Advertisment

Emerging Products and Technologies

author-image
PCQ Bureau
New Update

Cheaper PCs



Over the last year, we’ve seen a steady downward spiral in PC prices. This is partly because of the rapid rate at which new chips are coming into the market, making relatively new chips obsolete and hence cheap; and partly because of the advent of less expensive chips like

Celeron. Come Intel’s new chip–Timna–that’ll be released in the second half of this year, and PC prices would again take a beating. With this chip, Intel hopes to usher in a new age of very cheap PCs, perhaps as low as $400. The chip is based on a new 0.18 micron manufacturing process. It’ll combine a Pentium processor core with a graphics engine and memory controller. More information is available at

www.intel.com.

Advertisment

Virtual aromas 



Today the Internet users have a plethora of choice for visual and aural indulgence. Soon, they might also have something to entice their nostrils. Researchers at the Illinois Institute of Technology have patented a device–Tele Aroma Drive (TAD)–which would allow users to click on a photograph of say, flowers and be showered with its aroma. The device could help in making e-commerce more realistic for consumers. A California-based startup company–DigiScents–is also working on a similar technology. They’re developing a speaker-like device, which releases small amounts of scented oils into the air, based on where the user clicks his mouse on the screen. Whereas DigiScents hopes to release its product next year, TAD would probably take more time. More information at is available
www.digiscents.com.

Wrist-top computing



The last 20 years have seen a gradual miniaturization of microcomputers–desktops being reduced to laptops being reduced to palmtops. The buzz today seems to be wrist-tops. A new watch-phone from Samsung, to be based on a 30-MHz ARM7 processor, will have built-in voice recognition and text-to-speech support, both developed by
Conversa. So, you’ll be able to program frequently-used phone numbers, place calls, and pick up Call Waiting by voice. It’ll also read your e-mail messages aloud. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard and Swatch are working on a Web-surfing watch that’ll be able to plug onto the Net for information and services. IBM is also exploring this avenue with a concept dubbed Watch Pad.

3D display technology



A New York based company–Dimensional Media Associates–is working on a new 3D display. What’s different in this one is that viewers don’t have to wear awkward glasses or goggles anymore. The technology would allow teleconferencing in 3D, and let consumers do their shopping at home in a more realistic environment–so realistic that “touching” the products would be a regular affair. The company’s initial focus is on medical imaging, automobile manufacturing, and other high-end technologies, but they intend to release a prototype for desktops in another six months or so. Applications like trend visualization, games, etc, could be revolutionized with this new technology, but the fun would really begin when this technology hits the Internet. At present, the company is maintaining a low profile and isn’t divulging technological details. But they claim that their display unit uses not one (as is usually the case), but as many as 12 display planes, each depicting a different depth. The end result is a stack of images floating in front of your eyes. DMA is currently working with Silicon Graphics to develop the desktop display. Imagine playing Quake 2 on this…For more information, go to
www.3dmedia.com .

Advertisment

E-printing



The pioneer of laser printing technology and networking–Xerox–is in the final stages of bringing “electronic paper” to the market. With electronic paper, giant interactive signs–like the skyscraper video screens in the sci-fi thriller Blade Runner–will become possible in reality. Imagine strolling through a busy market place, when the model on a seven-storey billboard–made of electronic paper–suddenly winks at you, points to the store across the street, and gesticulates wildly for you to go in. Technology behind the electronic paper is similar to printing technology. The difference is in the paper and ink that’s used. The paper could be nothing more than a thin sheet of plastic, which could be folded and carried in your pocket. The electronic ink is a liquid made of millions of tiny capsules, where each capsule is given a suitable color by application of a proper electric field. The capsule would then retain its color till another disturbing electric field is applied. Hence a constant power supply is not necessary to maintain an image on the e-paper. 

E.Ink, a closely-held venture spun out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is also in this fray. 



More information at is available www.eink.com, www.parc.com

Java, Jini, and now Jiro



The base of the current infotech revolution has been information. Demand for proper storage and management of this information has seen a wide spectrum of players jump into the scenario, each specifying his own norms and setting his own rules of management. Apart from this, connecting heterogeneous storage devices has become an issue of concern. Connecting them using SCSI over a fiber channel protocol sounds a joke when you have terabytes of information spread over thousands of devices and services on a network.

Advertisment

The new Jiro platform–a set of distributed management technologies based on Java and Jini–could provide an answer to such concerns. Jiro provides the developer a platform-independent infrastructure to build and implement resource management solutions. It defines a standard middleware infrastructure that enables interoperability and automation, thus allowing developers to focus more on features. Jiro also helps reduce costs and simplifies the task of managing storage resources. The infrastructure created allows the devices to interact with the console, hence streamlining storage and retrieval of data. Under the Sun Community Source License

(SCSL), Sun will make the Jiro platform source available for research and development and commercial use. More information is available at www.jiro.com and

www.sun.com.

Robotic Camera Mount



Amongst the most fascinating and fastest-growing Websites on the Internet are those featuring Web-based video cameras. One of the bare necessities of setting up such a site is a PC-based camera. Surveyor’s TransitRCM (the acronym stands for “Robotic Camera Mount”) is great for use on such a Website. The RCM is a two-axis motion-control camera platform that lets visitors maneuver it remotely through key strokes or mouse clicks. The RCM supports a wide range of cameras and can be linked to the local PC through the serial port. Remote control of the camera is done using a CGI program, or script commands embedded in the Web-page. For example, to move the camera 50 degrees to the right, you’d send:
http://your_machines_IP_address:

8887/rcm/right=50
 

The RCM uses a Windows-based program–WebCam32–to upload images to the Website. WebCam32’s extensive controls allows the visitor to control every aspect of the picture or video being shown, right from color depth and sharpness to volume control. 

Advertisment

Computer-free e-mail



E-mail is the most-used feature of the Internet today. But some of us would like to use this service without having to buy a PC for it. Now there’s an instant, inexpensive way to solve this problem. Brought out by
Landel, the latest offering in the line of convergence products is called

MailBug. With MailBug, anyone with a telephone line can get e-mail, without the hassle or expense of a computer. Some of the most impressive features of MailBug are its ability to share the telephone line intelligently (so there’s no need to install a second line), its large screen size (an 8-line display), and instant message notification. It even has advanced features like caller ID identification, an address book, and a phone book. It’s currently priced at $149, plus the accompanying e-mail service from

Landel. 

E-commerce is hot at Stanford



The academic community in the US has begun to recognize that today’s businessmen and managers need more than an informal training in e-commerce. Stanford University, for example, already teaches 11 courses that deal with online business issues. During the Winter 2000 term, the university will offer a new class called Electronic Commerce, which will focus completely on online business. True to Stanford’s tradition of working with industry, another class developed with the new center will allow students to work directly with Silicon Valley e-commerce companies to examine problems facing the industry. Research at the center will take advantage of the Internet’s ability to gather consumer data. For example, one study may examine how the buying price in an online auction is affected by factors such as number of bidders, structure, and reputation of the auction site. Stanford’s announcement comes at a time when MBA students are flocking to the Internet companies and MBA programs are responding with more e-commerce-related courses. A case in point is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s e-commerce curriculum, which is the business school’s most popular track. 

Diablo 2



Nearly two years after the release of Diablo, the first quarter of next year would see the release of its successor—Diablo 2. Diablo 1 was a very different game, as it had an isometric view, rather than the traditional 3D view. But the main difference between Diablo 1 and the other mainstream games is that every time the game’s played, the scenario is different. Added to this, a good story line and great music made the game a huge hit. Diablo 2 promises all this, and a lot more. It has more characters, the graphics are better, and of course, the story line takes off from where the last one ended. Another of the most anticipated games. For more information, go to
www.blizzard.com/diablo2/

Advertisment