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The New IP Radio

IP Radio is not a new media idea. Many "over-the-air" radio stations stream their programs over the Internet and many portals let you "tune-in". Some of you might remember the Kerbango - 1999 bought by 3 COM - and consequently killed. This stand-alone little Internet appliance has come back and reincarnated in a couple of shapes. Listen to Internet Radio without your PC has come back even in the days where Podcasts seem to take the steam out of standard radio. We will check into these little marvels soon...

Protect Your Data

Bluetooth Bites - There are many ways to protect your data and your privacy on your PC. It all depends on the level of protection you are looking for. The good, old password protected screen saver doesn't hold water anymore. Biometric devices are "in vogue" - if you are willing to deal with another cabled device hooked up to your desktop system. There are a few laptops that have the sensor integrated and we will see better and more implementations in the future. One thing's to say about technology and its users - variety and different approaches are important as they spur competition. New ideas lead to progress and solutions that increase user convenience - and only that leads to fast adoptation in the market place. Point made - here may be an idea that employs this approach: what if your Bluetooth enabled cell phone acts like a key. First implementation = your PC. > Coming soon

Sounds Paradox ? - iPod Family grows - with Nano and Video

Cupertino, CA - 8.01.06
Based on Apple's success in the disk-based iPods it's now time to scare the heck out of the Flash player slice of the market. And why not. The Shuffle grabbed the low-end of the market while the Nano with it's flash memory has changed the rules! Below 10 GB HD disks are out of vogue. Anybody developing anything new in this field of magnetic storage has bet on the wrong horse.

The Nano seemed to have triggered the tipping point. Reviewed as the MP3 competition killer, it fulfilled that prediction. And not without reason. Apple is selling a solution. A delivery mechanism and system that seemingly nobody can beat and many competitors don't even seem to understand. Here we are almost a year later - just wait to see the Nano's memory double for the christmas 2006 season.

So what's this about the Paradox? The disk storage manufacturers are facing a crisis - atleast from the author's perspective. While there does not seem to be room for magnetic storage devices below 10 GB on the low-end, the industry is moving toward terabyte drives on the high-end of the scale. Though I see a reason for the size I can't see anything like this being desirable in a consumer PC. Here is my point: Anybody who uses a 60 GB drive as storage without a 60 GB backup is - plainly said - stupid. There is just too much to loose...

So a terabyte drive is not going to help here - even only half full, the pain of loosing the data is 10 times higher. And on top of it you are spinning 500 GB around for a year - EMPTY. More on this topic and how a small company in Silicon Valley plans to solve it, in our Mid August release.

What's the Latest Gear to put on your 2006 Wishlist? There is a whole Industry out there to keep us Gadgeteers happy - and not just around Christmas, Father's, Mother's and Birthdays. Here is a short list of must-have's and nice-to-have items: - Apple's new iPod Shuffle - the new MiniMac - no excuse any- more for not buying a Mac. - Handspring's Treo 650 Phone. (but check out Motorola's Razr V3 ) - Sony's new DSC T5 digital camera - a Garmi handheld GPS - Alpine's car radio with DVD, GPS, and iPod link. - a 23" wide-screen for your PC with built-in TV - a really nice and easy way to convert all your home videos and digital images to DVD. (checkout the YesDVD service at Ritz Camera stores around the U.S. - and more ... Send us email - click here.		ix PC Security Focus How to protect your Data? 4.30.2006 Are you taking a casual approach to protecting your data on your PC or is it a critical item - still on your to-do list? What's out there that would help "the rest of us" to keep "prying eyes" of our systems and the data on our laptops secure? At the "low-end" we have the "built-in" security of the Window screen saver. On the high-end we find expensive solutions that we might use for a while and then slack-off, because they are too awkward to use. Good systems security on your PC, whether desktop of laptop, needs to be always-on AND easy too use. What this means is that it should be invisible to us and visible to everybody else. Implemented and working security can only be effective when it is used and applied in all situations - otherwise...don't waste your money. Another few key ingredients for success - convenience, convenience, convenience.