Digital-Lifestyles – Page 191 – 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

Printer Ink: More Costly Than Human Blood
If ever you were in any doubt of the painfully high price of printer ink, a feature on tech website Gizmodo shows a graph representing the relative values of various liquids compared to blood.
According to the statistics, a $30 HP No45 black ink cartridge comes with just 42ml of ink, giving punters a price of $0.71 per millilitre for the ink.
Penicillin comes in at around $0.6/ml, followed by vodka at $0.2/ml, bottled water at $0.1/ml and finally crude oil at something like $0.05/ml (it’s hard to be precise because the graph doesn’t come with a text breakdown).
We’re not taking these figures entirely seriously (it’s a Monday after all, and we’re still waiting for the coffee to kick in) but, as a comparison, human blood knocks out for $200 for 500ml, according to uncited Red Cross figures.
This works out at to $0.40/ml, getting on half the price of printer ink.
Punters have long complained about the outrageously high cost of printer ink – a 2003 study by the Consumer Association’s Which? Magazine found out that the humble smudgy stuff was priced ‘My Printer Hell’.
Meanwhile, those with a keen interest in the pricing of bodily fluids can examine the price of bull semen here, or perhaps peruse a comprehensive comparison of liquid costs from penicillin to ‘punky colour hair dye’ here.
Gartner: Printer ink costs more than perfume
[From Gizmodo]
6 November, 2006
Camera Phones Account For Nearly Half Of All Phones Sold
Global sales of camera phones are set to make up nearly half of the total of all mobile phone sales this year, with the figure expected to rise to 81 percent of all phones by 2010.
The figures, from research firm Gartner, show that 48 percent of phones sold so far in 2006 were equipped with a phone, and that worldwide sales of camera phones are on course to reach 460 million by the end of the year.
This amounts to a thumping 43 percent increase from 2005, with sales of camera phones expected to hit one billion by 2010.
Bumping up the pixels
Gartner anticipates that the ‘pixel race’ – as seen in recent years in the digital camera market – will have an impact, with punters being lured by higher resolution camera phones.
Carolina Milanesi, principal research analyst at Gartner, said, “Consumers’ perception that a higher pixel count translates into a higher quality device will encourage mobile phone manufacturers to continue to increase this.”
Since 2003, the camera phone market has been dominated by sales of phones with low resolution, one mega pixel snappers, which accounted for 51 percent of total mobile phone sales in 2006.
With phone manufacturers beefing up the resolution, Gartner predicts that more than half of the camera phones will have at least one or two mega pixels by this time next year.
“In 2006, 1.3 and two mega pixel resolutions will become the minimum requirement for mid-tier to high-end phones and a 3.2 mega pixel resolution will be used for flagship products. This will increase to five mega pixels in 2007,” Milanesi said.
Western Europe remains the biggest market for camera phones with sales likely to surpass 122 million this year (up 28 percent from 2005), while the US should reach 106.8 million units in 2006 (up 41 percent from 2005).
In Japan, the punters are really sharing the love for camera phones, with sales expected to make up 95 percent of all sales in 2007.
Setting their shiny crystal ball to 2010, Gartner predicts that camera phone penetration in Western Europe will soon equal Japan’s, rising to 93.6 percent of the market, with North America a smidgen behind at 93.4 percent.
[From Tech 2]
6 November, 2006
VON Autumn Europe
6-8 Nov 2006 As VoIP moves into mainstream, IP communication technology is evolving at a rapid pace. The VON Europe Expo™ – Europe’s VoIP industry trade show since 1998 – is your best opportunity to see, touch and challenge the latest products and services in IP communications. Berlin, Germany http://www.voneurope.com/expo.html
6 November, 2006
Brando USB Christmas Collection
If you’re having problems thinking of that perfect technological widget to make your Christmas go with a seasonal swing, look no further than Brando’s fabulous feast o’ festive trinkets.
USB LED Snowman
First up is a USB LED Snowman, who doesn’t do a great deal apart from add a seasonal touch to your desktop by cycling through a range of colours.
He has got a nice hat mind, and he only costs $10.
USB Fibre Optic Christmas Tree II
Going upmarket a tad, the $14 USB Fibre Optic Christmas Tree II apparently, “actually looks like a miniaturised version of the real Christmas tree” and comes in its own little pot.
Like the USB Snowman, it doesn’t do very much apart from cycle through pretty colours, but it is perhaps a little more dignified than a clattering USB Snowman Drummer (see below).
USB LED Music X’mas Tree
For office workers keen to impress, there’s no denying that the USB LED Music X’mas Tree pulls out the stops, offering 12 – yes twelve – built in Christmas songs, cycling colours and a “shining golden star” on the top. Beautiful.
And it’s yours for just $15, squire.
USB Drumming Santa
The real showstopper of Brando’s collection has to be the top-of-the-range USB Drumming Santa.
Billed as “bringing happiness at Christmas” their $18 USB Drumming Santa Claus (Snowman version also available) looks set to redefine festive tack with an all-out assault of PC-powered lights and music.
Plug him into the nearest USB port and whoop with joy as he drums along to a selection of five Christmas songs, complete with synchronised blue lights.
Imagine the delight of your co-workers when you leave that running all day!
Brando Christmas Collection
3 November, 2006
Gmail Java Mobile IS Available Outside US
You’ve probably seen the news yesterday that Google released a new Java client for accessing Gmail from your mobile phone.
The majority of Digital-Lifestyles writers are UK-based, so we were feeling a little left out by being lead to believe by Google that the application was only available to those who live in the US. Google official press release contained,
It is currently compatible with all J2ME-enabled phones in the U.S. and works with a variety of carrier service plans.
When you pointed your computer Browser at the Web address given by Google to download it, you are indeed met forwarded to Google Mobile with no option to download Gmail Java Mobile.
Being the inquisitive little ferrets that we are, we jumped on to our ever-at-hand mobiles to try the same thing. Not expecting much, as we’re outside the US, you can imagine our surprise when we were given the option of downloading the app – but persisted with the US/Canada only malarky. We were warned that the app might not work correctly.
A little frisson of excitement hit the room (yes, it’s true) as the app flitted over the air, all 112k of it. We were met with the gmail login screen, which after entering the relevant, we crossed our finger (nto before hand, have you tried typing with crossed fingers?).
Argh .. the handset we used fell at the final hurdle, but we pressed on with some others until success! We checked in with Cristian Streng to find out he’d had success too using his Nokia E50 in Romania.
We can confirm that the app is a big improvement on the previous browser-based version with the number keys being used to carry out commonly-used functions.
So non-US, Java-mobile phone carrying, gmail users – with a desire to get your mail on the go (phew), you can rest assured that you can get access to it.
Gmail Java Mobile From your mobile phone browser of course.
3 November, 2006
New iPod Shuffle In Shops Today
Apple has announced that the updated version of their teensy-weensy iPod Shuffle will be ready to tempt your wallet from today.
Lagging slightly behind its scheduled October release, the new half-ounce Shuffle is so small that it would fit into the pockets of Santa’s elves, measuring just 1.62 inches long.
That makes it around the size of a matchbook, a significant shrinking from the previous model.
Like its predecessor, the Shuffle comes with a basic set of controls, offering play, pause, skip and volume controls with no display, and an integrated clip.
The Shuffle comes with a 1GB capacity – enough for around 240 tunes – and users can elect to play songs in sequence or randomly.
Apple claims a battery life of 12 hours and the l’il fella is expected to retail for around $79.
David Card, a New York analyst with JupiterResearch was veritably frothing with joy over the new Shuffle, “This version is a huge refinement over the original one. It’s not just a cheap iPod. This is the other device you’ll have. Surveys show a lot of multi-device ownership among iPod owners.”
Apple’s new player comes just eleven days before Microsoft is due to wheel out its Zune portable media player, expected to be the number one rival to the iPod’s dominance.
Apple has sold more than 67 million iPods worldwide in the five years since their launch, with the company currently enjoying a colossal 77 percent share of the US market.
Specifications:
Capacity
1GB USB flash drive
Holds up to 240 songs in 128-Kbps AAC format
Stores data via USB flash drive
Audio
Skip-free playback
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000HzMP3 (8 to 320 Kbps),
MP3 VBR, AAC (8 to 320 Kbps),
Protected AAC (from iTunes Store, M4A, M4B, M4P),
Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), WAV, and AIFF
Headphones
Earphones
Frequency response: 20Hz to 20,000Hz
Impedance: 32 ohms
Mac system requirements
Macintosh computer with USB port
Mac OS X v10.3.9 and later
iTunes 7.0.2 or later
Windows system requirements
PC with USB port
Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4 or later or Windows XP Home or Professional with Service Pack 2 or later
iTunes 7.0.2 or later)
Environmental requirements
Operating temperature: 32° to 95° F (0° to 35° C)
Nonoperating temperature: -4° to 113° F (-20° to 45° C)
Relative humidity: 5% to 95% noncondensing
Maximum operating altitude: 10,000 feet (3000 m)
Input and output
3.5-mm stereo headphone minijack
Power and battery
Built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery
Playtime: Up to 12 hours when fully charged
Charging via included USB dock
Full-charge time: about 4 hours
Apple iPod Shuffle
3 November, 2006
Britain: Third Worst Country For Privacy
Britain’s Information Commissioner has published a study concluding that, within 10 years, surveillance of people living in the UK will be all-pervasive.
Alongside the report is a league-table of privacy around the world. Shockingly, Britain currently is the third most surveilled country in the world, behind Russia and China.
CCTV coverage alone is at an all-time high, with an estimated 4.2m CCTV cameras, one for every 14 members of public in the UK.
It’s important to note that this study isn’t published by what some would view as a “pressure group” like Privacy International, but by a civil servant – The Information Commissioner.
This isn’t the first time that The Information Commissioner has raised concern over the way privacy is going in the UK. Two years ago he was on record as saying “we are sleepwalking into a surveillance society.”
His view now? “They (surveillance activities) may be necessary or desirable — for example to fight terrorism and serious crime, to improve entitlement and access to public and private services, and to improve health care. But unseen, uncontrolled or excessive surveillance can foster a climate of suspicion and undermine trust.”
He added: “As ever-more information is collected, shared and used, it intrudes into our private space and leads to decisions which directly influence people’s lives.
“Mistakes can also easily be made with serious consequences — false matches and other cases of mistaken identity, inaccurate facts or inferences, suspicions taken as reality, and breaches of security. I am keen to start a debate about where the lines should be drawn. What is acceptable and what is not?”
Comment
For a long time we at Digital-Lifestyles have been aware of the creeping nature of the loss of privacy in the UK, with our concern extending well before the so called “war on terror.” Since this “war,” the erosion increased exponentially in the name of “protecting” us.
It’s hugely refreshing that someone employed by the government – The information commissioner – has released this information. It must be a pretty serious state of affairs. What’s needed now is some real debate to take place (something increasingly rare in the UK in our view), with all points of view given equal prominence. Let’s get away from this ridiculous view that if you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to worry about.
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
Privacy International
2 November, 2006
USB Foot Warmers And Gloves
With the evenings drawing in and artic breezes circulating around your workstation, it may be time to invest in some handy USB-powered warming devices.
First up is the USB Foot Warmers, designed to get your tootsies toastie within minutes.
The USB Foot Warmers are covered in soft brown and white fake fur backed by a ‘leather fabric’ base with the slippers being warmed through a compact, ultra-flexible heat panel lurking in the lining of the base. The heat panel can be removed for washing.
Once the slippers are plugged into a USB port, this panel will immediately begin to heat and will remain at comfortably warm until unplugged. Or your machine crashes.
The foot warmers come with a 107cm-long USB cable (how long before the user wanders off and drags the PC with them?) and it has to be said that the whole ensemble is quite exceptionally unstylish.
The USB Foot Warmers are available from the Gadgetshop for fifteen quid. No thanks Santa!
USB G-Gloves for girlies
Somewhat more attractive – but equally daft – are the USB G-Gloves from our favourite purveyor of frivolous goods, Brando.
In case you didn’t know, the ‘G’ stands for ‘Girls’ who Brando hope will be wooed by their knitted (real wool!) pastel colour schemes on offer.
The gloves feature an open ended design that lets girls show off their nail varnish do some typing, with the gloves offering two USB-powered heating levels.
Each mitten comes with two built-in warming pads that heat by 10 degrees n five minutes, and you can pick up a pair for $22 (£13).
Brando also do a men’s version, but they weren’t the mean’n’macho, black-leather, studded affair we’d hoped for.
2 November, 2006
Dis-Connexion By Boeing: Now Free WiFi
Recently while travelling on an SAS flight, I had the pleasure of trying out the Connexion by Boeing service, which is an Internet service offered on long haul services.
Trials for the service started back in two carriers in June 2005.
The system provides a WiFi connection on the plane and connects back to Boeing using some kind of magic (a satellite service, somewhere on the plane a dish or dishes always stay in site of the satellite signal).
It’s all transparent to the user, just connect to the WiFi signal (and there really aren’t any others to connect to at 30,000 ft) and then go to the Boeing portal and sign-up.
It’s free
Although the sign-up page requires you to enter your credit card details the only price plan currently available is priced at $0.0, which means you aren’t charged (I’d imagine for security purposes, so any naughty activity can be traced back to someone). You then get a username and password and can sign-in to using the actual service – which then lets you out in to the wild world of the Internet.
It all worked rather well. Email was speedy and even logging into a remote system worked well, though there was a lag between what you typed and what appeared on the screem – it was usable though (much better than GPRS or some 3G connections have been). Updating MacOS X was doable with download rates of around 70KB/s. Lag was a good 600ms, but that’s what you get from sending data 30,000 miles up to a geostationary satellite and down again and back.
A business user could gainfully use the 10 hours or so in the air and be productive.
The end is nigh
Unfortunately the reason that it’s free is that Boeing are discontinuing the service and as they can’t guarantee any service levels – they’re giving it away until the service ends (Jan 2007). They argue that not enough airlines have signed-up and are cutting their losses.
It’s a real shame as the service worked well and the pricing was sensible for passengers even when they had to pay.
It’s not as though the airlines can keep it going either, as Boeing are physically removing all the equipment they installed in the planes.
Panasonic have said they will introduce a service to replace Boeing’s, but it could be a while, so in the meantime, passengers will have to make do with working off-line or catching up on movies they wouldn’t dream of watching normally.
2 November, 2006
Gmail Mobile Improved By Google
Browsing Gmail, Google’s email service, wasn’t particularly great when you did it from a mobile … until now. With the new release of gmail mobile that was launched today.
Gmail for Mobile Devices (GMD?), to give it its full official name, is a Java app that can be downloaded and run on any Java-enabled handset. The previous version was browser-based and pretty basic.
It’s an interesting change of approach for Google, who has near-exclusively focused on browser-based applications to access their services (except for Google Local).
GMD isn’t the only Java-driven email client. Flurry was pointed out to us by Cristian Streng. It’s had close to 1 million downloads from getjar.com alone and is used in over 200 countries.
Clearly not wanting it to get used too heavily, Google has officially only made the application downloadable in the US, where until recently people didn’t really use their phones for anything except making calls. While they’ve been doing that, the rest of the world have used their mobiles for everything from gaming to text messages.
Gmail Mobile app Mobile access Only
Flurry
2 November, 2006