Digital-Lifestyles – Page 160 – Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

Digital-Lifestyles pre-empted and reported thousands of articles on the then-coming impact that technology was to have on all forms of Media. Launched in 2001 as a research blog to aid its founder, Simon Perry, present at IBC 2002, it grew into a wide ranging, multi-author publication that was quoted in many publications globally including the BBC, was described by the Guardian as 'Informative' and also cited in a myriad of tech publications before closing in 2009

Philips DCD778 Docking Entertainment System For Kitchens
In our ‘umble kitchen, we’re happy to make do with a Pure DMX-50 system and a rather ropey Citizen handheld colour TV, but for the hostess with the mostest who really wants to impress, the Philips DCD778 Docking Entertainment System could be just the thing.
Designed to be fitted under a kitchen cabinet, the Philips DCD778 sports a flip down 8.5-inch widescreen LCD display with an iPod docking bay (compatible with fourth- and fifth-generation iPods, the iPod mini, and iPod nano).
With the iPod safely slipped in, users can play back audio and video files, or fire up the DVD player which supports DVD, (S)VCD, MP3-CD, CD(RW) and Picture CD.
For a bit of Jonathan Ross while you create your Master Chef-challenging creations, there’s a digital AM/FM tuner onboard as well as a cooking timer and clock, and wireless remote.
TV viewing options come in the shape of an ATSC/NTSC TV tuner, with the sound being played back via the built-in stereo 2-inch speakers.
Although we’re definitely down with the technical wizardry, we have to say that the Philips doesn’t really sizzle our bangers when it comes to looks, and we suspect that it wouldn’t be long before the thing’s high end looks soon got marred with greasy finger marks and bits of (veggie) sausage fat.
The Philips DCD778 Docking Entertainment System is expected to start shipping in the US next week for around $400, although there’s no news on a UK release.
Source
20 March, 2007
Google Phone Rumours Build
Rumours that Google is working on a mobile phone were given another boost after Richard Windsor, of Nomura brokers, claimed that Google reps at an industry event in Germany had blabbed about such a device.
Writing in a research note, Windsor said, “Google has come out of the closet at the CeBIT trade fair admitting that it is working on a mobile phone of its own.”
“This is not going to be a high-end device but a mass market device aimed at bringing Google to users who don’t have a PC,” he added.
Pundits reckon that Google would be most likely to shuffle into the mobile world under a deal that would let them partner with an existing handset maker and hop on to the network of an existing mobile operator.
Most likely candidate for the phone manufacturing job is the Taiwan-based big boys HTC who already make phones for a large variety of brands.
Naturally, Google’s spokesman was keeping Mum today about the existence of any plans, but he did comment that, “mobile is an important area for Google,” adding that Google were still keen to create applications for mobile phones and pursue partnerships with industry leaders.
Via
20 March, 2007
Adobe Apollo Readies For Lift Off
Adobe has released an alpha version of an interesting piece of software tasked with “bridging the gap between the computer desktop and the Web.”
Described by Adobe Labs as a “cross-operating system application runtime,” Apollo has been likened to Adobe Flash, except that users will be able to view multimedia content on their desktops rather than inside browser windows.
Although some websites have managed to utilise new technologies and programming techniques to get their websites purring with smarty-pants video, chat and other features, Kevin Lynch, Adobe’s chief software architect, reckons those technologies have been pushed to the limit.
“Web browsers are great for reading Web pages,” said Lynch. “For Web applications, it’s really been a stretch to support things like word processors or e-mail,” he added.
Noting the efforts of other companies, including Microsoft, to offer Web-based add-ons to their desktop software, Lynch said that Adobe were taking the opposite approach and, “bringing the innovation on the Web to the desktop.”
What’s particularly clever about Apollo applications is that they don’t need to be permanently connected to the web to do their stuff.
The environment is designed to check if there’s a network connection available, and change its functionality accordingly – so if you’re half way through an email and the signal disappears (or you get on a plane), you can continue working, with the application caching all information to be sent later.
For maximum compatibility, Apollo supports existing web application technologies such as HTML, JavaScript and Flash and will, for example, let users place bids, maintain watch lists and post new items for sale on eBay straight from the desktop.
Using an Apollo based music player, users will also be able to play back songs stored on their hard drive while viewing photos of the artist direct from Flickr.
A mainstream release of Apollo is planned for later this year, with development tools currently available for Windows and OS X (a Linux version has been promised for the future).
Apollo
Apollo demo at DEMO 07 conference
20 March, 2007
Pop Band Fratellis Launch Memory Stick Chart Bid
With a keen eye for drumming up a handy bit of pre-release publicity, Scottish band The Fratellis will be releasing their new single tomorrow on a USB memory stick.
Although it’s not the first time that a USB stick has been used to release a pop single – last October the soporific Keane released copies of “Nothing’s In My Way” on the same format, and managed to sell out stocks in a day.
Around 7,000 Fratellis USB sticks will be made available exclusively at HMV stores and on the company’s website, although sales of the stick – like the Keane single before it – won’t be included in the charts.
Ready and willing to start plugging ‘product’, Lee Jenson, marketing head of Fratellis’ record company, Island Records, said: “The success of the Keane single last year convinced us that music fans would welcome more audio releases on this format.”
“If demand really does start to take off, it may well become viable to think about releasing selective albums on USB as well, especially if they were to become eligible for inclusion in the chart,” he added.
After the official UK chart rules recently changed to allow song downloads to be counted towards the Top 40, there’s been growing demand for making memory sticks eligible, although it seems like a mighty wasteful format to us. Do we really need a housefull of low capacity USB sticks?
Priced at £3.99, the (Mac and PC compatible) USB stick will include a copy of the “Baby Fratelli” single and a free video.
Fratellis
19 March, 2007
Hijacked Bot Computers Multiply
The amount of computers nefariously “hijacked” by malicious hackers to spew out spam and spread viruses has soared almost 30% in the twelve months, according to security firm Symantec.
The security bigwigs reported that more than six million bot-infected computers were detected during the second half of 2006, with over a third of all computer attacks originating from US-based PCs.
Despite this growth, the number of bot ‘command-and-control’ servers shrunk by around 25% to 4,700, pointing to a more centralised system for unleashing bot-tastic attacks.
Symantec blames the rise in infected computers on the growing online population of countries like China and Spain, with Ollie Whitehouse, senior consulting services director, commenting, “There is almost an educational curve that the users and service providers have to go through. Unfortunately when certain countries go through rapid increases in connectivity and availability of technology that curve is not always kept up.”
The company also noted that ‘underground economy servers’ were being being used by dodgy perps to flog stolen personal information, including credit cards, bank cards, PIN numbers and other forms of ID.
Just over half of all identity theft-related data breaches were also found to have resulted from the loss or theft of computer hardware (like a laptop, USB memory stick, removable storage).
“As cyber criminals become increasingly malicious, they continue to evolve their attack methods to become more complex and sophisticated in order to prevent detection,” warned Arthur Wong, senior vice president, Symantec Security Response and Managed Services.
“End users, whether consumers or enterprises, need to ensure proper security measures to prevent an attacker from gaining access to their confidential information, causing financial loss, harming valuable customers, or damaging their own reputation,” he added.
Via
19 March, 2007
The PerCushion: The Comfiest Phone In The World
Try as we might, we can’t think of the last time we said to ourselves, “You know what? We could really use a Bluetooth enabled cushion,” but the good news is that if ever such a thought should cross our minds, urbantool.com has the answer.
Their new Bluetooth-enabled perCushion comes in the shape of a large curvy cushion (pretty hugging lady optional) and sports an integrated microphone and speakers.
Lovingly created from cotton velvet with a comfy inner foam core, the 66cm long PerCushion lets recumbent chatters connect to their mobiles via an embedded a Bluetooth device lurking within the padding.
Powered by a rechargeable lithium ionic battery, call status is displayed via a series of LEDs, which indicate if the, err, pillow is in active standby mode or taking an incoming call.
Naturally, such an extraordinary daft idea comes with some an extraordinary daft marketing guff:
“Remember the times before our mobile digital lifestyle, when communication with a close friend stood for something emotional and touching. It can again with the soft and relaxing perCushion. Your cell phone notifies the digital cushion wirelessly, via Bluetooth and enables you to pick up the call while relaxing on your sofa.”
Although we couldn’t argue with anyone claiming that it’s the most comfortable phone on the planet, the idea of someone actually sitting at home talking into a cushion would suggest the presence of magic mushrooms to us.
Sadly, despite the perCushion being debuted at CeBIT, we’re not sure if it will ever get past the concept stage. But we still kind of like it.
www.urbantool.com
19 March, 2007
Emporia Life Phone Targets Older Generation
On display at the CeBit hi-tech fair last week was a new mobile phone offering a built-in emergency button.
Designed for older folks, the Life mobile phone gets rid of all the usual multimedia razzmatazz and bells’n’whistles in preference for a no-nonsense, back-to-basics handset that should prove simpler to use for the technologically challenged.
The stripped down dual band phone comes with a big 2.7in (6.8cm) monochrome screen matched by over-sized buttons designed to be read by people with failing sight.
The phone comes with extra loud volume options for speaker and ring tones and has a powerful vibration alert to ensure the owner knows that someone’s calling.
For added security, there’s a big emergency red button on the back which can be programmed to call a designated number for help and send off a pre-written text message.
The Life phone has been created by the Austrian firm Emporia, who have started developing simpler phones aimed at the older generation.
There seems to be some debate about just how old the target market actually is: the MatureMarket.com website (for “seniors & Baby boomers worldwide”) had it pegged as a phone targeted at the over 40s. The BBC reckoned it was for over the over 50s, while the manufacturers own site had it pegged for even older people, “the 60+ generation.”
Emporia Life (PDF)
Emporia Site
19 March, 2007
Cisco Buy WebEx For $3.2Bn
Networking powerhouse Cisco is to buy the Web conference company WebEx for $3.2Bn.
WebEx is listed on the NASDAQ (WEBX) and is reported to be the leader in its field. They offer a ton of different products, all based around sharing information between a number of remote parties, with the majority of them featuring shared video.
Cisco is actively spreading the number of products and business areas that it covers – they have to really as companies like China-based Huawei move on to Cisco’s previously-core network businesses.
Scientific Atlanta, the maker of TV Set Top Boxes, was a previous purchase. In November 2005, Cisco slapped down twice as much cash for that one – $9.6Bn.
Strangely enough bringing WebEx into the Cisco fold is at the opposite end of the content creation spectrum.
As Charles Giancarlo, Chief Development Officer at Cisco, concisely put it, “As collaboration in the workplace becomes increasingly important, companies are looking for rich communications tools to help them work more effectively and efficiently.”
WebEx is currently focused on business applications, but it’s highly likely that nearly everyone will be carrying out video conferences in the future as travel becomes more expensive and general restrictions come into effect.
Read Charlie Giancarlo blog piece about the deal
16 March, 2007
EU Reding: Europe Should Standardise on DVB-H
Viviane Reding, European Commissioner for Information Society and Media has been re-encouraging the European telco industry to pull their collective socks up and agree a standard to mobile TV.
Her guidance to them is to settle on DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting for Handhelds), a European led development of the DVB-T (Television) standard that is throughout large areas of Europe.
It makes total sense for the industry to select and stick to one technical solution, as it makes life easier for everyone, especially the consumer – avoiding the VHS/Betamax Blu-Ray/HD-DVD confusion.
While commenting on the estimated global value of mobile TV being 11.4Bn Euro, she followed it with “I am disappointed about the lack of progress made so far. To fully reap the benefits of this market and to export a European model for Mobile TV as we did with GSM for mobile phones, industry and Member States must work more closely together to devise a common approach, compare technologies, look at possible legal obstacles, make spectrum available throughout Europe and choose together the best way to ensure a quick and large take-up of Mobile TV by Europeans, preferably based on a single standard.”
It is understood that she is meeting today with Telecom ministers from the European Member-states to try and get some agreement.
Despite a number of trials stretching back years, including the UK, Spain and Finland, the jury is still out on whether the public will pay anything for the privilege of watching TV on their mobiles, while on the go.
Mobile TV: Commission urges industry and Member States to develop a proactive European strategy
16 March, 2007
HDForAll Pressure Ofcom on HD Freeview
On the day after news of the date of the first English town to start to go full digital on the delivery of TV, we’re reminded by HDforAll that Ofcom currently doesn’t have plans to set aside any of the freed up frequencies for HDTV usage.
Despite a successful trial run in London during 2006, where HD was delivered over Freeview, the only available ways currently to watch HDTV is via Sky satellite or cable.
One of the major reasons that the UK Government, and in turn, Ofcom is so keen for transferring everyone from the current analogue TV service to digital, is that it will free up large swathes of frequency. Ofcom’s plans are to auction this, and other frequencies off to the highest bidder, as we’ve covered a couple of times.
Not wishing to be left out of the HD world, the BBC are also keen to not just rely on Freeview delivering HD and to this end the BBC Trust have been given a provisional Yes for a FreeSat service capable to deliver their HD.
HDForAll are a pressure group made up of TV manufacturers, retailers and public service broadcasters including DSGI, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba and BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five. They’re keen to remind people that there’s only a limited amount of time left to contact Ofcom to make their views known on auctioning off spectrum to the highest bidder. Background on this and how to respond are available on Ofcom’s site.
The public appear to be behind having HDTV on Freeview, nearly 5,000 have signed an e-petition (now closed) and there’s another one urging that
spectrum be made available for citizen and community uses – a la open access cable in the US.
A survey carried out at the end of last year, also found that the vast majority of people, no matter what platform they use, want HD to be available on Freeview – 96% of Freeview, 91% satellite and 92% cable users.
HDforAll
Ofcom’s Digital Dividend Review
16 March, 2007