RFID dodges royalties bullet | Tech News on ZDNet

RFID dodges royalties bullet | Tech News on ZDNet: "A cloud hanging over the future of radio frequency identification technology disappeared Thursday with the news that a key technical standard won't result in royalty fees. "

Steve's Commentary
This should only help the growth of RFID. I'm still waiting for a refridgerator that will tell me how long my food has been in there and if it has expired.

Augmenting Tabletop Design for Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

Augmenting Tabletop Design for Computer-Supported Cooperative Work

Steve'e Commentary
This is a research paper by a team in Darmstadt, Germany. It presents an analysis of the different kinds of traditional tables that exist in an office environment, then starts to address some of the design issues for interactive tables with examples found in existing research.

Argonne National Labs Research on Collaboration

MCS Research: "Collaborative and Virtual EnvironmentsResearchers in the Futures Lab explore new collaborative environment technologies that combine advanced networking, virtual space technology, and high-end immersive visualization environments. Our aim: to enable the development of wide-area collaborative computational science. Our focus: the development and evaluation of high-end technologies and systems that extend and complement commercially available tools. Our motivation: the belief that teleimmersion provides the ideal framework for exploring new ideas in collaborative VR environments, advanced scientific visualization, interfaces to high-performance computing sysdefault3.astems, networking concepts, and related human performance issues. Our projects include the Access Grid and Active Mural."

Steve's Commentary
This advanced research at "Argonne National Labs" is in their Mathematics and Computer Science Division. Their goal is to increase scientific productivity and collaboration is a key aspect of that. Their Scientific Workspaces of the Future sounds particularly interesting. Some of the meeting notes contain references to some of the technologies they are looking at.

Big WLAN on Campus

Big WLAN on Campus

Commentary from IEEE Wireless
AMERICAN HIGH SCHOOL TAKES WIRELESS CLASSROOM A STEP FURTHER
Cutting the wires isn't enough, one American high school has discovered.
Educators in Hinsdale, Illinois had established a wireless local area
network, but still found that upright screens on PCs hindered real
collaboration in the classroom. They literally were a barrier to effective
student-teacher and student-to-student interaction. Now, the school leaders
believe they have taken wireless technology education to the next level by
teaming wireless projectors with PCs that lay flat on student desks. This
technology adjustment has led to real improvements in classroom
interaction, says a story in eWeek:

Mesh May Save the Wireless Bands

Mesh May Save the Wireless Bands: "The only solution I can see, if we ignore expensive technology like steerable antennas, is to start installing mesh networks.
The disadvantage of the mesh network is simple: People have to buy new equipment.
But once the mesh boxes are installed, all sorts of good things arise. "

Steve's Commentary
Mesh Networks appear to be a great option for areas with overlapping wireless networks. This situation would seemingly arise most often in crowded urban areas, but based on the article, even rural areas could face the interference of overlapping WiFi.

I4U News - LG introduces Wireless LCD TV

I4U News - LG introduces Wireless LCD TV: "Korean LG Electronics introduces a 15' wireless TV, the LG 15LW10.

LG is a little late to the game here. Sony and Sharp already introduced LCD TVs without wires.

The LG wireless TV has a transmitter unit that sends sends the media data with 802.11g/b. A fully charged battery allows the LCD TV to be used for a maximum of three hours.
More details on Korean Times and see a hi-res photo on SorobanGeeks. "

Article: A lighter approach to computer control

Article: A lighter approach to computer control�| New Scientist: "Fabrics woven from light-sensitive fibres could soon be embedded in computer and projector screens, making it possible to control computers by tracking the position of laser pointers, or other light sources, on the screen, researchers say"

Steve's Commentary
Opens the door to large interactive projection screens. This would support local and remote collaboration.

u-blox Claims New GPS Receiver Works Indoors

u-blox Claims New GPS Receiver Works Indoors: "u-blox claims the SuperSense Weak Signal Tracking technology being built into its latest ANATARIS GPS delivers 'unparalleled' reception, beyond -158dBm for tracking and -142dBm for acquisition. They claim the receivers can work indoors, from within the cabin or glove box of a vehicle, through thick tree coverage, deep in urban canyons, and even while traveling through short tunnels. "

Steve's Commentary
Could this technology replace RFIDs?

Sharp Aquos LC-37G4U HDTV

Sharp Aquos LC-37G4U HDTV: "Today we report our findings on Sharp's 37-inch Aquos panel. While not perfect, it's still the best-looking LCD-based panel we've seen come through our HDTV test lab. Does your HDTV future have an Aquos in it? Click next to find out. Continued...

click on image for full view"

New videophone highlights dropping prices | Tech News on ZDNet

New videophone highlights dropping prices | Tech News on ZDNet: "Avaya and Polycom unveiled on Monday an Internet videophone for businesses, adding to a growing lineup of more affordable, easier-to-use gear of the sort once seen only in newspaper comic strips. "

Steve's Commentary
Ease of use has been a real problem with the video conference systems I've seen. People waste too much time at the beginning of a meeting trying to figure it out, and often need to have a "techy" there to get them started.