V4 N46 -  24 April 2005

iTHINK ZONE
 

A Peek Into the Near Future of Electronics Technology

How long do you think DVDs have around? 20 years? 10 years? Actually, they have only been around for about seven years, but it seems like they have been around much longer. Many of us can hardly remember life before DVDs. That can be attributed to how rapidly we can become acclimated to some innovations in electronics technology. I believe there are other electronics technologies, either just getting ready to take off, not widely available yet, or just around the corner, that are going to become adopted just as quickly in the near future.

READ ON
http://cyberzone.pacific-tier.com/iThink.htm
[Posted April15 ]
 

OTHERS' THINK ZONE

AMERICA's BROADBAND DECLINE WILL COST IT DEARLY Foreign Affairs magazine has a long article by Thomas Bleha entitled "Down to the Wire" in which he argues that America's lag in broadband deployment will cost it dearly.
Review: http://www.muniwireless.com/reports/index.html
Article: http://tinyurl.com/akbvo

ALICE B. TOKLAS BROWNIE AWARD ZONE

VERIZON CEO FEELS MUNICIPALITIES & CUSTOMERS ARE STUPID The head of the country's largest phone company ridiculed San Francisco's interest in building a municipal Wi-Fi network that is designed to offer cheap or free Internet service throughout the city.  "That could be one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard,'' said Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive officer of Verizon Communications, http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/04/16/BUGJ1C9R091.DTL

SBC: IP VIDEO SERVICE ISN'T CABLE
Senior telecom officials wanting to offer IP-based television programming implored lawmakers on Capitol Hill that they shouldn't be considered cable companies, sparking the ire of the cable industry officials who advocated a level playing field. Testifying before a U.S. House Energy & Commerce panel, a senior SBC official implored lawmakers to adopt a hands-off 'minimal' approach to regulating IP-based video services -- similar to the approach governing voice over IP.
http://www.tmcnet.com/scripts/print-page.aspx?PagePrint=http%3a%2f%2fwww.tmcnet.com%2ftmcnet%2farticles%2f2005%2fIP-video-voice-regulators-cable-telco.htm

CYBERZONE

MCI COULD QUIT HOME SERVICES
No matter who wins the takeover battle for MCI, the company's famous consumer telephone business will probably disappear. MCI, one of the nation's biggest long-distance companies.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/21/BUGUGCC8QB1.DTL

TODAY's PIANO PLAYED BY DEAD GREAT PIANISTS A US software company has found a way to take a fuzzy old music recording and convert it into a live concert played on real instruments http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18624966.700

VoIP ZONE

CALIFORNIA WITHDRAWS APPEAL ON VoIP REGULATION California is giving up its attempt to regulate VoIP services. The California Public Utilities Commission voted 3-1 late last week to terminate its appeal of an FCC rule designating VoIP as an interstate service beyond state control. The California PUC was the first of several state utility authorities to challenge the FCC order, leading to a combining of cases in the US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. The California PUC's decision to withdraw is likely to create delays and a move to another circuit. Consumer groups, predictably, are criticizing the the agency's change of mind.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-puc15apr156455790.story?coll=la-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true

HONG KONG WANTS VoIP IN GOVERNMENT
The government of Hong Kong wants to introduce Voice over Internet Protocol service in the government departments. The project is being led by Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO).  The department will plan strategies and design delivery models to enable the government increase the quality of public service through VoIP communications. The government has invested approximately $1.7 million for setting up the office, which has VoIP facility and also a demonstration center. The VoIP system was built by Jardine OneSolution, which is a Hong Kong -based company. Cisco Systems provided the equipment for the project.

LUCENT TO ENTER VoIP BUSINESS
Lucent Technologies will enter the voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) business with its offering of VoIP PBX. According to the product manager for VoIP offering, Rob Falkner, the company estimates that the VoIP business will be worth $5 billion-to-$8 billion by 2008. The business earnings for 2005 are estimated to be about $250 million. The service will be launched in a few months.

BIO/NANO/MEMS ZONE

TEN EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
Of the numerous technologies now in gestation at companies and universities, we have chosen 10 that we think will make particularly big splashes. They range from bacterial factories to silicon photonics to quantum wires-- -- and any one of them could change your world.
http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/05/issue/feature_emerging.asp?trk=nl

RESEARCHERS WORK TO EXTEND TECHNOLOGY TO VISUALLY IMPAIRED Researchers at Queen's University in Belfast, Ireland, are beginning work on a three-year project to extend the benefits of technology to users who are blind or visually impaired. Funded by a 3.8 million euro grant from the European Union, the project will include 13 other universities and organizations from around Europe. For example, a system of devices in shopping centers that would automatically identify themselves to wireless devices. Those with such devices could walk through a shopping center and know what stores they were near and could locate others.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/4457793.stm

WHAT A BRAINY IDEA - A THINKING CAP
It looks like something from Bob the Builder's wardrobe, but the conventional hard hat, with a sensitive built-in thermometer, could be an economical means to unlock many mysteries of the human brain.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/hlc/1,,77463~3252647a28~,00.html

BIO-BRIEFS ZONE

Baltimore---Next 'mosh pit' step: Crafting and refining a business plan
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377357

East Bay--Avigen faces tough task of selling switch to new field
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377358

Minneapolis/St. Paul--In Private: Excorp Medical seeking growth in  China
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377359

Philadelphia--Greenwood says the region should sell itself as a biotech mecca http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377360

San Francisco--Geron, of Dolly the sheep fame, births licensing firm
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377361

San Francisco--N.Y biotech to move division west to S.F.
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377362

Tampa Bay--Sarasota biotech firm gets national nod for anemia drug
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377363

Washington--Biotech leaves Prince George's for Bethesda
http://www.bizjournals.com/ct/c/1377364

ASIA ZONE

VoIP AGREEMENT SIGNED IN BEIJING
China Cable and Communication's part-owned company Beijing Jin Zhi Cheng ShangMao Limited and Zhong Dian Tong (Beijing) Digital TV Development Company have signed an agreement to allow CCCI to reach an additional 1.1 million cable TV subscribers, crossing over 4 Chinese provinces, with special Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/index.php?action=show&type=news&id=2557

CHINA's FIRST IPR PARK SPEEDS UP INDUSTRIALIZATION Located within the Yangpu district, China's first intellectual property rights park - the Shanghai IPR Park (consisting of three elements: patent, trademark and copyright) marked its first anniversary on April 19. To celebrate the occasion, the park launched a week-long activity starting on April 19 with the theme of intellectual property rights.

According to sources, 90 percent of the headquarter building of the Shanghai IPR Park is being used. Recently eight service platforms including the Shanghai IPR Trading Center, the Copyright Trading center and the Finance Training Center of the China Development Bank have been unveiled at the park.
[People's Daily Online]

WIRELESS ZONE

DARTMOUTH: CREATING A Wi-Fi TRIPLE PLAY
The poster-child for Ivy League use of wireless networks is pushing past its already impressive roots toward a future covering the 'triple play; data, voice, and video; for everyone on campus.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1jw6,1,eqwj,7gr1,jcj3,9ffi

INTEL DEBUTS FIRST WiMAX CHIP
The company's 'Rosedale' processor is designed for wireless modems and residential gateways.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1jw6,1,8gz4,dfpc,jcj3,9ffi

HOTSPOT HITS
Finnish hotzone spans eight cities; Wayport lands Louisana hotel; town in Wales starts major Wi-Fi project; and more.
http://nl.internet.com/ct.html?rtr=on&s=1,1jw6,1,l0p5,ecft,jcj3,9ffi

SITE CITES

WHAT IS A U.S. DOLLAR WORTH?
These formulae and calculators are based solely on the CPI, which bears no relevance to the price of a house today...or anything else.
http://woodrow.mpls.frb.fed.us/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm
 

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