Why you can't market to everybody...

Have you ever opened up one of those coupon packs that you get in the mail, and seen some local computer shop advertising a $49 service call?How can they afford to do that? (Here's a hint... they really can't!)Or have you ever seen some computer services business advertising $99 computer installations in the local throw-away newspaper?Guess what you've just witnessed?Donations....Clueless local competitors literally flushing their advertising dollars down the drain.These folks are making NON-deductible "donations" to overly aggressive, seemingly-friendly sales people promising the earth, moon, sun and stars.So be very careful of WHO you copy!The odds of finding a targeted, small business, B2B decision-maker, reading that piece, at EXACTLY that moment, who EXACTLY at the moment has a BURNING...

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FutureWire Predictions for 2005

Well, I may as well do the new-year thing and add my own thoughts to the growing collection of predictions for 2005. Based on the trends I've been observing this past year, combined with the best of other people's forecasts, my own intuition and that magic 8-ball I got for Christmas (just kidding!), I'm offering my own forecasts for the coming year in four areas that FutureWire has been covering.The war in Iraq, energy prices, terrorism and (as we've seen this past couple of weeks) natural disasters will be the big variables for the coming year, with the power to change or negate anyone's forecasts for 2005.So here goes. Have a safe and happy new year, don't drink and drive, and all that good stuff...TECHNOLOGYBlogs will continue to proliferate and shape public opinion. Like the Web in the...

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The Fly-Powered Robot

British scientists have developed a robot that could simultaneously take honors as the year's most clever and most gross innovation. The EcoBot II powers itself solely by eating housefiles to generate electricity. The robot uses human excrement to attract files, which it then captures and digests. Mmmm, tasty!The EcoBot is designed to operate over prolonger periods in harsh environments, where humans would not be available to replace or recharge batteries. It could also function in areas where solar panels would not be effective. Robots like the EcoBot could serve as surveyors for military, security, industrial and environmental applications.Source:...

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Asteroid Strike for 2029 Ruled Out

If you're making any plans for April 13, 2029, feel free to pencil them in. NASA scientists who feared that an asteroid might strike Earth on that date have changed their forecast, saying that asteroid 2004 MN4 will safely pass us by. NASA has been tracking the asteriod since June, initially thinking that it might be on a collision course with Earth. But after studying its trajectory more closely, they are now confident that the asteroid is not a threat.Source: CNN....

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Study: The Internet Takes Up More of Our Time

A recent study conducted by the Stanford Institute for the Quantitative Study of Society has found that Internet usage takes time away from other aspects of life, including socializing, TV viewing and even sleep."'People don't understand that time is hydraulic,' Norman Nie, the group's director, said, meaning that time spent on the Internet is time taken away from other activities."While hardly earth-shattering news, the study has come up with other interesting tidbits, including: 75 percent of all Americans now have some level of Internet access. The average user spends 14 minutes per day -- or 10 workdays a year -- dealing with computer problems. Women are heavier users of e-mail and instant messaging (active use); men prefer Web browsing, discussion forums and chat rooms (passive...

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More Emerging Tech Trends for 2005

The end of the year is a time when most people reflect on "the year that was." However, as futurists, we're much more interested in the year to come.Earlier this month we profiled the top technology trends for 2005 as selected by the Consumer Electronics Association. Now, Red Herring is weighing in with its top picks. Its top-ten list is a bit more esoteric, though nothing in it should surprise anyone who follows emerging technologi...

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A Dire Warning for Local TV News

Media consultant Terry Heaton has written an essay warning that 2005 will be a "do or die" year for local TV news outlets. "2005 will be the most important and difficult year in the history of local broadcasting," the piece begins, "and by year's end, the landscape could well be littered with the corpses of those who hung on too long."Heaton discusses how the disruptive technologies we've profiled here -- blogging, moblogging, podcasting, videocasting, to name a few -- will continue to hammer away at the business models of local TV news stations, who don't have the financial resources of the major networks to stave off the attacks. Regional TV news media, he argues, will have to embrace new technologies if they are to survive, though too many are in denial.Already, in the Philadelphia media...

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Tsunami Relief

I'm back from my all-too-brief Christmas hiatus, hoping that those of you who celebrated the holiday had a good one.Of course, the big story over the past several days has been the deadly tsunami that struck southern Asia and, at latest count, caused 80,000 deaths. If you are interesting in helping out in any way you can, CNN.com has posted links to charities and relief agencies who are accepting donations on the victims' behalf.Also, as you might imagine, Smart Mobs has posts telling how mobile phones and SMS messaging have helped save lives during the disaster, the role that blogs are playing in relaying information and coordinating relief (such as this Blogger blog), and an ICQ message board and free SMS service dedicated to helping people locate friends and loved ones in the stricken...

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Merry Christmas To All, And To All a Good Night!

This will likely be my last post until after Christmas... so I'm taking this time to wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday (especially for those of you travelling through the Midwest this week). I also want to thank all those who have supported FutureWire over the past six months and made it a success.It would seem that a blog dedicated to the future wouldn't have a lot to say about Christmas, a holiday that's all about reminiscing, tradition and nostalgia. Everyone wants an old-fashioned Christmas; no one wants a futuristic one. Recall that in Dickens' A Christmas Carol, the Spirits of Christmases Past and Present were amiable sorts......

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From Barry Bonds to Cyborgs

AlwaysOn has an interesting perspective on the recent steroid controversy surrounding Major League Baseball. Perhaps we're simply seeing the tip of the iceberg, as body enhancements as predicted by transhumanists become more widespread and more sophisticated. If we are troubled by the prospect of Barry Bonds and other athletes enhancing their performance through chemicals, how will we react to the advent of cyborgs and bionics, which could be upon us sooner than we think? Source: Alway...

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Clothes Made from Soy

Sounds a little odd... but like so many things futurists look at, it makes perfect sense once you give it some thought. Chinese fabric producers are developing soy-based fabrics, which are cheaper to produce and more environmentally friendly than traditional textiles. Developed in the late '90s, soy textiles are popular in Asia, but are just now beginning to appear in Europe and the US.An eco-friendly clothing retailer called Of the Earth is marketing a line of soy-based "soy yoga" wear (shirt pictured above). Top fashion designers such as Giorgio Armani have embraced organic cotton, so it's possible that they have their eyes on soy-based fabrics...

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Weather Podcasting

Just in time for holiday travel, a programmer named Jorge Velazquez has written a script that sends weather forecasts via RSS feeds. The Perl script parses the XML feed of Weather.com, and has three variables: locid (location ID; a ZIP code will work for US locations), dayf (how many days forward you want your forecast, up to 10 days; default is 2), and unit ("m" for metric, "s" or "e" for standard/English). Included in Jorge's post is his programming methodology and the source code.You can test the script by putting the following URL in your RSS feed reader:http://www.jorgev.com/cgi-bin/weather.cgi?locid=XXXXX&dayf=5&unit=eReplace "XXXXX" with a valid ZIP code or city code. The result should be a five-day forecast for the location of your choice. The script also supposedly converts...

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Germany Builds Solar Energy Power Plant

A California company, PowerLight Corp., has built a 30-acre solar power generating facility in Bavaria, in southern Germany. If successful, the plant would serve as a model for generating renewable energy.The plant went online just this month, and is capable of generating 10 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 9,000 German homes. All while creating zero pollution.Germany is the world's leading producer of wind power, and the second-largest producer of solar energy (after Japan). German law allows producers of renewable energy to sell that power back to the electricity grid at premium rates, leading to a boom in solar farms and windmills...

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Gaming Industry Surpasses Film Industry

Video and computer gaming is on a roll... so much so that the industry's $10 billion annual revenue has surpassed that of Hollywood. Game titles such as Halo 2, Sims 2, Grand Theft Auto and Half-Life are household words, even in households without gamers. New releases of games attract crowds and long lines normally reserved for blockbuster movies and and albums from the hottest music acts.[Alert readers have noted that the gaming industry has surpassed domestic film box-office revenue only, not DVD rentals or overseas releases. However, even this is a significant achievement.]In November alone, sales of video games hit $849 million. When Microsoft released Halo 2 last month, it reported sales of $125 million in the first 24 hours! Compare that with this year's biggest opening weekend for...

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Media 2014: A Flash Documentary

Filmmaker Robin Sloan has created a Flash-based documentary from the perspective of the year 2014, covering the "history" of news media from the advent of the Web onward. It's an excellent summary of where we are and where we're headed -- though the end point is far from a utopian vision. Though the film is only 8 minutes, it's best viewed through a high-speed connection.Source: Slash...

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Merry Christmas... Or Else!

Every year at this time, we hear tales of political correctness run amok as symbols of Christmas come under fire. Now, there's a new and equally distressing trend in the opposite direction.A group in California is organizing a boycott of Federated Department Stores -- the parent company of Macy's and Bloomingdale's -- because it uses phrases like "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" in its advertising and store decorations. Many have interpreted this as a sign that conservative Christian evangelicals, emboldened by the results of the recent elections, are embarking on a new wave of activism.Of course, people have the right to shop where they wish, and the "invisible hand" of consumer preference will always decide which businesses thrive and which fail. But it's no better to bully...

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China Goes Car-Happy

If I were to write about congested superhighways, car-generated smog and high fuel prices, you might assume I was speaking of conditions in the US. But no... these now exist in China, which is experiencing an automotive boom, along with all its consequences.China now has 25 million cars -- not a lot in a country with a billion-plus population. But that number is expected to double within five years, and triple by 2020. Motor vehicles currently consume 10 percent of China's energy, and China is now second to the US in carbon monoxide emissions.In an attempt to "leapfrog" over pollution and fuel economy problems, the Chinese government is encouraging motorists to drive smaller cars and hybrids, tightening emission standards, and promoting development of alternative "green" fuels. One factor...

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Best-Ever Free Utilities

What better gift to give your favorite geek this year than to point him/her in the direction of some free software! TechSupportAlert.com has a list of the 49 best free computing utilities, complete with links. You'll likely find some familiar names here, plus some new ones as well.Source: EyebeamDownload and use all software at your own r...

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Self-Heating Foods

Are you so kitchen-challenged that you can't boil water? If so, technology is coming to your rescue. In another sign that the culinary world is going to hell since Martha Stewart went up the river, we now have cans of coffee that heat themselves when opened.The can mixes calcium oxide and water to heat the can to 140 degrees F in six minutes, and keep the contents warm for a half-hour. The product has been tested in European and Asian markets for some time.Trendsetting chef Wolfgang Puck has adopted the technology for his own line of lattes, which should be reaching US markets in a couple of months. Each can will retail for about $2.25. By midyear,...

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When Newspapers Become TV Stations

As the Internet continues to blur distinctions between media types, some interesting combinations are appearing. One of these is the inclusion of video clips in websites run by newspapers. Editor & Publisher, a newspaper industry trade journal, profiles the use of video clips by the News-Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, on its website, DelawareOnline.Delaware and the News-Journal represent a unique case because the News-Journal is the state's primary paper, and Delaware does not have any major TV stations of its own (being so close to Philadelphia, it doesn't need them). Therefore, DelawareOnline serves a more important purpose than newspaper...

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Fabric Keyboard a Step Toward "Smart Clothing"

UK sensor manufacturer Eleksen has developed a flexible fabric keyboard and joystick that can connect via Bluetooth with a PDA or game system.This product is yet another step toward developing "smart" clothes that carry controls, monitors and interface devices. Already, Eleksen is developing similar controls that provide heat elements for jackets, lighting controls that can be hidden underneath wallpaper, TV remote controls and interfaces for MP3 players.Source: Electronics Weekly, Clippings.reb...

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Biometric Passports by October '05?

US passports issued after October 2005 will include chips containing images of the holder's face, which can be checked against a facial scanner. Or at least that's the plan.Tests of iris and other biometric scanning systems in the UK and elsewhere have yielded discouraging results. Iris readers have proved difficult to aim correctly, and the process of validating identities is slower than planned... leading to longer delays at airports. As a result, some observers are declaring the biometric technology too immature to put into production.Source: Nat...

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AOL, Lycos List Top Web Searches of 2004

As the year winds down, we inevitably start to look back on "the year that was." That's not very futuristic, but looking back can sometimes give us an idea of where we're headed.Take Web search terms, for instance. They reflect our interests and concerns, whether they be profound or trivial. AOL has released its top search terms for 2004... and the results tell us that we were highly concerned about celebrities, the election, hurricanes, celebrities, sports, celebrities, dieting, celebrities, American Idol, poker, celebrities, and certain "wardrobe malfunctions." Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, the Olsen twins, Paris Hilton and Ashlee Simpson topped the celebrity searches -- possibly more because of the controversy they generated than their talents.Over at Lycos, Janet Jackson was the most...

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Holiday Lexicon

For a little Friday afternoon fun, here are a few new words to describe some of those weird and perverse situations we all encounter this time of year (originally attribited to DailyCandy):Mistleho n. Someone who hangs around under the mistletoe, waiting to get kissed. ("Eve was being such a mistleho at the company party that no one else could get any play from the cute tech guys.")Eggsnog n. A makeout session that takes place under the influence of eggnog.Hallmarketing n. The outrageous marketing push that begins two months before each holiday (Halloween decorations in July, Christmas decorations in October).Santa fraud n. Poorly costumed Santa Claus impersonator. ("Avoid department stores at all costs. They're overrun with Santa frauds this year.")Dreidel robber n. Someone who cheats young...

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Personal Mobility: Not Done Cookin'

Today, the Segway Human Transporter (HT) is more known for the marketing hype that preceded it than for its ground-breaking design. But the HT may prove to have simply been ahead of its time, as other developers are creating their own personal transporters. However, they appear to be ahead of their time too.Earlier this month, Toyota unveiled its i-unit prototype, which is essentially a very tiny car for one person.At first blush, many people -- Americans especially -- will wonder what possible use they would have for such a device. It's a good question. I certainly wouldn't want to take this little guy out on I-95! It appears to be just...

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Who Is Liable for Global Warming?

Representatives for the Inuit people of the Arctic are petitioning the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to rule against the US for "causing global warming and its devastating impacts." Other environmental groups are planning lawsuits against those they hold responsible for generating greenhouse-gas emissions.Though these cases are hardly clear-cut -- especially since we still don't have a firm understanding of how global warming works -- they will set important legal precedents if they are successful. They will also raise key questions that will surely be debated for years to come, such as: Who exactly should be held liable? Governments? Corporations? Whole industries? Individuals? If a corporation was a heavy polluter in the past but took aggressive anti-pollution measures...

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Cell Phones as Change Agents in North Korea

Human-rights activists who follow events in North Korea are reporting that North Koreans are increasingly able to use cell phones to communicate with the outside world. The proliferation of phones and more powerful networks from nearby China are making it possible.Cell phones are, of course, illegal in North Korea, a communist country where the government controls nearly every aspect of everyday life (cell phones were briefly legalized last year, but only for the government elite). However, North Koreans are able to purchase them during excursions (both legal and illegal) to China, and smuggle them back across the border.Most cell phones are used for business or to speak with relatives in South Korea. But observers note that dissidents are beginning to use them as tools to report on conditions...

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Airships as Wireless Antennae

The golden age of airships ended with the explosion of the Hindenburg in 1937. But in our high-tech age, the airship may find a new niche: that of a high-altitude antenna for wireless Internet.A company called Sanswire Networks is testing an airship called the "Stratellite," which is essentially a floating 802.11 wireless hub. Unmanned Stratellites can remain in a stationary position at 65,000 feet for up to 18 months, guided by GPS coordinates. The airships use a stable mixture of helium and nitrogen for lift, and are built from rugged Kevlar fabric.Each Stratellite can hold several thousand pounds of communications equipment, and have a potential reach of 300,000 square miles -- approximately the area of Texas. Theoretically, two Stratellites, each deployed over Boston and Washington DC,...

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Robots in the Bloodstream

Tiny robots could one day be used to deliver medications by travelling in the bloodstream. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing have created a 3-mm-long robot that can move about the bloodstream via an external magnetic field. An operator could "pilot" such a robot and deliver drugs to precisely the areas of the body where they are needed.The research team is developing even smaller robots, with a goal of creating a model that's less than a millimeter long.Source: NewScient...

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America Left Behind?

Slate has a commentary on how the American economy is increasingly being left out of the world economy. Consider the following observations: Air travelers needing to switch flights in North America are more likely to do so in Canada rather than the US, due to increased visa paperwork when touching down on American soil. Foreign investors, overwhelmed by regulations imposed by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, are avoiding US financial markets. Fewer foreign college students are coming to the US for their education. Brazil is poised to surpass the US in food production. The article is quick to point out that these developments are more due to economic improvements made throughout the world than fundamental weaknesses within the US. And many of these challenge have no simple solutions. Nonetheless,...

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The Future of the Silver Screen

With Hollywood's recent initiative to silence movie-swapping services such as BitTorrent, speculation has renewed as to the future of movie theatres. This was a hot topic in the early days of television and, later, home video, which Hollywood initially saw as a threat but later embraced.On the one hand, according to media blog Waxy.org, some people will always be willing to pay for the theatre experience. Theatres, also, have thrived by having exclusive rights to first-run films. But theatre attendance has been steadily declining, with three out of the top five chains going under by 2001. And what sets the Internet threat apart from TV and home video is its ability to deliver (or pirate) first-run material, making it a classic disruptive technology (acceptable quality + lower cost + added...

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2004 was Fourth-Warmest Year on Record

Now might be the time to invest in companies making sunscreen and swimwear. This year has proven to be the fourth warmest year ever recorded, according to the World Meterological Organization, the UN's weather bureau.This fits in with a trend of increasing warmth, with the top 10 warmest years all occurring after 1990, and the top five occurring after 1998 (which was the warmest year ever). Overall, the average global temperature was 0.8 degrees above normal.The WMO, which monitors weather all over the world, says that the warm weather contributed to heat waves in Europe, increased typhoon activity in the Pacific, and, of course, North America's brutal hurricane season.Source: Associated Pr...

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E-Paper in 2010

Vin Crosbie believes that within five years, e-paper will not only be able to display both text and images, but will contain the trappings of today's laptops -- complete with CPUs, batteries and wireless connectivity. Publishers would be able to transmit text, video, audio and interactive advertising, in a hybrid format that contains the best of today's newspaper, TV, web and RSS media.Although I'm intrigued by the possibilities of e-paper, I wonder how consumers are going to want to interact with it. Personally, I find traditional newspapers clumsy. Would something in book form be more appealing? Could e-paper take on the characteristics of today's Tablet PCs, allowing users to interact through longhand writing? Imagine an editorial page with a real-time discussion forum going on as you're...

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Nanotech May Boost Solar Power

One of the historical drawbacks to solar energy is its expense, especially when compared with fossil fuels. But with oil prices on the rise, several technology startups are turning to nanotechnology to make solar cells more efficient and cost-effective.Nanosolar, Nanosys and Konarka Technologies are three firms stepping up to the challenge, which is this: Electricity currently costs about 7 cents per kilowatt hour in the US, whereas solar-generated electricity costs more than six times that amount. Clearly, they have the work of making solar energy competitive with other energy forms cut out for them.One approach is to manufacture paper-thin solar cells that are 100 times thinner than anything currently available. Using titanium oxide nanocrystals, solar cells could be formed into all...

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Online Holiday Shopping Up 24% Over 2003

According to a report from Hitwise, US visits to shopping-related websites accounted for nearly 10% of all Internet traffic for the week ending Dec. 11 -- a 24% increase over the level of traffic during the same period last year.Interest in classified-advertising sites surged a whopping 134% in the past year, followed by automotive and auction sites. Specific sites, such as Shopping.com, Dell.com and Walmart.com, have received substantially more traffic this year than at this time last season. Click for larger imageThe chart above shows a remarkably consistent traffic pattern between mid-November and mid-December for both 2003 and 2004, though...

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Me-TV: Feedreader for Videocasts

Me-TV, a videoblogging answer to Bloglines and Feedster, has launched in alpha mode. Users can subscribe to videocasts and watch the videos in the site's "vogbrowser."Source: unmedia...

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New Asimo Robot Can Run, Shake Hands

Honda recently unveiled the latest version of its Asimo humanoid robot, which is now capable of running at 3 KPH, recognizing and avoiding obstacles, and shaking hands with people whom it meets.Among the robot's new features are more sophisticated joints, improved traction, and shock absorption.All things considered, Asimo doesn't do very much in the way of useful tasks. But Honda's work in this field is expanding the state of the art, and will give other robotics designers tools to build upon.Sources: Mainchi Daily N...

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MSIE Market Share Slips Below 90%

The success of the Firefox 1.0 browser, released last month, is taking a toll on the market dominance of Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Long considered the industry standard browser, IE has come under fire for its security flaws, so much so that several major institutions have abandoned it altogether, and many IT security professionals advise against using it. Meanwhile, Firefox marked its 10 millionth download last Sunday, and presently has a market share of about 4 percent. This, combined with the popularity of other browsers such as Opera, have pushed IE's market share below 90% for the first time in years, according to the Dutch-based Internet metrics firm OneStat.com. Though other metrics firms continue to rank IE much higher, OneStat gave IE an 88.9% market share in late November.Clearly,...

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".mobi" Domain Approved for Mobile Devices

ICANN, the governing body that regulates Internet domains, has approved the ".mobi" domain for content created for cell phones and other mobile devices. Nokia, Microsoft and T-Mobile were the driving forces behind this domain.Content in the .mobi domain will be tailored for mobile devices, taking into consideration small screens and limited data capacity. ICANN also approved the ".jobs" domain for use in human resources.Sources: Smart Mobs, MSNBC....

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You can't be all things...

Do you call your company's business model "virtual IT"?Do you try to position your firm essentially as your clients' outsourced IT department?Or yourself, as your clients' virtual IT director?Or virtual CIO?That's all well and good and everything.BUT, there's a hidden danger in all this.Especially if you're a solo practice computer consultant.And it can even be an issue if your firm has several talented systems engineers.What's the problem you ask?Trying to be ALL things.For example, you or one of your senior technical staffers may have GREAT MCSE-level, or CIE-level, NOS or WAN technical skills.But what happens when a valued client asks for help with getting some Macintosh systems to share some Microsoft Office files with PC's?What happens when a client needs you to get AS/400 data out to...

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Holiday Movies for the Harried

A beloved part of Christmas is gathering 'round the TV with a big bowl of popcorn, settling in to watch a classic holiday movie. But if you don't have time for that this year, check out Angry Alien's 30-second Flash rendition of It's a Wonderful Life, performed by animated bunnies. And for those of you wrapping up your Hanukkah celebrations, check this out.Source: Greedy G...

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This Season's Weirdest Gadget???

Still struggling to find the perfect present for the man or woman who has everything? Then check out the USB-powered eye massager. Marketed by a company in China, it supposedly relieves eye strain through vibration.Seems like a 20-minute nap in a dark room would do just as well. It's free, and no USB port is required...Source: I4U N...

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Technology as Tyrant

It's an article of faith in information technology that becoming increasingly wired will liberate us from the drudgery of the workplace. For some of us, that's come to pass. But for many others -- especially those farther down on the corporate totem pole -- technology is becoming a new "ball and chain" that dehumanizes employees and increases stress.Technology has already allowed management to become further detached from unskilled workers and, rather than create new "flat" organizational structures, has reinforced traditional top-down hierarchies. James Hoopes, a professor of business ethics at Babson College, points out that in many organizations,...

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Hollywood Declares War on File Sharing

It was inevitable. Now that video file-sharing systems have begun entering the mainstream, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has borrowed a page from the RIAA playbook and filed lawsuits against operators of "indexing servers" that help users download files from BitTorrent, eDonkey and other file sharing systems. In addition, the MPAA is planning to sue ISPs for their role in file sharing.This illustrates yet another chapter in the continuing cat-and-mouse game between entertainment consumers and those wishing to enforce copyrights. As technology improves, though, the ability of groups such as MPAA and RIAA to keep up with file swappers will get increasingly tenuous.Source: Wi...

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Low-Carb Dieting on the Decline

For months there have been signs that the Atkins-inspited low-carb dieting craze has been waning. Now there's more evidence that dieters are finding the "low-carb lifestyle" onerous and are giving it up.According to one estimate, as many as a third of Americans who have been on low-carb diets have quit for good. Many of these dieters, though, have come away with a better appreciation of nutrition and healthier eating habits (so don't rush out and buy stock in Krispy Kreme just yet). The real losers have been the food manufacturers who invested heavily in low-carb products -- products that are now gathering dust on store shelves.Of course, the more important question now is, what will the next diet craze be?Source: MSNBC....

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Videocasting

Just when you had gotten up to speed with podcasting, along comes podcasting with video. Services like Vogbrowser and FeedsterTV are offering RSS feeds for video.One thing holding videocasting back is the lack of user-friendly tools for sending digital files to TV. Indeed, converting video to digital format is still a challenge, but video tools are making this progressively more easy. Plus, there's the bandwidth issue; if you're on dialup, videocasting is out of the question. But as tools become easier to use, services become more plentiful and bandwidth increases, videocasting could become a new outlet for creative videographers. Or, it may just become another way to swap porn and pirated movies...Sources: Wired, Emerging Technolog...

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"Chips Everywhere" by 2020

No, we're not talking about the potato variety... British Telecom futurist Ian Pearson predicts that pervasive computing environments will be a reality within 15 years, with computing chips embedded everywhere... including the human body. Not only will the devices around us will be self-aware and aware of us, but our clothes and personal accessories will be "smart" as well (such as intelligent contact lenses that project information in front of us). Much of our personal technology will be powered by our own body heat, helping to create "body area networks" that accompany us everywhere, all the time, and continually interact with the high-tech world around us.Not yet known are the privacy implications for being so thoroughly networked, and the impact that such networking will have on the human...

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More Cool High-Tech Gadgets

Still looking for unique, high-tech gifts for that special geek in your life? PhysOrg has a "cool gadget collection" that includes, among other things: A manual cell phone charger that operates by hand crank. A "MemoryFrame" that connects to a computer's USB port and displays digital photos like a monitor. A lamp that can be adjusted to any height. A virtually indestructible keyboard. A voice-activated remote control....

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Global Warming Could Cause Disastrous Climate Shutdown

Global warming could shut down a major Atlantic Ocean circulation pattern that could spell disaster for the world's climate, say scientists from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.The thermohaline circulation transports warm water to the North Atlantic and vice versa, helping to keep global climate in balance. If this circulation is disrupted or shut down, warm water could stop flowing northward, leading to cooling of the northern hemisphere.Natural thermohaline shutdowns have occurred in the distant past, usually corresponding with dramatically cooler temperatures and ice ages worldwide. Global warming could disrupt the thermohaline by melting glaciers, introducing more fresh water into the oceans and throwing off the salinity balance of ocean waters.What exactly affects the thermohaline...

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Impact of Popular High-Tech Toys

Surprise! High-tech toys and gadgets are the hot item this holiday season. Video games such as the red-hot Halo 2, the Robosapien robot, portable DVD players and iPods seem to be at the top of everyone's lists.In the midst of this, retailers are starting to notice some interesting and significant trends: The boom in high-tech is coming at the expense of more traditional toy manufacturers such as Mattel and Hasbro. Sales of traditional toys continue to decline year after year. Toys aren't just for kids anymore. One market research survey found that 52% of the adults surveyed wanted toys or toy-like items as gifts. High-tech toys are being developed for increasingly younger children. One item for 6-month-olds is a plush-toy cell phone.The high prices of high-tech toys are putting...

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A Renaissance for Older Cities?

Older industrial US cities could benefit from a combination of urban renewal efforts, growing interest in city living, and growth restrictions in suburban and rural areas.According to Joseph Seneca of Rutgers University, older cities such as Newark, Hoboken and Jersey City in New Jersey, as well as the state's heavily urbanized Hudson County, are enjoying a rebirth as businesses seek new office space. Meanwhile, the amenities and convenience of city life are appealing to "empty nester" Baby Boomers and their twentysomething children. Finally, "green space" initiatives in the suburbs and rural areas are curbing growth opportunities there, whereas cities are working hard to encourage new development.Cities in northern New Jersey have the singular advantage of being so close to New York City....

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What Mobile Usage Patterns Can Tell Us

Moblie marketing guru Tomi Ahonen argues that mobile providers are sitting on a wealth of data about their customers that can not only help them market their services more effectively, but can reveal lots about how mobile users behave.Ahonen says that the following events are significant, as they can indicate social and demographic movement: Abruptly adopting a new service, such as text messaging. This can indicate a major lifestyle change, such as a marital breakup. Users who receive a lot of traffic (phone calls and messages) versus those who send a lot of traffic. The emergence of "alpha users," who teach and informally support other users. The reasons behind second subscriptions. Source: TheFeat...

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Oxyride Batteries to Arrive in US Within Six Months

Looking forward to getting cool gadgets for Christmas, yet worried about all the juice they'll require? If so, oxyride batteries may be for you.The advanced battery developed by Japan's Matsushita Electric will debut in the US and Europe in April 2005. The oxyride battery (named for its use of oxy nickel hydroxide) can deliver 1.5 times the power and nearly twice the life of a standard alkaline battery because its electricity-producing matter is more concentrated. AA and AAA sizes will cost roughly $1 apiece in the ...

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I Want My Mobile TV!

MTV might mean something very different for tomorrow's generation -- mobile TV. BusinessWeek reports that the market for television programming develivered over cell phones and other mobile devices could explode from just a few hundred thousand today to million a few years from now. Revenues are projected to reach as high as $2 billion by 2008.Mobile TV, combined with digital video recording technology, could allow viewers to record and view their favorite programs anytime, anyplace. TiVo is already rolling out software allowing its subscribers to view recorded programs on their networked laptops. Mobile TV has numerous applications besides entertainment and news delivery. In the business and academic worlds, it could be used in conjunction with e-learning and teleconference systems. ...

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Merry C_____mas!

The unfortunate trend of US school districts having fits of political correctness and banning all references to the Christmas holiday (while in some cases permitting other religious references) is alive and well. The TongueTied blog collects news stories related to these misguided efforts on the part of educators and municipalities. You don't have to be a conservative to appreciate the sheer weirdness of some of these stories. Some are quite comical, while others are simply pathetic. But all illustrate that we have a ways to go toward understanding what it means to live in a diverse socie...

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Artificial Christmas Trees Making a Comeback

Artificial Christmas trees are gaining popularity over live trees, as the newer designs look better and are easier to set up that older models, especially those that are pre-lit. Artificual trees are also safer and less messy than their all-natural cousins. Plus, they're a one-time investment that can last for many years. My pre-lit artificial tree, for instance, is a six-footer that I set up in about 15 minutes. No fuss, no muss, no strings of lights to untangle...Those who prefer live trees seem to be favoring "choose and cut" tree farms over roadside lots. Even so, market share for live trees has fallen from 35.4 million trees sold in 1990...

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"Downshifting" vs. Retirement

The disappearance of employer pensions, combined with an aging population, are leading both workers and employers to consider alternatives to traditional retirement. One option being explored by employers is "downshifting" -- the ability of an older worker to reduce working hours and workloads while remaining on the job. A downshifting worker could, for instance, work only half-days or a few days a week; a work schedule could be tailored to a worker's individual needs, provided it's in line with the employer's business requirements. Downshifting has a number of advantages for both workers and employers, and offers a compromise between continued full-time employment and retirement.Sources: University of Kent, World Future Soci...

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Mobile Phone Users Double Since 2000

Nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide use mobile phones, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Mobile phone subscriptions have doubled since 2000, with China, India and Russia leading the surge.By contrast, land line subscriptions have remained flat or have declined since 2001, largely because of lower international telecommunication rates. Currently, mobile phone users outnumber users of land lines.Adriana de Souza e Silva, whose thinking on mobile technology we've discussed here before, suggests that mobile phones, when coupled with SMS and other interactive utilities, are becoming the "new media" that's changing the way we perceive space and place. If that is true, the sheer number of mobile phone users will accellerate the pace of that change.Sources: Reuters, trAce,...

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Students Abadon Libraries for the Web

Fewer grade-school and college students are relying on libraries for their research projects, instead getting their information online... causing teachers and librarians to worry about the quality of the information they're getting.CNN.com features this telling anecdote: Georgia Tech professor Amy Bruckman tried to force students to leave their computers by requiring at least one book for a September class project.She wasn't prepared for the response: "Someone raised their hand and asked, "Excuse me, where would I get a book?"'Bear in mind this occurred at one of our nation's elite technical universities...Educators worry that while students...

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Home Invasions: US vs. UK

In which country is it more dangerous to be in your home, the US or Great Britain? If you said Great Britain, you're right... if you're talking about home-invasion robberies.Violent home invasions have become a serious problem in the UK, fueled in part by laws against gun ownership and violence in self-defense. British law holds that a person who kills an intruder in their home can be charged with murder; a self-defense argument does exist, but the threshold is very high.In the US, by contrast, burglars who commit home invasion statistically have just as great a chance of getting shot as they do going to jail -- a significant deterrent even when homeowners don't own guns. If you're a burglar intent on committing a home invasion, you don't know if the homeowner has a gun and an itchy trigger...

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Life Expectancy May Decline By 2010

A bulwark of futurist thinking is the belief that life expectancy will steadily increase in the future. However, new research is calling that assumption into question.According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as many as 40 countries will experience reductions in life expectancy from 1990 levels by 2010. Persistent diseases for which treatments are either extremely expensive or nonexistent -- such as AIDS -- are the primary culprits.Sources: American Enterprise Institute, World Future Soci...

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Pop-Up Shops a Hot Retail Trend

Ever notice those stores that appear in shopping strips overnight, then vanish only a month or two later? That's not due to bad business planning -- it's completely by design. Pop-up stores are the newest thing in retailing, allowing marketers to generate buzz for their products on the cheap.Many of the most common pop-ups are for seasonal items, such as Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations, where keeping a store open year-round wouldn't make sense. However, other retailers are finding that temporary storefronts have their advantages. In some cases, retailers can generate enormous word-of-mouth interest by opening a storefront in a very high profile location (midtown Manhattan, for instance), and only staying open for a couple of weeks. Hence, sales are high while rent is kept...

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