Quote of the Week
"Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There's one marked "Brightness" but it doesn't work." -Gallagher
Taken from WXPNEWS.com, whose editors also had the following to say:
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Editor's Corner
Convergence: The New Holy Grail for Consumer Electronics?
Tom and I spent last week at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and as always, it was overwhelming. Crowds at the Microsoft booth were especially large; you you felt as if you were taking your life into your own hands to fight your way to the front of the Vista Home Server, Ultra Mobile PC and Xbox 360 displays. If you'd like to see photos of some of the tech toys we saw there, check out my blog at
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TVs were, no pun intended, on display everywhere. They ranged from tiny handheld models to movie theater-like giant screens, and picture quality on some models was amazing. Bigger may be better, but it doesn't come cheap. Sony's 70 inch 1080p LCD goes for $33,000:
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Sharp unveiled the world's largest full HD LCD with a breath-taking screen that measures 108 inches, but they're not telling the price (it won't be available until later this year).
But why buy just a TV when you can get a device that combines multiple functions? It seems as if the main theme this year was "convergence" - we heard the term over and over and saw numerous examples of converged technologies. TVs converged with computers, computers converged with phones, IP phones converged with PSTN phones, retro designs converged with futuristic functionality. Everywhere you looked, something was converging with something else.
This rush to combine several devices or functionalities into one is a natural outgrowth of our electronics-dominated world. How many of you have three or four or even more remote controls sitting on your coffee table? There's one for the TV, one for the DVD player, one for the sound system, maybe one for the Media Center PC ... well, you get the idea. A universal remote that can control all of those components is a mighty attractive idea, but I can go you one even better; my Pocket PC, which is also a cell phone, includes remote control software that I can use for my home theater equipment. In fact, there are a number of such programs for the PPC
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Speaking of remote controls, some of the coolest things we saw at the show were the various models of SideShow remotes. These are remote controls for Windows Vista Media Center that have a tiny LCD screen with which you control things like music playback without even turning on the TV or monitor
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Convergence of computer and cell phone is something that many of us want today, but there's an inherent dilemma: we want our cell phones small, but we want our computers to be capable of full desktop functionality. How do you accomplish both? All of today's solutions are compromises, but we're seeing more and better efforts to provide both of these. My Samsung i730 PPC phone does pretty much what I want, but it's a bit bulky and battery life leaves a lot to be desired. At CES, we got a look at the next generation: the i760. It's slightly sleeker and the model we saw there (as opposed to those we'd seen previously on the Web) has a side-slide keyboard:
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The Samsung that was getting the most hype, though, was the Blackjack. There was even a huge ad for it on the front of the Las Vegas Convention Center. It's actually a bit longer and wider than the i730, but significantly thinner. However, I don't like that its keyboard is "out in the open," rather than a slider.
Personally, I'd prefer to do away with the physical keyboard altogether and make the device thinner. I always use the on-screen keyboard anyway. Now Apple, with their just-announced iPhone (MacWorld's attempt to steal the thunder from CES), has done just that (http://www.apple.com/iphone/). In fact, the Apple phone has many features I like, including a big screen and the elimination of a bunch of buttons on the front. I was excited when I heard that it runs OS X - but less so when I learned that it won't allow you to install third party software, doesn't have a memory expansion slot, and won't support Exchange or Office. Not quite the level of computer/phone convergence I'd been hoping for. But hey, LG has a phone that's similar in design to the iPhone (and in fact, came out before the iPhone was unveiled). Don't know much about it yet, but it's got my hopes up again. You can see it here:
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One of the most interesting converged devices we saw was Samsung's new P9000 "Communicator." When you first get a look at it, you're not sure exactly what it is. Its foldout keyboard "wings" remind me of a Lamborghini (but I'm hoping it'll be a lot less expensive):
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It turns out it's a full fledged Windows XP computer with a 30 GB hard disk and a 5 inch screen but, unlike the Sony U series and various Ultra Mobile PCs, it's also a cell phone. It works with CDMA and EVDO networks such as Verizon's, but will also connect to WiMAX broadband networks. I figure it'll either be a great success or a big flop. Since it was behind a glass case at CES and I wasn't able to touch or hold it, I haven't yet decided whether it's the perfect size compromise for a computer/phone device, or whether it's too big to work well as a phone and too small to work well as a computer.
The convergence trend continued as we encountered "smart" watches, "smart" coffeepots and other common household devices with embedded computers. This is obviously what the future holds, but which ones will catch on is anybody's guess. I still remember the Samsung Internet-enabled HomePAD refrigerator that came out back in 2003:
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Everyone ooh'ed and ahhh'ed at it in the stores, but I don't know of anyone who actually bought one. Only a really dedicated gadgeteer would be willing to shell out eight grand for a fridge just because it has a monitor in the door.
Which brings us, in a round-about sort of way, to the real question of today's editorial: just how far can/should convergence go? Combining devices certainly offers certain conveniences - who wants to carry around separate cell phone, PDA, and MP3 player if you can get it all in one compact package? But, as those who have owned printer/copier/fax machines and other combo devices know, there's also a downside. What happens if one part of your multi-function device dies before the other(s)? Now do you have to throw away a perfectly good MP3 player because the phone quit working?
And some devices seem to take convergence to the point of being ridiculous. Do I really want a coffee cup that can connect to the Internet? A pair of sunglasses that plays video games? I haven't even yet accepted the idea of having a camera built into my phone; watching all those folks in Vegas taking pictures with their cell phones was a little disorienting. I guess it's convenient, but there are just too many places where cameras aren't allowed, and I don't want to have to give up my phone every time I enter one of them. I'll stick with my dedicated Nikon for now.
Tell us what you think. Do you like having all your devices combined, or do you prefer separate, dedicated devices, at least for some functions? What (if anything) would you like your cell phone to be able to do that it doesn't now? Are you a fan of unified communications, where you can receive and send your phone calls, faxes, email and instant messages from a single interface or device? What's the most ridiculous "combo" device you've seen or heard of? Let us know your experiences and opinions at feedback@wxpnews.com.
Followup: Securanoia
Last week, we discussed a new term, "securanoia," which describes those folks who worry too much about security, to the point where it works to the detriment of everything else. Some of you wrote to say that you recognized yourselves in that description, while others told us that they aren't securanoid themselves, but they have to work with or for someone who is and it's driving them nuts.
John A. tells us that he has friends who no longer use email because of security concerns. Several of you who must work under policies that dictate long, complex, ever- changing passwords confessed that you keep written records of those passwords. But others point out that there are alternatives. Some of you recommended password management programs such as RoboForm. Gary K. and several others wish companies would go with biometrics instead of constantly changing passwords. Bob H. suggested the use of smart cards. All of these are good solutions, but do require extra expense that some companies may not be willing or able to absorb.
Dan D. advanced the somewhat cynical (but almost certainly correct) theory that some security experts like to cultivate securanoia in order to justify their high fees. Ben F. thinks the media nurtures security paranoia because it attracts readers. Others proposed interesting solutions to our security problems. For instance, Jim F. suggested that we establish a U.S.-only Internet, closed to all outside traffic, since so many of the spammers, scammers and virus distributors are based in other countries.
A number of you want more government involvement (new laws and crackdowns on spammers and attackers, public service announcements warning the public about common scams, etc.). Joe E. says he would back a proposal for a web-wide ID that could be used on all major sites. Dominic, who works in the physical security realm, notes that the level of security in a given situation should be based on the level of threat - a common sense approach that seems to have escaped many of today's security experts.
Several of you mentioned how securanoia is used by the bad guys against users, to get them to install viruses or other malware under the guise of it being security software. And Paul L. echoed the sentiments of many of you when he said, "A line must be drawn somewhere between functionality and securanoia."
Finally, Bob P. offered this very apt quote/prediction: "Security will increase until the system is brought to a halt or someone insists on getting some work done, whichever comes first."
Thanks to all of you who shared your thoughts on this topic.
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