Just as an FYI - you can download the latest version of iTunes and search over 3,000 podcasts for download.
Visit the Apple podcast page for more information.
And maybe you'll find your favorite PodJays of TMCnet on iTunes in the near future!
The news looming around the iPod this week is that the famous mp3 player is on the radar for the next gadget to become extinct.
OK. I'm simply exercising a little bit of hyperbole, here.
But the iPod's alert has been raised to orange. The wireless companies are pushing to transform most handsets into music players and this poses a problem for the white (or pink, blue, lime or gray) knight of portable media players.
In an article issued by Reuters, Barron's newspaper stated that by 2006, new and improved handsets will "carry software, circuitry, and data storage for portable music." Basically, you will be able to not only download your music from a computer, but also over the air.
Barron's forecast stats for iPod sales could reach 45 million next year, however this fails to compete with handset sales of a projected 750 million. Yikes.
::clutches her first gen, 10 gig iPod::
I am positive that Apple is not only aware of this issue, but has already mapped out several ideas to overcome the impending threat of the handset. I'm no analyst, but the iPod seems to remain as an icon of stature. In fact, just the other day, I was purchasing an iPod Shuffle for my fiance's birthday, and three people behind me were impatiently waiting, as they all wanted to ask if they could have the last iPod Mini. I would have stayed to watch the tackling and arguing, but I was too distracted by my temptations to open the new Shuffle. After all, I am a self-proclaimed gadget junky -- so much that I gave my fiance his gift a whole week before his birthday just so I could play with it. I'm selfish, I know.
Now's the time for Apple to get on that Motorola collaboration and introduce the new iPod phone. My fiance couldn't have said it better, when I told him that I would have gotten him a Mini, he exclaimed that a Shuffle is fine for now - he'd rather wait for the iPod that has all the functions of a phone and organizer all in one. Oh yes, a camera too.
source: Worst Case Scenario Workplace Calendar
This week in 1974, Texas Instruments was granted patent 3,819,921 for a "Miniature Electronic Calculator." TI engineers had been working on inventing one of these contraptions since 1965. Be that as it may, Hewlett-Packard and Intel had been working on similar projects since the late 1960's. Texas Instruments' 1967 application for a patent heated up the race to become the first company to release a commercial pocket calculator and thus won the race, releasing the Pocketronic in 1971.
Retail value then? $345
Retail value for a pocket calculator now: around $3
An interesting headline caught my eye this morning whilst perusing some of the news that had graced my RSS reader.....Bert and Ernie Go Wireless.
As the unofficially official wireless blogger at TMCnet, I had to investigate further as to why the beloved Sesame Street characters have caught up with the technology world. VCAST, a video service provided by Verizon Wireless, is now offering short clips of Sesame Street to Verizon Wireless VCAST subscribers in addition to the already offered CNN, ESPN and weather.com.
Market intelligence advisory firm IDC believes that "children's programming over wireless handsets is a rapidly evolving area that deserves fuller industry attention and also highlights additional industry issues and needs."
I'm no market intelligence analyst, but I don't see how investigating children's programming over wireless handsets is going to be the next big cahuna in wireless technology. Unless of course you feature those wonderfully poetic martians (you remember, right? "yip yip yip yip uh-huh, uh-huh...raaaaadio!). In the release, it states that "'Electronic Babysitting' is a potentially strong value proposition for wireless video offerings to parents of very young children."
This worries me on two levels.
First - no electronic device should every replace a live human being for child care. Call me old fashioned, but honestly? Not so much.
Second - Recently, my fiance and I had dinner with another couple and their 2 year old child who, when looking through my purse discovered my cell phone and decided that it was hers to play with. Correct me if I'm wrong, but young children aren't exactly experts when it comes to things with buttons. It was adorable, no doubt to see the young one fill up with excitement over the little contraption that lit up and behold, took pictures. I showed her how I could take a picture of her dad, which then prompted her to grab the phone and, well, not successfully take a photo.
"I have offered my own VCAST phone and service to parents of young children at airports and on airplanes, with a near 100% success rate at tears and tantrum avoidance," says Scott Ellison, program director, Wireless and Mobile Communications at IDC. He noted that in each instance, not only the child was immediately absorbed in the VCAST video clips, but more striking was the positive reaction of the parents.
VCAST clips last no longer than 2-3 minutes. So what happens when the 2-3 minutes are up?
Maybe VCAST should start offering feature length films, such as Shark Tale or Sponge Bob Square Pants.
I'm sure that would be one heck of a service bill.
How about investing in a portable DVD player if you really need an electronic babysitter for long trips or other outings?
Since the inception of the iPod, those of us who have become pod-a-holics have also adopted an array of new vocabulary words -- words that show up in every day conversations -- words like Pod Casting, CopyPod, or our favorite at TMCnet - PodJay (after all, we are podcasting deejays). Yet my wandering eyes just stumpled upon yet another iPod-related term -- I share with you my new favorite of all pod-terms -- Pod Slurping. (this term has been coined by computer security expert, Abe Usher in his blog)
This is not a collaborative effort of Apple and 7-11 to promote the latest in Slurpy flavors, rather a term that defines how hackers and criminals usurp megabytes of precious data using nothing more than the innocent iPod.
Combined with software, "An unauthorized visitor shows up after work hours disguised as a janitor and carrying an iPod. He walks from computer to computer and 'slurps' up all of the Microsoft Office files from each system," says Usher in a recent article.
But fret not, dear companies. If you're that concerned with employees 'slurping' up sensitive data, disable USB functionality and Windows Universal Plug and Play.....and all the iPod will be good for is listening to your favorite PodJays here at TMCnet. (Oh, and your favorite music, of course)
Ah yes. Good ol' Schenectady, NY is going wireless.
As a former (brief) resident of Albany, NY, Schenectady was just a hop, skip and a jump from down town Lark Street - Schenectady was a place where my then-roommates lived - before the advent of broadband Internet (or wireless, for that matter) - where we communicated via a DOS-like e-mail system....
And look at Schenectady, all grown up and wireless. *sniffle* It seems like only yesterday when our beloved "Scheedy" was just a place we called home. Or just a place we could go and visit parents and do our laundry. Either way - Scheedy has moved onwards and upwards. Details below....
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Metroplex joined with County and City officials today to announce plans to make all of downtown Schenectady wireless, advancing the revival of downtown. In addition, the company that will install the new wireless system, Logical Net, plans to move its corporate offices from Colonie to downtown Schenectady creating almost 50 new tech jobs in Schenectady.
Mayor Brian U. Stratton said, "We are pleased to welcome Logical Net and the new wireless service to downtown Schenectady. This project brings more tech jobs to our City while creating a unique opportunity to help make Schenectady a leader in Tech Valley."
Intel Corporation recently ranked the Albany-Schenectady-Troy metro areas as 46th of 100 metro areas for the availability and use of wireless Internet services.
Tush Nikollaj, Chairman and CEO of Logical Net, said, "We are thrilled that MetroPlex chose Logical Net as the preferred vendor in bringing Schenectady in the forefront for wireless Internet connectivity. Considering we have been deploying wireless for the past five years, we plan to provide a robust wireless infrastructure to the community that will service many local businesses and residences. We are fortunate that we embraced wireless in the early stages of development and now have the knowledge and expertise to deploy it in any community - large and small."
While Albany Airport, the Amtrak train station in Rensselaer and other local areas are "hotspots" with the availability of wireless services, the goal of the downtown Schenectady project is to create the largest wireless area in the Capital Region and one of the largest such systems in New York State.
The Schenectady wireless system will feature a web based portal page that will provide links to downtown attractions like Proctors, the new Bow Tie Cinema as well as other local establishments. In addition, Metroplex plans to install at least four wireless security cameras downtown as part of a network of cameras that will be installed using a State grant obtained by District Attorney Robert M. Carney.
Gary McCarthy, Metroplex Board member and Chair of the Metroplex subcommittee who developed the wireless project said, "The investment in Schenectady by Logical Net continues the real change that has happened in our community over the last 18 months. Having people like Tush Nikollaj and his management team pick Schenectady for their home shows we are able to attract regional companies who provide world class products and services."
"I have seen a tremendous amount of improvement taking place in Schenectady that was hard to imagine several years ago," Nikollaj said "I am looking forward to being part of Schenectady as it continues to develop of what I believe to be the next Hot Spot for the Tech Valley Region."
The new wireless system will be installed under terms of a $146,000.00 contract with Logical Net. The company was selected after a competition that featured several Internet service providers.
Metroplex will also provide Logical Net with a $150,000 loan at 3% interest for 10 years plus an $85,000 relocation grant to help the company establish its new operation in Schenectady. The company plans to lease the top floor of the Picotte Building at 530 Franklin Street.
Members of the WiMAX Forum, Nokia and Intel announced a collaborative effort to adopt and deploy WiMAX to mobile users over high-speed broadband networks.
Intel and Nokia will work closely to deliver the requirements of the technology, as well on base station strategies to help deploy a WiMAX infrastructure that will provide reliable coverage.
Full details from the release are below:
In addition, the companies will engage in market development efforts to demonstrate to service providers and the industry how WiMAX can enhance data service capabilities of the network while complementing existing 3G networks. Lastly, Nokia and Intel will work together to ensure successful finalization of the 802.16e standard in IEEE and related specification work in the WiMAX Forum.
"Nokia's end-to-end multiradio strategy covers many wireless technologies optimized for uses from local connectivity and fast data transport, to broadcasting technologies and full mobility of voice and data," said Tero Ojanpera, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Nokia. "WiMAX will be an important technology complementing 3GPP and 3GPP2 technologies. It will also create new opportunities for the consumer and enterprise markets."
"Broadband technologies - of all types - represent an enormous opportunity for businesses and individuals around the world," said Sean Maloney, executive vice president and general manager of Intel's Mobility Group. "Even though we and the industry as a whole are at the early stages of discovery and development, the industry momentum is remarkable. To have innovators like Nokia working to bring WiMAX and other broadband wireless technologies to the masses is very encouraging."
Nokia and Intel are members of the WiMAX forum, which is an industry-led non-profit corporation formed to promote and certify compatibility and interoperability of broadband wireless products. WiMAX, which stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access, is a standards-based wireless technology that provides high-throughput broadband connections over long distances. WiMAX can be used for a number of applications, including "last mile" broadband connections, hotspots and high-speed enterprise connectivity for business.
WiMAX IEEE 802.16e version, which is expected to be standardized later this year, will offer increased portability of broadband Internet access.
WiMAX news hit the wires from SUPERCOMM this morning. How cool that there is going to be a live demonstration of a WiMAX-based network.....details below. If you're at SUPERCOMM, be sure to check this out:
Redline Demonstrates Live WiMAX Network At SUPERCOMM Using RedMAX'TM' Products
Redline Communications, a leading provider of standards-based broadband wireless equipment, and IBM's Global Services will demonstrate a WiMAX-based network using TowerStream's current coverage at SUPERCOMM 2005 in Chicago. The firms will deliver voice, video and data to the Redline, IBM and Intel booths using Redline's RedMAX(TM) family of WiMAX-based products, including its low-cost subscriber unit incorporating the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 5116 system-on-a-chip. This collaboration empowers the world's first live, 'over the air' demonstration of equipment that is compliant to the IEEE 802.16 2004 standard, upon which WiMAX is based.
Content will be transmitted wirelessly using Redline's RedMAX equipment from two downtown Chicago locations, including a TowerStream Point-of-Presence (PoP) site in the AON Tower, to the IBM booth located in the McCormick Center. The demonstration includes a combination of live video feeds from web cameras situated at the Tower and streaming video/data from IBM. Within the McCormick Center, RedMAX equipment will be deployed to extend wireless coverage to the Redline and Intel booths.
"We are pleased to be working with industry leaders such as IBM, Intel and TowerStream to increase customer confidence in the benefits of broadband wireless networks based on WiMAX specifications," said Keith Doucet, VP Marketing and Product Management, Redline Communications. "All of the RedMAX equipment demonstrated will be part of the first wave of industry products presented for WiMAX certification at the Cetecom lab in July," he added.
RedMAX base stations and subscriber units are planned to be generally available, following certification, in Q4 2005. Redline is exhibiting at booth 86040 and at the WiMAX pavilion at SUPERCOMM.
TowerStream's 802.16, High-Speed Internet Access Installed in Hours
The RedMAX network was established in collaboration with TowerStream, the leading fixed broadband wireless service provider with networks across the United States. TowerStream's current deployments serve business customers in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Boston, San Francisco and Providence/Newport. The ultra-high speed Internet access being demonstrated is available for customers in these cities today.
"One of our differentiators is the fast turnaround in deploying the network and we achieved this with high-speed, reliable broadband at low cost," said Jeff Thompson, Chief Operating Officer, TowerStream. "The Redline WiMAX demonstration, using 802.16-compliant infrastructure, shows the capabilities of TowerStream's network, which was working in just a few hours."
Redline's RedMAX Family
Redline's WiMAX solutions are designed to operate in a wide range of network designs and deployments, including point-to-point and point-to-multi-point, in urban and rural geographies.
The RedMAX carrier class Base Station (AN-100U) can transmit a variety of services, including circuit-switched voice traffic, video, VoIP and prioritized data traffic to the RedMAX Subscriber units - both indoor and outdoor versions - which feature the Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 5116 broadband interface.
Seems to be some more buzz surrounding the infamous iPod this week, and you know I just had to share....
In an article released by AP, it has been reported that consumers who have been cursed with iPod battery problems will be awarded a $50 voucher from a class-action lawsuit. Anyone who fills out a claim are entitled to the voucher, good for Apple products or services (hi, a new battery maybe?), redeemable within 18 months of the final settlement. But don't think for a moment that you're going to have a field day in the iTunes store with said voucher. No dice - it's only valid for Apple online or store purchases. (Bummer! I've been wanting to download some more David Vanian!)
Interested parties can visit the Apple settlement site for more information. Now, if only my brother would have the paper work on my 1st gen, 10 gig iPod, then maybe I can get me a voucher for a new battery. It does not live up to it's said playing power. I'm lucky I get 3 hours out of that bugger.
In other iPod news, there is a whole lotta iPod Shuffles and most iPod models in stock, but Apple wasn't available for comment on why.
Analysts say that this is probably due to Apple's lack of new products while other's say it's because Apple's shares slipped a whopping $2.02.
I'm no analyst, but perhaps the world is simply catching up - maybe everyone has their iPod already? Considering that Apple released the iPod in 2001, it is not too hard to imagine. Nevermind that 5.31 million iPods were sold in the most recent quarter.
A lot of iPods, that is.
Here's an exercise: when out and about, count how many sets of white headphones you see. Let's start our own stats! Write me with numbers.....
....power house? Well, maybe not so quite alternative power, but definitely an energy efficient house. My fiance and I have been readily planning the future - he's already on houses whilst I'm still on deciding whether to escape to Vegas or plan the large Italian festa. However, my energy-conscious Physics teacher of a fiance has learned of a Web site called Enertia from a fellow teacher, and it looks like we can purchase a kit to build a dream house that is not only modestly priced, it's energy efficient.
While surfing Google News on energy, fuel and such, it's no wonder I'm absolutley petrified of owning a house that will eat up our money, no thanks to rising oil and fuel prices. I'm happy as a renter, having my heat and hot water included in my monthly check on the first of every month. I don't have to think about it, much less budget for it. Electricity could be cheaper, too but that's what you get for being a tech-savvy chick - a somewhat ridiculous bill. Hey, I have two computers - what did you expect?
The science of an Enertia home is the coolest thing I've ever seen.
From the Web site:
Energy-Engineered(tm) wood walls replace all siding, framing, insulation, and paneling. The air flow access channel ("Envelope") runs around the building, creating a miniature biosphere. Solar heated air circulates, boosting geothermal energy from beneath the house, storing it in the wood walls. Thermal inertia causes the house to "float" between the cycles of night and day and even between the seasons.
There's a lot more to the science of an Enertia home, so I suggest reading on it if this is something that interests you.
I'm not only conscious of the telecommunications world and the technology that supports it. I'm interested in all sciences, especially if it can give me a good home that is not only comfortable and rather unique in layout, but an energy efficient power house.