARMAMA’S SWEET DEAL

Virgin Mobile USA’s new program SugarMama allows U.S. customers to trade time spent watching ads for air time. The formula is thus (although the same will not likely apply

to future Canadian customers):

30 seconds of ad-watching time earns 1 minute of air time.

75 minutes: Maximum of free air time that can be earned each month.

Five minutes spent answering an online survey equals five minutes of free talk time.

One text message sent gets one minute of talk time, with a maximum of two minutes gained per week in the initial months of the program.

3.5 cents to 10 cents: Typical cost of a minute of air time, down from more than 25 cents a decade ago, according to Charter Equity Research.*

*all prices U.S.

© The Vancouver Sun 2006

 

Download language lessons, maps, tours

Brad Frenette
Province

The iPod is fast becoming a popular accessory among leisure travellers. No wonder. It can store itineraries and reminders, and act as a storage system for digital photos.

But it can do much more than that. From displaying subway maps to acting as a potential power supply, the iPod has become an essential carry-on item. Here are some of its uses on the road:

– For the wide-eyed tourist arriving in new surroundings, early mastery of the transit system is crucial. At ipodsubwaymaps.com, you can download iPod-ready transit information, from the easily navigated (Salt Lake City) to the baffling (Tokyo). And between station stops, you can brush up on a few local phrases by downloading language podcasts such as japanesepod101.com and frenchpodclass.com.

– In addition to changing the way many people listen to radio, podcasts have emerged as a way of obtaining travel information. Travel podcasts provide destination overviews, often narrated by locals or expert travellers.

Lonely Planet offers a number of free travelcasts, with more being added all the time (lonelyplanet. com/podcasts). At about 20 minutes each, they won’t give you a full education on areas as diverse as Krakow and the Yucatan, but they do pack in the kind of off-trail tips the company has made it’s name on.

Virgin Atlantic airline has also got into the business of podcasting (virginatlantic.loudish.com), offering information on destinations it services, including Cape Town, Shanghai, New York and London.

– Then there’s touring. Many tourists looking for a more intimate look at a new place join a walking tour, hop on a sightseeing bus or rent an audioguide at a museum. But you can sidestep the crowds and save some hard-exchanged currency by visiting one of the many free websites that offer MP3 tours.

The Dublin tourism board, for example, provides self-guided audio walking tours, dubbed iWalks. At podguides.net, free photo-enhanced podcasts describe a small but interesting range of locales. The site also offers detailed tutorials.

For a wider assortment, turn to paid downloads from sites like antennaaudio.com, which specializes in audio tours of world museums, and ijourneys.com, which focuses on Old World Europe.

Perhaps the most impressively produced of the paid download sites is soundwalk.com, which provides “audiotours for people who normally don’t take audio tours.” As far as audio tours go, these are the big-budget blockbusters. Set to an atmospheric soundtrack, actors, writers and other experts take you through cities and neighbourhoods. Their selection is eclectic, varying from a Hasidic walk of Brooklyn to a PhD-guided stroll through Varanasi, India’s City of Lights. And for the active traveller, Soundwalk has paired with Puma to offer guided running tours of famous green spaces, including Central Park in New York, London’s Hyde Park and the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, among others.

– Now that your iPod has guided you through the sights and splendours on your trek, what more could you expect from it? How about a cure for those knapsack-wrinkled clothes? With the iRon, U.S. company Gear4 has created a portable iron that attaches to your iPod, using its battery as a power source. It comes equipped with a bonus feature: The iRon lets off steam blasts to the beat of the MP3s being played on the iPod.

Look for content to expand and become more interactive as iPod use continues to boom among travellers. According to MacWorld.co.uk, Apple has been in talks with in-flight entertainment providers to make their iTunes service available at 35,000 feet.

The sky, it would seem, is not the limit.

© The Vancouver Province 2006