V4 N44 -  10 April 2005

iTHINK ZONE
 

ARE THE BELLS TOLLING FOR VoIP?

The past few weeks have seen serious attacks on VoIP instigated by governments and the telecos and cablecos. Two excellent analysis pieces have appeared and are worthy of reading if you're interested in the future viability of VoIP.

READ ON
http://cyberzone.pacific-tier.com/iThink.htm
[Posted March 24 ]
 

CYBERZONE

GOOGLE FEATURE INCORPORATES SATELLITE MAPS Online search engine leader Google has unveiled a new feature that will enable its users to zoom in on homes and businesses using satellite images, an advance that may raise privacy concerns as well as intensify the competitive pressures on its rivals.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Google-Maps.html

TALK ABOUT REAL OFFSHORING
Roger Green and David Cook, two San Diego tech execs are taking the term literally. The two plan to purchase a secondhand cruise ship, populate it with 600 of the brightest engineers they can find, and then park them all in international waters three miles off the coast of El Segundo, thereby avoiding H-1B visa hassles while still exploiting offshore labor costs. Oh, and the engineers? They'll be given all the amenities a cruise ship has to offer: private rooms with baths, meal service, laundry service, housekeeping and access to on-board leisure-time activities. "Engineers can be kind of quirky in some ways, but they can be really productive if you give them the right setting," Green told SourcingMag.com. "We think we're going to be putting them in the perfect setting. Very few distractions.  They'll be with similarly motivated people who are really interested in advancing and doing this engineering work. It'll be this perfect place for getting engineers to work."
http://esp.realcities.com/a/hBCVCFOAPnpi4APtV1IAJt0XD.APnpi4xW/gmsv997

WHAT YOU MISSED: 1995 WHEN THE WEB WAS NEW Ten years on, Technology Review's first article about the Web ('Spinning a Better Web') is a painfully amusing read -- and reminds us how much has changed.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/04/wo/wo_040405web.asp?trk=nl

TRACKING FELONS BY GPS
The Florida House Criminal Justice Committee has passed a bill, which makes it mandatory for sex offenders on parole to wear a tracking device. The devise will utilize the Global Positioning System (GPS) data to provide information about the location of the felon to the state authorities. The implementation of the new scheme is expected to cause an annual expenditure of about $13 million. Another state in the US, Georgia had also launched a trial for a similar scheme in January 2005, where 178 paroled felons would wear the GPS-based tracking devices. This pilot was financed by a federal grant of $492,150 and state funds of $54,683. A number of municipalities plan to utilize the satellite technology to be able to keep a track of the paroled convicts.
FULL ITEM

STEVE CASE SEEKS HEALTH CARE REVOLUTION
Former AOL chairman Steve Case said Monday he is launching a District-based venture called Revolution which he hopes will succeed at refocusing the health care system so that it puts the interests of consumers first.
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_15/b3928093.htm
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W3RT042AA96F409A7C77F3CFA9D4

VoIP ZONE

VoIP NUMBERS REGISTER INCREASE IN U.S.
According to the research company IDC, the residential VoIP service has grown significantly in the US as more and more telecom carriers have launched the service. The number of subscribers of residential VoIP service is expected to increase from the current 3 million to 27 million in 2009. The research company has stated that the rapid increase in the number of subscribers can be attributed to people looking to include value added services to the telephone services.  The competition among the various VoIP providers thrives on prices and according to the research agency the companies have to make the consumers aware about the functions associated with the service to avoid the price wars.

AOL ENTERS VoIP FIELD
America Online, the nation's leading Internet service provider, will announce an Internet telephone service for its subscribers today -- a milestone that pushes the technology of voice over Internet in front of one of the most mainstream audiences. The service -- which will be rolled out in more than 40 markets, is being announced a day after Verizon revamped its own Voice over Internet Protocol service offerings to include a scaled-down $20-a-month version for price-sensitive customers.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/11332828.htm

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/aptech_story.asp?category=1700&slug=AOL%20Internet%20Phone

MSN TO OFFER ADVANCED FEATURE VoIP
Microsoft plans to launch the advanced version of the MSN online service by adding features like free phone calls over the Internet.
The new features will enable the users to share photos, text and data online. It will also allow the users to access higher-quality audio and video calls between personal computers over the Internet. The latest version may offer competition to Skype Technologies SA that has been providing the Internet telephone services since 2003. The number of subscribers of Skype is currently pegged at 30 million. Other companies such as Google Inc, AOL of Time Warner, Yahoo Inc with BT Group PLC are also vying for a gain in the market share.
FULL ITEM

VERIZON LAUNCHES VoiceWing 500 VoIP
Verizon Communications Inc has introduced the VoiceWing Internet phone service at lower rates called VoiceWing 500, thus increasing competition in the Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) market. As part of the new scheme the consumers will be able to avail of 500 minutes of outbound local and domestic long-distance service at a monthly price of $19.95. It also includes unlimited inbound calls and free calls to other customers of VoiceWing. The older version of VoiceWing launched in 2004 was available to the consumers at $29.95 a month. A major price war is on currently in the Internet telephony business with companies such as AT&T and Vonage Holdings Corp also offering services at reduced prices. The phone calls made over the Internet cost much lower than those made through the traditional phones.
FULL ITEM

VoIP OVER WiMAX TAKES OFF IN FRANCE
Network operator Altitude Telecom will deliver telephone calls via Wimax beginning June 1 The construction site of a new highway in northern France became, for just one day, one of the hottest wireless networking hot spots in the country. Minister of Industry Patrick Devedjian held a news conference there Monday to outline his plans for the attribution of four licenses to operate Wimax wireless services across France, and network operator Altitude Telecom SA demonstrated how it will use Wimax technology to deliver telephone calls beginning June 1.
http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/04/05/HNvoipoverwimaxinfrance_1.html?source=NLC-WIR2005-04-07

BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

SONY INVENTION BEAMS SIGHTS, SOUNDS INTO BRAIN If you think video games are engrossing now, just wait: Sony Corp has been granted a patent for beaming sensory information directly into the brain.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,77463~3240838a28~,00.html

BIONIC EYE
Stanford University physicists and eye doctors have designed an optoelectronic retinal prosthesis system that can stimulate the retina with resolution corresponding to a visual acuity of 20/80 -- sharp enough to orient yourself toward objects, recognize faces, read large fonts, and watch TV. The researchers hope their device may someday bring artificial vision to those blind due to retinal degeneration.
http://link.abpi.net/l.php?20050407A2

LABS TURN DNA INTO PERSONAL HEALTH FORECASTS Based on findings gathered from one's DNA, companies like Genelex Corp. provides recommendations on diet, lifestyle changes and categories of medications that might work best for an individual.
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W3RT04299E7E509A7C77F3CF82BF1

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Boston--CombinatoRx IPO on hold as zest for biotech cools
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349929

Denver--Medical device industy: Colorado's best kept secret http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349930

Denver--Raising the scientific bar in the nutrition industry
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349931

Greensboro/Winston-Salem--WFU researcher quickly becomes 'big fish' in W-S
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349932

Houston--Biotech start-up is skirting the controversy in stem cell research
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349933

Kansas City--Support industries find profit in helping life sciences firms
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349934

San Francisco--Fremont biotech says trials for drug Nuvion will take longer
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349935

San Francisco--Talent shortage puts pressure on Bay Area biotechs
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349936
 
Seattle--Xcyte hopes biotech veteran fires it up
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1349937

ASIA ZONE

CHINA INVESTS RMB 1.4 BILLION IN FIRST COMMERCIAL IPv6 NETWORK By the end of 2005, China will have invested RMB1.4 billion to build a commercial IPv6 backbone network to connect all its major cities. The IPv6 network will be the largest in the world and will start full operation in 2006, with tests to begin next month.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/index.php?action=show&type=news&id=2512

CHINA POSTS SURGE IN PATENT APPLICATIONS China receives the most applications a year for practical novelty patents, industrial design patents and trade marks in the world. More than 2.3 million applications for the three patents have been handled by Jan.31, 2005 since 1985 when the country launched this service. 90 percent of them are submitted by domestic applicants. It took China 15 years to have 1million patent applications but only 4 years to have another 1 million. By Jan.31 this year, some 1.27 million certificates had been granted for the three patents.
FULL ITEM [People's Daily Online]

SOFTBANK SETS UP OWN GRID COMPUTING NETWORK Internet investor Softbank Corp has created an independent grid computing network and is prepared to start providing complete system services to corporations this year, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported. The report said Softbank has established the network with the help of Oracle Corp Japan in a bid to expand its business to operations for corporations, including personnel management databases and ordering systems for online securities brokerages.
FULL ITEM [Kyodo News]

CHINA COULD OVERTAKE U.S. IN BROADBAND ACCESS THIS YEAR China will have more broadband Internet access subscribers than the U.S.
by the end of the year, if the number of subscribers to broadband Internet access services continues to grow at current rates, according to figures published by market analyst Point Topic of London.
http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=CA5798:1F8551F

WIRELESS ZONE

TIME WARNER BEGINS CELL PHONE TRIALS
Time Warner Cable has begun testing its own mobile phone service in Kansas City, according to a company source, signaling a move by the cable industry to compete against local phone companies' wireless dominance. Time Warner Cable started marketing Sprint mobile phones to its subscribers in Kansas City. While the phone are branded and operated by Sprint, Time Warner Cable is handling the billing procedures and marketing for the service, the source said.
http://news.com.com/Time+Warner+Cable+begins+cell+phone+trials/2100-1039_3-5648954.html

PHILADELPHIA REVEALS WIRELESS PLAN
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, John Street, the mayor of Philadelphia, Penn., and the cities CIO Dianah Neff planned to make official the business plan behind Wireless Philadelphia , the city's embattled move to bring wireless broadband to everyone in its surroundings. The cost will be $10 million dollars to install as many as 3,000 wireless nodes on light poles across the 135 square mile city, with an additional $5 million to run the network for the first two years, according to Neff. The money won't come from tax payers-a major gripe of the anti-municipal-wireless crowd-but will be raised through taxable bonds or getting low-interest loans. The money would be repaid in four years.
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/news/article.php/3495991

SITE CITES

DOES YOUR CEREAL HAVE SNAP & CRACKLE...OR SUGAR?
Breakfast cereal - it's quick, it's easy, it's nutritious. Or is it? The Australian Consumer Association recently road tested over 180 cereals, and found many nutritionally wanting.
http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/s1339496.htm

THE HISTORY OF BREAKFAST CEREAL
http://www.cuisinenet.com/digest/breakfast/cereal.shtml
every new iteration of cellphone promises more: digital music, streaming video, 3-D video games, location-based navigation and full Internet browsing, not to mention a camera.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/31/technology/circuits/31fone.html?th&emc=th

W. VIRGINIA PLAN TO BOOST STATE's NET CAPACITY W.Virginia's Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee introduced a plan to expand broadband services in the state, which supporters say is needed to boost West Virginia's economic competitiveness. Under the proposed Electronic Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Act, or ETOPIA, the state would promote the growth of the fiber optic infrastructure and give authority to local governments to become Internet service providers.
FULL ITEM

OCEAN POWER FIGHTS CURRENT THINKING
Ocean waves provide a predictable source of energy that is easily tapped, and will likely have minimal impact on the environment.
Recent advancements in the technology indicate that with a relatively small investment from the government, wave energy could soon compete with other renewable sources.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/03/wo/wo_gartner032805.asptrk=nl

MODEL SUPPORTS ARCHIVING OF DIGITAL INFORMATION The Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany has created a toolkit to aid in the preservation of digital content. The project was funded by an $800,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, and the toolkit will be distributed to states and territories as part of the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program. Federal laws specify requirements for the preservation of paper documents, but the arena of electronics records remains largely unregulated. According to Brian Burke, the Center for Technology in Government's project manager, this results in inconsistent procedures from state to state for preserving digital material. Librarians and archivists from around the country are saying that "thereís tons of information that's being lost or predicted to be lost," said Burke. The toolkit focuses on establishing predictable policies and communication among states and territories so that various agencies can work together to preserve digital content consistently.
http://www.fcw.com/article88434-03-30-05-Web

VoIP ZONE

ONE MAN's EXPERIENCE WITH SKYPE ME
http://tech2.nytimes.com/mem/technology/techreview.html?res=9905E4DB163FF937A15750C0A9639C8B63

TOY ZONE

PIONEER TO LAUNCH DVD RECORDERS WITH BUILT-IN HARD DRIVE Pioneer Corp said it will introduce the world's first DVD recorders with a built-in hard disk drive that can record up to 24 hours of video content. The DVR-530H and DVR-555H will be available in Japan in early May and early June, respectively, Pioneer said. The company did not provide suggested retail prices.
FULL ITEM (Kyodo News)

TOSHIBA's NEW BATTERY BOASTS ONE-MINUTE RECHARGE Toshiba said Tuesday it has developed a new lithium-ion battery that drastically cuts recharging time thanks to the use of nanotechnology.  The new battery requires only one minute to recharge 80 percent of its capacity, approximately 60 times faster than standard lithium-ion batteries.
http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=32011

SAMSUNG INTROS PHONES WITH FILE-VIEWING CAPABILITIES Blurring the boundary between smart phones and regular handsets, Samsung on Tuesday introduced its first "file viewer" phones that allow users to view standard PC documents and images.
http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=31979

BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

HUMAN BLOOD CELLS COAXED TO PRODUCE INSULIN A new treatment returned blood sugar levels to normal in mice - it may mean humans with diabetes could be cured with their own cells
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7212

WORLD's MOST SENSITIVE SCALES WEIGHT A ZEPTOGRAM A zeptogram is roughly the mass of a single protein molecule and its detection sets a new record - very sensitive detectors could follow
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7208

BIZARRE WEED BREAKS GENETIC RULES
A small weed that inherits its genes from its grandparents rather than its parents is baffling scientists, say US researchers.
http://abc.net.au/science/news/tech/InnovationRepublish_1331068.htm

NANOTECH IS BOOMING IN U.S.
Americans are investing more money, publishing more scientific papers and winning more patents than anyone else in the quickly growing field of nanotechnology, according to a new report.
http://letters.washingtonpost.com/W2RT04361F29F09A7C77F3CC109E81

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Philadelphia--BioStrategy Partners offers help to promising newcomers
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1336868

Philadelphia--Life-science assignments keep search firms humming
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1336869

Philadelphia--Shifting gears: After bubble bursts, ViroPharma regroups with new focus http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1336870

San Jose--Local biotech pushing for anti-cancer drug
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1336871

ASIA ZONE

PHILIPPINES TO REGULARIZE VoIP
National Telecommunications Commission of Philippines in its memorandum has suggested that the voice over Internet service is a value added service and that the Internet service providers and other non telecom companies can also offer these services. According to sources this opinion of the regulatory body will result in the substantial fall in the cost of the international call. According to the commissioner Ronald Olivar Solis this will also help in the rates of international calls coming down and the consumers can avail of the cheap and efficient service. This is also going to help the Internet service providers as well as the local exchange carriers.  The Commission has yet to put the draft of the rules and regulations for the public hearing in a month's time.
FULL ITEM

WIRELESS ZONE

WiFi ON THE ROAD
Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly popular for travelers. Learn what Jim Geier found while traveling by auto throughout much of the South Eastern U.S.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1hqo,1,aw2,5b07,jcj3,9ffi

HOTSPOT HITS
The Dell Diamond ball park goes entirely wireless; San Diego getting wireless broadband from the top of Dictionary Hill; EV-DO wireless debuts in Tampa, Akron & Cleveland; and more.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1hv6,1,l0p5,ecft,jcj3,9ffi

SITE CITES

HOW PORTABLE MEDIA CENTERS WORK
With portable media centers, you can store and access nearly all of your digital entertainment files on a single, lightweight unit about the size of a paperback novel. They can handle recorded television programs, movies, home videos, music and digital photos. You can even connect a portable media center to a television or stereo using the A/V-out jack when portability isn't necessary.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/pmc.htm
 

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