V4 N33 -  23 January 2005

iTHINK ZONE
 

UBIQUITY, VIRTUALNESS, DISCONTINUITY & CONVERGENCE

You don't have to be there in order to be there. Today you are everywhere without moving from where you are. You don't need to be physically beamed up; you are virtually there with a click of a button.

READ ON
http://cyberzone.pacific-tier.com/iThink.htm
[Posted Jan 12]

A HISTORY OF THE "TELEPHONE COMPANY" IN HAWAII This series will continue soon.
 

OTHERS' THINK ZONE

EXPLODING THE SELF-ESTEEM MYTH
Boosting people's sense of self-worth has become a national preoccupation. Yet surprisingly, research shows that such efforts are of little value in fostering academic progress or preventing undesirable behavior.
http://cl.exct.net/?fe5815727c6207747010-fe20167073670d7c7c1c79

FUTURE ZONE

NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL RELEASES 2020 PROJECT REPORT The National Intelligence Council (NIC) has released "Mapping the Global Future," a report that provides a view of how world developments could evolve by 2020. The latest report follows "Global Trends 2010" and "Global Trends 2015." The NIC 2020 process lasted about a year and involved more than a thousand people.
http://www.cia.gov/nic/NIC_globaltrend2020.html

VoIP ZONE

VoIP: READY FOR PRIME TIME
Four years ago, a company investing in voice-over-IP technology was taking a huge, bleeding-edge risk. Poor voice quality and reliability were all-too-common complaints. But today, many of those technical problems have been ironed out, and VoIP is moving into the mainstream.

Companies are now using VoIP technology to combine voice and data networks and introduce powerful applications, such as the ability to dial a voice call by clicking on a co-worker's name in a company directory instead of looking up the number and dialing it. Indeed, VoIP has matured to the point where companies should be prepared to test the technology as an eventual replacement for traditional circuit-switched systems, which will eventually be phased out.
http://www.computerworld.com/networkingtopics/networking/report/0,11188,01172005,00.html
NOTE: THIS IS 20-SEGMENT REPORT

CYBERZONE

GOOGLE LOOKING FOR DARK FIBER
Is Google planning to build a global fiber optic network from scratch? And, if so, why?
http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1035_22-5537392.html

AT&T's TACTICS IN IRAQ RAISE CONCERNS
AT&T's role as the sole provider of phone services to U.S. soldiers in Iraq has spurred some questions about the company's motivations, according to The Prepaid Press. Among other things, the 19-cents-per-minute price AT&T charges soldiers to make calls has raised some eyebrows. AT&T defends its approach, saying it has helped troops stay connected to friends and family.
http://www.prepaid-press.com/ppp/thisissue/01-15-05/gen-01.php

ONE CHARGING PAD COULD POWER UP ALL GADGETS A collection of incompatible battery chargers is the price of today's digital lifestyle, but that could be about to end
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6891

YAHOO & VERIZON AGREE TO OFFER CO-BRANDED WEB PORTAL SERVICE In a move that further blurs the border between Internet and telecom companies, Yahoo and Verizon Communications Inc. have announced that they plan to offer co-branded Internet-portal service to Verizon's broadband subscribers. The agreement with Verizon will help Yahoo to increase its non-advertising revenue and also attract new users to its site. This deal will however be a blow to Microsoft's MSN Internet service, as earlier its was the sole Internet portal with ready access to Verizon's broadband subscribers.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/corporatenews/2005-01-17-verizon_x.htm

TOSHIBA SOFTWARE WILL REMOTELY CONTROL PCS BY CELLPHONE Toshiba has developed software to remotely operate a PC using a mobile phone over a cellular network. The software will be available in cooperation with one of Japan's cellular networks in late March, a Toshiba executive said in a press conference.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=B0AB1F:1F8551F

BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

BULLET-STOPPING SNAIL
Engineering researchers at the University of California, San Diego, are using the shell of a seaweed-eating snail as a guide in the development of a new generation of bullet-stopping armor. The colorful oval shell of the red abalone is highly prized as a source of nacre (mother-of-pearl) jewelry, but also possesses the ability to absorb heavy blows without breaking.
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20050118A2

DR NANOTECH vs CANCER
James Heath has a better way to fight cancer: tiny silicon wires that could sniff out early signs of the disease.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/02/issue/feature_nano.asp?trk=nl

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Baltimore--Maryland General Assembly 2005: Expect political, religious turmoil in stem cell debate
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222425

Baltimore--Maryland General Assembly 2005: UM's Kirwan doesn't get $24M wish for nanotechnology R&D
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222426

Birmingham--Vaxin trials get a boost in key medical journal
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222427

Honolulu--Life sciences get a new advocate
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222428
--Houston
Tech experts ring in new year with trend forecast
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222429

Minneapolis/St. Paul--Legislative Outlook: Boosters back biotech buildup, tax credits http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222430

Nashville--Young biotech snags promising technology: Company could start production at TSU incubator this summer
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222431

Philadelphia--Penn ranks 4th in begatting businesses from technology
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222432

Philadelphia--Greenwood takes over the helm of national biotech trade group
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222433

Philadelphia--InKine pulls plug on experimental Crohn's disease drug
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222434

Raleigh/Durham--Alzheimer's, migraines among targets of drug candidates
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222435

San Antonio--Alamo City may soon get a venture capital fund to call its own
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222436

San Francisco--Agilent places bet on genomic chip business
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222437

San Francisco--Chiron CEO: No quick fix for our flu snafu: Awaits vaccine plant inspections from U.K. and U.S. regulators
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222438

San Francisco--Developers target biotech startups: Slough Estates, Alexandria compete for 'next Genentech'
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222439

South Florida--Biotech training experiment begins with FAU program http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1222440

ASIA ZONE

RUMOR SAYS CHINA's MOBILE PHONE NUMBERS TO GO TO 12 DIGITS After reports last week that Chinese mobile phones will get new prefixes to enlarge the universe of possible numbers, now local media report that China may increase mobile phone numbers from 11 digits to
12 digits.

But unnamed analysts quoted in local media say it is unpractical to solve the problem by adding an extra digit because it will cause inconvenience not only to users but also to telecom operators who have to modify exchanger data. It seems adding new prefixes is the better way of increasing the number of options.

In order to deal with the growing mobile demand, China Mobile formally launched the "134" prefix during the National Day holiday in 2004. Then last week the Ministry of Information Industry allocated number sections prefixed with 15 and 18, respectively, for future 3G mobile phone users.
FULL STORY [CHINATECHNEWS]

CHINA WANTS VCs TO PLAY LARGER ROLE IN BOOSTING HI-TECH Cheng Siwei, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, promised to create a favorable environment to spur the venture capital market in China. To this end, the government should, he insisted, support but not control, encourage but not interfere venture capital business.
http://english.people.com.cn//200501/20/eng20050120_171328.html


3rd UK-CHINA HI-TECH FORUM KICKS OFF YEAR-LONG SCIENTIFIC EVENTS The 3rd UK-China High Technology Forum was opened at Tsinghua University. It was followed by a series of workshops in fields ranging from energy, stem cell to space and aviation sciences. Both China and Britain sent a large delegation to the conference. Lord Sainsbury, the British Minister for Science and Innovation of the Department of Trade and Industry and competent Chinese officials from relevant departments, also attended the opening ceremony.
http://english.people.com.cn//200501/18/eng20050118_171032.html

ALCATEL GETS CONTRACT FOR BACKBONE NETWORK IN CHINA Alcatel has bagged a multi million contract from China Telecom to deploy an optical backbone network across the southeastern part of China. This network will span a total of 2,300 km and provide connectivity for the ChinaNet2 (CN2) network. It will link seven Chinese cities with two transmission lines one spanning from Shanghai to Guangzhou through Changsha and the other one connecting Shanghai to Suzhou, via Chongming, Nantong and Lianyungang.
FULL ITEM [IDG]

CHINA's MOBILE USERS HITS 334 MILLION IN 2004 China's cellular subscriber base reached 334 million for the year
2004 from 269 million in 2003, as per the Ministry of Information Industry. China's wireline subscriber base reached 316 million in 2004, up 53 million from 2003. The country's cellular subscriber base is expected to touch 402 million in 2005. Meanwhile, telecom sector revenues for the year 2004 were $62.9 billion (520.5 billion yuan) in 2004.
FULL ITEM [IDG]

WIRELESS ZONE

MOTOROLA & OAKLEY TEAM TO MAKE WEARABLE WIRELESS Looking to accelerate the development of mobile technology devices in ways seen previously mainly in spy movies, Motorola said today it would work with sunglass maker Oakley on technology to make wearable communications devices. Motorola said it had formed a joint venture with Oakley aimed at creating wearable devices that work on the Bluetooth close-proximity wireless protocol.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/39707.html

AUSTRALIAN AMBULANCES TO GET Wi-Fi
Australian state Victoria is to equip its metropolitan ambulances with Wi-Fi in a bid to speed the transfer of patient data. It also plans to roll out Bluetooth to reduce cable clutter in the vehicles themselves.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/14/aussie_ambulance_wifi/

HOTSPOTS

Meru says Miami school deployment is one of the biggest ever; new Barnes & Noble store offers Wi-Fi; Wayport customers can get more digial magazines; and more.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1bvg,1,l0p5,ecft,jcj3,9ffi

The Simon Group has outfitted only two of its 300 mall properties with Wi-Fi. That number is very likely to increase this year, if it can figure out what to do with all that wireless bandwidth.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1bvg,1,jus9,7l4g,jcj3,9ffi

Ottawa Builds Big Networks
The cold of Minnesota (nor the heat of New Mexico) does not deter this company from carrying out its mission: building truly city-wide hotspots for municipalities.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1ca6,1,ekyi,ffwm,jcj3,9ffi

Atlanta's Centennial Park is 75 percent covered; iDock ooks up 40th marina; Tropos unwires the Jamestown cops and the inaugural motorcade's route in D.C.; and more.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1c53,1,l0p5,ecft,jcj3,9ffi

SITE CITES

HOW GECKOS KEEP THEIR STICKY FEET CLEAN
The super sticky feet of geckos allow the animals to cling easily to nearly any surface. In fact, a single toe contains enough foot hairs, known as setae, to support the animal's entire body weight.  Researchers are thus hoping to employ the gecko's secrets to manufacture adhesives with similar properties. Now scientists can add another impressive characteristic to the list: setae are self-cleaning.
http://cl.exct.net/?fe5a157374630c7a7217-fe20167073670d7c7c1c79
 

Marty Plotnick's CyberZone is a weekly review of Hawaii technology and international technology news.  The Hawaii Technology Calendar is available on the front page of this site, with links and descriptions of events relevant to the Hawaii technology and telecommunications community.  CyberZone takes special interest in researching and collecting links to stories from international technology news sources of interest to CyberZone's readers.  If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements to his site and information resource please contact Marty Plotnick at martycri@lava.net